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How can my SU help me?

With all the election campaigning now over at The University of Nottingham and our shiny, new officer team ready to take over in July, some of you might be wondering, ‘But what does my SU actually do me for me?’. Working for the SU has taught me a lot about the services and opportunities offered for students, some of which I am going to share with you today.

It can offer you endless advice

Believe it or not, your SU is basically a centre of advice. This can range from advice about your housing contract to advice on how to boost your CV. The possibilities are endless, you just need to know where to look.

Hands up if you have had to deal with a not-so-nice landlord? Perhaps you know a friend whose landlord hasn’t been so pleasant, and that’s putting it lightly, hard to deal with? Fear not. I’ve got you covered. No need to worry because, you’ve guessed it, your SU offers advice on student living and all things housing. The student advice centre here at Nottingham can help you initially with house hunting and holds appointments for students to come and get their contract check prior to signing. Without them, you might find yourself being charged for something totally random or, even worse, scammed. Nobody wants that.

The advice does not stop there. You can also get academic advice from your SU, even though they are totally separate from the university. Here at Nottingham we have ‘student services’ who can help with issues ranging from timetabling to finances. Your education network can also offer you advice on all things education related and how to bring about change; getting in contact with your course rep is a great way voice opinions and make your voice heard.

It offers opportunities

The SU can offer you so, so many opportunities, if you know where to look. The societies the SU boasts are such a good opportunity to join and can increase your experience at university by allowing you to meet so many new people. The range of societies available for you to join is HUGE. I’m not even lying when I say that there is something out there for everyone. You have your more recognisable societies, such as English Society, aimed at, you’ve guessed it, English students, but you also have some more unexpected societies, such as the comedy or cake society. You name it, it’s probably a society in your SU somewhere…

It can help you when you’re feeling not so great

There are also services put in place for when you’re not feeling that great, whether it be course stress, mental health or physical health related. The SU has a team of officers in place to represent the student body, including a welfare officer dedicated to improving welfare services at the University and helping you wherever possible. These include regular wellbeing cafes and drop in sessions available to all. If the SU can’t help you with a welfare issues then they can definitely direct you to someone in the University itself who can help.

Go on, before the semester ends, go and have a look at what your SU can do for you. I promise you, it’ll be worth it.