{"id":59,"date":"2022-12-05T14:03:50","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T14:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/?p=59"},"modified":"2022-12-06T08:23:18","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T08:23:18","slug":"finding-out-about-student-support-academic-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/2022\/12\/05\/finding-out-about-student-support-academic-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding out about student support: Academic Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-60\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2022\/12\/resize-Cassie-SZ-drop-in.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"605\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2022\/12\/resize-Cassie-SZ-drop-in.png 605w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2022\/12\/resize-Cassie-SZ-drop-in-300x214.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2022\/12\/resize-Cassie-SZ-drop-in-301x215.png 301w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As we enter December, this always feels like a time of the year when the University community look forward to a well-deserved rest over the winter break to spend time with friends or family. However, I am also conscious this can be a time of increasing stress for taught students as pre-break assessment deadlines hit, and they start to prepare for exams in January. Reassuringly there is lots of support available across the University and especially from the Skills Centre.<\/p>\n<p>Last month I visited the Skills Centre\u2019s \u2018Skills Zone\u2019 in 6E 2.8 during a Monday lunchtime. This is the first time I have physically been to the Skills Zone, and I was delighted to see how lively and welcoming it was. It was really busy with a number of students (individually and in small groups) working with members of the Skills Centre team.<\/p>\n<p>The range of support available for students is amazing, from MASH (Maths and Statistics Help) and writing drop-in sessions, to bookable writing skills tutorials, to self-access resources.\u00a0 A number of these can be accessed online but the skills zone itself provides a really valuable in-person resource for <strong><em>all<\/em> <\/strong>students.<\/p>\n<p>I spoke to a PGT student who had come to the Skills Zone that lunchtime to get some writing support. She had been referred by an academic in her department and this was the second time she had visited.\u00a0 She told me that the support she was able to get was fantastic and really complimented the support she received from within her department.<\/p>\n<p>I also spoke with colleagues from the centre who are all very passionate about providing the right support for our students. They highlighted four key resources:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/unihub.bath.ac.uk\/s\/myskills\">MySkills<\/a> \u2013 the portal for students to find and book the right skills development opportunities for them<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/announcements\/new-resource-to-help-students-engage-with-feedback\/\">\u2018Engaging with Feedback\u2019<\/a> interactive resource - the latest in a series of quick self-access resources for students which helps students to critically engage with tutor feedback<\/li>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/corporate-information\/skills-enrichment-semester-1\/\">Skills Enrichment programme<\/a> \u2013 a range of academic skills sessions to help students get the most out of their studies.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/announcements\/exam-skills-support-for-students\/\">Support to help students prepare effectively for Semester 1 exams<\/a> - live online \/ in-person workshops in weeks 9 to 11 (28 November to 15 December 2022)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In addition to all the resources that students can access themselves, colleagues within the centre are also able (and keen!) to provide specific provision for academic courses through collaboration so academic colleagues should get in touch if they feel their courses would benefit from such input.<\/p>\n<p>Both students and staff can really benefit from the fantastic support and resources which the Skills Centre offers, and the Skills Zone is a really great place to start.<\/p>\n<p>If I had one recommendation for personal tutors, and in fact any colleagues who support students at this time, it would be to check in on them to see how they are coping and ensure they are aware of all the extra academic support available to them from outside their department. This could help relieve some of the concerns they have but also ease the pressure on you at this busy time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As we enter December, this always feels like a time of the year when the University community look forward to a well-deserved rest over the winter break to spend time with friends or family. However, I am also conscious this...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1669,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,9,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academic-support","category-skills","category-support"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":224,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/2025\/04\/24\/digital-academic-skills-supporting-students-and-colleagues-during-rapidly-changing-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":59,"position":0},"title":"Digital &amp; Academic Skills: supporting students and colleagues during rapidly changing times","author":"Cassie Wilson","date":"24 April 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In this month's blog, I\u00a0spoke to David Busby, Head of Digital & Academic Skills, about the variety of support they provide and how the teams use student and staff feedback to shape their services. I also heard about a newly launched Assessment Preparation Planner to help students prepare for all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;academic support&quot;","block_context":{"text":"academic support","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/category\/academic-support\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Five students sitting around a table and talking at a PGT Writing Caf\u00e9 ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2025\/04\/PGT-Writing-Cafe-300x146.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":227,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/2025\/05\/13\/languages-at-bath-a-vibrant-community-of-learning-and-connection\/","url_meta":{"origin":59,"position":1},"title":"Languages at Bath - a vibrant community of learning and connection","author":"Cassie Wilson","date":"13 May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In my latest blog, I am delighted to share some reflections from a recent conversation I had with students and staff about the vibrant language learning community here at the University. Our discussion highlighted the incredible enthusiasm and dedication that both students and staff bring to our language programmes and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;careers&quot;","block_context":{"text":"careers","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/category\/careers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A group of students sit in a circle talking","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2025\/05\/52492392906_600811c34d_b-300x169.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":103,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/2023\/11\/14\/reflections-on-supporting-our-doctoral-students\/","url_meta":{"origin":59,"position":2},"title":"Reflections on supporting our doctoral students","author":"Cassie Wilson","date":"14 November 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently, I was pleased to see Oli Schofield receive well-deserved recognition for the work he is doing with our doctoral community, enhancing researcher development resources, and creating innovative new initiatives. Well done to Oli and everyone involved across the university. This caused me to reflect on my own experiences as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;academic support&quot;","block_context":{"text":"academic support","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/category\/academic-support\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2023\/10\/Doctoral-support-pic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2023\/10\/Doctoral-support-pic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2023\/10\/Doctoral-support-pic.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2023\/10\/Doctoral-support-pic.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/2022\/09\/26\/finding-out-about-student-support-student-living-assistants\/","url_meta":{"origin":59,"position":3},"title":"Finding out about student support: Student Living Assistants","author":"Cassie Wilson","date":"26 September 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"For my latest blog, I have spent some time with the Student Living Support Team to find out what we do to support new students to the University and particularly in our accommodation.\u00a0\u00a0 I met with Matt Waldron, Student Living Support Manager, and Jack Ingram, who has just started as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;support&quot;","block_context":{"text":"support","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/category\/support\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2022\/09\/52387994503_47e6890093_c.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2022\/09\/52387994503_47e6890093_c.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2022\/09\/52387994503_47e6890093_c.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2022\/09\/52387994503_47e6890093_c.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":209,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/2025\/02\/04\/peer-mentoring-considering-the-benefits-and-future-opportunities-at-bath\/","url_meta":{"origin":59,"position":4},"title":"Peer mentoring: considering the benefits and future opportunities at Bath","author":"Cassie Wilson","date":"4 February 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Before becoming Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Student Experience, I had several different roles here at Bath, at a course\/department level (Director of Studies, Director of Teaching, Senior Tutor) and Faculty level (Associate Dean L&T). All these roles had a large emphasis on coordinating the educational experience for students but also on how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;community&quot;","block_context":{"text":"community","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/category\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Peer Mentor speaking to two mentees","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2025\/02\/Peer-Mentoring.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2025\/02\/Peer-Mentoring.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2025\/02\/Peer-Mentoring.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2025\/02\/Peer-Mentoring.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2025\/02\/Peer-Mentoring.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2025\/02\/Peer-Mentoring.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":117,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/2023\/12\/11\/winter-break-and-wrapping-up-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":59,"position":5},"title":"Winter break and wrapping up 2023","author":"Cassie Wilson","date":"11 December 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Can it really be December already and the end of teaching for 2023? 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