Support & Welfare
Support for Disabled Students
Students with disabilities should contact the Tutor for Disabilities (Maureen Hackett) or the Tutorial & Admissions Office before coming into residence so that we can ensure that any specific needs and arrangements are in place by the time you arrive. The College is happy to arrange a preliminary visit so that you can discuss your needs with both College and University staff, Directors of Studies and Tutors. For further details of access arrangements please visit the College's Access Guides.
The University Disability Resource Centre offers further guidance on sources of help available.
When you come into residence, please let the Porters’ Lodge know if you will require assistance in responding to emergency evacuations for fire, etc.
Financial Hardship Funds
It is generally accepted that University students are often managing on limited funds. At times this financial hardship can affect student’s ability to work, their health and general welfare. There are a number of ways in which these difficulties can be alleviated and College Tutors are usually best placed to know where and how to obtain funds for students.
Tutors are always happy to discuss financial problems with students and nobody should be deterred from seeking help because they feel their problem is too minor and will not be taken seriously.
Details of certain College and University Funds can be found below. Lists of other grants, awards and prizes for the whole University are listed in the Reporter (Special Edition).
College Hardship Fund
Girton College has its own hardship fund (The Buss Fund) which is administered by the Tutors as a group.
The purpose of the fund is alleviate acute student financial hardship either by way of loans or more often grants to undergraduate members of the College. Funds are unfortunately limited, although a substantial part of the College appeal work is directed at raising money for this fund. It is important to direct the funds to the most needy and allocations are made at fortnightly meetings of all Tutors.
There is no rigid formula governing the type or amount of award. This is a deliberate policy as each case is different and all considered individually on their merits. Inevitably there is an element of ‘means testing’ in this process and students are asked to complete a Hardship Fund Application indicating their incomings and outgoings. Any other relevant information such as the necessity to visit seriously sick relatives is also taken into account.
Travel Awards Fund
The College holds a number of Travel Awards for undergraduates, with sums ranging from £500—£150 for travel in the Long Vacation. Students undertake journeys throughout this country and all over the world for all sorts of reasons. For some it is to help research their dissertations, for some it is adventure and for others the simple pleasure of travel to broaden their minds.
Notices of the competition are posted at division of Lent Term in College, Wolfson Court and on every undergraduate’s email. Application forms are then made available here. The closing date is the start of Easter Term. The Travel Awards Committee meets in the third week of May and the awards are announced in the first week of June.
Awards are given to 2nd, 3rd or 4th years reading for a Tripos or Diploma exam, although 1st years may apply and are sometime successful!
Student Academic Fund
College has established a fund to provide grants for a number of academic purposes including vacation project or elective work not covered by the ‘Directed Reading Fund’, dissertation expenses and other academic costs related to particular subjects. Further details and application form can be obtained from Directors of Studies. Applications can be made at any time during the year but grants are normally made towards the end of the academic year or at the beginning of the academic year to cover the previous long vacation.
Isaac Newton Trust: Cambridge Bursary Scheme
These bursaries, available at all College, are administered by Trinity College and are provided to all UK students eligible for the maximum student loan. Application forms are sent automatically to all those eligible. Any student not receivng a form but believing themselves to be eligible should see their Tutor. Applications are submitted through, and with the support of, Tutors in the early part of Michaelmas Term.
For further details, visit the Isaac Newton Trust website.
Access to Learning Fund
The Access to Learning Fund is provided by the Government to support students on low income, with high living costs. These funds are allocated by the University centrally (not by the College). Grants are decided on a strict formula based on living costs, which often means that many students are not eligible. Application forms are available from Tutors, who submit the application on behalf of their student.
Bell, Abbott & Barnes Fund
This is another University wide hardship fund which can be approached in particular circumstances. Applications are made by Tutors, on behalf of their student, by the division of each Term.
College Nurses
All members of the College, whether resident or non-resident, may consult the two College Nurses who hold regular surgery hours in the Health & Welfare Centre.
| Monday – Friday | 8.30 – 11.00 a.m. |
| Monday & Thursday | 4.30 - 6.30 p.m. |
| Saturday | 7.00 a.m. - 12noon on call only |
The Health & Welfare Centre is located in the Old Labs area along A corridor. You should try to consult the Nurses during the above hours. In Wolfson Court there are no set surgery hours but the College Nurse will visit when required. Please ask at the Lodge or ring through to them directly. The College Nurse may be able to help in getting an urgent appointment with your GP – it is always worth asking.
For night-time and weekend emergency help you can contact a GP through Urgent Care Cambridge. The Lodge staff can help you get in touch and arrange transport.
Cambridge Doctors
All undergraduates are required to register with a Cambridge doctor. Please do this early in your first term; the College Nurses will be happy to help you with this process.
Counselling Services
College Counsellors
The College has two Counsellors who offer a confidential counselling service to Girton students. Further counselling information.
University Counselling Service
There is also a University Counselling Service at 14 Trumpington Street, Cambridge. As with the College Counsellors any student who wishes may make an appointment directly. Their website has has further contact information and is a useful source of information on a wide variety of topics.
You may, however, prefer to talk with your Tutor or one of the Nurses before approaching a counsellor; your own Doctor may also provide counselling help. The College Library has a special collection of counselling books on a wide range of subjects. These are kept on the signing-out desk in the Library, together with a list of local and national advice agencies.
Other Health Services
Further useful information is given in Section 6 of the booklet University of Cambridge: Information and Regulations, which is given to all first year students. The University Dental Service is at 3 Trumpington Street, tel: (3)32860; and the Cambridge AIDS Helpline phone number is 0800 697697. You should not hesitate to consult your Tutor should you want confidential advice on any problem of health.
Linkline
Linkline is a student-based organisation which provides a confidential listening service by phone between 7.00 p.m. and 8.00 a.m. every night. The purpose of Linkline is to provide general information, to be there if you want a chat, if you want to discuss any form of problem, or simply to listen to you. Tel: 67575
Sexual & Racial Harassment
Living in a community involves treating other individuals with respect, in a courteous and civilised way, whatever their sex or status. The College finds unacceptable any form of behaviour that amounts to harassment.
It is recognised that defining what constitutes harassment is difficult, and that differences of attitude or culture can mean that what is perceived by one person as sexual or racial harassment may not seem so to another. However, College accepts the University guidelines that the defining features of harassment are "that the behaviour is offensive to the recipient, is unwanted by the recipient and would be regarded as harassment by any reasonable person".
Any behaviour, verbal or physical, towards another person which has the effect of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment for study or for social life constitutes harassment, even if offence is not intended. Such behaviour might include offensive gestures, unwanted comments and un-consenting physical contact. Any individual who considers that another's behaviour (whosoever that person may be) falls into the category of sexual or racial harassment, may consult their own or any of the Tutors , the College Nurses, the Chaplain, or the JCR Welfare or Women's Officer.
HIV/AIDS & Safe Sex
The College subscribes to the University guidelines on HIV and AIDS, a copy of which may be consulted on the Tutors’ Notice Board. As in all othe private matters, students should note that confidentiality is upheld in all personal affairs which may come to the attention of the College Tutors or Nurses.
Contraceptive machines are positioned in College in the toilets in the JCR corridor and in Wolfson Court in the Disabled WC.
Drugs
The College Council reminds members of the College in statu pupillari:
- That to take drugs other than under medical direction may compromise your work
- That, under legislation dealing with drugs, the unauthorised possession of certain drugs is a criminal offence. College cannot protect a student from the due process of the law.
Any member of the College suffering physically or mentally from drug-taking is urged to seek early advice. Tutors are always ready to give personal and confidential advice and help to their students. Confidential advice can also be obtained from local GPs, from the University Counselling Service, or local advice centres, such as the Bridge Project, 154 Mill Road, Cambridge (tel: 214614).
Personal Development Planning
Personal Development Planning (PDP) aims to help you make the most of your time at Cambridge. It gives you opportunities to reflect on your experience and gain new perspectives on the bigger picture – to think about your talents and achievements; identify goals; plan for the future; write your CV; prepare for interviews.
PDP provides a range of techniques that you can use to develop your skills. Create a PDP plan of your own – get feedback on your work and your progress. PDP will help you identify the skills you need to develop further. For further information talk to your Tutor and visit the Personal Development Planning website.