Our on-campus orientation will help your son or daughter with all of the essential practicalities of living on campus and in the UK, such as registering to use the Wi-Fi network and library, paying their fees—will they have done this already?, registering with a doctor, opening a bank account, sourcing a mobile phone, etc.

The sessions that will help your son or daughter learn about being a student at Richmond and living in the UK include:

• Campus tours
• Computer and library orientation
• National Health Service (NHS) registration
• Safety in the city
• Living, studying and working in the UK

Every student will require a banking letter from the University with confirmation of full-time registration and address both in the UK and a permanent address (perhaps overseas). All students qualify for student accounts. Most banks offer similar packages, but it is useful to shop around for the best account for your student. Richmond town has local branches for Barclays, HSBC, Natwest and RBS.

Finding the right plan for your student’s mobile phone will depend on how they plan to use it. Will they make calls (local or overseas?), text? Skype? Zoom? Facetime? How much data will they use per month? These are good questions to ask before you decide on a mobile provider. Students often find it difficult to get a mobile contract in the UK without a credit history, but with a co-signer this isn’t usually a problem. They can also get pay-as-you go plans that they can top up on-line very easily. Keep in mind, all campus facilities have WiFi so students can make free calls over any of the many apps available like WhatsApp, Skype and Zoom.

Once your student registers for classes, they will find their course syllabus on Blackboard (our virtual learning platform). Generally, there will be a list of required readings and suggested readings. They can find all of these materials in our library, but they may also find them on Amazon or through other on-line suppliers. If your student can’t find a book s/he needs, please contact our Library at librarian@richmond.ac.ukfor support.

Most students start directly with their instructor when it comes to academic support. This is because the instructor will understand most clearly what the expectations of the course are. The University also offers free access to bookable appointments at the Writing Centre and Maths Workshop as well as peer to peer tutoring and mentoring. If your student is struggling, please encourage them to contact us at studentaffairs@richmond.ac.uk so we can help.

Any Special Educational Needs your son or daughter may have will be assessed by Student Affairs and Registry Services to ensure that we have the appropriate measures in place to support your son or daughter with their online learning and assessments at the start of the academic year, before they commence on-campus learning in early November.

Both of our main campus buildings in Richmond and Kensington offer fully catered options for students, including meal plans.

In addition, hot and cold drinks and fresh snacks for every taste are available in our own coffee shop and ‘create your own baguette’ bar.

A Starbucks coffee shop is also available at both campuses.

Situated in a quiet residential area, and close to the lecture theatre, the main building is the oldest on the Richmond campus. It’s a real hub of activity for the University, offering a lot of convenience. With something always happening, there’s a relaxed yet vibrant ‘buzz’ about its atmosphere. This is the place to be if your son or daughter would like to mingle with academics and all of the students from across the campus.

Most of our first and second year students are housed in the main Richmond building which features 151 rooms of varying size and shape, with smaller rooms in the tower – the main building provides separate male and female accommodation for up to 193 students.

Linen is provided and rooms are cleaned once per week (upon request).

Many of the rooms have sink facilities while toilets and showers are shared.

Our campus in Richmond upon Thames is set in a five acre site in a quiet, residential area surrounded by beautiful parkland.  Twenty-four hour security is provided at both of our campuses in Richmond and Kensington, with CCTV throughout the sites.

A reception facility is also provided at the main campus buildings during term-time, Monday to Friday, 9.00am-5.00pm.  Each room at our Richmond campus benefits from having a personal safe.

Key card access is provided for all the campus buildings, with new students being given a personalised key card on arrival at the Richmond or Kensington campus.

Prior to arriving at Richmond, we encourage all new students to send a copy of a recent passport size photo in jpeg format to Admissions in order to process their ID cards. The photos must show a close-up of students’ full head and shoulders. It must be only of the student with no other objects or people, facing forwards and looking straight at the camera. The photo must meet our standards or the photo will be rejected and students will be required to resubmit a new image.

To speed things up on orientation day, students can use the following web application to take a passport photo  www.epassportphoto.com. Once the photos are ready, they should be saved as a jpeg file with the student’s full name and sent to admissions@richmond.ac.uk.

At our campuses in Richmond and Kensington they will find:

• Free WiFi throughout our two campuses
• Unlimited printing
• IT labs
• Access to a small gym
• Campus events and activities
• Free, confidential counselling services
• Personal Academic Advisor
• Peer mentoring scheme
• Peer tutoring scheme
• Library and quiet zones for study
• Career services through personal development seminars, leadership opportunities, work experience, volunteering

Our Student Affairs team should be contacted if you have any concerns about your son/daughter or would like to ask any questions on student life.  They can be reached at: studentaffairs@richmond.ac.uk