Helpzone Questions | Edinburgh College Students' Association

Helpzone Questions

I need extra support

There is lots of support available at the college and it all depends on what support you feel you need.

Wellbeing and Mental Health Support

The college has wellbeing advisors and counsellors that you can access through the Wellbeing Hub in Moodle. There is lots of information and resources on a variety of topics, you can self-refer for counselling or book a one-to-one session with Wellbeing Advisors

Support for Learning

If you have an additional support or learning need then you should get in touch with Learner Support. They will meet with you to discuss your needs, create an Individual Learning Plan, refer you to an Educational Psychologist if required and work out what reasonable adjustments can be made while you studying

 

I want to make a complaint

Complaints can be made by filling in the Compliments, Cause for Consideration and Complaints form on the colleges website or via email to complaints@edinburghcollege.ac.uk

ECSA can submit a complaint on your behalf but you will need to fill out a Data Subject Authorisation Form and submit this to the complaints department to allow us to be disclosed any information about your complaint.

When writing a complaint you generally want to think about three things:

 

  • What the issue is
  • How it impacts you
  • What you would like done to make it better

 

It's important to note that although your complaint may be upheld, it might not resolve the issue at hand but it does mean that the college have taken steps to investigate the issue and hopefully steps will be taken to ensure its not repeated in future

If you aren't happy with an outcome and have exhausted the appeals process at the college, you can complain to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) who are the final stage for complaints about public services in Scotland https://www.spso.org.uk/

I'm being bullied or harassed

Everyone deserves to study and live life without being bullied or harassed. Bullying and harrassment is never acceptable in any form, and in the case of harassment relating to a protected characteristic, can be dealt with by the police as a unlawful discrimination.

"Bullying is the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. It can happen face to face or online." Anti-bullying Alliance

Bullying and harassment can take many forms, it may be subtle and leave you questioning yourself, it could be passed off as 'banter' or it could be very clear, direct and intimidating. If you are being bullied or harassed you should speak to someone you trust, ideally a member of staff that can help.

I've been asked to attend a disciplinary, Fitness to Practice or Fitness to Study meeting

No matter what meeting it is you have been asked to attend you always have the right to ask for someone to attend to support you during it. The ECSA team have supported many students during these processes and will try to be available. You can book an appointment here

Disciplinary Meeting - Relates to Positive Behaviour, Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy.

  • Usually means there has been an accusation made that a breach of the policy occurred as repeated disruptive behaviour or bullying.
  • There will be an investigation and then a disciplinary meeting.
  • Outcomes range from no action to withdrawal from your course and in some serious cases police involvement.

 

Fitness to Practice - Relates to Positive Behaviour, Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy.

  • Applies to courses that lead to registerable qualifications such as care, dentistry or nursing.
  • Each registering body will have their own values and codes of practice
  • Students can be referred to a Fitness to Practice Panel after a disciplinary if they are found to have acted unprofessional or in a way that brings their profession into disrepute.

Fitness to Study - Relates to the Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy

  • Used when issues arise in behaviour, progress or conduct due to a mental or physical health condition.
  • Support to Study Panel will be convened with student invited along to discuss issues and how best to support student

I'm having an issue with my funding

Student funding issues can affect everyone, and if you're ever needing advice its always best to ask the college's student services team in the first instance.

College Funding

  • Further education funding paid by the college, is for anyone on a fulltime course other than HNC, HND and Associate Degrees. This can be further split into Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), bursary and travel funding.

 

SAAS and Student Loans

  • Higher Education funding is paid by Students Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) and student Loan Company (SLC). Depending on your circumstances you may be eligble for a bursary from SAAS.

 

Discretionary Funding

  • If you are struggling with your finances, you should speak to a guidance advisor, who can advise you on budgeting, refer you to resources to help you manage your finances or help you apply for the discretionary fund. You can speak to a guidance advisor either in campus at Student Services or by popping onto the Virtual drop-in on the Student Services Hub on Teams.

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