Terms & Conditions
1. General information about our service:
1.1 The limits of our support.
Our advice and guidance is based on general academic principles. If your tutor/lecturer/supervisor gives you different advice on the same subject, we recommend that you adhere to their guidance in preference to our own, as they are subject specialists who are directly involved in setting and marking your work.
1.2 Who can use our service?
Our service can be used by any student whose home faculty is the Faculty of Business and Law, studying on a taught course. (We are unable to support students on research courses. The Graduate School can assist students on PG research degrees). If you are registered with another faculty, alternative learning support provision may be available in your department. For more details, speak to your course team.
1.3 Conduct
Study Support reserves the right not to work with students who display rude, aggressive or threatening behaviour.
2. How our service works:
2.1 Face to face tutorials - arranging a face to face appointment.
If you wish to arrange an appointment, email us with three suggested dates and times (Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm) and we will discuss this with you.
2.2 Face to face tutorials - cancellation and non-attendance policy.
If you book an appointment but cannot attend for any reason, it is important that you let us know in advance.
If you fail to attend two booked appointments we will not be able to support you for the remainder of the academic year, either face to face or via email.
3. Sending work to be reviewed:
3.1 Proofreading.
3.1.1 We are not a proofreading service. If you would like tips on how to proofread your own work, we would be happy to meet you for an appointment to discuss this. DO NOT use external proofreading services.
3.2 Feedback on work.
3.2.1 We will provide feedback on part of an assignment, which you can use to help you check the rest of your work and develop your own skills. Our service is designed to be educational and developmental, so it is expected that you will use our feedback to enhance your own skills (i.e. we will not check every single example of your course work - this is up to you to do).
3.2.2 Students should submit work in a Word compatible format, attached to an email. Study Support reserves the right not to look at work in formats that are :-
difficult to read
difficult to comment on
sent through links
attached to a blank email.
3.2.3 If we have commented on your work, but you cannot see the comments, you should view the document on a PC or laptop. Comments may not be visible in Google Docs or on Smartphones or tablet devices.
3.2.4 We recommend viewing our comments in Microsoft Word or other equivalent word processing software, ideally on a University computer.
3.3 Specific instructions for large projects (dissertations, BRPs and other independent research projects) at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
3.3.1 If you would like to use our service when you are producing a large project, send your work as early as possible. The closer we are to the deadline, the less feedback you are likely to receive.
3.3.2 Provide us with some guidance about the particular areas that you would like to develop (structure, academic argument, signposting etc.). This is particularly important for large projects.
3.3.3 We cannot look at a whole dissertation at once, but we are able to look at and comment on small sections of your work.
3.3.4 We may be able to look at several sections of your work if you contact us early enough, but we will generally only look at an individual section once. If you would like us to comment on another section, we will look for evidence that you have applied our previous comments.
3.3.5 Students do not have to have finished the entire project to send work to us, but we request that all work is proofread thoroughly before being sent to us. Reference lists and citations should also be in place and complete (if possible). Bear in mind that it is often not possible to comment on the strength of an academic argument if sources are not present.
3.3.6 Deadlines for looking at projects:
Click here for Level 4, First Year, specific terms and deadlines.
Click here for Level 5, Second Year, specific terms and deadlines.
Click here for Level 6, Third Year, specific terms and deadlines.
Click here for Level 7, PostGraduate, specific terms and deadlines.
3.4 Timescales - Send your work early.
3.4.1 For students at all levels, we encourage you to send your work as soon as possible. The closer we get to a deadline, the busier we are and the less support we can therefore offer. We will respond to a request within two working days, but this does not mean that we will comment on work within two days.
3.4.2 You may receive specific guidance from us in a lecture or via email about particular deadlines for certain pieces of work. However, for most undergraduate work we aim to provide feedback on scripts within two working days. Please note that this is a guide, and we may take longer during busy periods. For final year students producing larger projects, there are specific guidelines (see above).
3.5 Specific limits to our feedback service.
3.5.1 We will generally only look at a script once, as demand for our service is so high. Therefore, please ensure that your work is proofread to the best of your ability before submitting it to us.
3.5.2 If you choose not to use our comments, but send future scripts to us, we will not be able to give substantially different advice. If we feel that you are not progressing with your study skills, we will make this clear.
3.6 Secure storage of student work.
3.6.1 Work sent to us is stored on a secure University server.
3.7 Group assignments, and work submitted in another person's name.
3.7.1 We cannot comment on work submitted in another person's name. This includes scripts where the author's name is different to your own.
3.7.2 We are happy to look at an assignment which you are submitting as part of a group, but we can only look at your part of the work. Please only send your part of the assignment, otherwise we will ask for more information about this.
3.8 Assignments involving employability artefacts (including CVs and cover letters).
3.8.1 If you are producing a CV, cover letter or application form as part of an academic assignment, or for a placement, we recommend speaking to the Careers & Employability Service (http://www2.port.ac.uk/careersandrecruitment/), who can help with this.
4. Using our online resources:
4.1 If you are struggling to view or access any of our resources, please contact us to let us know. We can usually provide them in a different format for you.
5. Support for students with learning differences:
5.1 Sharing information.
If you inform us that you have a learning difference, such as dyslexia, we are obliged by law to inform the University's advice service (ASDAC) about your situation. They will contact you and offer support. It is up to you whether you accept it or not.
5.2 Receiving support.
If you have (or think you might have) a learning difference, we recommend that you contact ASDAC anyway. Even if you do not want support from them, they are the people who can arrange things such as extra time in exams, or specialist equipment where relevant. You can use both ASDAC and Study Support, but specialist support for your learning difference or disability will only be provided by ASDAC.
6. Support for students whose first language is not English:
6.1.1 The University's In-Sessional English (ISE) courses are designed to help students whose first language is not English. We recommend signing up for one of these courses. We also recommend using additional services such as the Student Engagement Office or Global Cafe. See our Other Support page or Contact Us for further details.
6.1.2 We cannot offer language assistance to an international student if they are not signed up to ISE. See Section 3 for further information about our service.