Parents/Guardians
The School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, along with the University of Manchester, offers several services that, as a parent, will inform and give you peace of mind of the type of environment students are flourishing in.
Welfare and Advice
Each student is allocated a Personal Tutor who will be an academic member of staff based within the School. Any problems, either personal or academic, can be referred to them or alternatively to our School Welfare Officer. In addition, whilst in halls, your son or daughter will be allocated a hall tutor who will also be able to provide extra support.
The University offers a Counselling Service which provides confidential counselling for any student who has personal problems affecting their work or well being. In addition to counselling, the service also runs specialist groups and workshops on specific problems such as exam stress.
The Students' Union Advice and Information Centre can offer practical and confidential advice and support on a variety of topics.
Safety and Security
The University is committed to ensuring the safety of its students both on and off the campus. We have invested more than £800,000 in security, including a CCTV system covering the teaching campus and the halls of residence. All students living in halls of residence have possessions insurance automatically to the value of £3,000.
Careers and Future Employment
The University of Manchester Careers Service is one of the largest in the UK, and is consistently voted the best University Careers Service in the UK.
It offers a range of activities for students including fairs, insight courses and accredited careers education modules in academic areas. They can also offer students advice about their own current course and its suitability for any chosen careers.
Finance
For many people entering university, money is a major factor to consider. Student finance can be very confusing and we understand that this is an area parents and carers will be particularly interested in.
All students will be required to pay tuition fees, for more information see our Fees and funding page.
Budgeting is an important part of preparing for University, spending decisions your child make at university will have an impact on their finances for a number of years after graduation.
Some budgeting tips:
- When completing a budget plan, it is a good idea to include unexpected costs such as extra travel home, birthdays and end-of-term parties.
- A summer job or a year in industry can help provide much needed cash and new friends. The graduate job market is becoming increasingly competitive and most employers look more favourably on students with work experience.
- For those who travel regularly by train, a 16-25 Railcard saves a third off most rail fares.
- To reduce the day-to-day costs of bus travel, it may be worth buying a Unirider, giving unlimited travel during term time on Stagecoach and Magic Bus. These can be purchased online from the Stagecoach website or from the Students' Union ticket office.
- It's not necessary to rush out and buy all the books on the reading list in the first week. Waiting will allow students to see which ones will be needed regularly and provide the opportunity to try to buy them second hand. Students from the year above often sell old course books, as do the second-hand sections of many bookshops, including Blackwells on the University campus. Bargains may also be found on websites such as Amazon Marketplace.
Once your son or daughter’s budget plan is complete, don’t worry if their income turns out to be less than their expenditure - they are not alone! It may be possible to increase income by working during the holidays or applying for industry related scholarships.
Those who are fortunate enough to have more income than expenditure should try to be sensible with this extra money. Remember, the less money that is borrowed now, the sooner the debt will be cleared after graduating. This being the case, it might not be a bad idea to use some of this surplus to pay some of the fees up front, or to put it in a savings account.
For more information, you can download a PDF version of our Parents' Information Guide.