FRESHERS

WELCOME GUIDE
2011

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CONTENTS
FRESHERS WELCOME GUIDE 2011
A Welcome from the Deputy Vice Chancellor Enrolment and Registration - Getting Sorted University IT - Getting on-line International Students - Getting in Touch University Libraries Accommodation Student Support - We Are Here For You Students Union - Its your Union - Take Part Campus Maps - Finding Your Way Around 4 5-8 9-11 12-13 14-16 17-18 19-20 21-22 23-25

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WELCOME TO THE UNIVERSITY FOR THE

CREATIVE ARTS
I would like to extend to you a very warm welcome to the University for the Creative Arts and to thank you for choosing this university for your studies. Whichever campus you are studying on, once enrolled, you will be a member of our unique community of 7000 students and many hundreds of staff, all engaged in creative pursuits in art, architecture, design and media. Creativity is at the heart of our community and I am sure you will contribute to this value both now as a student as well as in the years to come when you become an alumnus of the University. Academic staff, the Students Union and departmental support staff have all been working hard to make your experience as a student with us rewarding and fullling and to make your initial experience as a new student comfortable, exciting and challenging. This may be your rst time living away from home or you may have had previous experience of university life, but whatever your circumstances, the staff at UCA wish to make you feel at home and prepare you for your course. As a new student you will experience a few hectic weeks, getting to know people, nding out where everything is and completing the registration process. This guide covers everything you should need to know in order to settle in and begin you rst few days and months. Details of your studies will be provided by your course team during your rst few days but if you need to know anything before you arrive, please contact the Faculty Ofce on the campus where you will be studying. Starting University can be a daunting prospect but remember you are not alone; the staff of the University are here to help you. Finally I would like to wish you every success with your studies. Professor Mark Hunt Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Faculty Of ces
(via campus switchboards): Canterbury: 01227 817302 Epsom: 01372 728811 Farnham: 01252 722441 Maidstone: 01622 621102 Rochester: 01634 888702

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ENROLMENT & REGISTRATION

GETTING SORTED
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Welcome to enrolment at the University for the Creative Arts!

You have been offered a place to study at the University for the Creative Arts, and need to enrol before beginning your studies. Although you hold an offer of a place, you will need to bring evidence of your highest qualication to your physical enrolment session. If you are unsure, please bring all the evidence that proves you meet the entry criteria for this course (available from your course page at www.ucreative. ac.uk/courses).

WHAT IS ENROLMENT?
You must complete the online enrolment task before your physical enrolement session. Enrolment consists of an online enrolment task for you to complete before you arrive, and a physical enrolment session during your induction week. You must successfully complete both of these to become a fully-enrolled student. The online enrolment task is open from 11am on 23rd August, and you must complete this before your physical enrolment session. You should aim to start the task as soon as possible, in case you encounter any issues. Please set aside plenty of time to read the information that is displayed during the task. The rst week of the course will be an induction week which will give you an introduction to the course, details of your timetable, and how to use important University systems and facilities.

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WHAT IS INDUCTION WEEK?

First day of HE induction: Monday 12th September When you arrive on your rst day you will be greeted by your Course Leader or a member of your course team. You will be provided with lots of information during the induction week but hopefully you will nd it an enjoyable time. There will be a Welcome Barbecue lunch on each campus on varying dates during September. Keep an eye out in your campus refectory for dates and we hope you will be able to make it. To see your course induction information (such as your induction timetable), please visit www.ucreative.ac.uk/enrolment, click on New Students, then your campus, and nally your course. If you have not read your course induction information, and cannot locate it on the enrolment pages, please telephone the campus and ask to speak to your course administrator (located in the Faculty Ofce).

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?

Have you downloaded an induction timetable for induction week? Online enrolment is open from 23rd August. Simply log in to myRecords (also known as the Applicant Portal) as soon as possible to complete the task: http://www.registryonline.ucreative.ac.uk/. Your username is your student number. If you have forgotten, or never received your password, use the Request your myRecords Password link on the login screen. This will send an email containing a new password to the following address(es): chales@ucreative. ac.uk; callison@ucreative.ac.uk Also make sure you have downloaded an induction timetable, and bring this with you to induction week (see What Is Induction Week? above).

YOUR STUDENT ID CARD PHOTO

We will activate an ID Photo Upload task on the applicant portal for you to upload your photograph. All students will require a UCA Student Card that provides access to buildings, and facilities such as printing. In order for us to produce this card, you must submit a photograph of yourself. By 19th August, we will activate an ID Photo Upload task on myRecords/ Applicant Portal for you to upload your photograph. This will be available until the start of your induction week, and we would encourage you to make use of this option, as it allows you to select your preferred photograph. Unlike a UK passport picture, you are allowed to smile. However; You must be the only person in the photograph It must show the full front of your face (i.e. do not wear sunglasses/a hat/ other head covering unless for medical or religious purposes). If wearing glasses, there must not be a reection. It must be in colour and taken within the last 2 years. The le must be a JPG le of no more than 2MB It must be clear, in sharp focus and without red-eye The majority of the photograph must show your face (it is optional to show your shoulders/upper torso)

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If your photograph is seen as inappropriate or offensive, you may be charged for a replacement ID card. You may need to re-size, crop and re-save the photograph to reduce the le-size or focus more on your face.Unfortunately, we are not able to offer cropping as part of the upload task but there is a wide range of free software that will allow you to do this. Alternatively, use the cropping tool available when uploading photos to most social networking sites such as Facebook, and save the cropped image back to your computer. There will be an option to have your photograph taken when you arrive. However, you will not have the opportunity to review this photograph, and no other methods of photograph submission will be available.

YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

Whilst you are a student, you must use your UCA email account as your primary email account. At the end of Online Enrolment, you will be given new login details for logging on to the UCA network. Please note that whilst you are a student, you must use your UCA email account as your primary email account, as this is where all ofcial UCA emails will be sent.

FRESHERS FAYRES

Freshers Fayres organised by the Students Union will take place on each campus on the following dates: Maidstone Epsom Farnham Canterbury Rochester Monday 19 September Tuesday 20 September Thursday 22 September Friday 23 September Monday 26 September

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UNIVERSITY IT
GETTING ONLINE
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Want to know more? www.ucreative.ac.uk/ ithelp-students

UCA students have access to a wide selection of computing and technology resources. This guide is intended to familiarise students with the range of IT resources.

YOUR UCREATIVE LOG IN

Your key to a world of services! As an enrolled UCA student, you are automatically setup with a computer network account and email. This account - known as ucreative login - entitles you to use any computer (PC or MAC) connected to the ucreative network across our ve campuses. Once you have completed online enrolment, you will be given a ucreative username and password to access this account - this username will also form part of your ucreative email. Please keep your password safe and never share it with anyone.

YOUR UCREATIVE EMAIL ADDRESS

Communicate with your lecturers and UCA services via your Ucreative email All students are provided with a ucreative email account and all your university email communication will be sent to this email address. The mailbox is limited to 1 GB. You need to check your ucreative email account regularly to ensure that you are aware and respond to messages. We also recommend that you regularly delete junk mail that might ll up your inbox - although we have lters in place. You have a number of exible options regarding how you read your UCA email, on or off campus: Webmail go to http://ex.ucreative.ac.uk NB: This application will time out after a period of inactivity, so save drafts regularly! iPhones etc. To receive ucreative emails on a mobile device follow the instructions at http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/ithelp-students/email

MYUCA PORTAL
Your one-stop shop for student information Using your ucreative log in you can access the myUCA student portal at http://myuca.ucreative.ac.uk. From there you can get latest announcements, collaborative course information and get access to a variety of other useful student services.

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myUCA, and specically the myCourse area, is used by many lecturers to provide course materials, communicate with students or organise discussions. Your lecturer can provide more specic information on how to access required course materials on this system.

GET CONNECTED!
Wireless internet: eduroam UCA offers wireless network access across all campuses for students using their own or loan laptops. A good wireless signal is available in all libraries. It is not an open wireless network, so a user name and computer password must be supplied. For instruction on how to get connected visit: http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/ithelp-students/wireless

TIPS FOR DATA SECURITY AND PRIVACY

Never share personal information such as passwords - even with friends Dont be a cyber-crime victim! never share personal information (e.g. passwords, credit card numbers) via email (phishing) or at untrusted websites, or even with friends. delete suspect messages immediately: never reply to mail from unknown sources or suspected malicious mail or click on any links in these emails check the privacy box when you set up a social network site (Facebook, mySpace etc.) avoid peer to peer (P2P) le sharing services. Find out more at http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/password-security

DISCOUNTED SOFTWARE AND COMPUTERS FOR UCA STUDENTS

Check with us before buying UCA students can take advantage of a number of discounted software and hardware options. Find out more at http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/ithelp-students/software

NEED HELP?
Campus library IT advisors: Canterbury - 01227 817308 Epsom - 01372 202551 Farnham - 01252 892710 Maidstone - 01622 620160 Rochester - 01634 888650 Contact your Library IT Advisor. The Library IT help desk on each campus can help in case you have any IT or password problems. You can pop in during opening hours - please bring your student ID card - or contact them by telephone.

MISSED YOUR IT INDUCTION?

IT Inductions can also be downloaded from myUCA myuca.ucreative.ac.uk Find help online - visit http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/ithelp-students

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INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
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Information for new students coming to the UCA from outsite the UK

UCAs Student Development Services has an International Student Advisor (ISA) on each campus who support our international students throughout their studies.
Some of the issues with which students from outside the UK may need advice and guidance include: Help with adapting to life in the UK; Visa renewals; Visas to visit other countries; Police registration; Working in the UK during and after your studies and obtaining national insurance numbers; Health care (registering with the National Health Service); English language support Money advice, including help with setting up a UK bank account; Problems with landlords, accommodation issues, council tax demands; Personal and general problems. The ISAs also organise Welcome Programmes for all new international students to help you settle into university life. This is delivered as part of your induction to UCA and is designed to help you get to know your University campus and the local area. It also provides you with the opportunity to meet other new students on your campus. If you have attended a Welcome Programme and are interested in helping on future events please contact your ISA in Student Development Services. Information about the Welcome Programmes is available through the UCA website and applicant portal. More details are available in the free Student Diary Planner issued to all new students by SDS at induction.

THE ISA FOR EACH CAMPUS:

CANTERBURY Tanya Perkins tperkins@ucreative.ac.uk EPSOM Niamh Dodd ndodd@ucreative.ac.uk FARNHAM Niamh Dodd ndodd@ucreative.ac.uk MAIDSTONE Caroline Bozier cbozier@ucreative.ac.uk ROCHESTER Anna Mepstead amepstead@ucreative.ac.uk Gaby Jone gjones@ucreative.ac.uk 01227 817307

01252 892615/4

01252 892615/4

01622 620157

01634 888644

01634 888644

The general email address for all international student advisers: internationalstudentadvice@ucreative.ac.uk

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UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
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You can visit a library at any of our campuses & borrow books.

300,000
PRINT & ELETRONIC BOOKS.

You now have access to one of the most comprehensive visual arts resources in the region, offering access to around 300,000 print and electronic books, 850 current journal titles and over 20,000 videos, DVDs and games.
We can help when you want with: Books, DVDs or videos A place to study Access to the Internet, Wi-Fi, or access to software such as Adobe Creative Suite Help with essay writing and referencing Help with nding information, careers support, Images, newspapers, journals, online music, sound effects, movie clips, etc. A day pass for the BFI Photocopying and printing Using the University Library

20,000
DVDS & GAMES,

865

JOURNAL TITLES

WE HAVE A LIBRARY AT EVERY CAMPUS.

You can visit any of them to borrow books. You can return books you have borrowed at any campus. You can also request to have books and videos transferred from other campuses.

FE STUDENTS
FE students can have up to 10 items on loan at once.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Undergraduate students can borrow up to 12 items or 15 if youre in the third or fourth year of your course. Standard loan periods are 7-days and 3-weeks for books; 7-days for DVDs and videos. We also have a broad range of Electronic Resources, most of which you can access on campus and at home.

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ENROLMENT & UCA LIBRARIES

Workshops & events are tailored towards your course requirements As soon as you enrol we will start introducing you to our resources and services. Your Librarian and Study Advisor will be running special workshops and events throughout the year that are tailored to your course requirements. These are scheduled into your course timetable. Faculty Librarians and Study Advisors have a presence on myUCA on the university student portal. Key contact details and resources are also signposted in this area.

STUDENT ID CARD/LIBRARY CARD

Your student ID card is also your Library card At Enrolment you will be issued with your Student ID Card, this is also your Library card and you will need to have this with you if you want to borrow material or print or photocopy. If you did not collect your Student ID Card at enrolment you will collect it from your campus Library. Please ask at the Library information point. In the meantime explore the University Library website and get a taste of some of the things we offer. We suggest you start by looking at the services for http://community.ucreative.ac.uk/index.cfm?articleid=25796 FE and Undergraduates or services for http://community.ucreative.ac.uk/index. cfm?articleid=12429 Postgraduates sections.

See you soon, were looking forward to meeting you!

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ACCOMMODATION
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Dont forget to check your campus Accommodation Of ce!

If you have arranged University residential accommodation you should already have been sent details of the arrival arrangements and on arrival you will be provided with a welcome pack including everything you will need to do.
Accommodation Ofce open hours: Canterbury Epsom Farnham Maidstone Rochester mon, tues, thurs mon, tues, thurs mon, tues, thurs wed fri If you are still seeking accommodation, it is worth checking with your campus Accommodation Ofce as, although unlikely, there may be a small number of vacant places available on some campuses The Accommodation Ofce at each campus (except Canterbury) keep a database of landlords providing private accommodation who have signed up to our Code of Standards. Details of all landlords with available property is available online for all students who either request this information or are unsuccessful with their application for University accommodation. In Canterbury the local council run an accreditation scheme. The University also puts together a list of students looking to share to enable new students to contact each other and get into little groups to househunt together, and provide a list of local letting agents for each campus. The Accommodation Ofce is open (daily at Canterbury, Epsom and Farnham, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at Maidstone and Wednesdays and Fridays at Rochester) to offer support and advice for any issues relating to University or private accommodation. There are also procedures in place at each campus to provide out of hours support for residents in University accommodation (which may include Residential Student Wardens and/or a Security Ofcer). Upon move-in, all residents are provided with a welcome pack which contains the Residents Information Handbook, lots of other information about living in University accommodation and some forms which need to be returned to the Accommodation Ofce as soon as possible. Residents should be aware that the Accommodation Ofces main method of communication is by email to their ucreative email addresses.

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STUDENT SUPPORT
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WE ARE HERE FOR YOU. ADVICE, COUNSELLING, SPECIAL NEEDS & ENGLISH SUPPORT

Information, guidance & advice about a range of issues.

Below are listed some of the areas where you may need advice and help. The Student Development Services cover six areas across all campuses.

ADVICE CENTRES
Advice Centres are located on every campus to provide information, advice and guidance to students about nance and other general welfare issues; they also act as a referral point to other Student Development Services.

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES TUTORS

Are based on each campus to provide classes and tutorials, for students whose rst language is not English, to help them improve their academic language, communication and study skills.

CAREERS SERVICES
Are delivered through an inclusive career development, information, advice and guidance service, available to all students at each campus. This includes: career planning workshops and presentations; a condential career guidance appointment service; drop-in sessions; career library and specialist online resources. Support is also provided to alumni for up to three years after graduating.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ADVICE

Is available on each campus from staff who are trained to provide specialist immigration information, advice and guidance to international students. This is covered in more detail under the section on International Students in this guide.

COUNSELLING SERVICES
Are available on every campus and offer students a safe and condential space to discuss personal and emotional issues.

ACCESSING OUR SERVICES

Students can access our services through: Email: sds@ucreative.ac.uk Referral by Unit Assessment Feedback Sheets Referral by Academic / Academic Support staff Self-referral via Advice Centres located on each campus Staff and Students can nd further information and contact details for our services at: myUCA (https://www.myuca.ucreative.ac.uk/): myFuture for Careers myStudentLife for all other services UCA website (http://www.ucreative.ac.uk) Noticeboards and course documents Referring to Student Planners Visiting the Student Advice Centre located on each campus

DISABILITY & SPECIFIC LEARNING DIFFICULTIES SPLD SUPPORT SERVICES

Are available on every campus to provide advice, to coordinate support and to promote independent study in relation to disabilities and specic learning differences, and to contribute to increased student inclusivity within the university.

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STUDENTS UNION
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UCA Students Union. Its your Union. Take part!

UCA Students Union is here to represent every single student at UCA; by listening to students we are able to represent your views to the University to positively impact your experience at UCA.
We suppoty students to participate in extracurricular activities. We are a separate organisation from the University which allows us to act independently in order to get the best for UCA students. All enrolled students at the University are automatically members of UCASU. We also support students to participate in extracurricular activities which not only improve your overall experience but help you relax, socialise and make friends.

We support students to run and participate in a wide range of clubs and societies, to hold charity events to raise money and to volunteer in the local community. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved with the Union to make a difference to students lives and to develop a range of personal skills, so be part of it!

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CAMPUS MAPS
FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND
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Our campuses

Canterbury campus

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To Aldershot and Guildford

Farnham campus

Epsom campus

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Maidstone campus

Rochester campus

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IF WHAT YOU DID YESTERDAY SEEMS BIG, YOU HAVENT DONE ANYTHING TODAY!
HOLTZ, LOU

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