University life

Welcome to university life - we hope it is the experience of your life too.

We will certainly do everything we can to make it as exciting. Rewarding and fulfilling as we possibly can.

It's only fair to point out though that the University environment is quite different to school, college or the workplace.

You are now a member of an academic community where you will be challenged to develop your own thoughts and ideas through self-managed learning.

Although you will be given reading lists and directed to appropriate materials for your course, you are expected to do your own research and find additional sources of information.

Academic integrity is taken very seriously and citing others ideas or words without appropriate acknowledgement can have severe consequences.

Be sure that you understand how to reference properly.

BU is a professionally focused university and your course is likely to have the opportunity for some form of placement or work experience. It’s never too early to start thinking about what you are going to do once you graduate and our careers and placement service is open to students from the first day of their studies.

There are also loads of things to do when you’re not studying, so take a look at the extra curricular activities available. As well as being enjoyable participation in these activities also look great on your CV!

If you are leaving home for the first time, it is not uncommon to feel homesick. If you are having trouble settling in you shouldn’t be embarrassed about speaking to someone. Your tutor, academic advisor or PAL leader can all help, or you could contact askBU or the Students’ Advice Centre. The University will not speak to any third party (including parents) without your explicit permission.

And finally... we are interested in your feedback. Please use your Student Representative system to feedback what you think about your course (good and bad). BU also runs its own Student Experience Survey and final year students complete the National Student Survey (NSS). We listen to what you say and will make changes based on your comments.