Student success at the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Research
As a student beginning your undergraduate studies at SSPSSR, you can expect to feel welcomed and well-supported with your learning. You’ll find a reassuring range of schemes in place to help you succeed in your degree.
At SSPSSR, we seek to provide a welcoming environment for all our students, regardless of background. We embed equality, diversity, and inclusivity (EDI) within our teaching practice and seek to be aware of any structural barriers that may prevent you from achieving success.
Whether you’re studying at Kent’s campus in Canterbury or Medway, you’ll be able to take advantage of supportive initiatives such as our WriteRight! Programme, the University’s Academic Peer Mentoring scheme, and Student Support provision within the wider Division in which SSPSSR is based (the Division for the study of Law, Society and Social Justice – LSSJ).
WriteRight!
WriteRight! is a friendly, informal, non-credit-bearing workshop programme that’s designed to encourage the development of your academic skills. The programme includes weekly online workshops as well as access to online resources via Moodle (our virtual learning environment). Sessions are not compulsory, but attendance has been proven to help improve your grades and can be the difference between achieving a 2.2 or a 2.1 in your overall grade.
Topics covered within the WriteRight! programme include:
- What is a university essay?
- Plagiarism and using Turnitin
- How to get a 2:1
- Searching for electronic resources
- How to get a First
- Learning from your feedback
- Planning your essay
- Making an argument
- Why your introduction matters
- What does a conclusion do?
- How to read effectively
- Being critical
- Referencing: Where little mistakes cause big problems
- Exam skills
Academic Peer Mentoring
The Academic Peer Mentoring (APM) scheme at SSPSSR, gives you the option to apply to be paired with an experienced student mentor in the first year of your studies. The scheme is designed to ease your transition into university study and to encourage independent learning. Your mentor can offer advice and guidance on academic subject content and can support you in developing specific study skills. They can also signpost you to further support or resources if and when needed.
More than 90 students participated in the scheme last year, with most mentoring taking place online due to the constraints of the pandemic. Many of those who have been mentored go on to become mentors themselves.
“My mentor is a year ahead of me, she talked me through how she managed to cope when she was also in Year 1 and she helped me to create a study timetable to help me with all my deadlines, essays and assignments and this was very useful to me. I recommend this programme for anyone that needs help in their first year.”
Elizabeth Aladefa, Stage 2 Social Work BA
More broadly, the University offers further support through the Student Learning Advisory Service (SLAS).
LSSJ Student Support
The dedicated Student Support team within our Division are on-hand during term time – and most vacations – to provide you with confidential, sensitive support and guidance. Our Student Support Officers, based at Canterbury and Medway, can help you if: you’re experiencing personal circumstances which are having an impact on your studies; if you’re struggling to attend your timetabled sessions; or if you have an important appointment – such as a medical appointment – which clashes with a timetabled session.
The Student Support team can also help if you’re concerned that you’re not going to be able to meet a coursework deadline or that your personal circumstances may have an undue impact on your exams. They can also refer you to central University support for mental health and wellbeing concerns.
To contact the LSSJ Student Support team, email: LSSJSupport@kent.ac.uk
Wait there’s more…
There’s so much more support on offer if you need it. Visit our website to explore more sources of support provided within the University and the Division.
And if you want to know more about what you can study with us, explore the full range of subjects we offer at SSPSSR.
