Everyone
struggles at times, and you need to let someone know if you’re
having problems.
Study Kit – Coping with Problems
If I have problems, who can I turn to?
Everyone
struggles at times, and you need to let someone know if you’re
having problems.
If
in doubt – contact
your supervisor:
they can often help, and they know who else to contact in
the
University. You can find all staff
contact
details here.
Other good sources of help, especially when you don’t really know what is the problem, are the University’s Student Support Office, ,your College postgraduate tutors, Dean or Provost, the Student’s Union (including their Nightline), and particularly recommended is the Open Door Team.
Quite
often it’s good to sort out your own problems, but there are
times when you need to let us know, or to get some help.
Here are some of the more common situations:
I’m feeling ill and can’t work
There’s a module I’m really finding difficult
I'm very concerned for someone else, and it’s affecting my work
There just seems to be so much to do, I can’t get started
I think I might have a disability
If this is an Emergency,
please
click
here for vital information from the University.
Firstly – please let us know if you are missing lectures, labs, workshops or other meetings. The best option is to call the Departmental Office (01904 322370), or email them on elec-genadmin@york.ac.uk
If this is an illness which will last more than a day or so, you really should inform your Supervisor. You can Self-Certify your illness for up to 10 days a year (more information about this process here).
If your illness is likely to stop you working for more than several weeks, you may need to consider a Leave of Absence. Read more about this in the Undergraduate Handbook (BEng/MEng, or BSc).
If you are missing an assignment or exam you will need to complete a Mitigating Circumstances Form – and submit this to the Departmental Office. If you wish the Board of Examiners to take account of any problems, you will also need to supply official supporting evidence (such as a doctor’s note etc.)
When you are feeling better, make sure that you catch up on lecture notes and assignments.
There
are many pressures at University, which can just become too much
at
times.
It might be homesickness, work difficulty, relationship problems, worry about other people, or just a combination of everything new.
The worst thing about getting depressed is that it makes people tend to shut themselves away – just at the point when they really need to seek help.
So – if this is you – just tell someone, and be aware that the following support is available:
Your Academic Supervisor
The University Open Door Team – who are the single point of access for anyone experiencing emotional, psychological or mental health difficulties. If you feel alone and unique in your problem, take a look at their list of common problems, any of which they will talk about with you.
The University Chaplains also offer help and support to those with or without religious belief.
Firstly
– you should expect
to
find course units moderately difficult;
as University is a challenging place. However, if after
talking to
your fellow students, you think you are personally struggling
more than average,
you may wish to get some further help. (If
there is a general
problem
with a course unit, with which most students would agree,
this should be
raised with your Student Representative and taken to
Staff-Student
Liaison Committee).
Please make an appointment to see the lecturer concerned (You can find all staff contact details here). They often know how to get around the common ‘sticking points’ and can provide hints on further work or reading that will help you.
Your supervisor should be able to help too, not because every supervisor is an expert on all courses, but because they often encounter common student problems, and can give some advice and support to you.
![MCj03553990000[1]](http://www-users.york.ac.uk/%7Eadh2/study_kit_files/image060.gif)
When
there’s
something really wrong with someone who matters to us,
it is understandable that it will distract us from our work.
If it’s a fellow student you are worried about, you can still contact the Open Door team.
If it’s family problems, or other things not directly to do with campus life, then you may still benefit from talking this through with someone. Make an appointment to see your supervisor. You can also call in to see the people at the Student Support Office or phone or email.
It
is easy for panic to set in when you feel overwhelmed by work.
Many of the things in this guide will help you to get going with your work, which will in turn reduce the feelings of despair.
The best advice is a combination of these steps:
Make an appointment with your Supervisor to talk this through. We all get stuck; we understand the feeling.
Plan your work. Everything seems better if you can manage to make a list and set priorities.
Try to team up with other students to work together and provide mutual support
Address any worries which are distracting you, e.g. about other people, or your general state of mind.
Try focusing on your own well-being (see Stress & Relaxation resources on York’s Open Door site and their guide to common Academic Pressures)
A disability is a long-term condition that affects your mental or physical performance, not to be confused with a temporary illness or problem that will mend easily with time.
In the first instance you should make an appointment to see your academic Supervisor.
Following
that you might want to chat with Rhian Scott, (rhian.scott@york.ac.uk
or phone +44 (0)1904 32
2378) the Electronics
Department’s Disability
Support
Officer.
She can be a point of contact between you and the
various parts of the University.
Alternatively, you can contact the University’s Disability Support Office directly.
If you think you may have Dyslexia (or a related condition) you can find out more from here.
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