The Start of Year Hub is a central repository of information to make sure you have all the key information in one accessible place. Here you will find all the latest updates about our key operational areas, change projects and student activity, as well as relevant contact information for you to escalate an issue if needed.   

Latest updates

16 September, 3pm

• Did you miss our Start of Year open meeting? This was a chance to hear directly from colleagues leading key areas including Welcome, registration, communications, and our transition from Blackboard to Canvas. The recording of the meeting can be watched here.

15 September, 11:30am

• Extra IT support will be available at University Place and Kilburn Building from 22 Sept, including help with Wi-Fi and Duo. Info leaflets and a video guide are also available to help new students get set up.
• These leaflets and more information can be found here - IT Services will provide additional in-person IT support during Welcome Week.

9 September, 2pm

• The Right to Study check for students was deployed on 5 September. Students who need to complete the check - that is, those arriving on a Student Visa, Visitor Visa or ETA, are now prevented from starting registration until they have completed the check.  
• Students NOT STARTED Registration - The Student Immigration Team are now inviting those students to undertake the process. The initial batch of invites was small to ensure everything was working.  Invites are being sent out on a daily basis. No communications on this should be sent by any other team.
• Any students who have partly or fully completed registration before the process was implemented will be contacted individually by the Student Immigration Team and advised on what they need to do.
• Staff guidance guidance can be found here - Supporting Students with Right to Study enquiries.
• Student Immigration Team Drop-in Sessions can be found in the table below.
  
  

  8-13 September Alan Gilbert Learning Commons	Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays​	11.00-13.00​
  15-19 September Main Library	Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays​	11.00-13.00​
  22-26 September (Welcome Week) 29 September – 10 October Main Library​	29 September - 10 October:​ Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays​	10.00-16.00​

2 September, 2pm 

Some undergraduate home students have applied to Student Finance for tuition fee loans at last year’s amount (£9,250) instead of this year’s (£9,535), creating a £285 shortfall. These students have been contacted, and guidance has been published below under ‘What’s changed this year?’. 

What's changing this year?

Key Contacts

Queries can then be escalated via your School Head of Teaching, Learning and Student Experience. 

If an issue or query continues to be outstanding, it can be escalated to the Chair of the Start of Year group: 

• Hannah Cousins 

Student activity

On 18 August, we sent an email to UG, PGT and PGR students with their steps to becoming a Manchester student. 

We will be sending follow up emails that are segmented to International students and anyone who lets us know that they are commuters, parents/carers or mature students. 

We will also signpost for students to join our Instagram Broadcast Channel – a dedicated space for new students where we are sharing exclusive content. The channel has been running since May 2025 and currently has over 3,700 members who are all offer-holders at The University of Manchester. 

The Student Communications team will also be hosting a stall at the Start of Year Fair to share more information with new students.