Advice and Support at Keele SU (ASK) is a free and confidential service that is independent of the University and is staffed by professional and experienced advisers. We support Keele students with around 1000 cases every year and, while we advise on a wide range of enquiries, we do see some common issues that might be avoided by following these tips!
Quick Tips - Look after your wellbeing
- Ask official sources for advice
- Don't ignore academic issues
- Back up your work
- Learn the misconduct rules
- Turn on Version History in Word
- Budget early
- Don't rush into housing decisions
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Take care of yourself
Going to university is a big change and it can be a stressful time even when you're enjoying yourself. Practise self-care, eat healthily, get some exercise, and make sure you're sleeping enough. Student Minds, the student mental health charity, has resources to help you adjust to university life
Reach out for help if you're struggling - talk to your family and friends and if you need professional support there is a counselling service on campus and 24/7 support through Spectrum.Life. You can also talk to ASK, Student Services, or your academic mentor.
More information is in our Wellbeing section.
Don't rely on other students for information - they could give you the wrong advice
Every year we see students with issues that could have been avoided if they'd been given the right information and taken action sooner. For example, we see posts every year saying you don't need to pay your campus parking tickets because they don't pursue you - this is a myth!
Don't ignore academic problems
Talk to tutors if you're not sure about what you need to do. If your work is being affected by personal circumstances, submit an Exceptional Circumstances claim - don't wait to find out your results, it becomes much harder to get your circumstances considered after you've done the assessment. Visit our page for more information about ECs.
Back up your work
Computer problems don't count as exceptional circumstances, so make sure you save often and keep a copy on a separate drive or in the cloud.
Make sure you know how to avoid academic misconduct
You might think you will never need to worry about academic misconduct because you would never cheat - but there are a number of different forms of academic misconduct, and many students commit an offence without even realising it!
Read our article: Tips to Avoid Academic Misconduct.
If you'd like support with your academic writing, you can go to the Library Education Centre for one-to-one appointments, workshops and online guidance.
Keep records of your work
Markers are on the lookout for signs of AI use but they don't always get it right. This means that sometimes, students who did their own work might have to go to academic misconduct meetings to prove it.
Read our article about how to keep records of your work in case you're wrongly accused.
| Top Tip! If you save your document to OneDrive, Word can keep a history of all the versions of your work. This is a great way of proving you were doing your own work, because it shows the development of your assignment over time. - Go to File.
- Click on Info.
- Select Version History.
- Upload your file to OneDrive.
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Budget!
Having a budget can help you manage your spending by encouraging you to set aside the money you need to cover essentials like rent, whilst showing you the amount you have leftover to spend on other things on a day-to-day basis. Visit our Budgeting page and Cost of Living page for tips.
Don't rush into renting a house for next year
Take the time to make sure you can really afford the cost of living in that property and to check the tenancy agreement for any dodgy clauses. Make sure you'll be happy with your future housemates - the students who you were closest to in the first few months of your time at Keele may not be your friends by the end of the year and you could regret agreeing to live with them.
Visit our Housing section for advice on what to look out for when you start house hunting.
Need advice? ASK is free, confidential and independent of the University. If you're unsure about anything during your time at Keele, get in touch before a small problem becomes a bigger one. |