Starting university means starting a new independent life, for most students, this means no longer living at home, and instead living in a new city with new friends. Although this freedom is great, you will also have to take a lot of responsibility for your finances, including tuition fees, finding somewhere to live, and other living costs. This is all whilst studying your course and trying to maintain good mental health. Here are all the ways you can get help at Birmingham City University.
For Help
Accommodation
Email: accommodation@bcu.ac.uk
Phone: 0121 331 5191
Childcare
Child Care Adviser:
Phone: 0121 331 5588.
Disability & Dyslexia
Email: disability@bcu.ac.uk
Faith & Spirituality
Anglican Chaplain
Email: david.veale@bcu.ac.uk
Phone: 0121 331 5345/7777
Roman Catholic Chaplains
Email: christina.mccann@bcu.ac.uk
Email: jenifer.cummings@bcu.ac.uk
Phone: 0121 331 5345/7777
Quaker Chaplain
Email: chrismartin2@btinternet.com
Phone: 0121 475 2088
Jewish Chaplain
Email: fishelcohen@gmail.com
Phone: 07771 653717
Fees & Finance
Email: studentsupport@bcu.ac.uk.
Health
Phone: 0121 523 7117
International Students
Email: international.enquiries@bcu.ac.uk
Phone: 0121 331 5389
Student complaints & Academic appeals
Email: complaintsandappeals@bcu.ac.uk.
Volunteering
Email: volunteering@bcu.ac.uk
Wellbeing
Phone: 0121 331 5588
Accommodation
Once you have made the tough decision of deciding which university you want to go to, you then need to decide where you are going to live, whether you fancy spending a year in university-managed accommodation, private student accommodation, or if your lucky enough to be able to commute from home.
Birmingham City University has several different university-managed accommodations, so the perfect one for you depends on how many people you want to share a flat with, whether you want an ensuite or shared bathroom, and how many weeks you want to stay there. It’s best to check all the university-managed accommodation individually with the university accommodation guide to find out which is the best one for you.
To get in contact with the Birmingham City University Accommodation Team you can email them at accommodation@bcu.ac.uk or call them on 0121 331 5191.
Childcare
Birmingham City University wants to make sure that all the students have time for their studies, and want to help students who have children find childcare to support them. The Child Care Adviser at the university understands the needs of students who are also parents and is available to offer advice and support.
Most students choose a daycare, childminders, or nursery schools to look after their children whilst they are studying, and although the university does not have their own nursery the Child Care Adviser can give plenty of advice on what type of childcare could work for you, as well as guidance on funding.
If you need to contact the Child Care Adviser at Birmingham City University you can call them on 0121 331 5588.
Disability and Dyslexia
At Birmingham City University there are disability and mental health advisers available to offer advice, information, and support to students with a disability, illness, condition, or learning difficulty.
To contact the Disability Support Team you can email them at disability@bcu.ac.uk.
Faith and Spirituality
No matter your faith or religion you will find facilities for you to pray and contemplate at during your studies at Birmingham City University. The chaplaincy team are inter-faith and have chaplains representing a variety of communities, including Roman Catholic, Anglican, Free Church, Quaker and Jewish. The chaplaincy team are there to offer students friendship, advice, support and to give students the opportunity to meet new friends.
To get in touch with the chaplain team you can call 0121 331 5345/7777. However, to directly get in touch with the Anglican Chaplain, Dr David Veale, you can email him at david.veale@bcu.ac.uk.
To get in touch with one of the Roman Catholic Chaplains, Christina McCann or Jenifer Cummings, you can email either christina.mccann@bcu.ac.uk or jenifer.cummings@bcu.ac.uk .
To contact the Quaker Chaplain, Chris Martin, email him at chrismartin2@btinternet.com or call him on 0121 475 2088.
To get in touch with the Jewish Chaplain, Rabbi Fishel Cohen, you can email him at fishelcohen@gmail.com or call him on 07771 653717.
Fees and Finance
Once you start your time at Birmingham City University you may feel worried about your finances, as now you are expected to pay tuition fees, accommodation fees, living costs, travel, supplies, etc. All of this financial pressure and responsibility is experienced by students for the first time when they start university, and most students apply for a student loan to cover their tuition, accommodation and living costs.
If you need some advice or help to manage your finances you can get in touch with the student support team at studentsupport@bcu.ac.uk.
Health
It’s really important to sign up with a local doctor when you start university, as it means if you get ill you will already have someone to call and don’t have to mess about filling in forms. Birmingham City University provides its students with a health care service through Handsworth Wood Medical Centre.
The Medical Centre is open 8am to 6:30pm Monday to Friday and you can register with them online. You can also call the centre on 0121 523 7117.
International Students
Birmingham is a diverse and dynamic city and the second-largest student city in the UK. Birmingham City University has staff, students, and alumni from over 100 different countries. The international team can offer you advice on all areas of your studies, including applying for visas living in Birmingham.
To contact the international team you can email them at international.enquiries@bcu.ac.uk or call them on 0121 331 5389.
Student complaints and academic appeals
Although for most students university is one of the best times of their life, meeting new friends, being independent, and studying for their career, sometimes things can go wrong and students need to make a complaint. This could be a complaint about a course, module, member of staff or another student, and should be made on the formal complaint form you can access on the student intranet.
A student can request an academic appeal when there is evidence of extenuating circumstances, bias, or procedural irregularity.
To contact the complaints and appeals team at Birmingham City University you can email them at complaintsandappeals@bcu.ac.uk.
Volunteering
Volunteering is a great way to spend your time, as you can boost your cv, learn new skills, and help others all at the same time. At Birmingham City University there are many different ways you can volunteer. One way to volunteer is to get involved in the universities Student Union, such as by helping out in their events, fairs, etc. You could also volunteer by assisting at the Birmingham foodbank or working with the national trust at one of its Birmingham sites, such as Wightwick Manor or Mosely Old Hall.
If you want to find even more ways you can volunteer, contact the volunteering team by emailing them at volunteering@bcu.ac.uk.
Wellbeing
Although studying is a really important part of university so is having a healthy lifestyle and friendships. The wellbeing team at Birmingham City University can offer advice and support on all areas of your life, including feelings of homesickness, experiences of abuse, accommodation difficulties, relationships, etc. Their job is to help you with anything that may be having a negative impact on your time at university.
You can call the wellbeing team on 0121 331 5588 or speak to them online through Ask Us.
Last Updated on December 21, 2024
Published on September 21, 2020
