Here at Huddersfield we understand how important family support is for the success of our students. Families and friends can make a big difference to student success, providing emotional and practical support during their time at university.
The word 'family' might mean immediate family, but it doesn't have to – we just mean the group of people who care about and provide support for students outside the University.
Students increasingly choose to live at home when they take their undergraduate degree. Living at home allows students to save on accommodation costs and can provide a familiar and supportive environment for studying.
In fact, more than 50% of students at the University of Huddersfield live and travel from home to study. We recognise the importance of local students and pride ourselves on inspiring them to become tomorrow’s professionals.
More than 50% of students at the University of Huddersfield live and travel from home to study.
Many of our students are the first in their families to go to university, so we have put together some information to help students and their families understand what is expected.
Studying for a university degree is very different from studying at school or college. We’d like to explain a bit about being a university student and the things that are important for success.
We can help students get the best degree results and employment outcomes.
All our students have lots to offer the University community and so do others.
Work placements make a big difference to employment prospects and academic performance.
Our handy support guide for families and friends.
A leaflet with more support tips for students living at home.
Supporting success programme postcards.
Students are adults so, unlike schools/colleges, universities can't provide families with information about a student's progress or tell you if we are worried about them. You'll only know about their progress by asking them. Discuss with the student in your family how they would like you to support them and how they feel about their progress in general.
During the first weeks at University, students will be given key contact details for lots of helpful people and teams including:
Encourage your student to get in touch with their key contacts in order to get the best support they can while they are at Huddersfield. Communication is key to finding out about the progression of the student in your family and the most important step in finding ways of supporting them.
Universities cannot let families know about the progression of a student as they are covered by data protection laws.
Each student has a timetable that shows what sessions they have each day and a online tool called Brightspace with all their learning materials and module handbooks that show the content and assessment requirements for different parts of their course. They’ll meet regularly with their personal academic tutor, who’ll discuss their progress. The student might be happy to share this information with you, so that you can encourage and support them – but it is up to them. You can ask and offer help.
If you've not visited the University before you're welcome to come and look around. To arrange a visit please phone us on +44 (0)1484 422 288 or email ask@hud.ac.uk.