Faculty of Media, Arts and Humanities - for students and staff

Frequently Asked Questions

Where should students go for help?

Please see the poster “Where do I go for help?” (PDF), which is on display around the School. You can collect a copy from the Student Experience Office (A70) if you would like one for your office.

What is the role of module tutors in supporting students?
  • To provide accessible and inclusive teaching and learning
  • To offer module-specific academic advice and guidance
  • To provide academic references for professional employment or further study
  • To read the student support information on Sussex Direct for the students they teach and respond accordingly. It is good practice to email each flagged student at the start of a module to let them know you have read their memo(s) and to invite them to discuss their teaching and learning support needs with you. If you need advice about accommodating reasonable adjustments, please contact the disability advisors on disabilitysupport@sussex.ac.uk
Why do we monitor attendance?
  • Low attendance is often the first sign that a student is experiencing difficulties, so we rely on attendance data to identify students who may need additional support. It is important that attendance records are accurate and up to date. Incomplete records can have unfortunate consequences for students (including financial consequences and visa problems).
Where should I send a student for generic academic skills support?
  • We have a team of Academic Skills Advisors, who are Media, Arts and Humanities PhD students employed to offer taught students in our School one-to-one and group sessions on generic academic skills (e.g. time management, reading and note taking, planning and writing essays, citation and referencing, participating in seminars). Students can book appointments via the MAH Student Experience Canvas page.
  • English Language for Academic Study (ELAS) provide a range of English language and academic skills support for students whose first language is not English.
  • It can also be useful to remind students about Skills Hub, an under-used resource. Note that students can book one-to-one research support sessions to help them locate library resources effectively.
I am worried about a student - who do I contact?
  • Our Student Experience PS team will know what to do, including in an emergency. You can find them in Arts A70 or on MAH-StudentExperience@sussex.ac.uk
  • If the student belongs to another school, our Student Experience PS team will also know who to contact.
  • We are strongly encouraged not to meet or correspond with students needing support outside of working hours, for their safety and wellbeing as well as ours.
Where do postgraduate students go for help?
  • For taught postgrads (PGT), the course convenor should be the first point of contact. If they need more support, please refer them to the School Student Experience PS team in A70 or on MAH-StudentExperience@sussex.ac.uk
  • For postgraduate researchers (PGR), the supervisor is the first point of contact. If they need more support, please refer them to the Doctoral Studies PS team on MAH-PGR@sussex.ac.uk, who will signpost the relevant services as necessary.
A student says they are worried, who should they contact?

There is lots of help on the Student Hub page.

If they can’t find what they need, encourage them to contact the Student Experience team if they need more information (Email: MAH-StudentExperience@sussex.ac.uk, or call in to their office: Arts A70)

What kinds of academic support do we provided?

Tutors and module convenors are usually best able to help students, because they understand the needs of their subject. However, we also have several options for more generic study skills and academic support:

Academic Skills Advisors (ASAs): these are postgraduate students from our School who are trained and paid to provide support and assistance to undergraduates. There are posters around the school, and students can contact them via their Canvas page.

Skills Hub: this is a great resource but is under-used (it get more hits from students at other universities – all over the world – than it does from those at Sussex). So, please encourage students to make full use of it.

Library: in addition to Skills Hub, the library offers tours, study space, information and advice. See their website for more information.

How do students find a Student Wellbeing Advocate (SWA)?
What should a student do if unexpected circumstances (such as illness or bereavement) might affect their performance in an exam or other assessment?
A student may be at risk of harming themselves, or someone else?

If you are concerned about a student’s safety, please contact MAH-StudentExperience@sussex.ac.uk who will determine the best support service to suit their needs.

What about writing student references?

One reason why we changed the old academic advising system was that many of us found that we’d had little or no contact with our academic advisees until they needed someone to write them a reference. At that point, there wasn’t really anything most advisers could put in a reference that wasn’t already going to be on their academic transcript. (Details of how students can obtain a transcript). When students want a reference they should ask one of their current tutors. The ideal person is someone who has taught them for a while (e.g. for their dissertation or final project), who knows the student well enough to write a properly personalised reference that will be really useful to them.

Anything else?

Please contact Melanie Green (M.J.Green@sussex.ac.uk)  if you have other questions you’d like answered.