Mature student welcome day

Mature students who will soon be starting their courses at the University of Teesside can get a useful insight into campus life by coming to a special event on Tuesday 11 September.

Known as 'Older and Bolder' it was piloted last year as a way of familiarising mature students with what they can expect while studying for a degree or other qualification and providing advice on how to balance home commitments with the demands of being a student. Current mature students - anyone aged over 21 when they start their course - will act as mentors and show new students around the campus.

The event starts at 9.30am with registration in Room A1.007 on the first floor of the Clarendon Building, which is situated behind the Dickens Inn, Southfield Road, Middlesbrough. A free buffet lunch will be provided and anyone attending is asked to ring Gillian Kazeminia in the University's Centre for Lifelong Learning on Middlesbrough 384278, preferably by 7 September.

Organiser Lesley Greer was a mature student herself when she enrolled on a Business degree at what was Teesside Polytechnic in 1987. Now, she is a Principal Lecturer in Accounting and one of the University of Teesside's Learning and Teaching Co-ordinators.

She said: "I was working for the family business - Rockfeller on Redcar's Esplanade - and had plenty of business experience, but only a handful of O' levels when I started my degree. So I know what it feels like entering higher education as a mature student and wondering whether you will fit in . About 90 mature students attended a similar event last year and everyone said it was a good idea. It is really a pre-induction or orienteering day and enables mature students to meet people from the same course or academic school and to hear from returning students about what to expect from University life.

"There will tours of the facilities, including the Learning Resource Centre, and a welcome from the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Graham Henderson. There will also be opportunities to talk to Student Services about things like financial support and a chance to visit the University nursery."

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