FAQ

Can I see a Student Advisor without an appointment?

Yes.  You can visit The Hub during our drop-in sessions (10am until 1pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays AND 2pm to 5pm on Wednesdays) and meet with a Duty Advisor without an appointment.  You will be seen on a first come, first served basis.  Drop-in sessions may be restricted to 15 minutes.

Can I see a specific Student Advisor?

During drop-in sessions, you will only be able to see the Duty Advisor.

During appointment sessions, you can arrange to see a specific Student Advisor.  Just give the name of the Student Advisor you would like to see when you visit The Hub.  If they are not available when you visit, you can make an appointment to see them at a later date.

I need some immigration advice but Reception staff will not arrange an appointment with a specific Student Advisor, why is this?

If you require immigration advice, you will asked to attend during a drop-in session in the first instance. 

The Duty Advisor will take details of your case and if possible, provide immigration advice during the drop-in session.  If they are unable to provide immigration advice during the drop-in session, the Duty Advisor will arrange a further appointment for you to see an advisor. 

We introduced this new policy in January 2008 so we can manage the level of service we provide to students requiring immigration advice.  

Why do you ask for my telephone number when I make an appointment?

Occasionally we may need to cancel your appointment due to staff sickness.  In these instances, we will contact you by telephone to rearrange your appointment.

Can I speak to a Student Advisor at the weekend?

No, our service is open Monday to Friday.  We are not open during the weekend.  If you urgently need advice at the weekend, please refer to the useful numbers section at the bottom of this page.

Do you offer legal advice?

We deal with some civil legal issues, for example, consumer and housing law.  We cannot help with criminal law cases.  If we are unable to help you, we will be able to provide details of other service providers.

What do I do if I am unhappy with your service?

Firstly, we hope that you will complete our feedback form so we have the opportunity to make improvements to our service provision. 

If you have a complaint, we hope that you will come and talk to us and tell us why you are unhappy with our service.  If you feel that this is not an option, you can follow our Complaints Procedure.

Complaints Procedure

We aim to provide a service of a standard that is acceptable to all our users.  If we fail to do this, we want to know about it.  This will enable us not only to deal with the specific problem, but also to avoid it happening again.  Our primary aim is to respond quickly to any issue that arises.

• If you are unsure of, or wish to make a complaint about any aspect of the Service, you should in the first instance contact an adviser.  This can be done in person or in writing.

• We require our staff to do their best to resolve any issue.Complaints may be in the areas of: dissatisfaction with the professional quality of the advice or service, problems with casework, delays or failure to deliver a service, discourtesy or unhelpfulness on the part of staff.

• If the matter can not be resolved at this stage, the issue can be referred to the Membership Services Manager either formally of informally.  The Membership Services Manager will acknowledge the complaint within 5 working days.  He/she will investigate appropriately with reference to this document, RUSU Staff Protocol, RUSU Staff Policies and Procedures and RUSU Constitution.

• The Membership Services Manager will decide an appropriate course of action.  Any complaints will be handled in confidence and any outcomes communicated only to those directly involved.

• For complaints relating to immigration advice when the above procedure does not resolve your complaint, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner has a complaints investigation scheme.  For more information ask for the OISC Complaints Scheme brochure held in this office or contact Office of Immigration Services Commissioner, Complaints Section, 6^th Floor, Fleetbank House, 2-6 Salisbury Square, London, EC4Y 8JX or website www.oisc.org.uk

Will you tell anyone else about my visit?

No.  We provide a confidential and discrete service to our users.  We will not tell anyone that you have met with a Student Advisor unless we have your consent to do so.

However, there are specific circumstances where exceptions can arise.  Please read our Confidentiality Policy for further clarification.  If you have any concerns about confidentiality, please feel free to discuss them with a Student Advisor.

Confidentiality Policy

Student Advisors operate independently of the University and any other external body.  Your details will not normally be divulged to any person outside of the service without your expressed permission.  However, circumstances where exceptions to this policy may arise.  By the term confidentiality, we mean:

• Matters sensitive to the client will be discussed in an appropriate and private space.

• Information will only be divulged to third parties outside the Service with the client's expressed permission.  Only information relevant the particular issue will be shared.

• No details will be given to the University, which would enable any student to be identified without prior consent.

• Case notes and any other recorded information will be kept secure and accessible only to the Student Advice team.These will be kept for 6 years after which they will be confidentially destroyed.

• Statistics may be compiled for research, service development and reporting purposes - all identifying client details will be withheld.

• Our policy will be stated to any third party enquirer and requests for client information will be declined.

• Clients have the right of access to their own records.  Any such requests must be put in writing and we reserve the right to satisfy ourselves as to the enquirer's identity.

Circumstances where exceptions to this policy may arise include:

• Where the Student Advisor feels there is an issue of serious current/potential self harm or harm to others.

• Where not to do so would break the law.

What happens to records/case notes taken during an advice session?

Any case notes are kept electronically and paper copies are kept securely.  Only members of the RUSU Student Advice team have access to the case notes.  They are not shared with any member of staff outside of the RUSU Student Advice team.  The case notes are destroyed after 6 years.

Where can I get advice if a RUSU Student Advisor is not available?

If you need to speak to someone urgently, you could contact one of the following advice services or help lines given below.

If you do not need to speak to someone immediately, you can contact us out of office hours and leave a message or email.  Our telephone number is 0118 378 4100 and our email address is stu.adv@reading.ac.uk

Useful Numbers

Housing
Reading Borough Council Housing Advice  0118 9390089
Reading Borough Council Council Tax  0118 9390656
Wokingham Borough Council Council Tax  0118 974 6022
Shelter Housing Advice Helpline  0808 800 4444
Citizens Advice Bureau  0118 959 8059
University Accommodation Service  0118 378 8065

Academic
University Main Switchboard  0118 378 7307
University Study Advice Team  0118 378 8658
University Examinations Office  0118 378 8019
Office of the Independent Adjudicator for HE  0118 959 9813

Finance
National Debtline 0808 808 4000
Citizens Advice Bureau  0118 959 8059
Welfare Rights Unit  0118 950 5296
Consumer Direct  08454 040506
Student Loans  0845 607 7577

Immigration
Immigration Advisory Service  020 7967 1200
UKCOSA (1-4pm, Monday to Friday)  020 7107 9922
JCWI (2pm-5pm, Tuesday & Thursday)  020 7251 8706
Office of Immigration Services Commissioner  020 7211 1500

Crime
Reading Police  0118 9536000
Victim Support Line  0845 30 30 900
Crimestoppers  0800 555 111

Health & Well-being
University Health Centre  0118 9874 551
University Dental Centre  0118 9318 649
University Counselling Service  0118 378 8658
NHS Direct(24 hr helplineif you are feeling ill)  0845 46 47
Royal Berkshire Hospital (Accident & Emergency)  0118 322 7020R
Royal Berkshire Hospital (Overnight Crisis Service)  0800 783 9505
National Drugs Helpline (FRANK)  0800 77 66 00
Drink Line   0800 917 8282
Alcoholics Anonymous  0118 959 7494
The Samaritans   08457 90 90 90
Terrence Higgins Trust (AIDS/HIV)  0845 1221 200
The Florey Unit (Sexual Health)  0118 987 7216

Travel
National Rail Enquires  08457 484950
Reading Buses (The Travel Shop)  0118 959 4000
Reading Tourist Information Centre  0118 956 6226
Travel Line   0870 608 2608