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Welcome to our weekly in Focus update...... |
Past Issues << | Issue 16: Friday 18 August 2006
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Our Student Money Advice and Rights Team - SMART (formerly Student Finance) has won a successful bid to be an early developer of the Money Doctors project. Of the many Higher Education Institutions across England and Ireland who submitted applications to take part in the innovative scheme, only twelve were successful.
The Money Doctors project is focused on helping students to become more financially competent and capable through a series of workshop sessions and one-to-one interviews.
Student Services colleagues will be encouraging our students to take control of their own finances so that they can avoid getting too deeply into debt in the first place - and if they are in debt develop workable plans to get out of it. The Money Doctors information and advice training helps our students explore and understand a range of financial processes from budgeting, paying bills, tax and national insurance to paying rent and taking out a mortgage.
The Money Doctors Toolkit which will be used for the training was devised from a collaborative project between the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and Roehampton University as part of a national strategy to improve financial competency. Under the strategy young adults, including those in higher education are one of seven priority groups.
For more information visit the Student Money Advice and Rights Team website at http://www.uel.ac.uk/assfin/studfin.htm
Using Tell Us…. Posters is just one of the initiatives introduced by our Charter Mark working group to let our stakeholders know how we are responding to their feedback. The Tell Us...feddback posters show that we are listening to our stakeholders and that we are taking specific action to address their concerns.
The Tell Us… feedback posters have been created as templates in Word (either A3 or A4) - and once they are completed go to our Print Centre with the relevant cost code for colour printing and lamination.
Depending on the feedback received the published posters are likely to be updated every 3-4 months and displayed in relevant areas such as notice boards, helpdesk areas or close to the Tell Us…. Boxes themselves.
As well as using the Tell Us boxes our stakeholders can also give us their feedback via online forms which many Schools and Services have attached to their web pages, or by telling us directly.
Click on the link below to see an example of what our Library and Learning Services have published online. You’ll also see examples of the posters in our Libraries
http://www.uel.ac.uk/lls/yousaidwedid.htm
If you would like any further information about publicising feedback from our stakeholders please contact the Charter Mark representative from your area or Catherine Orobator on 020 8223 2249 email: c.orobator@uel.ac.uk
For its Back to University (BTU) autumn offers, John Smith’s is putting together great deals for our students, including some exclusives for Progress Card holders.
The offers include:
For Progress Card holders
15% Off the Top 50 textbooks OR matching Amazon’s price - whichever is the cheaper!**
our Flying Start scheme which guarantees to reimburse Progress Bursary students IN CASH for all their autumn book and stationery purchases, in February when they receive their bursary
** John Smith’s will be contacting key teaching staff shortly to discuss which titles should be included in this offer
For all students
a free A1 wall planner and other stationery items with every purchase of £50
25% off the Top 10 reference titles
other special offers on selected book ranges and non book lines
To make sure our students get the most out of their Progress Cards please give us your support. We need our staff to ensure they:
forward Reading Lists as soon as they are available to Lilian Irving, John Smith’s Bookshop Manager (lilian.irving@johnsmith.co.uk)
explain what the Progress Card and the special Back To University offers are in any initial communications with new students
What is the Progress Bursary and who is eligible?
The Progress Bursary is a new way of helping our students that we are launching in the coming Academic Year 2006-07. All new full-time undergraduate students based in the UK or other European Union countries are eligible for the Progress Bursary which is worth £500.
To get their Progress Bursary our students must satisfactorily complete their first semester with us. They will get their bursary when they start their second semester and students will be able to look up on UEL-Direct to see that they have received it.
Who else is eligible for the Progress Card?
All first year students will be entitled to a FREE Progress Card, so that even those students who do not receive a Progress Bursary can still take advantage of the special offers. We are currently discussing with John Smith’s the option of making the card available to second and third year students as well.
Our Clearing Centres opened yesterday and will close on 15 September. If you would like postcards with Clearing Centre dates, times and the Clearing hotline number for your helpdesks or offices please email or call Brian O’Conner on 020 8223 2043 in the Longbridge Road post-room to request them.
Alternatively for dates, times and more specific contact numbers relating to each subject area go to our home page and click on the Clearing icon or you can use the link below:
http://www.uel.ac.uk/clearing/index.htm
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Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Susan Price will open the show in which students from our MAs in Fine Art: Studio Practice, Fine Art: Art in Architecture and International Contemporary Art and Design Practice are all exhibiting work that is the culmination of their MA year.
If you’re unfortunate enough to miss the Private View the exhibition is open to the public from 1 – 4 September Weekdays 10am – 6pm, Weekends 11am – 4pm
For more information visit http://www.uel.ac.uk/avashowcase/index.htm or contact: sian@uel.ac.uk
Why not visit the Walthamstow Festival this weekend? There’s fun for all the family with plenty of children’s activities as well as live music and performances for adults. The main Festival day is on Sunday.
See the link below for a fuller description of the events planned:
http://www.walthamstowfestival.com/
Visit http://www.uel.ac.uk/sdel/staff_development/accredited_courses.htm or contact Annette Odell, Module Leader on: tel: 020 8223 3326 email: a.odell@uel.ac.uk
Brush up your IT skills and get an internationally recognised qualification online. Contact Greg Price, Organisational Development Manager on ext 4361 or email g.price@uel.ac.uk
For details of Staff Development courses scheduled for August to October 2006 see
Rui Goncalves our Head of Student Health who took part in the 2006 Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon over the weekend of the 5 and 6 August completed the event in 1 hour 34 minutes.
Many colleagues sponsored Rui, who says: “I did it! Despite the troubled week and the hot weather, I managed to complete the London Triathlon under my expected time.
I would like to thank you all for your support and encouragement and for kindly helping me to fundraise for Leukaemia Research Fund. I am very close to my target, and that could not be possible without you.”
You can read more about Rui’s experience at http://www.uel.ac.uk/news/latest_news/stories/rui.htm
For a round-up of events see www.uel.ac.uk/events. If you would like items included in In Focus Update send them to me, Karen O’Connor at infocus@uel.ac.uk
Please print off a copy of In Focus Update for those of your colleagues who may not have easy access to email.
© 2006
