First week

Once you begin your university journey, there are plenty of things to get involved with alongside your course to make the most of your time at UON. This includes getting involved in the SU community, whether you look into being an advocate for student voice to connect with others or you join one of our student groups.

We have plenty of sports, academic, recreational & faith based groups for you to join. You can meet all our groups during Welcome and Induction, on our Union Day. For more details, make sure you take a look at our events page.

Are you unsure about how to learn? We can help.

At the start of your course, you may need support with your time management and also some hints and tips about how to understand your reading lists, your reading skills, how to make notes and also, how to access more support. Our Skills Hub has resources to support you with all of these skills and if you need more help, come and see the Learning Development and Academic Librarian’s teams.

Help with your application and pre-arrival tasks

If you require any help with your application or any of the tasks required, eg submission of a portfolio, completion of DBS/Occupational Health, module choice, submission of certificates; please contact Admissions on 0300 3032772 or email admissions@northampton.ac.uk or visit us on the Student Information Desk on a Wednesday. Further information can also be found on the Before You Arrive page.

The Employment Promise starts now.

Your Bronze Employability Award begins with you completing your skills self assessment before you attend your Student Futures employability session delivered as part of your programme of study. Start the Employability award as soon as you can and then there is no rush to complete it in the third term when there are exams and assignments to hand in. If you don’t complete your bronze award its harder for you to benefit from the UON Employment Promise.

My Virtual Classroom and online Conferencing platform

We use an online platform for some lectures and tutorial delivery, as well as how we work in groups in lectures. You will be able to see, discuss and work with your lecturers, personal tutor and library staff in sessions at appointed times. The platform also has a record function that allows you to catch up on lectures and tutorials again to refresh your memory. You can work in large and small groups and meet in a number of collaborative  rooms to discuss work with your class mates as well as with your personal tutor. There are various tools you can use such as a virtual whiteboard, polls and quizzes which will help when you need to complete assignments and your dissertation. You’ll be shown how to access and use this platform once you start your lectures, so don’t worry.

If you have any questions about your course, University and student life in general, join our Applicant group on Facebook to ask any questions and connect with fellow students from outside your course.

Looking after your student benefit laptop

HP offer support to you if you have a free device through the UON student benefits package.

These laptops are your assets and not the university’s, therefore any hardware support will need to be through HP. Use one of the options below to contact HP direct:

1. Go to: https://support.hp.com/gb-en
2. Contact 0207 660 3115 Option 3 and then option 1

Make sure you have your laptop serial number to hand if you require any support from HP. This is usually found on the back of your laptop or on the original laptop box.

Helping to support you whilst studying with us

The Student Information Desk (SID) is here to help you whilst studying with us. We are the first place for you to go if you need help, information, advice or if you are not sure which team you need to speak to. We are situated on the ground floor of the Learning Hub – you can’t miss us.

The Engine Shed is the SU base on campus. The building is usually open by 8am to grab breakfast or a coffee from the Pit Stop Café which opens between 8am and closes at 3pm. Key contacts, signposting and our reception team are available inside the Engine Shed for our key services; sports, societies, volunteering, welfare, advice and support between 10am and 4pm every weekday.

Learning and teaching in the first week

There are a variety of information guides (student login required) to help you settle into University, but if you want to talk to someone after reading these resources contact Student Support Officers
​studentsupportofficers@northampton.ac.uk or ​Academic Advisers academicadvisers@northampton.ac.uk​.