Christmas at WLV

Services and activities for the festive period

Find out about opening times, available support, and what's on over the festive period. As campus access arrangements may need to change, we advise you to continue to check our web pages if you require access to the University over the festive period.

If you are staying on campus over the Christmas break you are recommended to download the SafeZone app.

We know that the festive season can be a difficult time for some. If you are suffering from a mental health crisis go to the I need help now webpage, or you can find more support and resources below.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ebrahim Adia, shares a festive message with students

Donate to our Christmas 2023 appeal

Donate today

Support our University community through the Global Community Fund

Services over the festive break

The University will be operating minimal services from Friday 22 December to Tuesday 2 January.

Whilst some University services will pause over the Christmas period, you can still come on to campus, use a study space and PC, do some printing, and get access to remote library support.

The on-site support will be limited, and ID cards will be required to enter the library.

Harrison Library, City Campus and Walsall Library

24/7 opening at Harrison Library runs until Monday 18 December and restarts Tuesday 2 January.

Between these dates, a reduced service will operate as follows at both Harrison and Walsall:

Friday 22 December - open 8.30am-12am
Saturday 23 December - open 10am-4pm
Sunday 24 December - closed
Monday 25 December - closed
Tuesday 26 December - closed
Wednesday 27 December to Sunday 31 December (inclusive) open 10am-4pm
Monday 1 January - closed

Hutchison Library, Telford Campus

Saturday 23 December to Monday 1 January (inclusive) closed

Students pre-registered for Extended Access will be able to access Hutchison Library between 10am -4pm on the following dates:

Saturday 23 December
Wednesday 27 December
Thursday 28 December
Friday 29 December
Saturday 30 December
Sunday 31 December

For the full schedule please see the Library Opening Hours webpage or the Service over the festive period Library news article.

We do our best to stick to these advertised times, however, we also recommend that you check the Library's Instagram or Facebook pages for updates before setting off on your journey, in case of short-notice changes.

ASK@WLV on e:Vision (online help calls):

During the Christmas break, students can access lots of helpful information 24/7 in the ASK@WLV FAQs in e:Vision (www.wlv.ac.uk/evision). If you can't find the information you're looking for, you can log a help call, and someone will get back to you in the new year.

ASK@WLV phone line:

The ASK@WLV phone lines close at 5pm on Friday 22 December and reopen on Tuesday 2 January at 10am.

ASK@WLV on campus help desks:

The ASK@WLV offices at City, Walsall and Telford Campus will close at 5pm on Friday, 22 December and reopen on Tuesday 2 January at 10am.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

The Mental Health and Wellbeing service will close at 2pm Friday 22 December and reopen at 9am on Tuesday 2 January.

From Tuesday 2 January, the team will be accessing and reviewing all completed drop-in booked appointments and enquiries.

Book a Mental Health and Wellbeing Drop-in here.

Mental health and wellbeing resources

All students can access support 24/7 through WLV Student Life Connect - University of Wolverhampton The service can be accessed via our own WLV dedicated phone line and webpage with an online chat function 24/7, 365 days a year.

Telephone: 0333 212 0672 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Free, confidential and independent support, counselling and information services.

If you are experiencing distress and feel that you require some additional support over the Christmas break, please visit the Need Help Now webpage for further information.

Please do not forget the importance of talking to someone you trust. Let family or friends know what's going on for you. They may be able to offer support and help keep you safe.

More information is available here: www.wlv.ac.uk/mhw.

Mental health crisis support

When feeling overwhelmed, it’s important to remember that these intense feelings will pass, and things can and will improve - please don’t give up.

A mental health emergency should be taken as seriously as a physical one.

If you are considering ending your life, you can access urgent support, you matter, and you will not be wasting anyone's time.

You can....

Contact the emergency services by calling 999 in a crisis.

Make your way to any hospital that has an accident and emergency department. It might help to ask someone to accompany you.
Call 111 for advice or find a local NHS urgent mental health support helpline
Contact your doctor or GP and ask for an urgent appointment.

Coping in a crisis

The mental health charity Mind has information on ways to help yourself cope during a crisis. This includes calming exercises and a tool to get you through the next few hours.

The Staying Safe website helps you to build your own safety plan to keep you safe from suicidal thoughts, has messages of hope and lots of resources to help you stay safe.

If you are on campus or in your University Accommodation, you can contact Campus Security by calling 01902 32 1555 (5555 from an internal phone) or using the SafeZone app. They are available 24/7.

Emergency support helplines

You can telephone Samaritans on 116 123 from your mobile or landline (not a University phone) or send an email to: jo@samaritans.org.

The CAM Crisis Messenger text service provides free, 24/7 crisis support across the UK. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis and need help, you can text CAM at 85258.

Visit Black Country Healthcare – Help in Crisis, and Black Country residents can call 0345 6460827 24/7 to access urgent mental health, learning disability or autism support, find out more here.

Other organisations, including PAPYRUS, Student Minds, Wellbeing and Coping and Creating a Safety Plan offer support and helpful resources.

Self-help resources

If you need advice or extra help, please check our self-help resources.

Find out more about the student support services available to you here: www.wlv.ac.uk/support.

Please refer to resources provided by Student Minds on different challenges that university life can bring: www.studentminds.org.uk/resources.html.

Safeguarding

The Safeguarding service will close Thursday 21 December at 4pm and reopen Monday 8 January all enquiries and registrations will be accessed and reviewed upon return.

Report a concern using the Safeguarding Form.

If you are experiencing domestic abuse you can contact Refuge and talk to someone.

Support to Study

The Support to Study service will close Tuesday 19 December at 4pm and reopen Monday 8 January and all enquiries and registrations will be accessed and reviewed upon return.

Disability and Inclusion

The Disability and Inclusion service will close Thursday 21 December at 4pm and reopen Monday 8 January all enquiries and registrations will be accessed and reviewed upon return.

Financial and Hardship

The Financial and Hardship Support service will close Thursday 21 December at 12pm and reopen Tuesday 2 January. All enquiries and registrations will be accessed and reviewed upon return.

Find support at Help For Households.

The IT Support Desk will close at 5pm on Friday 22nd December, but there will still be phone support throughout the Christmas break, offered by our out-of-hours partner.

For exact times and dates for IT phone support, please take a look at this information.

Our out-of-hours phone support can help with password and/or multifactor authentication issues.

If you are looking for IT support, why not try the portal where you can help yourself to information and grab the latest updates. If you can't find the information you're looking for, you can log a support ticket, and someone will get back to you in the new year.

You can access the IT Support portal by selecting the 'Need some help' button on the Digital Service webpage here: www.wlv.ac.uk/its or go to the portal directly here: wolvs.service-now.com/it_portal. You will need your University email address and password to sign in.

The IT support portal brings a lot of new features to students:

The portal knows it is you as you sign in, so you can see your current and historical calls.
You can raise a call (this is a simple form that describes your issue), and as you are doing that, relevant information appears that may help you, particularly outside business hours.
There is a growing bank of information and guidance, with popularly viewed articles on the front page.
There is an announcement banner for information about new services, changes, problems or planned downtime.

Take a look at the portal here: wolvs.service-now.com/it_portal.

Campus Security will remain onsite 24/7 over the Christmas break.

Safezone app

If you are staying at University over the Christmas break, you are recommended to download the SafeZone app. SafeZone provides a valuable source of reassurance to people working and studying on campus, giving you fast access to the University's security team to call for support in an emergency, contact medical assistance immediately, or raise a non-urgent enquiry. The Check-in feature allows you to share your location with the Security Team if you are working alone or outside of normal hours.

To report an incident or contact the security team go to www.wlv.ac.uk/security.