Social isolation is difficult because we need each other to survive, though sometimes it can feel very hard to engage with other people. In your studies, you are learning with and from other people. Try to participate socially on your course as much as you feel you can. This is especially important if it’s difficult for you to socialise in other ways at university because of things like other responsibilities, part-time work, or other access barriers.  

Social isolation might be particularly difficult if you’re an international student as you might be geographically further away from family, friends and community. Watch the video below. David Pye from USW’s Students’ Union talks about personal experiences of being an international student, living and studying away from home, and social isolation. The video has captions in English. 

As David says in the video, seek out support if you need it. Have a look at the information on where to go if you need help as a starting point to see what’s available. 

When we learn, we make mistakes, and it can make us feel vulnerable. Active learning enables up to try things out and it might not always result in expected results. This offers opportunities to learn, including about ourselves. It also sometimes alters our perspective about ways of approaching learning tasks, as well as about the world more widely. It helps to form good relationships with people on your course, build each other up and help each other when you do make mistakes. It’s good to be sensitive and constructive when you’re pointing out someone else’s mistake too.

Try to spread your workload out and give yourself breaks to do things like spend time with friends or family, especially around assessment time. Swap ideas on your course about managing time and deadlines. You might also find it useful to arrange group study sessions to help keep you on course with deadlines. If you have a lot of bunching of assessment deadlines, feed it back in course and module evaluation and through your Course representatives and Student Voice representatives.

These feelings can happen at any point during your time at USW. They often relate to ways you might feel different from other students. For example, you might feel this if you are the first in your family to be attending university and have had less opportunity to get to know the hidden ‘norms’ and ‘code’ at university. You may feel like you don’t belong at university. It can make you feel you have less to contribute and it's harder to speak up. As much as you can, try to engage in learning and the wider university. That can help you absorb some of the hidden code so you can use it strategically. There are many people at USW of different ages, socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, disabilities, genders, sexualities, religions, body sizes, and so on, and you are here because you have a lot to offer. You can make contributions that are meaningful to you. You can connect people with different experiences, perspectives and communities. You’ll also likely be able to offer a deeper understanding of how interdependent we really are as human beings.

Sometimes you’ll do activities in teams. This can feel daunting but try to think of working together as opportunities to help each other and build good relationships and friendships. Take the time to learn about your peers, and don’t push anyone to share anything they don’t want to. Remember that people have different communication styles. When responding to someone, especially when giving feedback on oral work, try not to focus on language style, pronunciation, body language, and tone of voice. Give feedback on the work, not the person. It’s usually helpful to focus on what you didn’t understand or if there’s missing detail. It may also be useful to have a team agreement that plans out who takes on what roles and who does what work and when.

If you have a history of trauma because of very stressful, frightening, harassing, or distressing experiences, sometimes the way you’re asked to participate in learning tasks can create issues. Remember that you don't need to share anything personal about yourself, that you can leave the room if you need to, and you may sometimes be able to opt-out altogether from activities that cause you distress. Remember that you can reach out for help if you need it, for example, via the Wellbeing Service. The section below provides some information about where to go if you need help. 

Sometimes specific issues come up to do with learning and your course that might only apply to you as an international student. The following support might be useful for you. 

• The Student Development and Study Skills service will be running workshops during the academic year that should be particularly helpful for you. For example, workshops on exploring and discussing studying at a UK university and demystifying the notion of academic integrity. Look out for details of these on the Workshops section of the Study Skills website. 
  
  
• Language skills can sometimes be a worry at university if English is not your first language. The Centre for International English offers a range of courses and support designed to help you improve your language skills, before and during your studies. The teachers are friendly and helpful and welcome any student who is concerned about their language level or is finding it is preventing them from learning effectively. They can be contacted at [email protected].
  
  
• The Immigration & International Student Advice service can offer help for many things specific to your situation. For example, if you have worries about visas and work placement, they can offer advice.

The Disability Service can provide advice and support for your studies at USW. Advisers can work with you to find things to help you personally. Watch the video below. Staff member Rebecca Wilson talks about the pressures of university life for disabled students and how the service can help support your wellbeing. The video has captions.

To get an idea what the support from the Disability Service is like, watch the video below. Autistic/disabled student Kyle Eldridge talks about personal experiences of getting support from the Disability Support Adviser (DSA) team at USW. The video has captions in English.

Academic work at university can be quite different to academic work you have done elsewhere, especially in assessment. Assessment can be a very emotional process too. It can feel like you’re submitting not just your work, but yourself, for scrutiny. Student Development and Study Skills offer group workshops and one-to-one tutor sessions which offer safer spaces to talk about your concerns. Watch the video below. Staff member Jake Buckley talks about how the Student Development and Study Skills service can support your wellbeing. The video has captions.  

Jake discusses mentoring in the video. You might want to join the mentoring schemes, so you have someone to talk with who has been through similar learning experiences to you. 

You can also try the following links to help you with other academic-related concerns, including finding dedicated space to study (individually or in groups).

• Library skills,
• Referencing, plagiarism and good academic practice,
• Study spaces and booking rooms,
• Personal Academic Coaching.

If you’re new to campus this year and you’re worried about finding out where you need to be and when, you can try these links to help you.  

• Campus maps, 
• FindARoom,     
• View your teaching timetable. 

If you are on a course where placements are a significant element, you will usually find there is specific information related to placements available via your course. Seek this out. Ask staff on your course if you’re not sure where to find it. If you’re not on this type of course, try the links below.  

• Student Placement Guides. 
• CareersConnect (log in to CareersConnect and explore the pages about Work Placement Programmes which provide guidance on the placement process from beginning to end). 
• Careers website.