1Hello everybody and welcome to this informal meeting about the University Helpline.
2The Helpline was set up ten years ago by the Students Union
3and it aims to provide new students to the university
4with a service that they can use if they need information
5about practical areas of student life that they are unfamiliar with.
6Let me give you some examples of the type of help we can offer.
7We can provide information on financial matters;
8for example, you may feel that your grant is insufficient to see you through college life
9or you may have some queries regarding the fees you are paying
10if you are an overseas student.
11In both cases, the Helpline would be able to go through things with you
12and see what the outcome might be.
13Another area we can help with is what we generally term the 'domestic' area;
14things such as childcare and the availability of nursery provision, for example, come under this.
15Then there's 'academic' issues that may arise while you are in the early stages of your course
16that you may not know what to do about.
17You may wish to know more about essay deadlines, for example,
18or how to use the library -
19there are all kinds of questions you will find yourself asking
20and not knowing where to get quick answers from.
21The Helpline would be able to provide these.
22The last example I've given here is simply termed 'social' -
23and yes, there is a lot of social life here!
24But you may have a particular interest you wish to pursue
25or you may wish to participate in outings or trips
26if you don't know many people at the moment.
27Let me give you some details
28so that you know where to go and who to see if you want to pay us a visit.
29Generally you will see our Helpline officer Jackie Kouachi,
30that's KOUACHI.
31Jackie is a full-time employee of the Student Union
32and she works in the Student Welfare Office -
33that's the office that deals with all matters related to student welfare
34and it's located at 13 Marshall Road.
35I have some maps here for those of you who haven't been there yet.
36If you wish to ring the office,
37the number is 3269940.
38That's 3269940.
39The office is open between 9.30 and 6 o'clock on weekdays
40and from 10 to 4 on Saturdays
41and there'll be somebody there usually Jackie or myself - between those times.
42If you want to make an appointment, you can phone or call at the office in person.
43Please note that it may not be possible for anyone to see you straight away -
44particularly if it is a busy time - lunch time for example -
45and you may have to go on the waiting list and then come back later.
46Well, enough from me.
47Any questions?