Supporting your student
Your student’s wellbeing will be one of your main concerns, particularly during the early stages of their course when they are adjusting to their new environment.
Trusted contact procedure
Bath Spa is here for your student, but because we recognise them as independent adults we need their permission to speak to anyone outside of the University about them, even parents or supporters.
That is why we ask students to opt in and give their permission for us to contact a designated person in a non-emergency situation, where we are seriously concerned about their wellbeing.
Current data protection legislation allows the disclosure of personal information about someone without their consent only when it is in their vital interests to do so; this means in highly serious or life and death situations.
The Student Trusted Contact Procedure (.PDF) gives further detail.
Transitioning to university
Transition to university is likely to be a significant change for your student and it will take time for them to settle in. We want to reassure you that this is normal and expected. Research shows there is a predictable pattern to the range of feelings a new student may experience and the ‘W’ curve of transition is a helpful way to illustrate this (Zeller and Mosier,1993).
This stage often starts before students arrive on campus. It typically begins once they have chosen and been accepted to university, and continues to build as students attend Welcome Week and initial induction programs, and move into student accommodation. Emotions and experiences during this stage may include:
- enthusiasm and desire to meet new people
- wanting to get away from home and start out on their own
- orientation and transitional programming
- homesickness mixed in with all the fun and energy of their new experience.
Students begin to feel a dissonance between their perceptions of what university should be and the reality of their transition. The newness of university life begins
to wear off and students begin to deal with the reality of the many adjustments they are experiencing. Emotions and experiences during this stage may include:
- difficulty finding their way around and feel lost
- excitement about living in the residence halls or with flatmates and on their own (having to cook their own dinners, do laundry, etc) wears off
- adjustment to new surroundings and expectations are hard to adjust to
- academic expectations are harder than anticipated
- homesickness may become stronger. Some students may try to deal with this by maintaining strong ties to their home and going home often.
Students begin to feel an upswing as they begin to successfully manage many of the issues they faced during Culture Shock. It is during this stage that students feel more “at home” on campus. Extroverts often reach this stage quicker than introverts. Emotions and experiences during this stage may include:
- minor roommate irritations begin to diminish
- students begin to make friends outside of their initial connections
- fall into a routine and gain confidence in their ability to handle academic and social environments of university.
Commonly, this phase arises after students go home for an extended period of time. Strong feelings of homesickness begin to arise or re-arise for students and they often feel as though they are caught between two worlds. University life is still not as comfortable as home used to be and home is now not as familiar as it once was. Emotions and experiences during this stage may include:
- shock over finding changes that have happened at home and not having been a part of them
- feeling of homesickness for a home environment that no longer seems to exist
- doubts regarding choice in university, career and other decisions begin to surface
- beliefs and values begin to be challenged and they may not be able to adapt to the ideas and values of the university culture
- larger flatmate / hall issues surface and students tend to sit alone in their room or find outlets to escape their housing situation
- cliques may form and students may feel that getting to know others is harder than before.
Connections to campus become stronger in this stage due to students becoming more involved in campus activities, developing stronger friendships, and connecting with faculty and staff. Students develop a more balanced view of the university, their academic pursuits and their future. A true feeling of acceptance, integration and connectedness occurs when a student has successfully adapted to their new world. Emotions and experiences during this stage may include:
- students begin to refer to university as their “home”
- they feel as though they are part of their new environment/community
- roommate issues are likely resolved or overcome and new friends are made on and off-campus
- home values are reconciled with university values
- dependence on parents/supporters and former peers begins to lessen.
Remember: No one student is the same as another and everyone’s experience is different. Your student may move through the 'W' curve at different stages and may well revisit the different points at different times.
Worrying about your student
There may be times when you are worried about your student (this is natural and inevitable); they may not have responded to your most recent message or have missed a few of your calls. While there is usually a good reason for this we appreciate it may be worrying and it is important you know what you can expect from us.
If you have concerns about your student contact Student Wellbeing Services who will take details, listen to you and where appropriate offer general advice. We always follow up on contact from third parties and in most cases this means gently nudging your student to respond to you.
Your student may say they are finding an assignment or module hard and not sure if they will pass. University learning and teaching is different to your student’s previous educational experience and they may find the transition to developing as an independent learner challenging.
There are many sources of academic advice and support for your student, including:
- their Academic Advisor – this is an academic within their subject area
- their module tutor – the academic who leads with a specific module
- ASk (Academic Skills) – offers students support with their academic work
- English Language Unit – for students with English as a second language
- Student Wellbeing Services – Wellbeing Advisors are experienced in coaching students.
Assessment and examination period
The assessment and examination period on the term dates schedule is the period towards the end of a semester during which module tutors schedule assessment deadlines and remote timed tests. It's important that all coursework deadlines set by module tutors are adhered to. If your student feels that they need some extra time for an assessment, they should review our extensions and exceptional circumstances information.
It's important that your student continues to attend any scheduled sessions during these weeks and accesses support for their studies as and when they require it. All our professional services are available during this period to support your student in their studies.
This may happen and is often a natural part of your student learning new academic writing skills.
We know that for many students and their supporters, failing something may be a new experience and be difficult to handle. The University has protocols in place to ensure your student has the opportunity to try again.
If there are circumstances that have impacted on your student, such as ill-health or a bereavement, they can apply for ‘mitigating circumstances’ - this will help the University to help your student.
We also know that sometimes students start a course and they realise that it is the wrong one for them - they might also realise they are at the wrong university - this happens.
What is important for you to know is that your student has options and your role is to help them get in touch with a SWS Advisor who can explore those options with them and enable your student to make the best decision for them at that time.
The University, including Student Wellbeing Services, will not share any information about your student with you or any third party without their explicit consent.
Please be assured that the University takes its duty of care responsibilities for your student seriously and if, at any time, there are serious concerns for the wellbeing or safety of your student there are robust safeguarding measures in place.
Our approach is to work with your student to review options and ensure support is in place and this may include encouraging and helping them to share challenges with you. However, there may be occasions, even without your student’s permission that trusted contact will be contacted, in order to escalate concern.
The University has a robust Safeguarding framework in place. If you're ever worried about your student or anyone else at the University and you think they may be at risk, please share your concern with our Safeguarding Leads: safeguarding@bathspa.ac.uk.
Student Wellbeing Services
Student Wellbeing Services (SWS) offers a range of professional services dedicated to Bath Spa University students, including mental health, general wellbeing, accessibility and disability, and a multi-faith Chaplaincy.
There are a number of ways students can access SWS. Appointments are bookable online, in advance and on the same day, enabling students to speak at a time that is convenient for them. If they’re not sure who to speak to, students can complete a self-referral form and SWS will work with them to access the most appropriate service(s).
SWS is available 24/7 and during the night and weekends works in partnership with Bath Spa University Security Services to be a point of contact for your student.
SWS can be contacted at:
- studentwellbeing@bathspa.ac.uk
- 01225 876543
SWS provides an enhanced package of support for students who are care experienced, have lived in an accredited Foyer or who are estranged from their family. With your students permission we can liaise with personal advisors, social workers and support workers, before and during University; help them to apply for Student Finance and other statutory financial support. We also guarantee accommodation 365 days a year, offer an additional bursary of £1,000 per academic year for the standard duration of their course, and a designated point of contact in SWS for the duration of their studies.
We understand that some of our students come to university with caring responsibilities for relatives, friends and others. If your student has caring responsibilities, for you or others, SWS will provide a point of contact during their studies. This person will be able to support your student to access the learning environment, any additional financial support that is useful, and access to University or external services to help with the challenges that sometimes come with being a carer.
Your student has 24/7 access to instant information and support via our range of digital platforms – these are detailed on our Welcome pages. These focus on self-guided help, allowing your student to access services at a time, location and pace that suits them. Many of these platforms include active signposting to additional University and external support that may be useful.
It's important to encourage your student to register with the University Medical Service so they can access medical support when they need it. We also urge all students to stay up to date with vaccinations and ask that parents and supporters reinforce this message before students head off to university.