Supporting you. Not just on your degree, but with everything you need.
At Arden, we’re not just committed to supporting you with your academic studies, but with everything you need to succeed in all aspects of your life.
We know that embarking on a degree can be challenging, whether you’re joining us straight from your studies or have been out of education for some time to pursue other ventures. That’s why we’ve designed an exhaustive support system to help you succeed.
Studying with Arden, you’ll never be on your own. We have a diverse range of specialists ready and available to support you on every part of your journey, whether that’s bringing you up to speed with academic study skills, supporting your mental health and well-being, getting control of your financial planning, or helping you find the career you’ve always wanted. Whatever support you need, we’ve got it all covered.
Diversity and equality news
Giving you the support you need to thrive at university
Our student support isn’t just here to help you if you’re struggling, but to bring out your best personal, academic, and professional qualities. We’ll reach out to you on enrolment and will be there to support you every step of the way, from enrolment through to graduation.
Our student support team is dedicated to making sure you have everything you need to get through your studies successfully. With so many different support specialists and resources to offer, we’re confident our team can help you with the guidance you’re looking for.
Our Success Coaches are here to help you identify and overcome any barriers you might face on your course right from the get-go. This ranges from personal problems that are impacting your progress and challenges in areas like time management, resilience, and motivation, to just helping you get the most out of your studies.
Each of our Support Champions undergoes rigorous training to ensure they're able to support you with anything related to your course or future career.
We know many students value the opportunity to review and refine their academic study skills. That’s why you’ll have access to Academic Skills Tutors that can provide one-on-one support in areas such as:
- Academic reading, writing, and referencing
- Critical thinking and research
- Structuring assignments
- Literature searching
- How to avoid plagiarism
- And more!
Academic Skills Workshops are run on a regular basis to teach you key study skills and help you get the most out of your resources in a supportive and collaborative environment. You’ll be able to choose a workshop based on your level of expertise, covering key themes that will help you along on your academic journey. And don’t worry if you miss a live session - they’ll all be recorded and available to you 24/7 in our Library Portal.
If you want to work through your study skills on your own, we have just what you need to do that. Through iLearn, you’ll have 24/7 access to a wide range of online study skills resources, including academic reading and writing, note-taking, numeracy, presentation, research, and referencing.
Completing a dissertation project is part of many of our degree courses. That’s why we’ve ensured you have the support you need to complete your project successfully. You’ll be able to drop into our Dissertation Support Sessions for guidance on whatever you might need, whether that’s choosing a topic, evaluating resources, literature review, or writing a bibliography.
Available to all students across all time zones, Live Chat allows you to get your questions answered in real-time directly from our support team. You can chat to us about anything, from university or course details to student life and everything in between.
Our chat is available from 8 AM – 4PM UK time - but don’t hesitate to message us outside of these hours and someone from our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Creating a community and support network
We want our students to have the best possible experience studying with us, with our strong community being an essential part of the student experience. Whether you study with us online or on campus, we’ve built our support system to ensure you never feel alone, that you have opportunities to connect with your classmates and staff, and that your student voice is valued.
We are Arden University Students’ Association, which was established in response to your feedback, as students, to have greater representation at Arden.
We represent all Arden University students studying across distance and blended learning, with the purpose to advocate and champion your best interests, no matter what or where you study.
We work with Arden University staff to ensure you get the right support, guidance, and best opportunities to thrive during your studies at Arden University.
If you would like to learn more, check out our website www.ardenstudents.org or email us studentvoice@ardenuniversity.ac.uk.
We can’t wait to support you during your time at Arden University!
The Student Representative Network is a team of incredible student volunteers who represent you on your programme, among other ways, to make sure your student experience is the best possible. They work closely with the Students’ Association team and our full-time Students’ Association President, Dace Rozina.
Being a Student Representative is a voluntary position. You are responsible for gathering feedback on all aspects of the student experience and sharing it across the university community, including academics and staff members, to support positive change at Arden University
If you are interested in applying to become a student representative or would like to know more, please get in touch with the Students’ Association team at studentvoice@ardenuniversity.ac.uk for more information.
This is a unique experience to develop professional skills in supporting your future career, as well as make active change on the lives of other students at Arden University.
Unitu is a student forum platform where you can post any questions, ideas, issues, or praise about your student experience. This can be anything from where to find the right information, to new big ideas on developing something special at Arden University.
It is a space designed for you, and other students like you, to discuss and share feedback with staff, and to get the right responses from the right people.
We are excited to hear your ideas so we can create change together and make your Arden experience the best it can be, no matter what, where, or how you study.
Creating equality through support for students with accessibility/disability challenges
Arden is an active promoter of equity, equality, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in higher education. One of our core values is to ensure all students, no matter their background or personal circumstances, have the opportunity to improve their lives through learning. For this reason, we provide personalised support to students who experience challenges or need additional accessibility to help them study successfully.
We have a dedicated Inclusion team to ensure that no matter what you're best placed to succeed at Arden.
There are a number of different types of support and reasonable adjustments available to Arden students who have a mental health condition, disability, long-term illness, and/or learning difference. We’ll talk to you about the barriers you experience and offer the adjusments you need to thrive during your studies. The support we provide is based on your individual needs but some examples include:
- Extra time or rest breaks in exams
- Extensions on coursework
- Support with applications to the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA)
- DSA support includes things like weekly specialist mentoring and study skills support, access to equipment and software, and more
- Access to readings in advance and to audiobooks
We’re currently strengthening our Inclusion Services provision to ensure our support is as enabling as possible. We’ll also be able to offer the following services soon:
- Signposting and training in free software e.g., speech-to-text and mind-mapping software that can help with academic tasks like reading and essay writing.
- Training and workshops for students to share study strategies based around specific barriers or challenges e.g., organisation or reading.
We’ve embedded a series of free and easy to use assistive technologies into your learning experience to facilitate your studying. These can be used to help you complete tasks and assignments, removing some of the accessibility barriers you might face.
The disability, welfare, and well-being inclusion services at Arden provides adjustments for students who need it. If you’re a student who has an SpLD e.g., dyslexia/ADHD/dyspraxia, a long-term medical condition, a physical or sensory impairment, or a mental health difficulty, please reach out to us so that we can organise the support you need. This can include:
- Specialist study support for dyslexia or another SpLD
- Mental health support
- Note-taking support
- Sign language communication support
- Risk assessment on campus
- Personal evacuation plan on campus
- Assistive technology such as magnifiers or screen readers
- Ergonomic equipment such as adjustable desks
- Reasonable adjustments in learning and teaching such as extensions or modified materials
- Reasonable adjustments in exams such as extra time
Giving you the financial support you need
Arden has a longstanding commitment to breaking down financial barriers to higher education. In addition to having competitive tuition fees, we have a dedicated financial support team and a wealth of online resources to support you in completing your studies without breaking the bank.
Eligible UK students will be able to receive support from our £1,000,000 hardship fund, which can be used for overcoming hardship, digital poverty, or even personal expenses. This has been set up to ensure financial difficulties don’t get in the way of your education.
All Arden students have free access to Blackbullion, a service dedicated to helping students boost their financial education. You’ll be able to explore funding and work opportunities, as well as navigate financial planning, budgeting, and decision-making. It’s a valuable tool for helping you stay on top of your finances both during and after your studies.
Our Financial Support Team is always available to answer your questions and help you overcome financial barriers so that you can continue your studies. If you run into any challenges during your time with us, get in touch with them for personalised advice and support.
Supporting your career development
Arden makes sure you succeed both during your studies and long after you’ve graduated. We’ve packed our courses full of the modern knowledge and skills needed to excel in today’s workplace. On top of that, we have a dedicated careers team to support you in fulfiling your career goals even before you graduate.
Our highly trained Careers Team is here to support you in reaching the career you’ve always wanted. Acting as your personal careers consultants, they’ll offer advice and coaching, interview preparation, and help you identify any additional skills or qualifications needed to achieve your professional ambitions. You can email them for advice at any time or even book a one-to-one session to receive in-depth, personalised careers support.
For more information, go to Arden Careers.
Arden Futures, our online career platform will help facilitate your personal and professional growth. It provides:
- Workshops and employer events for insights and networking.
- Search opportunities to find graduate roles, part time jobs and internships
- Learning pathways for career development and planning.
- Careers appointments with our career consultants for personalised guidance.
- Career discovery feed with articles and ‘how to’ guides for career development.
- Online career tools including CareerSet, Shortlist.me, Occumi, Graduates First, Student Circus, and Pay Negotiation.
Arden Enterprise Incubator is here to help you develop your business knowledge and skills, whether you’re a complete novice or a full-fledged entrepreneur. This business support package has three levels, each packed full of resources to help you achieve your business goals.
You’ll be joining our community of entrepreneurs, industry experts, and experienced academics, who will provide you with real insight into how to set up and run a successful business.
Taking care of your wellbeing
Student support at Arden goes above and beyond academic and careers success. We understand that while university study is incredibly rewarding, it also comes with challenges. That’s why we’ve invested in making sure your wellbeing is also a top priority.
All Arden students have access to Togetherall, which includes free online welfare, as well as advice for students and well-being support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Whether you're struggling to sleep, feeling low or stressed, or find yourself unable to cope, Togetherall can help you get support, take control, and feel better. It provides a safe space to get things off your chest, explore your feelings, get creative, and learn how to self-manage your mental health and wellbeing. Join an online global community and receive support from trained professionals, all while remaining completely anonymous.
We have plenty of additional mental health support, guidance, and resources to help you with your wellbeing. This includes tips for managing academic pressures and maintaining mind and body health, as well as links to other types of support you might need. We’ve also ensured our Student Support team are trained in this area, so don’t hesitate to reach out to them, too.
A digital library packed full of accessibility features
Throughout your studies you’ll have access to our extensive online Library Portal with all of the books, journals, and texts you’ll need to successfully complete your assignments and studies. You’ll also find a find lots of accessibility features created to suit all learning styles and individual needs.
Inside the Library Portal, you’ll also have access to BibliU. There, you’ll find 7,000 books which we’ve carefully curated to meet the needs of your course. That means you’ll be able to access your entire university library anywhere you go, and on any device.
Inside our digital library you’ll have:
- All of the key texts needed for your courses, with additional offline access
- Your own text copy to highlight, take notes, or bookmark useful passages
- A straightforward search function for easy navigation
- Integrated referencing so you can cite sources with just a couple of clicks
Introducing your Digital Backpack
Once you’ve enrolled on your course with Arden you’ll get access to your Digital Backpack, a toolkit of digital resources we’ve put together to help you succeed during your time studying with us.
Here are some of the digital resources you’ll have available from day one of your course:
All Arden students will have free access to LinkedIn Learning through the Library Portal. LinkedIn Learning is a comprehensive digital platform offering over 16,000 expert-led courses across a wide range of subjects including business, technology, and creative skills.
We set you up with a subscription to Microsoft Office 365 during your studies, completely free of charge, helping you create and manage your coursework and assignments in one handy cloud location.
Zoom is integrated into our online learning platform, ilearn. This makes it seamless to attend lectures from any location and on any device.
Our online library portal was created to help you avoid having to pay hefty fees for your study texts, so you’ll find it a user friendly and intuitive resource. After selecting a book or article from our Library Portal, it’ll become yours to keep and refer back to for the duration of your studies.
Our careers platform gives you 24/7 access to hundreds of careers resources, and is the home of our Careers team that will help you on your personal careers journey.
Unitu is an online student voice platform that provides you with the opportunity to connect with your tutors and peers.
