Welcome new Simmies

1. Course induction: Don’t forget to check the timetable of events and activities for your course and university inductions.
2. Explore the Students’ Union: You're automatically a member of the Students’ Union (link to SU website) from your first day at St Mary’s. Your Union supports you throughout your studies and gives you the opportunity to meet other students with the same passions and hobbies through their societies and sports groups.
3. Register with a doctor: It is important that you register with a doctor (GP) as soon as you arrive in St Mary’s – don’t wait until you’re ill.
4. Accommodation: If you’ve applied for accommodation already, our Student Accommodation Team will contact you directly. But if you’re still looking for accommodation, you can view our Student Accommodation and get in touch with them.
5. Setup your multi-factor authentication (MFA): You need to have setup your MFA before access to all your key learning and teaching platforms e.g. Office365, Moodle, Zoom etc.
6. Campus WiFi: Connect to Eduroam - this is the wireless network for St Mary’s. By connecting to Eduroam, this allows you to access to WiFi in other institutions that use Eduroam as well. Find out how to connect to campus wifi.
7. Moodle: Login to Moodle to access your course material and resource list online.
8. Download the Student App: To help you navigate the different platforms to support you on your studies.
9. Email: Check your University email at least once per day to stay in touch with latest information and update on your course.
10. Complete the Academic Confidence Quiz: This quick and insightful quiz is designed to help you understand your strengths and areas for growth, empowering you to excel in your academic journey. This will also help your personal tutor understand where you are at in your academic journey and will enable them to support you appropriately to achieve your best.
11. Complete compulsory University online modules:  These are essential modules designed to familiarise students with the University’s code of conduct around Academic Integrity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and keeping safe online. It is essential all students complete these modules within the first few weeks of the academic term, to ensure that you adopt safe practice in these areas. 

Term dates 2023/24

• Induction Week (most undergraduate and postgraduate courses): Monday 18th to Friday 22nd September 2023
• Semester one: Monday 25th September to Friday 15th December 2023
• Christmas/Winter break: Monday 18th December 2023 to Friday 6th January 2024
• January Refreshers Week: Monday 22nd to Friday 27th January 2024
• Semester two: Monday 29th January 2024 to Friday 22nd March 2024
• Easter/Spring break: Monday 25th March to Friday 5th April 2024
• Semester three: Monday 8th April to Friday 17th May 2024*

For other key dates throughout the year, check our term dates page

We will monitor your attendance and engagement on our new student app, MySMU.

You are expected to attend all university classes and school experiences, and to maintain an attendance level of at least 70%, or that dictated at programme level (whichever is the highest). If you do not meet the required level of attendance and/or are absent for 20 days or more in total without providing acceptable reasons to the Course Lead, you may have your programme terminated. Attendance requirements for student visa holders are covered in the Student Visa Engagement and Monitoring Policy.

After enrolment, your student timetable will be automatically provided into your St Mary’s Office365 account. This means that you will be able to log into your email on almost any device and see your timetable.

Your individual timetable will show you the date, time and location of classes taking place on campus, and will also indicate if the session will be online pre-recorded or live using Zoom or Teams or. Your programme team will provide information on how to engage with online learning and will create and supply the links you need to access your live sessions.

Please make sure to check your timetable daily especially for the first few weeks as it can be subject to change.

For more information about your timetable, visit our timetable FAQ page.

Academic skills support at St Mary's is delivered online and in-person by the Library and the Learning Development Lecturers, and English Language support is provided by English for Academic Purposes Tutors.

Online resources

Take a look at the Library online resources to see how these can support your learning and check for Library drop-in clinics and other sessions.

Drop-in support

Learning Development Lecturers (LDLs) offer support via drop-in clinics. LDLs can help with the following topics:

• Library research, including finding resources, search strategies and more for your assignments
• Referencing
• Planning/structuring an assignment
• Understanding assessment criteria
• Academic writing
• Critical thinking/critical analysis
• Presentation skills
• Time management

Your LDLs:

Melina Healy

• Email: melina.healy@stmarys.ac.uk
• Primary responsibility: Primary responsibility: Sport, Applied Health, and Performance Science. Education

William Pittam

• Email: william.pittam@stmarys.ac.uk
• Primary responsibility: Theology and the Liberal Arts. Education

Paul Gascoyne

• Email: paul.gascoyne@stmarys.ac.uk
• Primary responsibility: Business and Law

Your lecturers are able to refer you for a one-to-one appointment with one of the LDLs to develop your academic skills.

Find out more about our Library.

Alongside on-campus teaching, you’ll engage with a wide range of digital and web-based technologies to support your learning.

Moodle is the University’s virtual learning environment (VLE). You’ll use Moodle to access key learning content, activities, as well as an interactive resource lists for each module you study. 

Get ahead by watching the video about everything you need to know about Moodle to get start-of-term ready:

Learn more about the key St Mary’s Digital Learning Platforms by visiting the Digital Learning webpage.

Please note: you need to have completed your multi-factor authentication (MFA) to access the learning and teaching platforms. If you have forgotten your password, please reset your password.

As a new undergraduate student, you will be allocated to a Personal Tutor and Tutor Group. These groups are led by a member of academic staff that acts as designated personal tutor throughout your entire period of study.

You will meet with your personal tutor twice as a group and twice individually each semester. Personal tutoring plays an important part in enabling you to fully engage and have a successful learning experience at university. The role of the Personal Tutor at St Mary's is to:

• support your knowledge and understanding of feedback on assessed work
• signpost you to relevant support and advisory services

Having a Personal Tutor provides you with the opportunity to reflect on your learning and academic progress, and to discuss and formulate appropriate strategies to fulfil your potential.

In addition, Personal Tutors will be able to advise you on the facilities and services available to support your pastoral welfare. You will have access to our career development service and receive guidance on skills development throughout your studies.

At St Mary’s we are committed to creating an inclusive, safe, supportive environment for all our students, staff, and visitors. Our values of Inclusiveness, Generosity of Spirit, Respect and Excellence set the tone for the University and the expectations of how we behave as a University community, both as individuals and as an institution. To provide you with a better understanding of our culture and the behaviours please complete the two mandatory learning modules.