Studying Online;Succeeding through Distance Learning at University

220 Coping online 
your university, make use of it. Tey are there to help. For students 
on campus, they can just walk into the well-being department. 
Where I work, the well-being team is located right next door to 
the main academic building at the centre of campus. When I was 
a student, the well-being department was halfway between the 
middle of campus and the student accommodation area. Howev-
er, for online students, there is no accessible drop-in centre that is 
visible. Online students need to make a special efort to fnd the 
well-being department’s online access. Make sure you know how 
you can get in touch with the well-being team and never be anx-
ious or concerned about contacting them. Tere is no judgement 
made about you, just a desire to help. 
QUICK TIP: Make a “bookmark” of the well-being department’s 
web page or online access.That way, you can be sure you can 
contact them easily when you need to do so. 
Tere is one other very important reason for being in touch with 
the well-being support team. Suppose something happens and 
you fnd it difcult to complete your assignments. In that case, 
you will be permitted to make a plea for mitigating circumstanc-
es. In this situation, the lecturers can give you extensions or defer 
your assessment, depending on what happened. When students 
submit claims for mitigating circumstances, one of the checks 
generally made is with the well-being team. No confdential infor-
mation is shared; the well-being team will just confrm that they 
know the student and their situation. Tis means that the plea for 
mitigation is more likely to be accepted. However, when a stu-
dent says they have been having personal problems that prevent 
them from completing an assignment, but the well-being team 
are unaware of this, then getting an extension is more difcult for 
the student as they may need to provide evidence for particular 
issues. If you are in contact with the well-being team, such evi-
dence is often unnecessary. Hence, being in touch with well-being 
support workers can help ensure that your case for mitigation is 
easier to process. 

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