Things to know this week

6 Jan 2025 - 7 tips for study and exam success

Happy New Year! We hope you had a relaxing break. Welcome to a special student news summary for Revision Week.

UoY community update

IMPORTANT: scheduled downtime for single sign-on

Single sign-on (SSO) will be unavailable between 7.30am and 8.30am on Tuesday 7 and Thursday 9 January. During this downtime you will be unable to login to University services that use SSO, such as the Virtual Private Network and VLE. If you experience any technical difficulties after this scheduled downtime, please clear your browser's cookies and try logging in again. If the issue persists, contact IT Services. 

Single sign-on service maintenance

First Bus fare increases

First Bus increased bus fares across all routes from 1 January 2025. However, the campus freezone will continue to operate across all routes and there are no alterations to routes. 

First Bus fares

Graduation ceremonies this week

We’re looking forward to welcoming graduands back to campus this week for our winter graduation. Please be aware that Campus South car park will be affected by graduation ceremonies taking place from Wednesday to Friday (8-10 January) and catering outlets may be busier than usual.

Winter graduation

1. How to revise effectively

Make the most of revision week. The revising for exams section in our Study & revision: a Practical Guide has different techniques and strategies to help ensure that you're fully prepared for any exam scenario, including how to understand exam questions. You can also get on top of your revision with the Academic Skills Community’s online revision workshops, tailored to different exam formats:

  • Wed 8 Jan: Exam revision for science and maths
  • Fri 10 Jan: Exam revision for essays and short answer questions

Don’t forget that the Library is open 24 hours a day, seven days per week during the assessment period. Use the MyUoY app to book study spaces.

Study & revision: a Practical Guide

2. How to manage exam stress

It’s normal to feel stressed in the lead up to or during an exam but developing good study habits will ensure you perform to the best of your ability. Read our 7 tips for study and exam success to find out how to revise more effectively and feel less anxious about your studies. Some of the tips might surprise you. If it starts to feel too much, our advice on exam stress can help you calm yourself during an exam.

7 tips for study and exam success

3. How to take an exam

Being prepared will help settle your nerves as you take your exam. Make sure you read the Student Guide to Examinations 2024/25 for information on what to do and what not to do. Find out what to bring as well as general information about taking an exam, including room layouts, so you know what to expect. 

For some assignments, you may be allowed to use generative AI: IT Services has made the Google generative AI tool Gemini available to all University users. However, for many of your assessments (and unless otherwise stated), there is a strict expectation that any use of generative AI in the production of work you submit will adhere to University policy regarding false authorship. See our student guidance on using AI and translation tools.

Student Guide to Examinations 2024/25

4. If things go wrong

Sometimes things happen that can seriously impair your performance in an assessment or prevent you undertaking it at the scheduled time. You have options if this happens to you. See information about exceptional circumstances affecting assessment.

Exceptional circumstances affecting assessment

5. How to connect your new devices

If you got a new computer, tablet, phone or games console over the winter break, you’ll need to get it working with our services.

  • New phone? Make sure you set up Duo two-factor authentication on your new phone before you wipe your old one
  • New laptop? Connect to wifi or the wired network
  • New games console? You need to register it for the mydevices network

Read what to do if you recently got a new device. For more help, there are IT Support drop-in sessions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 2pm and 4pm on the ground floor of the JB Morrell Library.

Got a new device?

Offers, competitions and opportunities

  • PAID ROLE: Apply to join the YuCall Student Fundraising Team. Deadline 7 January
  • INTERNSHIP: Developing resources for accessible research practices
  • Complete the personal tutor survey for the chance to win £15 voucher

Log on to Handshake, our careers platform, for jobs and opportunities:

Handshake

Find out more student news

See all updates for students on our website:

Student news

Things to know this week is produced and distributed by the University's Internal Communications Team. Please email any feedback to 
university-internal-comms@york.ac.uk.

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