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Further Support and Appointments

Studying at levels 4 to 7 and looking for library & learning development support? Searching for resources? Drafting an assignment? 

IFY/level 3 students at UoC: if you are an Integrated Foundation Year student at Fusehill St or Lancaster campuses, visit your dedicated IFY Support webpage for information about your bespoke IFY support.  

 

We are a team of friendly professional Library and Academic Advisors based in Library Services which is part of Student Services. We provide online resources, including group workshops, individual appointments, Webinars and email guidance for students on taught programmes at levels 4 to 7.  See the sections below for more details.

We also provide Subject pages that signpost you to relevant resources for your subject. 

Resources to help you develop your Academic English are available at the dedicated Blackboard Ultra site. 

LibChat provides a 24/7 Ask a Librarian Chat service.  This service can help with accessing resources and signposting. 

You can contact us via the Student Enquiry Point (StEP) tile on the Student Hub or email us via skills@cumbria.ac.uk

 

Partner colleges: The services described below are for students studying at the University of Cumbria. Students from partner colleges are very welcome to access the online skills@cumbria resources, and are encouraged to contact their own institutions for academic skills advice and guidance.

Robert Kennedy College students have their own resource pages for their courses and can contact Robert Kennedy College Student Care for support with academic writing and referencing. 

 

 

  • Skills@Cumbria website

    Available 24/7 Skills@Cumbria suite of online self-help resources to develop your academic and library skills. These include:

    dl_onesearch, orange cartoon of search icon Finding information dl_reflection, orange cartoon of a globe Reflection
    dl_reading, orange cartoon of a person reading a book Reading and note taking dl_research, orange cartoon of a microscope Dissertations and research projects
    dl_writing, orange cartoon of 3 pieces of stacked paper with a pen on top Writing at University dl_reference, orange cartoon of piece of paper with bullet points and lines next to them Referencing, Plagiarism and Turnitin
    dl_study, orange cartoon of books on a shelf Learn Well dl_ask_a_librarian, orange question mark in an orange outlined speech bubble Being Critical
    dl_presentation, orange cartoon of a person giving a presentation Presentation skills dl_troubleshoot, orange cartoon of a computer screen with an exclamation mark on it Digital Skills
    dl_critical, cartoon of orange outlined head with piece of paper on top Headstart online study skills courses    

     

  • Email support

    The Skills@Cumbria email service is staffed Monday to Friday 09:00 - 17:00 (apart from national holidays)

    You can contact us via the Student Enquiry Point or email us via skills@cumbria.ac.uk with queries about referencing, accessing library resources and academic skills.

    Turnaround times: In many cases - particularly in response to quick queries like referencing - we are usually able to reply within a working day or two. Please allow up to 5 working days for 500 word feedback requests. If you are seeking 500 words feedback, we encourage you to seek timely advice, eg we recommend being in touch 10 days before an assignment deadline. This allows for feedback turnaround time and also gives you time to process and apply any feedback as you see fit before your deadline. 

    We offer feedback on 500 words of a draft written assignment that has not already been assessed by a tutor. Please see our service guidance below. Our offer of feedback and appointments are subject to availability. 

    • We offer feedback once per module - which might be via email feedback OR via an appointment. Let us know if you are in resubmission, as we may be able to offer more flexible support. 
    • When requesting email feedback, please identify/highlight the 500 words section (or 2 sections of up to 250 words each) and share your assignment brief and learning outcomes. Tell us the areas of development you would like us to focus on, eg this might be paragraphing, referencing, academic sources, structure, writing critically, or whatever you would prefer. Or if you are not sure, tell us about your tutor or peer feedback and their suggested areas for development.
    • It's really helpful if you include your reference list, even if it's not quite complete at that point in time.
    • For dissertation/longer project work we can look at 2 different sections of up to 500 words (subject to availability). We suggest that you don't submit both sections for feedback at the same time. Instead, we recommend submitting the 1st section for feedback. Then, applying the feedback you initially receive to other parts of your assignment. After following this process, we then suggest submitting the 2nd section for feedback.
    • We don't offer a proof reading service. We suggest tips and strategies to support your development and feedback is for guidance; it's your choice on what you do with the feedback offered.  
    • In line with academic regulations and to promote independent learning, generally, we don't look at the same assignment more than once for a 1st submission.   
    • We are happy to help you to understand and apply tutor feedback. However, as we're not subject specialists and don't assess assignments, we can’t suggest what grade an assignment might be worth. Tutors make final grade decisions. 

     

    Reference list feedback: we are happy to look over reference lists. We don't proofread whole lists but we will look at a sample of different types of sources (eg book, journal article, webpage/pdf, etc), comment on those and then encourage you to apply that feedback across the rest of the reference list. 

  • Individual Appointments

    We offer 30 minute online skills appointment with a Library and Academic Advisor (subject to availability). We use Microsoft Teams for online appointments as it is useful to be able to share screens. Appointments using MS Teams can be like an online phone service. You don't have to use the video option if you'd rather not but students generally find that screen sharing helps to discuss work and navigate to resources. 

    For guidance on using MS Teams ahead of appointments, see the Microsoft Teams webpage. 

    You can book an appointment here: Book a skills Appointment

    Either: choose an Advisor to see what times they have available, or select the No preference link, under all the  advisors' names, to see calendar details of all the available dates/times.

    If you have any issues with the booking system or can't find an appointment time that works for you, please email us via skills@cumbria.ac.uk 

    Below are some details about the appointment service we offer:  

    • In line with academic regulations and to support independent learning, generally, we don't look at the same assignment in more than one appointment.  If you are in resubmission, let us know, as we may be able to offer more flexible support (depending on availability). 
    • We offer one appointment at a time. Following your 1st appointment, if you and the advisor agree another appointment is needed, this can then be booked. 
    • Life happens and if you can't make it to an appointment, it's really helpful if you cancel the appointment via the booking system or email skills@cumbria.ac.uk so that appointment slots become available to other students. 

    Please note these appointments are for library and academic skills with the Skills@Cumbria team.  Appointments are also available for other areas of student support such as IFY support, SpLD, Mental Health and Money Advice.  Please see Student Support Appointments or go to the Student Enquiry Point to request support from other teams. 

  • Webinars

    The Skills@Cumbria team provide regular webinars throughout the year on key areas of library and academic skills. We also collaborative with the Wellbeing team to offer wellbeing topics, such as Managing Academic Stress and Procrastionation.

     

    To book a place and find out more, see the Webinars page.

     

  • Group workshops

    In liaison with course tutors, Library and Academic Advisors deliver library and learning development workshops as part of the curriculum, tailored to the subject discipline and level.

    Talk to your tutor if you think that a workshop would benefit you and your peers.

    Students can also request a small group workshop on a topic of their choice. 

    Contact Skills@Cumbria via the Student Enquiry Point or email skills@cumbria.ac.uk with your request.

    Please be in touch in a timely way and allow at least 5 working days for arrangements to be made (subject to availability).

     

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