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Information for Parents & Carers

Starting university is a big step in students’ lives, but we understand that it can mean many changes for the family too. This page will provide you with relevant information to help your son/daughter when they start at 51·çÁ÷.

If you have any questions about moving in, orientation or just need to talk, please contact our Student Affairs team.

Enquiries

If you would like to receive updates from the University about programmes, scholarships and career opportunities relating to prospective students, simply complete our Parent & Carers Enquiry Contact Form by clicking the button below.

COMPLETE FORM

Parents Facebook Group

Join the RichmondParents Facebook group to meet other families, share tips, and ask questions.

University Calendar Key Dates

September 2023

Level
Date
Activity
Undergraduates Tuesday 29 August – Friday 1 September 2023 Orientation, Registration for New Students
Monday 4 September 2023 First day of classes
Postgraduates Saturday 16 – Sunday 17 September 2023 Orientation, Registration for New Students
Monday 18 September 2023 First day of classes

January 2024

Level
Date
Activity
Undergraduates Tuesday 9 January – Friday 12 January 2024 Orientation, Registration for New Students
Monday 15 January 2024 First day of classes
Postgraduates Saturday 28 – Sunday 29 January 2024 Orientation, Registration for New Students
Monday 30 January 2024 First day of classes

More detailed information on the University academic calendar can be found here.

Keeping students informed

Communications from the University will be sent to students, our primary contacts

University not only prepares students academically, but also it also helps them build confidence in important soft skills such as: organisation, time management, problem-solving, communications, resiliency, independence, and more. These are all important skills to future internship providers and employers!

With this in mind, we think students taking the lead with their Richmondjourney is an important step.

The University’s primary contact from when the student is accepted, through Orientation and throughout their time at 51·çÁ÷ is the student. Given the points above as well as for other privacy policy reasons (many of our incoming students will be 18 years old+ and considered legally adults) the University encourages the student to take ownership over their educational journey.

Parental involvement and support

We do though, of course, welcome parent involvement and support. If you’re interested in knowing what is happening with Orientation, upcoming events and general university news, here are some ways you can stay in the loop:

  • Speaking to the student in your life and encouraging them to check their email. We find many students are not used to checking their email regularly. Encouraging them to check their inbox and discussing any upcoming deadlines/events is a good way to stay looped in while also helping them develop this important skill. During term time, we also send students a weekly e-newsletter with important announcements, events information and more!
  • If you are the parent of an incoming student, visit the Orientation pages of the website. Prior to Orientation week, we host Pre-Orientation Webinars and during Orientation week we also host a Parent’s Session. Information about these sessions will be posted on this page in the lead-up to the next Orientation.
  • Our social media – follow our social media channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to find out the latest University news and events

Who can help if I have a question?

We welcome any parent questions or concerns! If you would like to receive updates from the University about programmes, scholarships and career opportunities relating to prospective students, simply complete our Parent & Carers Enquiry Contact Form.

For personal discussions regarding your son or daughter, please contact Student Affairs.

Please see our information below on who to contact at the University about a specific question or topic.

Please note that we cannot talk to parents about the specifics of their children’s academic progress or anything else relating to their children unless the students sign the Permission to Release Confidential Information form.

Our Teams
Subject area of your question
Who to contact
Registry Services Academic enquiries, questions about a student’s schedule, registering for courses, academic probations and grade appeals, transfer credits, transcript requests, etc registryservices@richmond.ac.uk
Student Affairs Orientation, student life and activities, visa questions (once a student is on campus), pastoral care issues, support with life in London, careers & internships service, additional needs enquiries and more studentaffairs@richmond.ac.uk
Residence Life Student accommodation Allison Cole-Stutz, Vice-President for Student Affairs, studentaffairs@richmond.ac.uk
Finance Payments, refunds, tuition and fee queries. Questions specifically about Financial Aid & Scholarships should go to Jason Elliot studentfinance@richmond.ac.uk or jason.elliot@richmond.ac.uk
Admissions Applying to 51·çÁ÷,  questions on visas, fees and funding (prior to your arrival to campus) admissions@richmond.ac.uk
Recruitment Tours of campus/visiting campus enquiries@richmond.ac.uk
A group is viewing a laptop.

Support for students – safety and general facilities on campus

If you would like more information or have any questions, our Admissions and Recruitment team would be happy to help. Please email our team on enquiries@richmond.ac.uk. If you are in the US, please email usadmissions@richmond.ac.uk.

Our campus building in Chiswick Park is ideally situated for students to have easy access to a wide range of options nearby for food, including supermarkets, retail stores, cafes, bars and restaurants.  We also have a cafe within our campus building which offers a range of drinks and light refreshments.

Our recommended location for managed student accommodation is at iQ Haywood House in West Hampstead, see our website page for more details.

New students are given a personalised key card on arrival at the campus.

Prior to arriving at 51·çÁ÷, we encourage all new students to send a copy of a recent passport size photo in jpeg format to Admissions in order to process their ID cards. The photos must show a close-up of students’ full head and shoulders. It must be only of the student with no other objects or people, facing forwards and looking straight at the camera. The photo must meet our standards or the photo will be rejected and students will be required to resubmit a new image.

To speed things up on Orientation day, students can use the following web application to take a passport photo  . Once the photos are ready, they should be saved as a jpeg file with the student’s full name and sent to admissions@richmond.ac.uk.

At our campus facility in Chiswick Park they will find:

  • Free WiFi throughout the campus
  • Unlimited printing
  • IT labs
  • Campus events and activities
  • Free, confidential counselling services
  • Personal Academic Advisor
  • Peer mentoring scheme
  • Peer tutoring scheme
  • Library and quiet zones for study
  • Career services through personal development seminars, leadership opportunities, work experience, volunteering

Our Student Affairs team should be contacted if you have any concerns about your son/daughter or would like to ask any questions on student life.  They can be reached at: studentaffairs@richmond.ac.uk

Counselling Services

Richmondoffers confidential counselling services to all students.

Counselling sessions can be booked directly through Counsellors at our Chiswick Park campus.

Please see our website for more information on healthcare and counselling.

Doctors’ & GP Surgeries

While your son or daughter is studying at Richmondas a full-time degree student, they may access the nation’s healthcare system (the NHS) free of charge.

You can find more information about healthcare in the UK on this or in our NHS Medical Care handout.