Have you ever wondered what your Student Advisor can help you with?

A Student Advisor (SA) is similar to your Personal Tutor from previous years. Your SA is there to support and advise you on any academic queries you may have or to direct you to the most appropriate source of advice when needed.

How your Student Advisor can support you

Your SA can help you with:

• Guidance and advice on module selection

• Challenges or difficulties that may affect your studies
• Assignments and assessments
• Understanding feedback from assignments and discuss your academic progress
• Making the most of opportunities at the University
• Career guidance and advice on what you can do with your degree after graduating
• Providing a reference for further academic study or employment

What your Student Advisor can’t help with directly

While your SA can’t provide direct support with certain matters, they can refer you to the right person or service for specialist help.

Your SA can’t:

• Provide specialist advice related to disability, funding, accommodation, or immigration
• Offer ongoing emotional support, counselling, or wellbeing and health advice

How to find out who your Student Advisor is?

You can log in to the Learner Activity Engagement Portal (LEAP) to find your Student Advisor’s name and email address in your Profile section. Alternatively, you can log in to MyEssex and check under the Education tab.

Meeting Notes on LEAP

Don't worry if you can't remember everything discussed during your meeting with your SA. At the start of the meeting, you can ask your SA to take notes, which will then upload to the Learner Activity Engagement Portal (LEAP) under the Interaction tab. You’ll be able to review these notes afterwards by visiting the LEAP webpage.

Changing your Student Advisor

If you would like to discuss changing your SA, you will need to speak with your department’s Senior Tutor or a member of the Professional Services team.

Your Student Handbook is a great place to find all the key information you need, including details of the staff members to contact about changing your SA.

You can access it here: Student Handbooks

Why meet with your Student Advisor?

Over the last few years over 98% of students who met with their Student Advisor told us it was a positive experience.

Take a look at some of our student testimonies below.

As a neurodiverse student, when I first started at Essex, I was terrified. I felt completely overwhelmed by all the new things I was learning, and in the first few weeks was lost in an ocean of new information. My Student Advisor helped me to turn that round. He provided a safe space for me to go to ask advice about my course, how to manage readings and workloads, and where to go, when my mental health took a dip. While he didn’t always have all the answers, he was always able to signpost me to people who could help. Having him as a safety net for what I was struggling with at uni really allowed me to flourish, and by the end of the first year, I felt like a truly belonged. My Student Advisor has been invaluable to my student experience.

“She was so positive, and I discussed my problems and future goals with her. She motivated me a lot.”

My experience with my personal tutor was positive because he provided clear explanations and personalised guidance, which helped me understand complex topics better.

“I'm a very socially awkward person and meeting my personal tutor was actually a pleasant experience. I found it very easy to talk to him and we discussed a lot about the course and the future dissertation.”

“She is very helpful, easily contactable and is available for meeting quickly”

If you haven’t met your Student Advisor yet, why not reach out and introduce yourself? They’re here to help you make the most of your time at Essex.