Accessibility

Academic Skills Advisors conduct one-to-one appointments on both the ground and first floors in Catalyst ,and your appointment confirmation email will contain details about where to meet your Academic Skills Advisor. All the first floor appointment rooms are wheelchair accessible, and most of the ground floor spaces are too.

If you have an in person appointment that is not on the ground floor of Catalyst, you can access the first floor by using the stairs or by taking the lift*. If you require a wheelchair accessible space for your appointment, or have any specific audio or visual requirements, please contact us ahead of your appointment so we can ensure it will take place in an appropriate space.  

*If the Catalyst lift is ever out of order, we will always aim to accommodate your one-to-one appointment on the ground floor.

All first floor appointment rooms have lighting that can be turned on and off, and a desk lamp to enable reduced lighting. The first floor appointment rooms also have adjustable heating. All our ground floor appointments take place in a well-lit, open-access space.  

If you require an in person appointment in a room with adjustable heating and/or lighting, or have any specific audio or visual requirements, please contact us ahead of your appointment so we can ensure it will take place in an appropriate space.  If you are not comfortable attending an in person appointment we recommend you book an online appointment. 

If you have booked an online one-to-one appointment, which you intend to access whilst you are on campus, you can either:

• Book a study room in Catalyst (all study rooms are wheelchair accessible)
• Ask the Catalyst Helpdesk, who can advise further on which open access PCs are most suitable for online appointments

Although most of the computers in Catalyst have built in cameras, you can also loan headsets and cameras from the Catalyst Helpdesk.

Online appointments take place on Blackboard Collaborate and you will receive an email with a guest link to join your Collaborate room 2 hours in advance of your appointment start time.

It is completely up to you if you want to use your camera (or not!) for your appointment. However, we highly recommend you use a headset, preferably with a microphone, so that you can hear, and talk, to your Academic Skills Advisor. If you are not comfortable or able to use a microphone, you can also communicate with your Academic Skills Advisor by using the chat box feature in Blackboard Collaborate.

When delivering an online one-to-one appointment your Academic Skills Advisor will use a headset and microphone to ensure good quality audio. We also recommend reading this brief session guide to assist you with any technical requirements you might need to join and access your appointment. 

You are very welcome to take notes throughout your one-to-one appointment and your Academic Skills Advisor will email any materials or resources discussed after your appointment has finished.

All in person UniSkills Workshops take place in Catalyst, in either Willow or Oak room, both of these rooms are wheelchair accessible. Willow room is located directly opposite the lift on the first floor, and Oak room is just across the open space from the lift on the second floor. Both Willow and Oak rooms also allow for students to sit or stand, according to their preference.

All in person UniSkills Workshops take place in Catalyst, in either Willow room or Oak room, both of which have lighting that can be turned on and off. Willow and Oak rooms also have adjustable heating. If you would feel more comfortable with the lighting or heating altered, please let your Academic Skills Advisor delivering the workshop know on the day, contact us ahead of your workshop. 

If you have booked an online UniSkills Workshop, which you intend to access whilst you are on campus, you can either:

• Book a study room in Catalyst (all study rooms are wheelchair accessible)
• Ask the Catalyst Helpdesk, who can advise further on which open access PCs are most suitable for online workshops

Online workshops take place on Blackboard Collaborate and you will receive an email with a guest link to join your Collaborate room 2 hours in advance of your workshop start time.

You are not expected use your camera or microphone during an online workshop. However, we highly recommend you use a headset so that you can hear your Academic Skills Advisor and headsets can be loaned from Catalyst Helpdesk. If you need to communicate with your Academic Skills Advisor during an online workshop you can use the chat box feature in Blackboard Collaborate and we usually have a chat buddy in the session who will monitor and answer your questions.

When delivering an online UniSkills Workshop your Academic Skills Advisor will use a headset and microphone to ensure good quality audio. We also recommend reading this brief session guide to assist you with any technical requirements you might need to join and access your appointment. 

Although you are very welcome to contribute to discussions, and hope you may feel comfortable enough to engage, you are under no obligation to speak during a UniSkills Workshop.

If you do need to communicate with your Academic Skills Advisor during an online workshop you can use the chat box feature in Blackboard Collaborate, and we usually have a chat buddy in the session who will monitor and answer your questions.

Whether you are joining an in person or online workshop there are no expectations for you to participate in discussions, so if you feel more comfortable just listening that’s fine too!

All materials used in a UniSkills Workshop are designed with accessibility and inclusivity in mind.

• PowerPoint slides are accessibility checked and compatible with screen-reading software
• Pre-recorded, fully captioned versions of workshops are available and are emailed to all attendees after the workshop
• If you require materials in advance, please contact us ahead of your workshop

You are very welcome to take notes throughout your workshop and all UniSkills Workshops (except Returning to Learning, which is a community of practice) have a pre-recorded version, which you can work through at your own pace. All workshop attendees will receive a copy of the pre-recorded version after the workshop has finished. If you require materials in advance, please contact us ahead of your workshop and we can email them to you.

If you require any additional academic skills support after your workshop, you can book a one-to-one appointment with one of our Academic Skills Advisors.

There are many accessibility tools available for you to explore, which can help you to access digital content in a way which suits your preferences. The Student Engagement team ensure all UniSkills sessions are compatible with common assistive technologies and we also promote tools which support accessibility in eResources. Additionally, Microsoft also offer some useful accessibility products you can use based on your needs.

We love to receive your feedback as it help us to evaluate and continuously improve your UniSkills support offer. We will regularly invite you to feedback on your experience and satisfaction with UniSkills support, including:

• One-to-One Appointments – twice a year (usually around October and March) we hold our targeted feedback fortnight and if you attend a one-to-one appointment during this time you will receive a survey link in your post-appointment email
• UniSkills Workshops – after every workshop you will receive an email with a digital recording of the session and a link to our termly workshop survey.

In all our surveys we include questions about accessibility and would appreciate any comments about your experience and how we could improve our practices.

Although our surveys are usually quite quick to complete, as a thank you for taking time to share your feedback we also offer an optional prize draw entry where you could win a voucher of your choice!

Please contact us if you have any questions specific to accessibility, or want to request an accommodation in advance of an appointment or workshop.

If you are experiencing any accessibility challenges relating to your studies you can also contact the Disability Support (SpLD) and Inclusion teams, who can help you access support and technologies that may be helpful in developing study skills strategies and reducing the impact of any challenges.