• Learning resources and computer facilities
• The Student Café
• Leisure and meeting French people
• Personal Advisers
• Student Staff Committee
• General Welfare Support
• Educational Support for Students with Special Needs
• Higher Education Access to Learning Fund
• Careers Advice

The Institute's Learning Resources Centre (LRC) is open to all students enrolled on our courses. The Institute's student card automatically entitles its holder to access to the LRC and its services. These include the document collections (books, videos, newspapers and periodicals, CD-ROMs, document files etc) relevant to our courses. Students can also gain access to our Internet and word processing resources (including email) through the LRC and Computer Room terminals.

New BA students are given a brief 'Induction' into Learning Resources Centre at the start of their studies at the Institute, and the LRC staff are happy to provide further guidance at any time on using our resources and on all forms of information retrieval whether within the LRC's local resources, more widely in Paris and its region, or over the Internet.

If you have any particular questions you would like to ask about these services before joining the Institute you can contact the Head of the Learning Resources Centre, Mrs Erica Burnham on (+33) 1 44 11 73 93 or by email: e.burnham@ulip.lon.ac.uk .

• Cultural Activities
  Many cultural and leisure activities are organised by the town halls ('mairies d'arrondissement' in central Paris, 'mairies' in the suburbs). These provide an excellent opportunity to meet French people with similar interests. For further information, please consult www.paris.fr [new window]
• Football
  The Institute has a football team, which plays in red and black strip. It has friendly fixtures in Paris, and also enters into a student European cup tournament. The team needs every encouragement and supporters are always welcome.
• Sport
  Parisian sporting clubs provide a good opportunity for meeting French people and pursuing your interests. For further information, please consult www.paris.fr/fr/sport/ [new window]

Every student enrolled on a ULIP programme is assigned to a member of full-time academic staff who acts as their Personal Adviser throughout their chosen course of study. You are assigned to a Personal Adviser irrespective of whether they teach you. Sometimes it may actually help if they do not, simply because you can discuss your progress together with greater detachment. The Study Abroad Tutor acts as Personal Adviser to all Study Abroad Students. 

The Personal Adviser system is intended to be constructive, so your Personal Adviser should not be seen as someone to whom you go only if you have problems. They provide a focus, a first door to knock on, whether to help you to reflect on how things are going, or to put you in contact with other services. The Personal Adviser’s role is to provide advice and support to students and to maintain an overview of their academic progress and achievements. Personal Advisers will exercise discretion and liaise as necessary with administrative colleagues in Student and Academic Services and the Academic Co-ordinator, who has responsibility for all aspects of the undergraduate curriculum and the monitoring of student progress. Your Personal Adviser is normally the person you should approach when you need a reference in support of an application for a job, for an award or for further study.

Personal Advisers will circulate ‘office hours’ at the start of the academic year. These are the times when they are available to see their students without prior appointment (at least twice each week during term). Alternatively, you can make an individual appointment at a mutually convenient time.

You are required to attend appointments with your Personal Adviser:

• at the beginning of the first year of your programme of study, then on two other occasions in each semester.
• at the beginning of your time at the Institute for Study Abroad students, then on two other occasions during each semester.
• twice a semester for second and third-year students.

It is important that you keep these appointments.  If you do not attend that matter will be taken seriously and referred to the Dean. 

It is the duty of your Personal Adviser to represent your interests, within the Institute and outside. If you are unavoidably absent from a class, you must inform your Personal Adviser, as the course tutor will report the fact if your absence is unexplained. If you are ill, and you feel this has hindered your preparation for assessed coursework or examinations, it is essential that you make your Personal Adviser aware of this and that you obtain the necessary medical certification in advance of formal assessment procedures so that we may take your illness into account.

Any other matter, whether trivial or traumatic, academic, social, financial, medical, or to do with home, may be brought to your Personal Adviser’s attention. In addition to her/his formal duties, your adviser can also offer advice on learning strategies, career development, or general difficulties you may encounter in managing your life and/or finances in Paris. They will refer you for specialist advice to other members of academic or administrative staff.

The Institute Student Staff Committee meets at least once each semester on dates advertised in advance. The principal role of the committee is to provide a formal channel of communication within the Institute where matters of concern to staff and students can be considered.

The minutes (and action lists) of each meeting are published (i.e. displayed on a notice-board) and copied to the Director, Head of Department, Administrative Officer (Student and Academic Services) and the President of the Students' Union.

Appropriate business and the actions which result are to be reported in the Annual Review.

The student representation is intended to reflect the profile of the Institute in terms of gender, undergraduate/postgraduate, mature, overseas.

The Committee has an effective link into relevant Students' Union committee(s).

In addition to the support offered by your Personal Adviser, the Secretary in Academic and Student Services, under the guidance of the Administrative Officer, can offer advice and support or provide you with additional information on general welfare matters including accommodation, funding, banking, counselling and healthcare:

Mademoiselle Catherine Duperray, Secretary
c.duperray@ulip.lon.ac.uk
01 44 11 73 83

Students with special needs should make these known to their Personal Adviser or to staff in Academic and Student Services so that appropriate support provision can be made. The Institute may be able to help in one or more of the following ways:

• Extra tutoring time
• Peer mentoring
• Extended deadlines for coursework
• Large print/ other specified format handouts and / or reading material
• Provision of reading lists / handouts in advance
• Photocopies of lecture notes
• Permission to record lectures
• Special examination arrangements

The Institute encourages students with special needs to maintain close contact with the staff in Academic and Student Services who provide the following types of support:

• Liaising on behalf of students with academic staff and co-ordinating the provision of academic assistance, such as advance access to teaching materials and examination arrangements.
• Arranging assistance around the Institute and in lectures, such as personal helpers and book fetchers.
• Providing assistance for students in applying for support funding, such as the Disabled Students’ Allowance which provides financial help on top of the standard student package if you have a disability or specific learning difficulty like dyslexia. Further information may be found at http://www.skill.org.uk/ or http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/EducationAndTraining/HigherEducation/DG_10034898

Students are asked to note that access to some public buildings in Paris, public transport and other facilities can be difficult for those with mobility problems.

In order that the Institute may provide the most appropriate support possible to students with special needs, it requires that all students who request special adaptations or auxiliary support provide documentation of their condition and their support needs from an appropriate professional. Documentation should be recent and should contain the following information: diagnosis, prognosis, limitations and recommendations. Documentation of a medical condition should be from a medical doctor. Documentation of special psychological needs should be from a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist. Documentation of Specific Learning Difficulties should be from an educational psychologist and carried out when the student was 16 or older. Additional documentation from other professionals such as teachers, physiotherapists, speech therapists, counsellors, social workers etc. which an applicant or student may feel clarifies their support needs are welcomed. All documentation submitted must be in English.

All information and documentation regarding an applicant’s or student’s condition will be used exclusively for the purpose of planning and implementing appropriate support provision which will enable them to gain the maximum benefit from the educational opportunities at the Institute and will be treated as confidential. However, in order to plan and provide appropriate support, information about an applicant’s or student’s support requirements will be shared with those Institute staff directly involved in the planning and delivery of the individual’s support provision. Information will not be discussed with the student’s parent or guardian without the express permission of the student. Specific details of an applicant’s or student’s disability, medical condition, Specific Learning Difficulty or special psychological need would not normally be shared, except in cases where there is a clear reason to do so, or at the specific request of the student.

In exceptional circumstances, where a student is thought to be in imminent danger of serious harm, or causing harm to others, the Institute may disclose information as would be appropriate to avert this harm.

Students may find more information about this fund at:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/FinanceForNewStudents/DG_069884

The Access to Learning Fund provides extra help if you’re in hardship and need extra financial support.

Universities and colleges look at your individual circumstances, but you may, for example, be able to get help:

• for course or living costs that are not already covered by other grants - these could be, for example, everyday living costs, childcare costs or support over the summer vacation if you have no one else to turn to
• for emergency payments to cover unexpected financial crises or exceptional costs – such as repairs to household equipment
• if you are thinking of giving up your course because of financial difficulties and need financial help to keep studying

The Access to Learning Fund is available to:

• full-time higher education students
• full-time postgraduate students

Part-time undergraduate and postgraduate students can also qualify, as long as their course lasts at least one year, and takes no more than twice as long to complete as an equivalent full-time course. If you have a disability or specific learning difficulty that means it will takes more than twice as long to complete your course than would be typical for an equivalent full-time course, you may still be able to apply for help from the fund.

Universities and colleges have a large say in how money from the fund is paid out locally. They will look at your individual circumstances, usually assessing whether there is a shortfall between your income and your outgoings. But the following groups are priorities for support:

• students with children - especially lone parents
• mature students- especially those with existing financial commitments
  students from low-income families
• care leavers
• students who are homeless or who are living in 'Foyers' (these provide accommodation, guidance and support for homeless young people)
• final-year students
• disabled students

Money from the Access to Learning Fund is paid on top of the standard student finance package. It’s not meant as a substitute for it.

You’ll be expected to have applied for any Student Loans, grants and bursaries you’re entitled to before applying for help from the Access to Learning Fund.

Money from the fund is usually paid as a grant that you do not have to repay. Sometimes it is paid as a loan. Colleges and Universities have discretion to decide whether to pay in a lump sum or in instalments.

Application forms and further information about how to apply are available from Student and Academic Services, or may be downloaded for the ULIP website.

• Download further information [PDF 36KB]
• Download application form [PDF 79KB]

The Institute periodically organises careers events principally in the form of presentations by past students. These sessions are intended to give you an insight into the opportunities which will be open to you once you have complete your programme at the Institute and we strongly encourage you to attend.

The Institute also works closely with the University of London Careers Group and regularly organises sessions for degree students with professional careers advisers, who will show you how to think about your professional future from as many different angles as possible:

Students may seek advice independently from the University of London Careers Group, Stewart House, University of London, 32 Russell Square, WC1B 5DN
http://www.careers.lon.ac.uk/

The Careers Group helps students and graduates to develop, implement and maintain career management skills. It is recognised as an international centre of excellence and is the largest university careers service in the country. The Careers Group consists of 37 careers advisers and 36 commercial, information and infrastructure staff. Its staff deliver a full careers service to undergraduates, postgraduates, contract researchers and the institution's staff. Users of the service can expect to receive careers advice and guidance from trained professionals and have access to information libraries containing information on employers, occupational sectors, vacancies and further study. The Careers Group's website provides access to a Virtual Careers Library, online help sheets, an Interactive Careers Interview, and job vacancies.