Services for online students

At the University of Exeter, we are dedicated to making your online education experience as smooth as possible, so that you can achieve your full potential. We fully appreciate and understand your commitment to education lies alongside work, home and other priorities. That’s why at the University of Exeter we have a number of support services to help you through this exciting journey.

How we will support you?

Academic support

Your tutor will be focused on supporting you with any questions or clarifications you have on the module they have taught you, with the express aim of helping you to fulfil your academic potential. Support will also cover preparing for assessments and responding to feedback or any other matter that may be affecting your studies.

Student Support Services

Our Student Support Advisors are here to answer all those questions not directly related to your teaching delivery. Our staff are skilled at responding to your questions in a timely manner on topics ranging from assessment deadlines, how to get an extension or how to submit assessments. If they are unable to answer your query, they will be able to signpost you to someone who can!

The online learning platform at Exeter is great. The platform lays out all the information simply and I find it useful that each week structures the learning into bitesize chunks.

At the end of each week, there is also a learning summary section. I have found that beneficial to look back to and see what key points were covered that I can use for my assignment

Digital library

All the library resources you need to succeed in your education can be accessed through our digital library, available from any location at any time.

We pride ourselves in being able to provide a highly personalised library support service, which our online students can access through various channels, including 24/7 web chat, email and 1:1 support from liaison librarians via Microsoft Teams.

If the digital library is new to you, we have a collection of online guides that will support you to make the best use of this resource for your learning and research. Start with your reading lists for relevant library resources and get in touch if you need help. You can find more details on your liaison librarians and the online subject guides here.

Study skills

It may be a while since your last piece of academic writing, or this may be a completely new skill to you. Don’t panic! You can find guidance on Study Zone Digital on a number of study-related areas, including:

Reading and note-making strategies
Study and time management
Critical analysis
Digital skills
Presentation skills
Academic writing process
Revision and exam strategies

You can also attend an online study skills drop-in for further guidance and advice on these study skills topics.

In addition to these services, the University of Exeter has worked in partnership with the Studiosity team to offer online study support for students 24/7, 365 days a year. Accessed via ELE, this allows you to upload segments of work or assignment drafts up to 5,500 words for quick but useful feedback on spelling, grammar, structure, choice of language and referencing. Students can make 10 submissions per year, renewing every September.

Wellbeing Services

At the University of Exeter, we are passionate about supporting our students to have good physical and mental health so that they can have the best possible academic and student experience. Our Wellbeing Services support is made up of three main pathways:

Psychological Therapies Pathway
Mental Health Pathway
AccessAbility Pathway

We are committed to providing a learning environment which gives all of our students the support they need to thrive. We support students with long-term disabilities, including chronic medical conditions, physical and sensory impairments, learning differences and those with Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC).

Welfare

We understand that at times, it can be difficult juggling education alongside other commitments including home and work. If your mental or physical health is having an effect on your ability to study, or your studying is creating health problems, our experienced Education Welfare Advisors are available to talk to and support you in a confidential and non-judgmental manner.

Careers and Employability

Your education journey is likely to have been driven by your passion to steer or advance your career in a particular direction or through your love of learning. Either way, we are here to support you find the path that builds on your qualifications and professional experience. Alongside developing employability skills through your course, you will be able to access a range of resources supported by a fully qualified Career Zone Team providing:

A live chat function where a member of the team can respond to your enquiries
Create effective CVs, covering letters and application forms
Job vacancies, careers fairs, employers and alumni presentations
Careers guidance appointments and skills workshops that will help with career planning, job hunting and preparation for job selection processes

IT support

When you study with us online, you will have access to the same IT support as our on-campus students. This includes:

a University of Exeter email address
OneDrive cloud storage
expert IT Service Desk for access support and password resets

After you pay for or provide evidence of a loan and enrol onto a course, you will create a username and password for your personal IT account. You will use this to access your course via ELE, as well as your university email account, where all your course-related emails will be sent.

IT issues – where to go

The IT Service Desk can assist with challenges accessing university accounts and online areas or downloading software that we offer. They can be reached either by logging in to the IT Service Desk web portal, or by calling +44 (0) 1392 72 5050. Operating hours are 8am-6pm GMT.

Any hardware and some software technical issues you may encounter will be caused by your equipment or external network, which means contacting your supplier or the manufacturer.