Study support

Your course tutor is your first point of contact for any issue related to your course and will be able to provide you with one-to-one support and guidance. They can be easily contacted by email, telephone and through our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Our academics are highly qualified experts with a wealth of experience, at the forefront of their fields, so will be able to bring relevant industry insights to your learning.

A key part of studying is developing good study skills, especially if you're returning to education after a break. Our Academic Skills Team are on hand to help you develop techniques to learn effectively, produce your assignments and improve your work to reach your full potential. The team includes specialist subject librarians, study skills tutors and digital capability experts and can offer one-to-one appointments via Skype or telephone.

We offer an extensive range of library services to our off-campus students and help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Our comprehensive online catalogue of eResources are available for you to search for and access material such as eBooks, journals and databases. Our team of librarians can help you find your way around the electronic resources and library catalogues, or if there’s something specific you need, they can help you to source it.

Our LibGuides provide information and advice on using our online resources, with specific pages for each subject area, and can help you search for quality-assured websites. Plus, the InfoZone is a good starting point to find out more about our library and IT resources, the RefZone pages will help you reference your assignments correctly and the Assignment Survival Kit can help you to plan your work.

If you’re based in the UK, you'll also be able to borrow materials from other libraries closer to you through the SCONUL Access Scheme, including national libraries and those in universities and colleges. We also offer a postal loans and journal photocopy service to UK-based students and can send articles direct to your desktop through our document delivery service.

You are, of course, welcome to come onto campus and use our Library facilities at any time. 

Blackboard, our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), makes it easy for you to network and connect with your lecturers and fellow students through online discussion boards and forums, as well as access course materials. It ensures your online learning experience is engaging, interactive, social and collaborative.

Every student is now automatically registered for the self-service password reset facility, meaning that you’ll always have access to your emails and learning materials, even if you forget your password!

Beacon is your personal interactive digital coach who’s always on hand to support you through your studies. 

Beacon provides personalised and responsive information on student timetables, enables contact with personal tutors and provides the answers to over 1000 frequently asked questions, covering campus facilities and support services.

As well as this, you can now find the latest University News and Events on Beacon, as well as other useful resources that will help you through University life.

Beacon is available from Google Play, the App Store, and via the standalone Beacon website.

As a Staffordshire University student, you’ll get access to free software downloads including Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Teams, which allows you to collaborate and share content online. You also get personal cloud storage on OneDrive, meaning you can access your documents wherever you are, and free Wi-Fi at participating worldwide universities through eduroam. Plus, all our students get free access to LinkedIn Learning, which puts an enormous library of online training courses at your fingertips.

We’re also currently reviewing the way we offer support and will be developing our digital services to include emerging technologies, such as robotic automation and artificial intelligence so we can offer more support ‘on-demand’ when our students need it. Look out for exciting developments coming soon…

For any technical issues, you can contact our Digital Support team 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.