Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The programme is open to all students who have declared a disability and/or specific learning difference, such as dyslexia. There will be the opportunity to have an pre-arrival online appointment with a Specialist Practitioner as well as a programme for you to complete at your own leisure.

Programme

The Transition Programme 2021 involves a range of online activities to introduce you to university study and day to day life.  Many of these activities can be done in your own time and at your own pace, though some, such as the online chat, require you to register in advance. The programme provides important information about study and wellbeing support, includes demonstrations of assistive technology software as well as top tips on how to integrate into university life. 

Appointment

In order to arrange an appointment with a Specialist Practitioner and get support in place ready for when you begin University, please refer to the 'book your appointment' page. 

There is no particular order in which you need to complete the Transition Programme, although we do recommend that you prioritise arranging your appointment to ensure that support is ready and in place for you when you begin University.

Once you have made an appointment, you can get involved with a range of online activities to introduce you to university study and day to day life. Many of these activities can be done in your own time and at your own pace, though some, such as the online chat, require you to register in advance.

If you have evidence relating to your disability (for example, a letter from your doctor/consultant or a diagnostic assessment report), we encourage you to send this to our team via studenthub@soton.ac.uk so that it can be reviewed and discussed in your appointment. 

With documentary evidence of your disability we can discuss certain types of support, such as: 

• Individual reasonable adjustments, that can be recorded through Student Support Recommendations (SSRs) and shared with relevant teams across the University
• Additional Examination Recommendations (AERs)

In some cases, detailed evidence from your school or college relating to your disability or SpLD can be used to put in place temporary reasonable adjustments, such as AERs, so please do send any evidence you may have to our team to be reviewed and discussed with you.

Please do not worry if you do not currently have documentary evidence of your disability. We would still encourage you to make an appointment with our team so that we can discuss the support that may be available to you, including:

• Specialist Study Skills 
• Access to assistive technology software and spaces
• Student Peer Support Programmes  
• Access to Wellbeing Support  
• Short-term, specialist mentoring  

Although you are not obliged to make a student support appointment, we strongly recommend that you do. By attending the appointment you have the opportunity to discuss your individual support needs and have the most appropriate support recommended and put in place for you.  

If you are unable to attend a student support appointment before you arrive, please don’t worry, but do contact us at studenthub@soton.ac.uk so we can help you with what to do next. Alternatively, you can contact us at any point during your course to arrange an appointment – we are open all year-round. 

Please find the Student Support Appointment Information Sheet which outlines how you can prepare for the appointment.  

The appointment is an opportunity for you to discuss your support needs with a practitioner and get support arranged, ready for when you start your studies. Please see the 'what to expect' section of our Student Support Appointment Information Sheet for further information. There are also some useful ideas for you to have a think about in preparation for your appointment.  

Yes, you are welcome to bring a parent/guardian/supporter with you to join in the appointment.

We take confidentiality extremely seriously, and the information you give us is handled sensitively and would only be shared on a need to know basis within the University. We do not disclose information about students to third parties unless you have provided us with your consent. 

Information on how to provide your consent can be found here. 

Please note: you may not have been given a University email address at this stage, and if this is the case you may not be able to fill in this consent form. Temporarily, we are able to accept an email for consent from an applicant. This will need to contain your full name as well as the full name and relationship of the person you give us consent to speak with. Please be aware once you have access to your University email address, we would require you to complete the consent form found above.

If you are unable to attend a student support appointment before you arrive, please don’t worry, but do contact us at studenthub@soton.ac.uk so we can help you with what to do next.  

If you have met with a Specialist Practitioner, please visit our webpage for further information about Accommodation Adaptations or contact the Residences Team directly via the Student Hub, who will be able to help you with your query. 

The University does not provide fridges for medication, however you may be able to bring a mini fridge with you to keep in your room. You should contact the Residences Team directly via the Student Hub and as soon as possible to confirm this.

The Residences Team will then contact us to confirm that we have received evidence from you that supports your request. The fridge will also need to be PAT tested for health and safety reasons, however please do not worry about this as the Residences Team will be able to give you further information and guidance for this. 

Information on the Disabled Students' Allowance can be accessed here. 

Unfortunately, this is not an automatic process. The evidence that you had at school/college is not always sufficient and the University applies different criteria to decide if you can have extra time or access to other additional support that will help you with your studies. In your appointment, the practitioner will advise you on how to obtain further evidence if needed.  

Please find further information on our website regarding formal evidence for Disabilities and Specific Learning Differences. 

Please see our disability support web page for further information.  

Please see our dyslexia and study support web page for further information.  

Located in the Nuffield Theatre, The Clarkson Rest and Study Room is designed to provide a quiet study space for our users, including private pods containing rest areas and computers. This is only accessible by ID card, and you will need to be granted permissions by our team to access this room. This can be discussed in your Student Support Appointment with a Specialist Practitioner.  

Important note: at present, safe access to the space is under review in order to ensure appropriate health and safety guidelines are met as part of our COVID19 procedures.  Please check our web page for current arrangements. 

Designed for students accessing long-term support, the Assistive Technology (AT) Suite is the main area for assistive technology facilities in the University. It is located at Highfield Campus in Hartley Library (Level 2, Room 2047) and is available during normal library opening hours. Please see our web page for further information regarding the Assistive Technology Suite.  There is no ID card access needed to enter the suite, however you will need to be granted permissions by our team to access the computer with your University login. This can be discussed in your support appointment with a Specialist Practitioner.  

 Important note: at present access to the space is under review in order to ensure appropriate health and safety guidelines are met as part of our COVID19 procedures.  Please check our web page for current arrangement.

It is important to think about the essential things that you have to pay for such as food, housing, tuition fees and course-related equipment. When will you receive loans or grants and how long will you need to budget for? Will you need to think about getting a part-time job? If you are worried about budgeting or managing your finances, check out the Student Services budgeting advice web page which includes money saving tips and useful apps and tools to help you manage your finances.  If you have any financial concerns, you can  speak to a member of the Students' Union Advice Centre as well as Student Services for further guidance.  

It’s very common to feel homesick or lonely, especially if this is the first time you have lived away from home. Suddenly you are in new living and studying environments and you are away from your old friends, family and support network. Just knowing that this is normal can be a great help and you have time to think about this and discuss this with your family before you arrive. Just thinking of a few strategies that might help you settle in could make a difference. Check out our homesickness web page for further advice.