Welcome to the School of Business & Law

Welcome to the School of Business and Law at the University of Brighton! We’re so glad you’ve chosen to study here.

We know that coming to uni is a big change, but we’ve prepared our top tips and advice to help you settle in. Read on for guidance on preparing to start your degree, how to make friends and what support is available to you.

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Preparing for your course

You should all now be enrolled, have your uni ID card and have downloaded My Brighton. If not, check out the essential tasks on your complete checklist.

Now it’s time to make sure you’re ready for the start of term! You’ll need to Download Microsoft Teams via My Brighton and log in to Microsoft 365 with your university email address.

We’ve got lots of great resources on building study-based and digital skills to help you to get familiar with university-level study that you can take a look at. Plus info on getting your set-up study ready.

My Studies is where you need to go for info relating to your course. You can access My Studies via My Brighton and check out any course materials, notices from your tutors and module details.

Now you’re ready to start your course, let’s talk about creating your community aka making friends!

Your Community

We know that making friends and finding your people can seem daunting, but we have lots of events and societies that you can get involved with to make friends.

Brighton Students’ Union

Brighton Students’ Union have a whole range of events planned for you. There’s everything from nights out to student society welcome events and free activities including a bowling, a Brighton walking tour, a climbing wall, a retro gaming afternoon, silent disco beach clean and laser quest.

We’d definitely recommend you attend the Brighton Freshers’ Fair on Thursday 28 September. You can find out more about what societies and sports teams there are, plus grab yourself some freebies! This event is free but please book your ticket in advance to help us manage the queues on the day.

Check out all of Brighton Students’ Union events.

Student societies

In addition to sports and hobby-based societies, we have a couple of student-led academic societies based in the School of Business and Law, including our:

• Marketing Society
• The Law Society

Connect with us on social media

We love connecting with our students on our social channels!

Once you’ve connected with the University of Brighton on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Linked In (@uniofbrighton across most channels), you can also connect with us – the School of Business and Law!

We share upcoming events, blog posts, student success stories and school news across our channels. Follow us on:

• Instagram
• X (formerly Twitter)
• Linked In
• Facebook

Your support

We know there’s lots of new faces and names to remember but the three important people to remember are your Personal Academic Tutor, your Student Support and Guidance Tutor and your course leader.

Personal Academic Tutor (PAT)

Personal Academic Tutors (PATs) differ from person to person, so your PAT may differ to other people on your course.

Your PAT can help you get the most out of your studies and ensure you’re getting the academic support you need.

Often, your PAT will work closely with your course leader and your Student Support and Guidance Tutor (SSGT). Your PAT may refer you to your SSGT for support, or vice-versa depending on what your needs are.

Not sure who your Personal Academic Tutor or course leader is? Visit the School Office on Level 3 in Elm House or email SBL-office@brighton.ac.uk to find out.

Student Support and Guidance Tutor (SSGT)

Amy Standfast is the Student Support and Guidance Tutor (SSGT) for the School of Business and Law.  Amy is dedicated to supporting you with any issues that might be affecting your studies, your wellbeing and your experience at university.

It’s a good idea to go to Amy first with any wellbeing issues and he can then help put you in touch with the correct people. You could speak to him about things such as:

• health, wellbeing and self-care
• anxiety and stress-related issues
• Additional Considerations applications and processes
• motivation, procrastination and time-management
• isolation, loneliness and homesickness
• accommodation issues
• difficulties with your course – guidance on intermission, transfers and withdrawal
• discrimination, bullying and harassment – reporting and support

You’ll have the chance to meet Stuart in the first few weeks of starting at uni, where you can find out more about his role in supporting you.

You can reach Amy on: ssgtsbl@brighton.ac.uk

Level 4, Elm House

Over the first term, there will be academics on the fourth floor of Elm House who you can speak to face-to-face if you’re unable to get in touch with your Personal Academic Tutor or Student Support and Guidance Tutor. They’ll be able to signpost you to the correct person to contact about any issues you might be experiencing.

There’s an area with two large tables and chairs, if you wait around there or knock on the office door, someone should be available to assist you.

Your wellbeing

We understand you may not always feel comfortable going straight to your Student Support and Guidance Tutor, so there’s lots of guidance on where to go for support on the wellbeing pages of the Belong at Brighton website.

Exploring Elm House

Elm House is the School of Business and Law’s home on our Moulsecoomb campus. The building is new, spacious and has been designed to give you the idea that you’re studying in a place that could also be home to a global organisation.

Each floor has areas that you can work from (the fifth floor is our favourite studying spot!), either independently or as part of a group.

Here’s the lowdown on what you can find on each level:

• The ground floor is our atrium area with large tables where you can do group work, our sitting steps and our Employability and Placements Office. There’s also a first-aid room here.
• Level 1 is the place to refuel – grab a coffee and a sandwich at the cafe.
• Level 2 is where accounting, finance and economics students can find our Bloomberg Suite, plus there’s the computer room.
• On Level 3 you’ll find the School Office, where you can go for issues relating to your academic studies.
• Level 4 has our staff offices and is where you can go in the first term to speak to an academic face-to-face about any academic or wellbeing issues.
• Finally, Level 5 has more teaching rooms and meeting rooms, but it’s also particularly peaceful, architecturally pleasing and a great place to study.

All of the toilets in Elm House are gender neutral and made up of independent cubicles.

There are signs on the ground floor and in the stairwells at each end of Elm House that tell you where each room is, but if you do get stuck you can always ask someone for help – we’re a friendly bunch!

Belong at Brighton

Still looking for info? Check out the Belong at Brighton homepage where you can find useful links to:

• your wellbeing
• your finances
• your Student Skills Hub
• International student support
• Brighton Student’s Union
• employability

All that’s left to say is welcome to the University of Brighton! We’re so excited to have you here.