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    • Welcome to the University of Northampton.

    We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to your studies at the University of Northampton. The purpose of this document is to help you prepare for coming to study with us and give you an opportunity to meet members of your programme team as well as other students who’ve chosen the same course. We want to make sure that you are inspired, anchored, prepared, and enabled to succeed.

    Through engaging with our welcome and induction activities you will get to know your super-supportive tutors, have a chance to make new friends and be able to access what you need to know and do to start studying successfully. Ultimately, we want you to feel confident about how you will learn.

    What happens in welcome week?

    The first week of the semester is devoted to a range of activities that will help you to meet the rest of the students on your course, the people who will teach you and allow you to familiarise yourself with what you will be studying and the facilities you will use.

    A separate timetable of events is provided for this week which will tell you where you need to be and at what time. There will also be plenty of other staff and student ambassadors around to make sure that you find your way to the right things.

    Each student is allocated to a Personal Tutor (PT) and you will have an opportunity to meet with them during the first week. If you are a Joint Honours student, you will be in a tutor group with other students who share one of your subject areas. The PT meeting would be a good opportunity for you to discuss any questions you may have about personalised support if you haven’t already contacted those teams directly. Please know that you can also get in touch with your Personal Tutor directly should you need to. Your PT will tell you more about how to do this.

    At the University of Northampton, our Personal Tutors meet regularly and frequently with their tutees, both in group and in 1-to-1 sessions. They will help you to reflect on how your studies are going and explore actions you can take to maximise your chances of success.

    Course welcome packs

    Our welcome packs provide important information about your programme and starting your studies so that you can settle into University life during your first few weeks. Check the Subject packs accordion for your specific welcome pack.

    • Learning and teaching at the University of Northampton is designed to help you take control of your own learning, using small group teaching, team-working and one-to-one tutorials that allow learning to take place in face-to-face environments and using carefully crafted digital experiences. To help you prepare for this personalised approach to learning, our welcome and induction activities are designed to introduce you to our learning technologies so that you are ready to go for the start of term. Through engaging in some preparatory work before our live sessions, you can think about some of the questions you might have and have opportunities to explore the many ways in which you are supported. You can also meet the other students on your programme.

      Understanding your Qualification

      You can view your Award Map online and will help you find out more about each module which comprises your qualification, the module co-ordinator and how you will be assessed.
      The University’s Skills Hub provides you with the tools you need to succeed including access to the University’s library, reading lists, referencing, the development of academic skills, tips how to study and research and information about the one-to-one support we provide to students.

    • As part of our welcome and induction, we would like you to engage with us using our online tool, Blackboard Collaborate. It is broadly similar to using Skype or Zoom, which you may have come across before. You will be able to join your Welcome and Induction sessions as a guest, meaning that you do not need to create an account in order to participate.

      Using Collaborate

      1. Test whether your browser will work with Collaborate 
      2. Review the student guide to using Collaborate 
      3. Test Collaborate by visiting our test ‘classroom’ to address any technological challenges. This classroom will be available 24/7 from now until the end of September. You can join the classroom now and follow the instructions to test your audio and video functions.

      If you are still experiencing difficulties, please call our on-site team for further help: +44 (0)1604 893333.

      LinkedIn Learning

      Once you become a student at the University of Northampton, you will also have access to a wealth of online technical support through LinkedIn Learning so you can improve your digital skills any time, any place.

    • Changemaker

      In addition to the University’s Academic Skills Hub, the University’s Changemaker Hub will help you develop other skills and attitudes employers value and become a Changemaker of the future.

      Changemaker aims to help students:

      • Develop personal awareness, community understanding, and ability to collaborate with others;
      • Develop abilities for catalysing social change such as civic engagement, social innovation, social justice, and philanthropy;
      • Practice changemaking by taking action and activating others around a societal challenge.

      In addition, the University of Northampton Students’ Union has clubs and societies, sports and other social activities which you can join, as well as provide support, information and guidance.

      If your course has any extra activities students can do, please provide any information, including links, below. Please specify whether an activity is compulsory or not.

      Supporting your career aspiration

      We are committed to developing graduates who are not only qualified to get their first graduate job but who have also developed the skills and attributes they need to progress their chosen career.

      Employability and Changemaker are embedded into the curriculum and this is further supported by the extensive range of extra and co-curricular initiatives to enhance students’ employability and social entrepreneurship skills.

      The Changemaker Hub works with students before, during and after their studies to develop and enhance employability through our extensive network of relationships with business and community organisations. Finishing university with a good degree is great; graduating with a well-rounded and complete set of employability skills is even better.

    • June 2022

      Postgraduate

      April 2022

      Undergraduate

    Supporting Your Success

    Visit the University Supporting You webpages to find out more about all our teams. The core teams you should find out about include:

    Make a note of those teams that you think will be particularly helpful. Discussing these with your Personal Tutor during your one-to-one meeting with them will help you make a good start to your academic year.

    Support and Wellbeing

    The Student Support and Advice Team offers friendly, professional and confidential advice and guidance during your studies.

    If you are struggling on your course, have had a change of circumstances or you are experiencing life events that are affecting your ability to study, they support you and can be contacted via the Student Information Desk in the Learning Hub or by emailing: studentsupportofficers@northampton.ac.uk.

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