Section 6

Getting off to a good start

As a new student of ours, we’d recommend taking some time to prepare for study before you start your programme. You may have been out of education for a while or may be new to studying online.

Once you’ve successfully completed your registration, you will be given online access to the Induction Module, which provides guidance on how to use the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and eLearning resources. It covers key topics including understanding your learning style, how to manage your time, and how to reference your work. This module is available from 4 weeks prior to your course beginning, so it’s a great introduction to online study and life as a student with us.

To start your journey off on the right track, we have prepared a useful guide to what you can expect as a student on one of our programmes. There’s no Fresher’s Week with UCEM – the first day of your programme is the first day you’ll start studying.

Overview of what you’ll need to study online with us:

 

A personal computer with audio and video playback capability
A smartphone device running either Android or Apple iOS
The internet via a broadband connection
Email address (provided by UCEM once you’ve registered for your programme)
Headphones with a microphone

 

 

You should be able to:

 

Create, use and save documents produced in word processing and spreadsheet software, for example, Microsoft Word and Excel
Open PDF documents with freely available Adobe Reader software
Use a web browser – we recommend you check that your browser is up to date
Recommended browser versions

We recommend that you use one of the following browsers, ensuring you keep up-to-date with the latest version:

  • Google Chrome
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Apple Safari
  • Microsoft Edge (Internet Explorer is no longer supported)

Note: You will need to allow “popups”

Note: Employers may operate policies limiting access to the internet and the use of e-mail at work. If you intend studying during the working week, you should check that access is possible.

Frequently asked questions (FAQS)

Finally, the link below introduces you to the more common questions asked by our wider, newly starting, student body, not just apprentices.