Information for Parents, Carers and Sponsors

Here at The University of Buckingham, we endeavour to:  

• Keep the channels of communication between students, sponsors and staff open  
• Ensure that all students receiving the best care and support available   
• Give you peace of mind regarding any queries/concerns you have with an easily accessible route to relevant staff 

Contact between the student and sponsor may dwindle over time. This is quite common as the student might be enjoying their new independence. 

If you have any worries, no matter how big/small, during their time with us, we ask that you share your concerns…… it’s as easy as ‘click’ and ‘send’. 

You can contact the Wellbeing Skills and Diversity team at WellbeingSkillsandDiversity@buckingham.ac.uk.

Enquiry action 

• If necessary, enquiries will be followed up by contacting the student in person.
• We will confirm with the student that the sender of the email is known to them.
• The student will be given the opportunity and encouraged to speak about any concerns. If there are any issues, these will be acted upon to resolve as quickly as possible. 
• All emails will be replied to. Please note that we will not divulge any details of conversation had with the student of concern unless they give their permission.   
• We will suggest ongoing communications with the sponsor, if appropriate.  

Listen

Ask open questions about their studies and recent experience at university.

Do you sense any change in them, i.e. sounding upset or distant, not responding to messages, asking for more money regularly, losing/gaining weight?

Be there

Send positive and encouraging letters or messages to them to let them know you are still there.

Avoid pestering them if they don’t call you as regular as they used you.  Let them settle into their new surroundings and independence.

When they come to you for support, give them a listening ear and encouraging words.

Offer advice, but don’t expect them to take it!

Suggest that they reach out at University.

Motivate, don’t push

Are they doing the course they want to do?

Showing constant disappointment can cause low self-esteem and will affect performance and their state of mind.

If they are not succeeding, maybe this is not the course for them, support them to change courses.

Avoid Judgement

Remember that you were this age once and made ‘questionable’ decisions or judgement calls.

If you went to university, your experience will be different to theirs.

Stay calm

Arguing does not improve the situation and may damage your relationship. Agree on a time within the next few days to speak again when you have had some time to ‘cool down’ and think the situation over.

Talk positively about the solution and moving forward to concentrate on their degree.

Our dedicated Wellbeing, Skills and Diversity team provide a number of support services.

For all you need to know about the support services available to Buckingham students, visit the Wellbeing, Skills and Diversity pages

All services are available Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.

If the student does have queries about student life and adapting we suggest they reach out to the Students’ Union (SU) where they can receive peer support. 

Students can find out more about existing student groups and activities on the SU website.

If you would like to contact the Students’ Union we are available via studentsunion@buckingham.ac.uk.  

Once a student has their offer to study at The University of Buckingham there are few things that they need to do before arriving on campus. From accepting their offer, to booking accomodation and applying for a visa if necessary. Our New Students pages guide them and you through every step.

Other useful links:

• Term dates

Buckingham’s fast-tracked schedule means our students finish their undergraduate degrees sooner and can be out in the workforce up to a year earlier than if they go to another university.

When living costs are included, our students pay about 20% less than they would on a three-year course at a university charging £9,250pa for tuition.

Some students pay the whole of their tuition and living costs from their own resources, some borrow the whole amount, while many borrow in part and self-finance in part, and a few benefit from scholarships and bursaries.

Check our Fees and Finances page for more information about The University of Buckingham’s tuition fees and financing options available.

Use our course finder to search for specific programme pages where you can find detailed information about the fees for that programme.

The University of Buckingham also has a range of Scholarships and Bursaries available.

We can guarantee on-campus accommodation for our first-year undergraduate students. At both our Buckingham and Crewe campuses.

More information about Buckingham accommodation.

More information about Crewe accommodation.

The University of Buckingham, like all Universities in the UK, is obliged to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

It is advisable for parents/guardians to ensure that all students provide the University with:

1. the contact details of their parents/guardians and
2. permission to make contact with their parents/guardians in an emergency.  If we know a parent’s or guardian’s mobile number, this helps us to verify their identity if they call the University to raise any concern about a student, and to discuss that concern, insofar as it is possible to do so under GDPR.

Our staff will not normally be able to disclose whether a student has asked for help or has received any help from the University Wellbeing team, for example.)

If we have no means to verify the identity of a caller, even if that caller is an actual parent or guardian, or another relative, our staff will take a message, a name and a contact telephone number but in order to comply with GDPR, we cannot confirm that any named individual is a student at The University of Buckingham.  If we find that we do have a student by that name, we will ask that student to contact the caller, if they wish to do so, and give them an opportunity to do so (e.g. to use a University telephone if their mobile phone is broken). We will not normally be able to call back ourselves.