Distance, mature & college students
Information for specific groups of students.Coming from college
What’s university really like?
It’s challenging, and exciting, you’ll be expected to stretch yourself both as a learner and as an individual. There may be larger class sizes and less interaction with staff than at college, and there is more emphasis on independent learning, so it might feel a little impersonal at first. This can be quite hard, especially if you are starting university in the second or third year, but you’ll soon find you meet others with common interests and settle into your new environment.
Before you come, you could:
- Follow Edinburgh Napier University on Facebook to see what’s going on
- Read up on the course you are about to start and what’s involved in the modules you’ll be taking by visiting the Edinburgh Napier University website
- Visit our Academic Skills pages to get top tips on key academic skills and sources of support while studying at university
We would encourage you to attend the induction workshops offered during Induction week, as these are full of useful information to help you settle in to your course.
How we can help
Widening Participation Officers
Edinburgh Napier Guide to University Study (ENGUS)
The Edinburgh Napier Guide to University Study (ENGUS) offers advice on key aspects of academic practice, from independent study and referencing to writing critically and structuring essays. We recommend ENGUS to all students new to work at this level, to those unfamiliar with study in the UK, and to those returning to university after an extended absence.
Students can work through the short presentations in sequence or select topics to suit their needs. Each section includes interactive elements designed to engage attention and consolidate understanding. Based on the Moodle Community server, ENGUS is open to everyone with university log-in credentials.
Care-experienced Learners
Edinburgh Napier University is committed to supporting students from care-experienced backgrounds. If you have previously been cared for by a local authority; whether in residential care, foster care, cared for at home or cared for by friends or relatives, and have indicated this on your UCAS form, we may have already contacted you. If you did not indicate that you were care-experienced on your UCAS form, it’s not too late to let us know. Dr Peter Tormey is the contact for care-experienced students and he can answer any questions you may have, just email wideningaccess@napier.ac.uk
How we support care-experienced learners
The University can support care-experienced learners in a variety of ways, including:
- Providing contact with a dedicated member of staff during the admissions stage
- Adjusting offers to study to take into account the additional barriers which individuals may have experienced
- Providing a full-year (52 week) rental agreement option for the University’s student accommodation
We also provide financial support in the form of the University’s Care Experienced Bursary.
The University’s Corporate Parenting outlines the support available for applicants and students at Edinburgh Napier - find out more here.
Additional Information
Edinburgh Napier is a founding partner of the Hub for SUCCESS, a dedicated resource for care-experienced individuals of all ages and for professionals who offer guidance in the south-east region of Scotland.
SAAS provides a Care Experienced Student Bursary and Accommodation Grant. Unlike a student loan, this does not have to be repaid after graduation.
Mature students
If you are starting at Edinburgh Napier University as a mature student, don’t worry, you won’t be alone!
Distance learners
IT Information
You can access all of the University’s online services including Email and Moodle via the My Napier homepage.
Before you start to use the online services you will need to complete the following steps:
- Set your password
- Self-Service Password Reset service
- Activate your email account
- Work through the Moodle module: Introduction to Computing and Library for Off Campus Students, this gives you further information about the University’s online services and explains how you can get help.
Instructions for completing these steps can be found on the IT Getting Started section.
Further information about all our services can be found on the IT My Napier pages.
Library Information
You can use LibrarySearch to search for books and ebooks, as well as find online journal articles and databases.
Depending on your programme, you may not visit our libraries in person. However, many of our library resources are available to you from anywhere in the world. We have over 50,000 ebooks and 30,000 ejournals available online.
If you are in the UK, but can’t visit our campuses, you can also register for our Postal Loans Service. This allows you to request books online and we will post books to your home or workplace using Royal Mail.
Before you start, complete the Introduction to Computing and the Library for Off Campus Students. This will give you the essential information you need to get started, and will take about twenty minutes to work through.
See the Library Off Campus webpages for more information and help.
If you are a distance learner you can find the answers to your questions by visiting the New Student FAQ.
If you can't find what you are looking for email us at induction@napier.ac.uk