| Hello everybody and welcome to this informal meeting about the University Helpline. |
| The Helpline was set up ten years ago by the Students Union |
| and it aims to provide new students to the university |
| with a service that they can use if they need information |
| about practical areas of student life that they are unfamiliar with. |
| Let me give you some examples of the type of help we can offer. |
| We can provide information on financial matters; |
| for example, you may feel that your grant is insufficient to see you through college life |
| or you may have some queries regarding the fees you are paying |
| if you are an overseas student. |
| In both cases, the Helpline would be able to go through things with you |
| and see what the outcome might be. |
| Another area we can help with is what we generally term the 'domestic' area; |
| things such as childcare and the availability of nursery provision, for example, come under this. |
| Then there's 'academic' issues that may arise while you are in the early stages of your course |
| that you may not know what to do about. |
| You may wish to know more about essay deadlines, for example, |
| or how to use the library - |
| there are all kinds of questions you will find yourself asking |
| and not knowing where to get quick answers from. |
| The Helpline would be able to provide these. |
| The last example I've given here is simply termed 'social' - |
| and yes, there is a lot of social life here! |
| But you may have a particular interest you wish to pursue |
| or you may wish to participate in outings or trips |
| if you don't know many people at the moment. |
| Let me give you some details |
| so that you know where to go and who to see if you want to pay us a visit. |
| Generally you will see our Helpline officer Jackie Kouachi, |
| that's KOUACHI. |
| Jackie is a full-time employee of the Student Union |
| and she works in the Student Welfare Office - |
| that's the office that deals with all matters related to student welfare |
| and it's located at 13 Marshall Road. |
| I have some maps here for those of you who haven't been there yet. |
| If you wish to ring the office, |
| the number is 3269940. |
| That's 3269940. |
| The office is open between 9.30 and 6 o'clock on weekdays |
| and from 10 to 4 on Saturdays |
| and there'll be somebody there usually Jackie or myself - between those times. |
| If you want to make an appointment, you can phone or call at the office in person. |
| Please note that it may not be possible for anyone to see you straight away - |
| particularly if it is a busy time - lunch time for example - |
| and you may have to go on the waiting list and then come back later. |
| Well, enough from me. |
| Any questions? |