Facilities and Services Available for Students on Campus
Whether you are joining us as a potential new student or you are already a part of our community, there are a lot of facilities and services that you can access and are available for students on campus. In this blog, we are going to explore some of these services and give some unique tips that might help you later in your student career
Firstly, as a student, it is important to note that you have free access to a wide range of facilities, most of which just require a simple booking. Most rooms on campus can be booked through the online timetabling portal. Specialist labs, such as those in the Creative Centre and Design Centre, may require extra training on equipment before you can book them. Spaces like the auditorium or the creative writing room (it has sofas) are great for socialising with friends, depending on how you want to use them.
There are also many spaces where you can relax with friends on campus. A good place to start is the library. Generally, the ground floor is for group work and socialising, and you can and if you need a break, you can enjoy the daily puzzle, for example. One of the benefits of the library is that, while you’re working, you also have access to services like the academic liaisons, who can help you identify areas for improvement in your assessments, especially in referencing and finding appropriate sources. Another great feature of the library is that you can rent out various equipment, such as recording devices, iPads, and chargers — all very useful for your dissertation! However, note that during exam and assessment periods, the library can get quite busy.
If you’re looking to develop yourself and your skills, then I highly recommend exploring Launchpad. Launchpad offers a variety of opportunities, primarily focused on gaining work experience related to your course. It hosts a verity workshops and events like the Careers Fair and careers workshops (and much of this support continues even after you graduate!). Launchpad also offers schemes like KickStart, which provides small funding and resources for students thinking of starting a business.
When it comes to enhancing your general student experience, there are other things that can help. For example, as mentioned, spaces like the library and Holgate also include services like printing and photocopying (including colour), laptop loan lockers, and more. These are useful if you’ve forgotten any equipment or don’t have access to these resources at home (this mainly applies to printing), and you can use them quickly and easily on campus. This ties in with your Office 365 account, which is incredibly useful for working in groups or if you’re involved in university jobs as a student.
Another valuable but often overlooked service on campus is the Law Clinic. The clinic provides FREE legal advice to the public from law students (under the supervision of staff). The advice is especially helpful for things like housing contracts and general legal queries.
Additionally, there’s the on-campus gym under YSJ Active, which is ideal for those that are new or are just quickly wanting to fit it around studies. It’s a smaller space with fewer people compared to the larger gyms in York, and at just £15 per month, it’s significantly more affordable. But if you are interested in doing more active sports, societies and sports clubs is the best way to go. However, the YSJ Active app also does other sessions that are going on across campus or the Haxby Road sports campus, for example, the Friday Night Pitchup.
One thing that YSJ prides itself on, is the wellbeing services. The services are here for students, and you can ask for a wide range of support including with extensions of assessments, wellbeing drop-in sessions and most importantly, Blue! The sessions can allow for students to talk with specialists and offer time to address any problems that may be going on. Blue the dog as well can be booked to be seen so you can spend time with our furry friend. The chaplaincy also offers support for students from any religious background as well as anyone exploring their sexuality.
However, while there are many, many more services YSJ offers, I want to emphasise that these resources are here for you. To make the most of your tuition fees, I highly recommend taking advantage of these services to develop your skills and enhance your studies and time here while at YSJ.