Student Support

The transition to college or university can be daunting. You are required to step out of your comfort zone into a different learning environment with new people. It is important that every student feels supported in this transition which is why all of Scotland’s higher education institutions offer a range of support to help students who may be facing issues that impact their studies or personal lives.

Each university and college has a dedicated student support team, available when you need them for the duration of your HN or degree journey. To help you better understand the support available, please see below for general information on the services typically offered. Beneath this general information you will find links to the Student Support webpage of every college, university and specialist institution in Scotland:

Disability/ASN learning support

Students who have physical or learning disabilities may require support from an institution with specific adjustments being made.

Higher Education institutions can offer support with this assisted learning with adaptations being made to learning, teaching and assignments through note-taking or recorded lectures with assistive technology.

If you are Care-experienced

Any student who has experienced care in their lifetime within Scotland can gain support in Higher Education.

This could be with adjusted entry requirements, as these students would be widening access, or with support through the transition to Higher Education financially or specifically with accommodation.

If you are a Young Carer

Students who have caring responsibility, for younger siblings or older family members, can receive support from institutions.

Young carers could be eligible for adjusted entry requirements onto their course, through widening access. These students can also gain more flexibility for emergency situations and support to manage these.

Mental Health & Wellbeing Support

Mental health issues can create challenges for some students; therefore, institutions provide specific support services to help students who may struggle with anxiety, depression, OCD, eating disorders or any other mental health problem.

Support can be provided to these students through forms of counselling and 24/7-night line phone-calls, to be able to speak in a confidential space and gain the help they need.

LGBTQ +

Any students who identify as LGBTQ+ may face challenges with feelings of isolation, or discrimination so can receive support from Higher Education institutions to help reduce these experiences. Support for these students can be through with using a students preferred name, or communicating with the preferred pronouns.

Careers Guidance

Any student within Higher Education can receive support with their career options or thinking about the future.

This can be provided through the institutions career service and can look at CV enhancement or career opportunities.

Support with Student Finance

Although we are very fortunate in Scotland to benefit from free tuition, managing your finances whilst you study can be a challenge. You may never have done this before, or you may need to explore additional funding to supplement your Student Loan.

Digital and Technical Support

If you are finding access to technology as struggle, help is available.

Study Skills Support

Your course may require you to learn in new ways; you might find a part of your course a real challenge or you may simply want to brush up on your knowledge of the study methods available. Support is easy to access and all students are encouraged to make use of this so that they are able study with confidence.

Transition support

Not everyone enters university directly into first year of study, many take a route called articulation which involves studying a HN course at college for 1 or 2 years and then transitioning to either 2nd or 3rd year of a degree programme at university.

Joining at an advanced stage can cause feelings of stress or anxiety as you enter a new social setting with differences in lecture size, assessments and workload. Colleges and universities work together to ensure successful transitions offering a variety of support including campus visits, mentoring programmes, information days and networking events.

How can I find out about support available at my university/college?

Below is a map of Scotland with all the university and college institutions. Click on the link to your institution for more information on their specific student support services.

 

  1. The University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University
  2. Abertay University, University of Dundee
  3. The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, Heriot-Watt University, Queen Margaret University
  4. University of Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian University, The Glasgow School of Art, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, University of Strathclyde
  5. University of Highlands and Islands
  6. SRUC – Scotland’s Rural College, University of the West of Scotland
  7. University of St Andrews
  8. University of Stirling

 

  1. Ayrshire College
  2. Borders College
  3. City of Glasgow College, Glasgow Clyde College, Glasgow Kelvin College
  4. Dumfries and Galloway College
  5. Dundee and Angus College
  6. Edinburgh College
  7. Fife College
  8. Forth Valley College
  9. New College Lanarkshire
  10. North East College Scotland
  11. Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
  12. South Lanarkshire College, West Lothian College
  13. UHI / Inverness College
  14. West College Scotland

All of this information is available in a downloadable PDF Document, which is available to download below:

Student Support Document

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