Before you arrive

Planning your Journey

The University has three main sites. Full address details for these sites are available on their webpages: St John's Campus, City Campus and Severn Campus as well as information for the nearby Lakeside Campus. 

We have information for International students travelling to the University on our international arrival webpages.

 

Where can I park during the Welcome Festival?

During the Welcome Festival period parking on Campus is free for commuting students. After this period parking on Campus will require a permit or payment at one of our pay and display carparks. More information can be found on our dedicated parking webpages.

Preparing your finances

During registration, we’ll ask you how you’re paying your tuition fees. It’s important to sort out your fees payments as soon as possible.

Many students arrange for their fees to be financed by Student Finance. If you haven't already arranged your student finance, you can find out details about course fees, as well as information on student loans, in our Figure out Finance section.

There is also a lot of useful information available on our Money Advice pages. If you have any questions or concerns about paying your fees, you can contact or book an appointment with Firstpoint.

Register online

Once your place at Worcester is confirmed you’ll receive an email from us with your login details for our Student Portal. Typically this email is sent around a month before the course start date. We've also produced a video which gives an introduction to the registration process.

Logging in

When logging in to the Student Portal for the first time you’ll be prompted to register for multi-factor authentication.

Registration

Registration is the process of becoming an official member of the University, this is done through our student online learning environment (SOLE).

We’ll already have a lot of the information from your application form, but we will need you to check this and provide some additional information.

As part of the registration we’ll ask you to:

• Confirm your personal details
• Provide a term time address (where you’ll be living while studying with us)
• Confirm your funding for the course
• Upload a photo (similar to a photo you’d use on a passport)
• Pick your modules (for courses with first year options)

Check your timetable

Once you’ve registered you’ll be able to access your timetable in our student online learning environment (SOLE) from late August 2023. Your timetable will also include any activities for your course during Welcome Weeks.

University wide events and activities will be listed on the Welcome Festival 2023 webpage.

Plan activities with the SU

At Worcester you will have the opportunity to get involved with a huge variety of clubs, sports teams and societies.

Being part of a team or society is a great way to meet new people with similar interests to yourself, and to enjoy a more rounded university experience.

the SU also offer volunteering opportunities, live events and student support. More information is available on the SU website.

As well as your academic timetable there are plenty of SU activities over the  Welcome Festival 2023 including picnics, film nights and live events.

Note down our term dates

Our term dates outline when the majority of teaching takes place for each semester and any assessment weeks during the year.

• Term dates for 2023/24

Making friends

Worried about how to make friends? Don’t worry! We will be sharing some helpful tips and hints to help you make and maintain friends during your time with us

Want to find your own community? We are dedicated to helping you find representation and a sense of inclusivity. Our student-led Networks, Course Reps and Students’ Union Officers are available to represent your views. The Students' Union has over 70 clubs and societies, including the African and Caribbean Society, Social Sports, Rugby, Musical Theatre Society, Ultimate Frisbee and many others. Whoever you are, you can find like-minded individuals and a sense of community whilst you’re with us.

The SU offers opportunities for to take part in volunteering schemes as well as charity fund raising (Raise and Give) these schemes are a brilliant chance to meet people and make a difference. 

We have more information about our Welcome Festival events on its dedicated webpage as well as helpful tips on our FAQ page.

Wellbeing

We understand that starting university can be an exciting but also worrying time. We’re here to help.

Firstpoint is a support and guidance service based in the Peirson building on St John’s Campus. They’ll help you access disability and dyslexia support, assistance with mental health and wellbeing, finance advice and much more.

Each week, Our Student Wellbeing Champions offer “Fancy a cuppa” informal meet-ups to chat and make contact with support staff. The Students’ Union also provide a free, confidential and impartial advice service to all Worcester students -their Academic and Welfare Advisors are here to represent your best interests.

If this is your first time living away from home, our budgeting & boosting your income webpage can help you plan your finances.

Finally, our Health and Wellbeing webpages have useful suggestions on maintaining a study/life balance including exercise, relaxation and study.

MicroLearn – short, social media style learning

In your first few months you’ll be sent a series of short courses you can complete on your mobile in a few minutes. These simple MicroLearn courses use a combination of different media, including:

• Short accessible videos
• Text and images
• Audio
• Pop-quizzes

 

Look out for our text message

An SMS message will be sent to your mobile phone, it briefly explains the course and how long it will take then encourages you to tap a link. You can do this at a time that’s convenient for you.

What support will you receive when you arrive?

• You will be assigned a Personal Academic Tutor (PAT) when you start. The role of the PAT is to support you throughout your studies, academic assistance and guidance as well as signposting you to wider services, as needed.
• You can contact the Centre for Academic English and Skills to book a tutorial, for practical advice and personalised feedback on your academic writing.
• Our RLF-sponsored Academic Writers in Residence  are also available for help with academic writing style and offer confidential, one-to-one tutorials for all students, to support all aspects of your academic writing.
• You can contact the Library Services’ Ask a Librarian team for help with finding resources for your subject and with referencing. We have a New Student Essentials page to get you started. You can also book onto an online workshop or schedule a one-to-one appointment with an Academic Liaison Librarian, if you need more in-depth guidance. If you are in Worcester, come and have a tour of The Hive, our unique, joint academic and public library.

 

What is teaching like?

At the University of Worcester, you will be taught by expert lecturers in your field who will deliver sessions in an interactive and dynamic way. You will need to fully participate in the range of learning opportunities open to you to gain the most from your studies. Lectures, seminars, tutorials, group discussions, placements, field trips and other activities are used to deliver programmes. Your attendance at scheduled sessions is expected.

What skills do you need?

Our short Starting at University study skills course is designed to help you succeed as you start at university. It allows you to assess how confident you are in some of the key skills needed for university study and to find out where to get more help as you develop these skills. Our wider study skills resource will guide you throughout your degree course, with advice on a range of topics, from notetaking to criticality and time management.

What will a typical week look like?

If you're wondering what to expect in a typical week of study, our 'Study Well' webpages can give you a helpful overview.

Your new home

At this stage, it’s likely that you have already applied for university accommodation and you’ve recently received information about where you’ll be living. You’ll now be thinking about what to bring with you when you move in. 

Don't worry if your friends find out where they have been allocated before you do. We are currently matching applicants to their preferred choices and will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

Accommodation applications

If you didn’t apply for accommodation, but think that you may now wish to take up a place, please get in touch with us on 01905 855300 or email accommodation@worc.ac.uk. Take a look at our Accommodation pages for more information, including photos of all of our halls.

If you have already applied for university accommodation but you haven’t received your information pack yet, we’ll send you more information shortly. 

Collect your accommodation keys

Whether you're living on- or off-campus, when you arrive on St John's Campus, you'll be directed to our friendly team who will help you to complete your registration, and collect your accommodation keys and student ID card.

Campus Services

• Residential Life team

Our Residential Life team are here to support you and can act as mentors on a 1-1 basis.

You can get in touch with the team by emailing ResidentialLife@worc.ac.uk or Instagram @rlt_worc and Facebook @RLTUoW

You can find out more about our Residential Life Team from their introduction video.

• Cleaning team

During semester time, our cleaning team will clean and sanitise your communal areas once a week. Cleaners won’t take out your rubbish or recycling, so it’s a good idea to make a rota between you to keep up-to-date with this.

Cleaning rotas are available from your Residential Life team

• Security team

Our Security team are available 24/7 and can be contacted via Main Reception at both campuses (St John’s 01905 855000 and City Campus 01905 542444), or on 07977 973956.

Which means you’ll always have someone to speak to if you’re worried about something.

• Maintenance

If something is broken or not working in your Halls of Residence, you can log a job on our Maintenance Portal.

You can access the portal by logging onto your Student Portal.

• Laundry 

There are several coin-operated launderettes on the campus equipped with washers and dryers.

You can download the Laundry View App to monitor your washing (Android and iPhone) (Select ‘City Campus’ as your university, and then you will be able to select the various launderettes from the drop-down menu.)

• Glide Internet in Residences

Please see the following guidance on connecting to the internet on our residences.

 

You can find out more about facilities on different campuses on our dedicated campus facilities webpages.