Careers Advice

The Careers Advisory Service at Medway is located within Student Services and is available to help you with information, advice and guidance at any stage of your studies.

We distribute a Career Planning Guide to all first year students, which includes advice on gaining employability skills while you study through volunteering, work experience and participating fully in university life. You can work towards the Careers Employability Award, delivered through the University's Moodle virtual learning environment, which offers a flexible and interactive way to research career sectors, employers and professional occupations.

It also enables you to assess and develop your skills, to market yourself effectively in the graduate labour market and to perform well at interview. Our extensive careers website includes an online vacancy database with a wide range of employment opportunities and complements the information available in the open access Careers Resources Room in the Gillingham Building.

This all helps you to make a good start in your career planning and contributes to the University's ongoing success in preparing students for the world of work.

Medical care

You should register with a local GP in order to receive treatment under the NHS system in the UK and in many reciprocating countries abroad. You should also register with a local NHS dentist.

The nearest hospital which also has accident and emergency facilities is: Medway Maritime Hospital, Windmill Road, Gillingham T: 01634 830000

Disability and Dyslexia Support Service

Our core services include:

• support for students with specific learning difficulties including dyslexia and dyspraxia
• support for students with physical or sensory impairments and medical conditions
• support for students with mental health difficulties
• support for students with Autistic Spectrum Disorders
• help with applications for the Disabled Students' Allowance.

We have a team of tutors and mentors who can provide individual specialist support and Educational Support Assistants who can help with note-taking and other learning support requirements.

We recommend that if you have a specific learning difficulty, disability or mental health condition, you apply for the Disabled Students' Allowance as soon as you make your UCAS choices. You can get further information from the following website: www.direct.gov.uk/dsa

We encourage all applicants who have additional support needs to contact us before starting at the University, to discuss their requirements.

Busy Bees Nursery

The Busy Bees Nursery is situated close to campus and provides childcare for Medway students. Full and part-time places are available and the nursery has flexible opening hours. The nursery is OFSTED registered and has been rated as 'outstanding'.

OFSTED registration number: EY 289894

The Chaplaincy

The Chaplaincy works in co-operation with chaplaincy colleagues at the University of Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church University. It serves all the main Christian denominations as well as the Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and Sikh faith communities on campus. A chaplain is available throughout the week and can be contacted through Student Services or the Student Learning Advisory Service, both located in the Gillingham Building.

Muslim students are able to meet for prayer on campus through the UMSA Islamic Society. The chaplain can also arrange introductions to local places of worship and is happy to meet with students of any religion or none to offer spiritual advice or pastoral care.

Counselling Service

Going away to university is a time of transition and personal development, and there may be a period when you begin to feel that you would benefit from some professional counselling. The goal of counselling is to empower, encourage and support you and to help you to help yourself. Evidence suggests that the vast majority of students who have been for counselling find it a valuable experience.

The University Counselling Service, based on the Medway campus, offers a confidential service. In addition to individual counselling sessions, we run groups, workshops and courses on relaxation, confidence building, increasing motivation, assertiveness and other issues according to demand. We are also helping to develop workshops on well-being and stress reduction and open walks using the University’s indoor labyrinth at Medway.

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Equality and diversity

The University is committed to creating and supporting a balanced, inclusive and diverse community that is open and accessible to all students. We do not tolerate discrimination, harassment or bullying of any groups or individuals, and we provide comprehensive student guidelines that outline ways of ensuring fair and consistent behaviour.

Security

Access to the Medway campus is monitored by the gatehouse staff and members of security patrol the site 24 hours a day. There is a Police Community Support Officer based in the Pilkington Building who regularly patrols the campus and all areas are covered by CCTV. The accommodation at Liberty Quays features comprehensive CCTV coverage, 24-hour security and electronic entry systems.

Union

The Universities at Medway Students’ Association (UMSA) has an Advice Centre with two full-time members of staff who offer free, confidential and impartial advice on a range of areas including finance, immigration, housing, academic issues and much more.

The Advice Centre offers full appointments as well as drop-in sessions for less complicated issues. Additionally there is also a dedicated email address and adviceline telephone number available for students who may not be on campus and require advice remotely.