Achieve your full potential with academic skills

Studying at university is not easy, students come from various backgrounds and they may face different challenges. Herts recognises and appreciates just how hard and challenging it can be, and we are determined to support all our students to be successful on their course. This is why, here at Herts, we pride ourselves with providing excellent student support.

Academic skills are all about supporting you to become a more effective learner at university. Developing good academic skills will give you the confidence to participate fully on your course and will help you achieve the academic success that reflects your full potential. Researching, critical thinking, note taking are also highly transferable, and therefore vital for success after you graduate.

There are resources to help you with your academic skills that are available to all students here at Herts, as well as school specific support - which you can learn about here. Whether you have trouble accessing or using digital tools needed for your studies, or you struggle with academic writing skills and referencing, we are here to help. Have a look below for a list of all the support that we offer to all students at Herts

Library and Digital Skills Support

Student Success Hubs in the LRCs

You will have the access to a module Library SkillUP, which is a comprehensive tool to help you with various academic study skills. There you can find information on how to conduct research and reference work of others, what is academic integrity and why is it important, and many more. This module is self guided and will be available to you whenever you need it.

Our Study Success Hubs provide a dedicated service (both online and in the LRCs) to brush up on lots of valuable skills to help you succeed in your studies. There you can find Library Skills Support for help with searching library resources and referencing, Digital SkillUP to meet with a Student Technology Mentor for support with your digital skills, Herts Academic Skills (HAS) for help with academic writing English and Maths support. Library staff will be at the hubs on both campuses during term time, please check the Study Success Hub unit in Library SkillUP for exact dates and times. There isn't a need to book, just come along with any questions you may have.

Herts Academic Skills (HAS)

Academic skills are all about helping you become a more effective learner at University. Developing good academic skills will give you the confidence to participate fully on your course and will help you achieve the academic success that reflects your full potential. Often most of the academic skills you will develop, which include researching, critical thinking, note taking, are invaluable and are highly transferable , and therefore vital for success after you graduate.

The Herts Academic Skills team will be able to work with you to help you develop these essential skills. You can access a range of resources including our detailed online support guides and online workshops, and you can book individual appointments with members of the team for more individual support. The best way to keep up to date on all the support available to you, is by adding this Herts Academic Skills site to your Canvas Dashboard. To do this, click on JOIN THIS MODULE at the top right of this page. You can enrol and unenroll on the site whenever you like, or you can just visit via this link: http://go.herts.ac.uk/academic-skills.

Maths Support

Our Maths Support drop-in service is run by academic staff and student proctors from the Department of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics. You are very much encouraged to make use of this service if you are having difficulties, questions or require any kind of help with any of your mathematics problems on any course you are enrolled on within the University.

We have a variety of different tutors, as well as student proctors, on hand to help you with any questions you may have or refer you to a particular tutor who can help with that area of mathematics or statistics. We also provide guidance and hold bookable workshops throughout the academic year.

You can find our maths tutors in Study Success Hubs in both LRC's for drop-in sessions, or book an online appointment. If you require guidance on any type of mathematical problem, the Maths Support Service is here for you.

HertsSU - Student Union Support

Student Union (which is a charity that is independent from UH) offers a variety of support on anything from safety and wellbeing to academic advice. Visit their website to learn about different types of help and assistance that they offer.

Other Types of Support

Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award (iDEA)

iDEA is an international free programme that helps you develop digital, enterprise and employability skills. Through their series of online challenges and events, you can win career-enhancing badges, unlock new opportunities and, ultimately, gain industry recognised awards that help you stand out from the crowd.