Support with your studies

Your Faculty Student Services are your first port of call for all queries and processes regarding the student journey, including completing the final stage of enrolment through to graduation. The team can offer advice and support on all aspects of your course, from submitting assignments and obtaining official letters to timetabling queries and module registration, amongst other queries you might need help with.

Academic coaches are allocated to every level 3 and level 4 student. They will assist students in their personal and academic development, planning and progression as well as helping them to liaise with other staff and support facilities in their faculty and the wider University.

Above Level 4, you will be allocated a personal tutor who is a member of the academic staff in that area - they will continue to support your studies, but with a focus much more on your subject and the specific academic and research skills required. You can find out who your personal tutor is in e:Vision.

Within your Faculty Student Services team, you can also access more specialist support. Student Advisors are on hand to talk to you about: applying for extensions, extenuating circumstances, leave of absences, course transfers, University regulations and policies and any other concerns that may be affecting your studies.

The Skills for Learning team is made up of 7 Skills Librarians, trained in supporting general assignment skills such as academic writing, research skills and referencing. Have a look through the Skills for Learning web pages to see their workshops, Canvas courses, study guides and other useful resources to support your learning.

If you require more time to complete your assessment, the University offers three routes for getting additional time. See Understanding extensions and extenuating circumstances for details and how to apply.

The University's fit to sit and extenuating circumstances policy aims to ensure that students only submit assessments when they are fit to do so and that no student is disadvantaged by circumstances beyond their control.

When you submit an assignment or sit an examination, you declare that you are fit to do so. However, if you have an illness or personal difficulty that you think will affect your performance in one or more modules, or you are unable to attend a formal examination, you should make a claim for extenuating circumstances through e:Vision before or on the assessment date.

If your claim is accepted, you will generally be offered the opportunity to take the assessment, as if for the first time (with no grade penalty), within the current year.

You can contact ASK@WLV via the e:Vision helpdesk for more information.

We recognise that, on occasion, students may encounter circumstances which prevent them from meeting assessment deadlines.  The Late Submission and Extension Policy and Procedure enables students to submit up to 7 calendar days after the published submission date.

Grades for late submissions will be subject to the following sanctions:

• 10% reduction in mark for assessments submitted up to 48 hours after the deadline
• 20% reduction for assessments submitted 3-7 days late.

However, no assessment will be reduced from a pass to fail through this process – all reductions will stop at the pass mark.

You can contact ASK@WLV via the e:Vision helpdesk for more information.

If you experience problems, whether medical or personal, which will affect your ability to study for an extended period (i.e. more than a couple of weeks), you might want to consider applying to the University, through e:Vision, to take a temporary break from your studies in the form of a Leave of Absence. This can be for a minimum of one and a maximum of four semesters (2 years).

You can contact ASK@WLV via the e:Vision helpdesk for more information.

You can contact ASK@WLV via the e:Vision helpdesk for more advice if you become pregnant and/or need to take parental/adoption leave during your studies.