Student Services News

If you need to select optional modules for the next Part of your degree programme starting in 2019/20, the Module Browser on the RISIS Portal is now online. This gives you the opportunity to look at the optional module choices available on your programme prior to you making your module selections when the Module Selection window goes live on the RISIS Portal on 25 April 2019.

If you are an undergraduate on Part 1 or 2 of your course and are not going on to placement, you will need to select your optional modules. If you are in Part 3 on a 4 year course or Part 3 coming back from a placement, you will also need to select your optional modules.

Please note that the deadline for selecting your optional modules will be 12:30pm on Tuesday 7 May 2019.

If you need assistance with selecting your optional modules, there are lots of different ways in which you can seek advice:

• Your Programme Director or Academic Tutor can provide guidance on which modules to choose.
• You can either visit your Support Centre in person or give them a call for advice over the phone.
• You can find help online by using the ‘Ask a question’ feature on the RISIS portal, or by emailing moduleselection@reading.ac.uk.

Please note that Student Services will be unable to issue transcripts for current students from the start of the exam period until final results have been posted. This is to prevent transcripts being issued with marks that have yet to be finalised/confirmed.

No transcripts will be issued from 5pm on Thursday 25 April until 5pm on Thursday 11 July 2019.

We are aware that some students will require transcripts, for example, to apply for postgraduate study . If you do require a transcript, please ensure you print a copy from the RISIS portal (under ‘Self-service letters’) or request this from your Student Support Co-ordinator before 5pm on Thursday 25 April.

If you are a Henley Business School student, you will need to contact your Programme Admin Team for a transcript.

If you require a stamped, hard copy of the transcript, you will need to request this from your Student Support Co-ordinator/HBS Programme Admin Team before Thursday 25 April or after 11 July.

For BA CDL finalists and PGCE/ ProfGCE awards and progression for BA(Ed) Parts 1 and 2,  transcripts will be unavailable for a longer time period until 5pm on Wednesday 24 July, due to awarding/progression boards taking place later.

For more information, contact your Student Support Co-ordinator or Student Services Reception.

If you are a UK student, you can now apply for a student loan to cover your fees next academic year.

If you received funding last year, please note that you will not automatically receive this next year. You need to apply again at www.gov.uk/studentfinance before the deadline on 21 June 2019 in order to receive your funding on time for the start of the academic year 2019/20.

There is a different process for students from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. If you are an EU student, you will be contacted by post to apply for continued funding.

If you have any questions or concerns about tuition fees, please get in touch with the Student Financial Support team, based on the ground floor of the Carrington building. You can email them at studentfinance@reading.ac.uk or give them a call on  0118 378 5555.

There have been confirmed outbreaks of mumps at two UK universities recently, so it’s important to be aware of the signs and symptoms and what you can do to prevent infection.

Mumps is a contagious viral infection that causes painful swelling of the glands at the side of the face under the ears. Other symptoms include headaches, joint pain and a high temperature, which may develop a few days before the swelling.

Mumps is spread in the same way as colds and flu – through infected droplets of saliva. These can be inhaled or picked up from surfaces and transferred into the mouth or nose.

Students may be more at risk than other groups due to spending lots of time in close proximity, for example in halls of residence, lecture theatres and bars/nightclubs.

In the UK, most people receive two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine as a child which helps to protect you from contracting mumps. However, you it is still possible to catch mumps if you have had the vaccine, especially if you are in close contact with someone who is infected.

A person is most contagious a few days before the symptoms develop and for a few days afterwards. During this time, it’s important to prevent the infection spreading to others by:

• washing your hands regularly with soap
• using and disposing of tissues when you sneeze
• avoiding contact with people for at least 5 days after your symptoms first develop

If you think you might have mumps, contact your GP in advance of going in to the surgery so they can take necessary precautions to prevent the spread of infection.

More information about mumps is available on the NHS webpages.

On 21 March your Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Gavin Brooks, hosted an open student drop-in event with your full-time RUSU Officers. A number of students stopped by to ask questions and a wide range of topics were covered, from study space to transparency in decision-making. Watch our video of some of the highlights below, if you missed it!

The end of term is almost here! The University will be closed from 17-22 April, reopening for the start of term on 23 April. With the exception of these closure dates, many services and facilities will remain open outside of term time – please make a note of any changes to opening hours that may affect you.

Library & URS Building

Between Monday 1 and Friday 5 April the Library Building will be open from 09:00-17:00. Between Monday 1 and Thursday 4 April the Library@URS Building will be open from 08:30-19:00.

On Friday 5 April the Library will be open from 08:30-17:00.

Between Saturday 6 and Tuesday 16 April the Library will resume normal term-time opening hours.

Both Library buildings will be closed for the University Easter Closure between Wednesday 17 and Monday 22 April.

Support Centres

Support Centres will be open from 09:00-16:00 outside of term time. This excludes the University closure dates between 17-22 April. You can find your Support Centre here.

Student Welfare Team

The Student Welfare Team will be operating as usual over the break, with drop-in sessions from 10:00-16:00 from Monday-Friday. They will be closed from 17-22 April.

International Student Advisory Team

The International Student Advisory Team will be operating as usual outside of term time, but will not be available on the University closure dates from 17-22 April.

Student Services Reception

The Student Services Reception will be open as usual, with the exception of the University closure dates from 17-22 April. However, due to reduced staffing during this period, please note that there may be a longer wait than usual. Please also be aware that Student Financial Services drop-in sessions do not take place outside of term time.

Counselling and Wellbeing

The Counselling and Wellbeing Service will be open as usual outside of term time, but will be closed from 17-22 April.

Disability Advisory Service

The Disability Advisory Service will be operating as normal over the break, with the exception of 17-22 April, when it will be closed.

RUSU

Please note that Café Mondial will be open from 9:30-14:30 every day with the exception of the University closure dates, and Mojo’s will be closed outside of term time.

Please watch this space for any further changes to opening hours over the Easter break.

#NeverOk is a joint campaign supported by the University and RUSU which takes a stand against negative behaviours. We do not tolerate any form of abuse, harassment, bullying or discrimination and we encourage all our students to report any instance of these behaviours.

If you experience or witness any form of bullying, harassment or discrimination, you can report it by emailing neverok@reading.ac.uk.

Watch our short video featuring RUSU Full-Time Officers Nozomi and Dan, to learn more about the reporting process.

This week our series of mini-surveys will focus on the Library. You can let us know what you think and help us to improve our services by answering five questions about your experience before the deadline on Friday 22 March. what do you find most useful about the Library services? What could be improved? We’d like you to share your thoughts with us.

Don’t forget – our main undergraduate student surveys are also now live and we’re offering a prize draw to win VIP tickets to RUSU’s Summer Ball: www.reading.ac.uk/ug-surveys

We’re continuing our series of mini surveys, and this week we’d like to hear your thoughts about the Academic Tutor System. Is there anything you particularly like about it? Or anything you would like to change? Tell us what you think!

Help us to review and improve our services by completing our online survey before end of day on Friday 15 March. 

Don’t forget – our main undergraduate student surveys are also now live and we’re offering a prize draw to win VIP tickets to RUSU’s Summer Ball: www.reading.ac.uk/ug-surveys

Third year student Megan, Vice-President of the Sport in Mind society, explains why sport is beneficial for positive mental wellbeing.

For some people university is the best days of their lives, but for others it can be a very stressful time. A recent report by the NUS showed that 78% of students worry about their mental health, but over half of them said that they did not seek help.

Sport is an excellent way to take your mind off of the stress of uni life, make new friends and release endorphins. As well as being great for your physical health too!

A study conducted by Yaffe (1981) investigated the benefits of sport on mental health on male and female participants suffering from depression.  Participants were split into 3 groups: a running group, a group given 10 sessions of psychotherapy, and a group that was offered unlimited psychotherapy. The study concluded that the running group was just as effective in alleviating depressive symptoms as the psychotherapy groups.

From studies like these, we know that sport can improve you mood, reduce stress, improve your self-esteem and prevent the onset of depression. This is at the very heart of what Sport in Mind stands for, what makes them stand out from other mental health charities, and why I’m working with Sport in Mind to raise awareness and help benefit students at Reading.

We’re a friendly group that runs free sport sessions every week on campus, and we’d love you to join in with our sessions. Find out more about the society and the sports sessions we run here.

I look forward to seeing you!

Megan