Welcome to the Faculty

1. The academic year
2. Enrolment - the first week of the academic year
3. Email at LSBU
4. LSBU's Centre for Learning Support & Development
5. Online learning: Blackboard
6. Student Liaison Services
7. Location of Faculty offices & labs etc.
8. Opening times
9. Workloads (Full-Time Students)
10. Part-Time Students
11. Student Charter

1. The academic year

The academic year is divided into two 15-week "semesters". Within this structure are three "terms", and after each one there is a recess period. During the third term there is an additional one-week break. You should consider these recess periods to be study breaks, providing valuable time to consolidate your learning. Here is the Academic Calendar for the current year.

2. Enrolment - the first week of the academic year

During the first week of each academic year all courses have a formal enrolment at Faculty level. For new students this will be in the week prior to the official start of the academic year, and will involve the checking of qualifications, date of birth and fee classification (whether home or overseas). During this week new students join the Library and are issued with Student Union cards. They must also attend one or more induction sessions that provide an overview of the Faculty's computing facilities and a general introduction to University life. Continuing students must also enrol at the start of each session, but they are not expected to turn up before the official start of the academic year.

3. Email at LSBU

LSBU email accounts can be accessed both on and off site. You can find full details at http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/ict/email. You can log on using your Windows/Unix username and password. Passwords for Windows/Unix accounts can be set up or changed via this ICT department self-service page.

4. LSBU's Centre for Learning Support & Development

You can search for library books, journals, videos and various electronic databases via the University's Centre for Learning Support & Development website. The Centre also provides a range of student support services including maths and English workshops, careers advice, and support for students with a disablilty or dyslexia.

5. Online learning: Blackboard

Our online learning system is called Blackboard. Using Blackboard you are able to access a wide range of material and information such as module guides, lecture notes, and notices relating to specific modules within your course. See the Blackboard access page for further information.

6. Student Liaison Services

Student Liaison Services are located in the London Road building. We provide a confidential service that all the Faculty's students - undergraduates, postgraduates, full-time, part- time, day and evening - are welcome to use. You are assured of a friendly welcome, from staff who are ready to listen to you as an individual. A whole section of StudentWeb is devoted to us.

We want to help you with any difficulties you are experiencing as a student, and if we don't have the answer to your problem, we will try to refer you to someone who does.

If you have a disability and/or learning difficulty then you may be entitled to additional support. Please check the Disability and Dyslexia Support website and contact them to arrange an appointment.

We look forward to meeting you, but if you don't need to use us, we wish you every success during your time as a student at London South Bank.

7. Location of Faculty offices & labs etc.

Most of the Computing- and IT-oriented facilities and staff within the Faculty are located in the University's Borough Road site, occupying most of the Faraday Wing (also called the "N Block"; rooms beginning with "N"). Business-oriented staff and labs, and also the Faculty Student Office, are based in the London Road site. See the University maps page for directions.

8. Opening times

The University as a whole is open from 8:30am until 9:30pm, Monday to Fridays during term time. During recess (holiday) periods the University is normally open from 8:30am to 5:30pm. See the Faculty Student Office page for its opening times. Check the Library's and LDC's websites for their opening times (see point 4 above). Note that access to any part of the University will only be allowed on production of a valid student identity card.

9. Workloads (Full-Time Students)

Each year of your course is referred to as a "level"; 4, 5, 6 or M. (Levels 4, 5 and 6 refer to the 1st year, 2nd year and 3rd/final year of an undergraduate course, respectively.) At each level you will normally study 3 "modules" per semester. Most modules involve 4 or 5 hours per week of "contact" time - in other words lectures and/or tutorials - during normal teaching weeks. The University's standard presumed input into modules is 13 hours per week per module, which means that you are expected to spend a further 8 or 9 hours per week per module on directed self-study in addition to your 4 or 5 hours of contact time. This implies a 40-hour week for full-time students; you should view this as a minimum level of commitment. The total number of hours per module is 200, so whatever the hours of contact, the directed self-study hours will be the difference between that number and 200.

10. Part-Time Students

Part-time students normally undertake 4 or 5 modules during each year, but should consult the relevant Course Guide for full details.

11. Student Charter

We are committed to providing a high quality learning experience for all our students, in accordance with the LSBU Student Charter. The Student Charter includes guidelines for the ways in which staff and students are expected to work together to enhance and support learning and teaching. For example, it says that students can normally expect to have their coursework marked and returned within fifteen working days of the submission deadline.