Mature Students

Mature Students Officer: Anita Bembere

The Mature Students Officer at NUASU works with the university and other student officers to represent, support and campaign on behalf of mature students at Norwich University. The University and city alike have so much to offer mature students, but it can be sometimes hard to find the right information and find facilities that can support you.

NUASU defines a mature student as anyone who started their undergraduate degree after the age of 21 or their masters after the age of 25, as per Office for Students guidelines.

As a student officer, they sit on the Students’ Union Steering Committee and work alongside the SU Presidents to ensure the interests, ideas and feedback of Mature Students are heard and acted on. Here are some of the things you can contact them about:

Campaigns, projects or initiatives – if you have an idea, we want to hear it!
Feedback, complaints or concerns relating to your experience of studying at NUA or living in Norwich.
Representation of mature students at SU, University and National level.

If you would like to get in touch, please contact me via: su.mature@norwichuni.ac.uk.

Interested in this role?

Our Liberation officers are elected annually in the summer term and start their role from September. You can view the role description here. If you think you would be a great Mature Students officer, nominate yourself when elections open!

Support at NUA:

NUA Student Support has a great resource hub to support you make the most of your NUA experience, with documents covering student finance, extenuating circumstances and library resources.

During your studies, Student Support are available to help with a wide range of issues that might affect you.

Student Support are located on Floor 2 of Francis House. You can make appointments to see Student Support at the Student Enquiries office in St Georges or at Francis House Reception, by phone (on 01603 610561) or by email (support@norwichuni.ac.uk.)

The bookable appointments run from 10 – 4pm Monday to Friday with a drop-in facility between 9am - 12pm on Monday & Wednesday mornings and between 1pm-4pm on Friday afternoons. These operate on a first come, first served basis in Francis House. Evening drop-in's also run throughout the term; one in St George's and one in Boardman House. Details of all the drop-ins can be found on the NUA intranet.

SU Lounge:

The SU Lounge is an open space ran by the Students’ Union available to you from 8:30am to 10pm. The Lounge is located in the basement floor of St Andrews House, St Andrews Street. All students are welcome to use this space to meet up, study or grab one of the student officers for a chat!

Please be aware during term time we often run events, socials and workshops in the evenings, so access to the space might be restricted.

External Support Providers:

VisitNorwich - events, activities and exhibitions happening in and around Norwich.
Parking in Norwich – list of car parks and map of the city
First Bus Travel – bus routes and timetables around Norfolk and Suffolk. Buying your tickets via the mobile app will save you money!

Activism and Campaigns:

Here are some campaign areas that we are continuously lobbying on:

Home from Home Kitchen:

Mature students can make full use of our brand-new commuter kitchen available 8am – 9pm in the SU Lounge, located in St Andrews House. You can use the space to make a drink, warm up food or store your bags. The kitchen hosts lockers, a kettle, microwave, toaster, and a sink for washing utensils/kitchenware. We hope all students are able to make full use of this space and the SU lounge between lectures and socialise in the SU lounge!

Events and Community:

Mature students have brought to the attention of the Union that there is a gap in regards to community. The Students' Union is looking to invest more time into organising Mature and Postgrad social events, such as the MA Celebration and Mature Students Coffee and Cake. Have an event idea? Get in touch!

If you would like to speak to the SU about an issue or campaign idea, please contact the Mature Officer su.mature@norwichuni.ac.uk or the SU on studentsunion@norwichuni.ac.uk. You can also pop in to the SU Lounge, located in the basement of St Andrews House during normal office hours for a confidential chat. There is an accessible lift down to the basement level through the brown doors to the left of St Andrews House main entrance.