We provide a wide range of academic support services to help students when they study at University Centre Peterborough. These resources are designed to improve your academic achievements as well as support you during your time with us.
Student Support Team
Our Student Support team is available to advise and guide you on issues relating to a range of academic issues which you may experience during your university life due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness, bereavement, employment or relationship breakdowns.
These circumstances may impact on your assessments and/or attendance, which is why we are here to help support you through these difficult times. We can provide you with the relevant support and guidance with understanding the university regulations and implications that may occur.
Comprehensive information and guides are available on our Virtual Learning Environment, Canvas.
Digital Learning Support
Canvas is the main system that UCP students use for digital learning. This can be found at https://canvas.ucp.ac.uk (available for students once your course has started). You will then find learning resources from your lecturers and details of learning modules they wish you to complete. Guides are available to support your digital development.
For any digital learning support please contact ilt@ieg.ac.uk.
To engage with our online resources you need adequate IT equipment at home. Ideally you will have access to a desktop computer, laptop or Chromebook but please note that different courses may require different systems. For instance, a Chromebook will not be appropriate for running some engineering software like CAD.
In addition to having a computer that is able to run the software you require, you should have access to a camera and microphone, either built-in or separate from the computer (or via a tablet or smartphone). These don’t have to be expensive and they will enable you to isolate the online lesson for a better experience. By using earphones you will also make sure that others in the meeting don’t get any unwanted sounds from your devices.
Study Skills Sessions
UCP offers two types of optional sessions to support learners. These complement the weekly mandatory tutorials and taught modules, and help students to ready themselves for assessments. We tend to run two sessions each day during term time and use a mix of online and face-to-face teaching to make it as easy as possible for students to attend throughout the week. Students do not need to book in advance – they simply choose sessions that they feel will benefit them and then drop in. Teaching staff can help students to identify sessions that will help them. Study Excellence sessions focus on skills such as reading for research purposes, notetaking, Harvard Referencing and structuring essays. EAL sessions are intended to help students who are writing and presenting in English as an additional language so that they can build strategies to articulate their ideas effectively.
Academic Appeals
During your time at University, you may disagree with assessment grades. As a student, you have the right to appeal against the decision of the Awards Boards. We can support you during this process.
Academic Integrity
Studying at University requires following good practice in academic writing and research. Plagiarising and Collusion are the two most common forms of academic offences. Whilst you will develop the skills to avoid these offences and use resources such as Turnitin, if a breach does occur we will support you through the procedures and the best outcome for you.
Special Considerations & Extensions
If you experience an unforeseen circumstance outside of your control which will have a negative impact on your studies, assessments and attendance you have a variety of academic options available, such as extensions and claims for extenuating circumstances. Evidence will be required (i.e. Doctors/Hospital Letter, Police report, Solicitors Letter) to support your claims, this can vary depending on the situation which we can advise on. It is important that you notify our Student Support Team at the earliest opportunity so we can fully support you with your situation.
Students may for various reasons need to interrupt their studies, transfer their studies or withdraw from their studies altogether. We recommend getting in touch with the Student Support Team as soon as possible to discuss what options are available to you and how you can go about this.
Attendance Concerns
If your attendance is affected by outside factors, you are required to notify your tutors and Student Support. Failure to do so could result in withdrawal due to non-attendance. There are options available to you such as Intermission (an authorised break from your studies) so that you are not penalised academically or financially for any period of non-attendance.
Student Discipline
If you breach our Rules and Regulations and your behaviour is deemed unacceptable you will be called to a Student Disciplinary Committee meeting. Our Student Officer can support you during this process.
The student voice and experience are a vital part of everything we do and we encourage students to get involved and have their say. UCP operates a robust system to capture feedback to help us continue delivering best practice and identify ways we can improve.
If however, you do have a complaint, you can get advice and support on and throughout this process from the Student Support Team and/or the Student Officer.