Welcome to the University of Southampton

Welcome

Welcome to your Pre-sessional course. Here you will find information on what you need to do before starting your course.

It is important to complete the following steps before your induction date, otherwise you will not be able to access your induction and your teaching.

The IT induction for all courses takes place online via Blackboard.

Teaching for your online course will take place via Blackboard and Microsoft Teams.

Students arriving in Southampton will receive their induction details upon arrival to their Halls of Residence.

Your IT account

Prior to starting your course you must set up your University computing account and email address. You can do this from any computer with an internet connection. You will be asked to provide:

• your pre-sessional student ID number (you will find this in the email correspondence from the pre-sessional admissions team)
• your family name
• your date of birth

When you set up your account you will be provided with a computing account username and you will also be asked to select a password to use with our services. It is very important to remember both your username and password, so you can access the services available.

During your time at the University you will be using various online tools and services.

On this page you will find a checklist which will help you get up and running, to enable you to study with us.

The aim of this checklist is to show you how to setup and use the tools you will need to study remotely.

As you progress through the checklist you might have difficulty with some instructions. Please be persistent and try again.

If you are still having difficulty please contact ServiceLine using one of the methods shown on the our Getting Help page:

We recommend you use either the Firefox or Google Chrome web browsers to access your course. If you are based in China, Chrome may not be available so please download Firefox using the link below:

Firefox

You can browse the following webpage for a quick introduction to the Firefox browser.

Chrome is available outside China and is recommended for non-China based students.

Every student at the University uses Blackboard to access their course materials, view online lectures, and communicate with their tutor.

Check you can use Blackboard and your course sites. Open firefox (or Chrome) and type the following link: https://Blackboard.soton.ac.uk

When asked for a username and password, you should use the login that you created during the subscribe step on the welcome page.

If you have not created a username and password, then visit Subscribe and you will need your student ID number.

To continue, please open the Induction course inside the Pre-sessional Hub within Blackboard

Step-by-step guide

Please note that this process must be carried out by the student and not by their agent or representative. It is essential that students know their username, email address, password and the answers to the security questions when they arrive at Southampton.

Once you have set up your University computing account, it is very important that you check your University email account regularly. The University will send important information to you using this email address, for example, information about your course, fees and accommodation.

To access your emails, go to SUSSED, sign in using your new username and password and then click on the 'Email' icon which is accessible from the 'Home' tab.

This step-by-step guide will take you through the process of setting up your University computing account:

1. Go to https://subscribe.soton.ac.uk
2. Click on 'Create your University computing account'.
3. Enter your details and click on 'Next' – the system should now recognise you. If you receive an error message, check and correct your details if necessary. You will be then asked to accept the conditions shown on the screen.
4. Enter the answers to the security questions (you may change the questions if you wish).
5. You will be given a username. Make sure you write it down as you will need it later and it will not be displayed again.
6. Choose and enter a password, and then enter it again to confirm it. This will ensure you did not make an error when typing the password. Please make sure this is a password you will remember.
7. Tick the boxes to show whether you want to be included in the external online directory.
8. Click on 'Next'. If no mistakes are found, you will see a message confirming your username and your university email address along with a green bar, this is confirmation that you have successfully set up your University computing account.
9. Your account will become fully active within 30 minutes.

To do this, you will need the username and password you created when you set up your IT account (see step 1), so it is important to create your IT account in advance and remember your log in details.

You will need to wait for 30 minutes after setting up your IT account and being able to enrol.

You are able to enrol online before you arrive at the University of Southampton by visiting our website. Please note that you MUST complete your enrolment before your induction.

Enrolment deadlines:

Organising and confirming your accommodation before you arrive, and knowing what to do when you get here will ensure that you get off to the best start. It is important that you read this information carefully and ensure you have completed each step that applies to you before you continue.

If you have applied before 12 June you should already have received an offer. If you have missed this date, we still welcome your application for accommodation during your pre-sessional course.  

Once we make you an offer, you will receive an email advising you to log in to your accommodation account to view and accept the offer. Please be aware the accommodation offer will have a deadline that you need to accept it by. The contract start date for your pre-sessional accommodation will start 8 July to take into account the need to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival. More information about quarantine is provided in the arriving at your accommodation section below.

If you are interested in applying to stay in University accommodation after your Pre-sessional course, you can also do so now. We guarantee a room in University accommodation for all international students. For your main accommodation, you can choose any of our accommodation - the city centre locations or those closer to our teaching campuses. As an International student, you can also apply for accommodation in a group with your friends. 

Compare our different options here to see which accommodation suits you best.

Arriving at your accommodation

When you arrive at your accommodation, the Residences team will be there to greet you and welcome you to our Halls community. The Residences team offer 24-hour support and assistance so there is always somebody to contact to reassure you and answer any questions.  

We are unable to assist you moving in to your accommodation block this year so you will need to be able to carry your belongings yourself - please remember this when packing!

You will be asked to observe social distancing and our sites will have clearly marked one way systems for moving around which we also ask you to observe. You will be required to wear a face covering when in communal spaces – including moving around buildings and stairwells prior to arriving at your new household.

We have fitted hand sanitisers in all reception areas and all block entrances across our sites.  In lifts we will limit use to a maximum of four people. 

We have worked hard to reduce the risks in our accommodation and will continue to do so.  This continues to be a difficult time for everyone but we want to assure you we have everything in place to support you during your stay with us.

You and the other students sharing your flat with you will constitute a ‘household’.  You will be able to socialise, cook and generally chill together within your flat.  You will be expected to conform with Government Guidelines for socialising with others outside your household, self-isolating if symptomatic, or any changes to Government or University Guidance as may change from time to time.

Supporting you during quarantine

If you are arriving from outside of the UK, you will be required to quarantine for 10 days. We will provide you with bedding and a kitchen utensil pack. We will also provide you with a welcome food parcel which will get you through your first 72 hours. We will also make sure you can access more food and grocery deliveries, post and parcels and other essentials you may need.

If you pay your Pre-sessional tuition fees yourself, they must be paid in full before you start the course. It is easy to do so using our secure online payment facility or via our international bank transfer service.  

You must also let us know if your fees are being paid by a sponsor or other funder. You can give us their details by completing and emailing this form Sponsorship Form SP1 (PDF, 226KB) or an official letter from your sponsor to sponfee@soton.ac.uk.

Paying your fees via our payments platform

All students (including UK) can pay their fees using the University of Southampton’s payments platform powered by our partner Western Union Business Solutions. This allows you, your parents and sponsors to pay GBP student fees in the currency of your choice and provides you with a simple and secure way to initiate a payment.

How it works?

Simply select the country you are paying from, including the UK, what are you paying and your preferred method of payment. Enter your student details, following the payer details. Get your payment instructions and make your payment. You can track your payment status through every step.

You can also pay by Bank transfer

Welcome and Induction

We look forward to welcoming you as students of the University of Southampton and have arranged online induction which will give you all the essential information about your pre-sessional online course and being a student at Southampton. This will help you to settle in and get ready for your online studies.

Induction can be accessed via Blackboard and you can access it any time after completing enrolment.

Students starting On Campus programmes- please complete IT and Library induction online before arriving the UK. Once you reach your Halls of Residence, you will be given your on campus induction timetable. During your on campus induction you will complete visa check and collect a letter enabling you to open a bank account.

If you have any questions, please contact the Pre-sessional Team via email: pshelp@soton.ac.uk