Student support FAQs

We have a dedicated student support team who are here for you throughout your student journey. We are available within the Lower Ground Floor of the Student Centre for all of your support needs.  We are your first point of contact for all non-academic enquiries. This could include disability disclosures, student funding concerns and more.  We will ensure your queries are heard and that we get the right answers or support in place for you.

Our Student Support Hub provides advice and information on a wide range of topics relevant to current and students. If you have any questions before you start, you can contact our Student Support Team by email.

Our Student Centre based at Preston Campus houses a range of support services available to all students. At the Student Centre, you will be able to receive help and support on all aspects of university life. From accommodation, finance, and academic queries, to wellbeing, inclusive support and more.

The Student Support team is the first point of contact for any non-academic support. The team is available for a face-to-face support across all our Campuses (Preston, Burnley and Westlakes) and can help you with wide range of issues and queries including financial advice, international student advice as well as general student life queries. If you ever find yourself in a difficult situation or have any questions, come speak to the Student Support team. You can contact them via email or phone on 01772 891828.

The Student Support team also offers a Student Support drop-in and International Student Support drop-in at Preston Campus. The Student Support drop-in gives you an opportunity to disclose any information in a private and confidential space and receive support and advice about wellbeing, mental health, disability and general university life.

The International Student Support drop-in provides chance for international students to drop-in and ask our friendly team any general questions you might have about your visa and working restrictions, academic support, life in the UK or anything else. The International Student Support drop-in is also a chance for international students to make new friends from all over the world, play games and take part in fun activities.

The Student Support drop-in provides an alternative space for students to discuss any issues or concerns that they may have in a confidential, non-judgemental, one-to-one setting. We offer support and guidance on a variety of issues including mental health, wellbeing, inclusive support and any other issues that may be impacting your personal or academic life

The drop-in is based on the upper ground floor of the Student Centre and no appointment is required. For more information on our opening times as well as specialist drop-in sessions please visit the Student Hub.

You can share information about any disability or learning difficulty you have at any stage of your application journey. Once you have an offer to study with us, a member of the Inclusive Support Team will be in contact.

Our team will review any information you have provided and assess the impact of any disability on your course. They will put in place academic adjustments, as well as exam/assessment adjustments. This will take place before the start of your studies to ensure support is in place from the very beginning.

Evidence of your disability is needed before individual adjustments can be made. The evidence required depends on your disability. Our Inclusive Support Advisers can advise you on the provision of disability-related evidence. If appropriate your requirements will be determined by a Needs Assessment Report (NAR). The University will use the NAR to identify disability-related adjustments.

To help us give you and our course team the support you need please complete the inclusive support disclosure form to let us know about any disability, long-term health condition, SpLD or mental health condition. This helps ensure support is put in place for the best experience throughout your studies. More information can also be found on our inclusive support pages.

Our Student Hub has more information about support you can receive based on your personal needs and circumstances.

Find out more about inclusive support on the Student Hub.

Our Student Hub has more information about support you can receive based on your personal needs and circumstances.

Find out more about mental health and wellbeing support on the Student Hub.

Drop-in to the Student Centre

Once you are a student or apprentice, you can visit us on the upper ground floor of the Preston Campus Student Centre. You don’t need an appointment, just drop in any time between 10am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.

Our friendly team are ready to support you at the drop-in sessions and can refer you to our specialist teams. This includes counsellors, Mental Health Advisors and our Wellbeing Team.

If you're based at our Burnley or Westlakes Campus, we can arrange appointments through Microsoft Teams. Call or email us to make an appointment.

Call or email​​​​​​​

Contact us by emailing the Wellbeing Team.

Alternatively, you can telephone us on +44 (0) 1772 893020. Both our email and voicemail are monitored during our office opening hours only.

• Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm,
• Friday 9am - 4pm.

If we are unable to answer your call, please leave a voicemail and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Complete an online support request

If you are a current student or apprentice, you can submit an online support request through the Student Support Portal.

Our team of counsellors provide therapeutic counselling of the highest quality. They can cover a wide range of issues and difficulties. This includes anxiety, panic attacks, family problems, cultural issues, homesickness, insomnia, loneliness, relationships, suicidal thoughts and more. Whatever your difficulties you face, you are welcome, and you will be treated with respect.

Our Mental Health Advisors work with students and apprentices who are struggling with their mental health. They work with a huge range of difficulties. This can include anxiety, depression, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts and self-harm. They offer assessment appointments, advice and signposting to various services. All of our mental health advisers are professionally trained and experienced practitioners who have previously worked in the NHS and are members of The University Mental Health Advisers Network.

Our Wellbeing Advisors provide information, advice, and support for your wellbeing - which means anything that is negatively affecting you. We provide assessments, follow-up appointments and signposting, and can liaise with both internal and external services to help support you in your studies, including with academic departments. Wellbeing advisers can provide advice in many areas, such as alcohol and drug use, safety concerns, stalking and harassment, forced marriage, victims of crime and domestic and sexual violence.

Our Student Support Services are based in the Student Centre and are open Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm and Fridays from 9am to 4pm, excluding bank holidays. Outside of our opening times, please contact Security on +44 (0) 1772 892068. Deaf users please text 07891 679 537.

Our friendly team are ready to support you and can refer you to our specialist teams. This includes our Counsellors, Mental Health Advisors and specialist Wellbeing Team. Visit us on the upper ground floor of the Preston Campus Student Centre. You don’t need an appointment, just drop-in any time between 10am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.

If you're based at our Burnley or Westlakes Campus, we can arrange appointments through Microsoft Teams. Call or email us to make an appointment.

You will be able to access lots of support to develop your study skills. We have a study skills section on the Student Hub with information about the support we offer. Study skills cover a range of capabilities from digital and technical, to reading, writing and inclusion. 

Have a look at our money advice and support webpages. It explains what funding you may be entitled to, and what additional funding is available including information and guidance about managing your money.

You can also take a look at our student fees, funding and finance frequently asked questions for more specific queries.

Our professionally run Pre-School Centre (situated at our Preston Campus) offers a nurturing and high-quality environment for children aged 6 months to 4 years. For more details, including opening times, please visit our Pre-School Centre webpage.

If you have financially dependent children, you may be eligible Dependants Bursary. Visit our scholarships and bursaries webpage to find out more.

All our senior staff have been supported to undertake specific training to support students who are feeding their babies, and we also feature dedicated breastfeeding facilities across the campus.

You will receive lots of help with your transition to university life. We have an award-winning student support service. This includes financial assistance, tuition in study skills and support for your wellbeing.

By applying for a four-year course with an integrated foundation year, you will have access to student loan funding for the full four years of your course.

We understand that it can be distressing to know that someone you care about is having a difficult time. As we are a confidential service, we cannot reveal information about students or apprentices using our service. However, we will always follow up on any concerns raised. 

Please encourage the student or apprentice to refer themselves to us or attend one of the wellbeing drop-in sessions. If you would like further advice, you can ring us on +44 (0) 1772 893020. If you have serious concerns about someone in an emergency situation, please call 999.

We have a dedicated International Student Support Team who are here for you throughout your student journey. We want to ensure the transition to the life in the UK goes as smoothly as possible so we offer pre-arrival workshops to introduce you to the support services available to you and other useful information about making the most of your time here. We also offer a free airport transfer service during the welcome period to help you get to your campus.

We understand that moving to a new country can be challenging if you are adjusting to a new environment and culture, learning a new language and feeling far away from loved ones. If you want to chat, meet new people, or have any questions, come along to the international student support drop-in that takes place every Thursday between 10am and 1pm on the lower ground floor of the Student Centre on Preston Campus.

You may be eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) if you face extra student costs relating to your disability. DSA may contribute to:

• Specialist equipment. This includes assistive software, a computer for using the software, ergonomic equipment or recording devices for lectures.

• Non-medical helper. For example a sign language interpreter, study skills support tutor or mental health mentor.

• Travel expenses. Such as reasonable extra travel costs you have to pay because of your disability. This does not include funding for travel costs that any student would incur.

DSA only cover costs related to academic study and do not cover course-related costs.You may not be eligible for DSA, for example if you are an international student, or a Degree Apprenticeship student. In this case, please contact the team as early as possible to review your support arrangements.

To support fire safety for deaf and hard of hearing people, we’ve installed the ‘Deaf Alerter’ system in many buildings on our campus. Find out more information on our Deaf Alerter system.

It is our mission is to increase choice, access and quality of provision for deaf and hard of hearing students entering and studying in Higher Education, and this is why we have created the Consortium of Higher Education Support Services with Deaf Students (CHESS).

Our aims:

• To promote and disseminate good practice in supporting deaf and hard of hearing students.
• To support all Higher Education Institutions in developing good practice.

To find out more visit: CHESS

Our Careers Service are are a friendly, professional and experienced team with expertise in a wide range of areas. We offer services including:

• Careers appointments
• Specialist careers support
• Latest vacancies
• Careers fairs and employer events
• CareerEDGE interactive learning resources
• Essential recruitment tools

Current students can visit the careers section on the Student Hub for further information.

Please view our Letter Requests Student Hub page for guidance.

Our on campus Medical Centre can help if you are feeling ill, want contraception advice, are concerned about your sexual health, or need information on vaccinations for your trip abroad. You will need to register with the Medical Centre and this webpage will direct you through the process and give you further information, including how to make an appointment with a doctor, our opening hours, plus signposts to ordering prescriptions, family planning and out of hours emergency contacts.

The Equality Act 2010 defines a disability as any physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect of your ability to carry out normal activities. “Long-term” is generally accepted as having lasted, or likely to last, at least 12 months. This can include neurodiversity or a diagnosed mental health condition.

This is where you will find your student record within the Student Hub. MyUCLan allows you to update your contact details, enrol on your course, register for an elective module and check your module results. The Student Hub allows you to access your online learning materials, timetables and attendance records, and also to submit assignments, get assignment grades, connect with your tutors and more. MyUCLan allows you to update contact details, check if you’ve passed a module, enrol on your course, register for an elective module, and much more. Once you have your UCLan email and password, you can login to the Student Hub. 

It’s an online system designed to help you make the most of your time at UCLan by pulling together lots of information about you and your UCLan journey in one easily accessible place. Use Starfish to view module information (including attendance and grades) and quickly connect with and get help from relevant academic staff and support services around the University. You’ll find Starfish within the Student Hub.

Current students can find out more about the University of Central Lancashire library on our Student Hub. This includes how to access the online library, search for books, library opening times and much more.

Preston library building provides comfortable, flexible study spaces. There are lots of excellent learning resources, extensive collections of information sources and access to expert help and advice.

You can get all the UCLan library and IT support you need. Whether you want to find out more about library facilities, IT and email issues, printing facilities on campus, resetting passwords, questions about your student card, or any other support issue, this will help.

If you're a current student, you can visit My Library Account online to renew any books you have borrowed (online), check the details of any books you have borrowed over the last 12 months, or to check the status of any book reservations you have made. You can also do a Library Search, which is searchable via mobile devices.

Please check the Student Hub for guidance on accessing your reading list.

Cite Them Right will help you to reference many different types of source material in a variety of referencing styles. Sources covered include books, chapters, journals, digital and internet, media and art, research, legal materials, Government documents and communications. It also provides answers to common questions about referencing and helpful guidance to keep you on track.

Visit how to access Cite Them Right it also includes information about further online resources available.

Microsoft Office 365 is free for all of our students. When you study with us, you'll have a free subscription to Office 365, giving you access at home on up to five devices. You will also have access to OneDrive and Office online.

Follow the instructions on this page to get your free copy of Microsoft Office and install on your devices.

You’ll find our Accessing the Network page on the Student Hub really useful. Whether you’re accessing the University network for the first time, need some support with a new password, or want to know how to access your emails and files remotely, this page will guide you in the right direction.

For UCLan email, go to Office 365 email to login. Enter your full UCLan email address (e.g. another@uclan.ac.uk) and your UCLan password.

Remote Access allows you to log into the University network from any location off campus. From there you’ll be able to access your files, your timetable, and common services and software applications such as your emails, Blackboard and Turnitin.

Before you can use Remote Access you’ll need to install a software application called Citrix Receiver onto your PC or other device. Once you have done this you’ll be able to access the University network by entering your username and password.

Find out more about Remote Access and how to download Citrix Receiver on your machine.

Blackboard is a web-based course management system designed to allow you to participate in classes delivered online or use online materials and activities to complement face-to-face teaching.

If you’re using a computer at the University, once you have logged on to the UCLan network, launch the Firefox browser. From the Student Support Hub you can click on the Student Login (Blackboard) link which will take you directly to the Student Portal.

If you’re off campus, you can log in to Blackboard via the website. See the logging into Blackboard off campus guide.

The Blackboard Support Site for Students offers a substantial amount of information to help you find your way around Blackboard.

For more information about Blackboard support, the Blackboard environment, Blackboard assessment, course tools, Turnitin Assessments and more, please visit this page.

Please note when using Blackboard, we recommend that you use Mozilla Firefox as your browser. This is available from your Windows taskbar or from the Start menu.

If you're currently studying in Cyprus, you can access the Student Support Hub. You can use the links on the right to select the appropriate support information for you.

You will also find the Blackboard help guides which are designed for all those studying using Blackboard. This includes staff who are registered as students.

Once you have logged on to the UCLan Cyprus network you can go to the "The Student Portal". This will take you straight to your Blackboard page.

Please note: when you log out of Blackboard you will see the Welcome/Log in page. If you want to log in again then you need to use your UCLan Cyprus network username and password.

We try not to make changes to your timetable, but sometimes this is unavoidable. It's really important that we have your up to date contact details to be able to inform you when something does have to change. Here's how we'll get in touch:

• Changes within three working days will be sent to you via SMS and email.
• Changes within one week will be sent to you via email only.
• Timetable changes that have been requested by your lecturer in advance will just be updated on your online timetable so check it regularly just in case.

Current students can view their own personalised timetable online. You will be asked to log in with your UCLan username and password to gain access. If you don't have your username and password, you’ll need to complete your online enrolment.

You can use MazeMap for specification direction to a building or room.

You can find your building's code on the Preston Campus map. Room numbers are based on floors so numbers 001-099 are on the ground floor, 100-199 are on the first floor, 200-299 on the second floor, and so on.

You can view the academic calendar on our website.

Current students can visit our key dates page on the Student Hub where you’ll find the academic calendar, term dates and all other key dates for the University of Central Lancashire.

These include the start of term, Welcome Week, examinations, formal publication of results dates and dates of graduation. Please be aware that some courses operate a non-standard calendar and you can check with your School or Academic Registry if this affects your course.

All assessment results can be viewed securely online by using MyUCLan. Our assessment webpage on the Student Hub will also answer any queries you may have about assessment and results at the University of Central Lancashire.