Hugh Aston Building
You will have access to our purpose-built Hugh Aston Building, equipped with lecture theatres and classrooms, break-out spaces for group work, quiet study zones for individual work and IT labs. Wherever possible, students will be given home access to specialist software.
You’ll also have access to the building’s new £5.5 million extension called The Yard, which provides more than 22,000 square metres of extra space. This is designed to facilitate your learning experience with large and airy breakout spaces, a new Student Advice Centre, and a balcony on the top floor. The Yard also features more comfortable classrooms and self-study spaces, allowing you to carry out independent study as well as group work.
Library services
On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available.
As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our , e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose.
We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including Learning Zone, Collaborate Ultra, 51Âþ» Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub.
The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live , online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our , and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.
More flexible ways to learn
You'll benefit from Education 2030 51Âþ»’s new way of delivering courses, focusing on ensuring the best possible experience for our students. You will study in a ‘block’ mode, focusing on one subject at a time instead of several at once. A focused block approach allows you to better manage your studies around your other life commitments, whether that is work, caring responsibilities, sport, or hobbies and socialising. The streamlined approach supports your study/life balance.
Block learning and teaching benefits include:
- Achieving better outcomes/grades
- Focused learning
- Dedicated teacher contact time
- Regular assessment and quicker feedback
- A stronger learning community
- Supports study life balance and wellbeing needs
- More opportunities to develop your skills
We also offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.
Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘51Âþ» Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.