Support for Study is Stage 1 of the Health Wellbeing and Support for Study (HWSS) Procedure.
Support for Study is an action planning process lead by staff in partnership with the student to help to support with a student's studies, or other aspects of their University life. It is a way to formalise and record support agreed with and being offered to students who need more structure than a supportive conversation or personal tutor meeting.
Who can convene a Support for Study Plan with a student?
- Wellbeing practitioners, Mental Health practitioners and other colleagues from Student Support
- SU Advice and Community colleagues
- Personal Tutors, Doctoral Supervisors, Directors of Study or Heads of Department
- Accommodation staff
When would a Support for Study Plan be used?
| Circumstances where a support plan may be helpful | Intended outcome | Implemented by |
|---|---|---|
| When a student is struggling academically | To identify gaps in knowledge or skills and create a plan to address these | Personal Tutors, Doctoral Supervisors, Directors of Studies or Heads of Department. Wellbeing Practitioners, Disability Advisors or SU Advice colleagues |
| When a student is struggling to engage in their studies | To agree goals and timelines for engagement and objectives | Personal Tutors, Doctoral Supervisors, Directors of Studies or Heads of Department. Wellbeing Practitioners or SU Advice colleagues |
| When a student is seeking multiple extensions or IMCs to manage their studies | To identify the difficulties leading to these requests and put a plan in place to mitigate or manage these difficulties to prevent studies becoming overwhelming. | Personal Tutors, Doctoral Supervisors, Directors of Studies or Heads of Department. Wellbeing Practitioners or SU advisors. |
| When there is a concern over a student’s health, wellbeing and behaviour that is not serious, critical or potentially serious or critical* | To create an action plan to support the student to maintain their own health, wellbeing and behaviour | Personal Tutors, Doctoral Supervisors, Directors of Studies or Heads of Department. Mental Health Practitioners (when the concern is MH related) |
| For students under ‘Case Management’ within Student Support | To identify the steps and services needed to support the student and agree actions that will be taken | Student Support colleagues |
| For students struggling with living in University accommodation | To agree actions by both the student(s) and the University to facilitate harmonious living | Accommodation colleagues. Wellbeing Practitioners or SU Advice colleagues |
| For any student who would benefit from structured support | To identify the steps and services needed to support the student and agree actions that will be taken | All colleagues |
*Call 4321 for advice for staff on how to support students when there is a concern over their health, wellbeing and behaviour.
An outline of the criteria for each stage can be found here.
Using the Support for Study Plan
- Contact the student and arrange a time to meet.
- In your meeting with the student, work through the first page of the Support for Study Plan. This will help you to better understand their situation and support needs.
- Use this conversation to start to develop an action plan for the student. This will include their goals and the actions that they, and you, commit to in order to meet these goals.
- Arrange with the student a time for your next meeting and if/how you should maintain contact until their next meeting.
- Upload a copy of the Support for Study Plan to the student's SAMIS record.
- Email a copy of the Support for Study Plan to the student for their records.
- Notify Student Casework Team by email that a HWSS Stage 1 has been opened, closed or escalating to a Stage 2.
The HWSS Student Casework Team are available for any support and guidance on the process.