Preparing for your course
If there's any specific work or preparation you need to complete before starting your course, you'll be informed in advance.
Your first lecture
Don't forget to check your timetable well in advance to find out when your first lecture will be, and what room it's in. Check the campus map if you're not sure where the building is.
Remember to:
- Bring any preparation you've been asked to do.
- Bring a laptop, or pen and notebook for note-taking.
- Bring your campus card to swipe in and register your attendance! You're expected to attend all your timetabled teaching sessions - swiping in will help keep track of your attendance at lectures and seminars. Find out why your attendance counts.
Get the most out of your studies
We want your time at Solent to be an enjoyable experience and for you to gain the maximum benefit from your course, as well as establishing lasting friendships. To get the most out of your time at university try to:
Attend as much as possible
We know that students at Solent with the highest attendance are more likely to achieve the best degrees, including First Class Honours!
Speak with the Students’ Union
Led by students, for students, the Union provides independent representation, academic support, and the opportunity to take part in national student campaigns, societies and volunteering opportunities.
Take ownership of your studies
Your tutors will provide you with all the support and guidance you need to successfully complete your programme of study, but it will be by your own efforts that you gain maximum benefit from your studies.
Let us know if you're struggling
Please seek support for any difficulties as they arise, rather than leave them to build up.
These are only a few of the possible suggestions! Look to engage with as many things as possible, don’t be afraid to try new things, and ultimately ask questions if you're not sure.
Watch this video on how studying at university can be a life-changing journey
Minimum IT requirements for study
We recommend you have the following as a minimum to study:
Either:
- Windows 10 laptop or PC
- Apple Mac OS X laptop or iMac
- 10-inch tablet with keyboard (Android or iPad)
Inbuilt or separate:
- Webcam
- Microphone/speakers or headset
Faster than 2mb broadband, WiFi or 4G/5G data
Test your connection speed
Changing your University password
Your student user account is a key part of your studies - it allows you to access all the learning systems to help you get the most out of your studies. So, it's important you keep your password safe. You will automatically be sent a password to log into your student account - you'll need to change this to something memorable and secure.
If you have not changed the password given to you initially by the University (the one beginning with the word ‘alter’), you must change it immediately by following the simple step-by-step instructions further down this page.
If you have any problems changing your password, contact the learning technologies advisers who can assist you with this and any general technology issues you may have. Email the team at ltu@solent.ac.uk or call them on 023 8201 5100.
Your new password:
- can contain any upper and lower case, numeric and special characters (on a standard keyboard)
- must be at least 10 characters long
- must not include any part of your name or username
- must not be a password you have used before
- must not be a password you use for any other website or service
If you wish, you can make your new password more secure but also easier to remember by making it a passphrase. A passphrase is like a password but it uses a collection of words to make the password longer. Generally, the longer the password then the better it is - particularly if the words are random, misspelt, use a mixture of upper and lower case and are used in conjunction with numeric and/or special characters. For example:
- greatorangeloungeplan
- read99_yelowFit
- react[meet6eleven12
Please do not use any of these examples as your password!
To change your password, use the University’s self-service password service, provided by Microsoft, by following the steps outlined below.
Click on the link below:
self-service password change
If you are already logged in to the University’s Microsoft Office 365 service, you will be taken directly to the 'change password' webpage so please go to Step 4 below. If you are not already logged in to the University’s Microsoft Office 365 service, you will be asked to sign in to Microsoft first.
On the Microsoft sign in webpage please enter your University email address where it says 'Email address, phone number or Skype', as shown in the following screenshot:
Your University email address is in the format username@solent.ac.uk, for example 1abcde23@solent.ac.uk
Once you have entered your University email address, use the button that says 'Next'.
Enter your current University password where it says 'Password' and then use the button that says 'Sign in', as shown in the following screenshot:
On the 'change password' webpage, enter your current University password where it says 'Old password' and your new password where it says 'Create new password' and 'Confirm new password', as shown in the following screenshot: Remember, your new password:
- can contain any upper and lower case, numeric and special characters (on a standard keyboard)
- must be at least 10 characters long
- must not include any part of your name or username
- must not be a password you have used before
- must not be a password you use for any other website or service
Once you have entered your old password and your new password twice, use the button that says 'Submit' to change your password. If your new password is not acceptable it will warn you and ask you to enter an acceptable password.
If your password change is accepted, you will see your Solent University Office 365 profile webpage, as shown in the following screenshot:
We recommend you now use the 'Set up self-service password reset' link on this webpage to register a personal email address. If you ever forget your password you will be able to create a new password using the personal email address registered with this service.
Once you have finished you can sign out of the University’s Microsoft Office 365 service by clicking/pressing on your name in the top right of the webpage. A menu will appear with a 'Sign out' option at the bottom, as shown in the following screenshot:
Use the 'Sign out' option to log out.
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