The Department takes student welfare seriously and offers a number of support avenues to help students both with the transition to university as well as their time throughout their degree. Students should always feel that they can approach someone in the Department for support on academic or welfare issues.
Induction Procedures
During the first few weeks of a Degree Programme, both the College and Department put on detailed induction programmes to help with the transition to university and understanding the programme.
Departmental Tutorial System
Every undergraduate has a Personal Tutor who is there as the first point of call on any academic or personal issue. First year students meet with their tutor both in small groups and individually, and in subsequent years students have a number of required individual meetings, in addition to which they are encouraged to meet with their Personal Tutors as and when needed.
The Department’s Year Tutors and Undergraduate Senior Tutor oversee the tutorial system along with the Undergraduate Liaison Officer, and any of them may be approached with questions or asked for advice. Departmental staff can help point students in the right direction in the College whether it be questions around health, financial issues, housing, international student support, etc. The Senior Tutor and Undergraduate Liaison Officer can also help with more serious issues around possible interruptions of study or mitigating circumstances.
In addition to supporting the tutorial and academic systems in the Department, the Undergraduate Liaison Officer and Student Experience Coordinator are concerned with student experience and welcome students to come see them on any issue they may have related to their time at university. The Student Experience Coordinator is also the Departmental Disabilities Officer.
First year students also benefit from the Peer Tutorials. All first year students meet in small groups with an older student weekly to gain support on their academics. These peer tutors, who have been through the first few years of the undergraduate programme, are an excellent source of support for new students just entering university life.
For Departmental Contacts click here.
At the start of the year, our induction information includes a section on Where do I to for help with...
Math Mums and Dads
The Student Union's Mums and Dads scheme partners first year students with students in higher years to make "families", where the higher level students arrange welcome activities to help the first years with their start at university.
College Support
The College has an extensive support programme for students including Counselling, Disability Advisory Service, Chaplaincy, etc. For more information on support the College offers students, students should visit Student Support Zone.
The Student Hub in Sherfield Building provides a central point of contact for students on issues around transcripts, letters of attendance, financial aid and international student support.
Find out more about College Facilities, including the Sports centre Ethos, the Library and shops on campus: Campus facilities.
Academic Student Representation & Feedback
All the courses provided by the Mathematics Department are constantly evolving.
Student input into teaching happens through a number of channels. On a formal basis there are Staff Student Committee meetings and surveys such as the National Student Survey and the College's Lecturer evaluation questionnaires via Student Online Evaluation (SOLE).
"Town hall" meetings and Year level meetings are also held where students are welcome to raise and discuss issues with senior teaching staff.
Support and Feedback
Staff Student Committee
The Department has an active Staff Student Committee, and students can raise matters about lectures and teaching through your committee representative. Meetings of the Staff Student Committee are held once a term. In these meetings two/three student representatives from each academic year make the opinions of the students known to academic staff in an informal and non-confrontational environment.
Any actions arising from these meetings are implemented by the Student Representatives, Senior Tutor, Director of Undergraduate Studies and Undergraduate Liaison Officer. When introducing new elements to the course we conduct internal reviews and ask for student feedback as part of this process.
Student Surveys
Student surveys are an invaluable source of information on student satisfaction and for ongoing review of the Course programmes.
Lecturer evaluation questionnaires via Student Online Evaluation (SOLE) take place termly. Students can view a course's overall ratings through the Student ViewPoint. Once SOLE responses have been reviewed by the lecturers and the Department, students are emailed responses from the lecturers to students' comments and suggestions. These lecturer responses form the basis of further changes or improvements to the modules or Course.
Current students can view past SOLE lecturer responses on MathsCentral on Blackboard.
Mitigating Circumstances and Special Needs
The Department and College have well defined policies and protocols to take into account students’ mitigating circumstances and special needs. These include:
- Absence from college
- Complaints and appeals
- Disabilities and Special needs
- Extenuating or mitigating circumstances
- English language support
- Health, safety, welfare and other support services
For Current Students, further details and guidance can be found in the Mathematics Handbook or the MathsCentral module on Blackboard.
Terms and conditions
Important information that you need to be aware of both prior to becoming a student, and during your studies at Imperial: