HOMERTON COLLEGE

HOMERTON COLLEGE
Welcome Booklet for Visiting Students
2011

Index 1
Beginning of Term 2
University Orientation Event 2
Matriculation Dinner 2
Banking 2-3
Accommodation 3
Bicycles 3
University and College IT Services 3-4
CamSIS and the University Skills Portal 4
Medical Care 4
Useful web sites 4
What to do next 4-5
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We hope that the information in this pack will help to answer any questions you might have about becoming a
member of Homerton College later in the year. If you should have any queries at all, please contact Mrs Natasha
Thomas on +44 1223 747252 or email to admissions@homerton.cam.ac.uk.
Beginning of Term and Registration
Registration at the College will take place between 11-5pm on Sunday 2 nd October, which is the ‘travel’ day when
most new students will arrive. Students who wish to arrive early (i.e. before the 2 nd October) should contact the
Admissions Office as soon as possible with their arrival date. Such students will be asked to pay a nightly charge for
their room before this date (since your residency agreement runs from 2 nd October) and to complete an ‘Extra Nights’
form, which can be emailed to the Admissions Office. The nightly charge is £14.64 and payment should be made to
the Finance Office, preferably before term begins (you can pay by credit or debit card by telephoning +44 1223
747125 and speaking with Mrs Edna Brasher or we can provide you with the College’s bank account details).
When you arrive at Homerton, make your way to the Porters’ Lodge (in the Mary Allan Building), where you will be
able to collect your room key. The porters will be able to direct you to your room (the Lodge is staffed around the
clock).
You will be able to pay your college bill on Sunday 2 nd October, which will include your accommodation fees for the
year (£3263.04 for those staying for three terms), your registration fee (£35) and your room deposit (£90).
On Monday 3rd October students will meet their Tutor and Director of Studies (we will provide you with a start of year
programme on arrival). There will also be an introductory talk, a health and safety talk and activities in the evening
organised by the Homerton Union of Students (HUS). It is also traditional for the incoming Freshers to have a group
photo taken to commemorate their new status as college members. This will take place on the afternoon of Monday
3rd October. The photograph will be a formal one and it is therefore important that you are dressed correctly. For
men, this will entail at least a shirt and tie but preferably a jacket, smart trousers and shoes. For women, this should
be a smart top or blouse with smart trousers or a skirt. Please ensure that you are dressed in the correct manner.
University Orientation Event
The University’s International Office organise an orientation event for all new international students, which will take
place on Friday 30 th September. If you are planning to arrive before the 2 nd October and wish to attend, please
register online via www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/international/orientation/. You can also find a very helpful A-Z
guide for International Students on this site.
Matriculation Dinner
The Matriculation Dinner is a tradition in Cambridge and is our way of welcoming you to the College. There will be no
charge for this meal. It will give you the opportunity to meet the members of staff you will be in contact with during
your time here and also to get to know some of the other new students to the College. You will find an invitation to
the Dinner on our website, which should be returned by 23 rd September.
Banking
It is a good idea to open a bank account as soon as possible, as it can take some time to open a UK bank account and
to get any relevant cards or chequebooks because of money laundering regulations. You will find branches of
Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds TSB Bank within walking distance of the College. Other banks have branches in the city
centre. Most banks are open between 9-5 pm during Monday-Friday and 9-12 pm on Saturdays. You can find some
guidance online in the UKCISA Money Guide. The Admissions Office will be able to produce an introduction letter for
you when you arrive to help you open an account and you will also need to take along some identification, such as
your passport.
You may wish to consider having arrangements in place in case your bank account takes over 2-3 weeks i.e. transfer of
funds. You could see if any banks enable you to open a bank account online before you come to the UK or check with
your bank in your home country to see if they have any special arrangements with any UK banks, as this may help you
to open an account or transfer money. You might find it helpful to look at the British Banking Association website at:
http://www.bba.org.uk/publications/entry/international-students-opening-a-uk-bank-account/leaflets/.
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Accommodation (ABC)
On arrival at Homerton, the Admissions Office will arrange for you to complete your Residency Agreement, which you
will be required to sign and return to the Accommodation Office. A room has been reserved for you in the ABC
accommodation area in the Cavendish Building. The Finance Officer will organise for your meal contribution to be
credited to your EPOS card (University Card). Cardholders will receive an average discount of 10% when purchasing
food on site and it is possible for additional credit to be added to the card (which can be used for purchases at the
Porters’ Lodge). Please see our EPOS guide for more information.
Homerton College is a No Smoking College. Students are not allowed to smoke in their rooms. It is the policy of
Homerton College that all our buildings and communal areas are smokefree, including external areas within a 15-
metre distance of entrances and windows.
All rooms are supplied with full bed linen, including a duvet, cover, and a towel. Students are responsible for any
damaged or missing items on the room inventory list. Useful items to bring are hand towels, tea towels and some
crockery and cutlery for personal use. Please note, however, that most rooms are small and have limited storage
space. Please also see our Accommodation Guide for more information. You can also find a list of useful items to
bring with you in the Cambridge University Students’ Union Freshers’ Guide, available here:
http://www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/publications/freshersguide/2011freshersguide.pdf. A hard copy will also be provided on
arrival.
Students are required to vacate their residential room and return their key to the Porters’ Lodge by 10.00am (unless
otherwise instructed) on their day of departure, and student rooms will only be available from 14.00pm on their
arrival day (apart from on 2 nd October). Students (or their belongings) remaining in or returning to residence,
unauthorised, outside the contract period will be charged on an extra night basis with a surcharge of £20.00 per day.
College cannot accept responsibility for loss of, or damage to, personal belongings left in College during term-time or
vacations.
Please Note: Permission to return ahead of, or remain in residence beyond, published travel days must be sought no
fewer than 7 days in advance from the Accommodation Officer and paid for in advance. Failure to vacate the room
and hand in keys on the agreed day by 10.00am will result in the same sanctions as stated above.
Bicycles
Students leave their bicycles on the Homerton site at their own risk. All student bicycles must be numbered,
registered at the Porters’ Lodge and must be locked in the designated cycle racks when not in use. Any student
bicycles not locked in the designated cycle racks or locked to railings or fire escapes are liable to be removed by the
Porters and impounded. A charge of £15.00 will be made to return any bicycle impounded.
Vacation periods:
Students may leave their bicycles locked in the designated cycle racks over the vacations on condition that they are
numbered and registered with the Porters.
Abandoned bicycles:
During the summer vacation the Porters will tag any bicycles that are not numbered and registered with a warning
that they will be removed by a specified date at the start of Michaelmas Full Term. Any bicycles that have not been
removed by the specified date are assumed to be abandoned, lost or stolen and will be removed one week after the
start of Full Term. Any abandoned, lost or stolen student bicycles that have been removed by the Porters having been
previously tagged for one month will be handed over to a local charity for refurbishment and resale. The College does
not accept any liability for cycles that have been abandoned and subsequently handed over to a local charity and
resold.
University and College IT Services
The University Computing Service (UCS) produce a leaflet entitled ‘IT Matters @ Cambridge’, which we recommend
reading: http://www.cam.ac.uk/cs/instadmin/itmatters.pdf. This explains the facilities provided by the UCS and what
you need to know relating to computing accounts, including how to find out what your Cambridge email address will
be before you arrive.
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The College provides several communal machines – PCs and Macs, located in the Lower Computer Room in the
Cavendish building, the Library, and in supervision rooms – as part of the UCS’s Managed Cluster Service (MCS). The
MCS is available across most of the University and has a wide range of software as well as printing and scanning
services. Further details about the MCS are available at http://www.cam.ac.uk/cs/desktop-services/mcs/.
Internet access for personally owned devices is available to all members via the wired “ResNet” network in study
bedrooms for resident students, or the wireless “eduroam” network – where wireless is available – for both resident
and non-resident students. The network allows access to email, web, and other Internet services. It is provided and
operated by the Homerton College IT Department and the cost of access is incorporated in the residence charge for
resident students or in the College Membership Fee for non-resident students. Further details about the College
network are available in the Definition of Service document available at
http://www.homerton.cam.ac.uk/itdept/pdf/resnet-eduroam-dos.pdf.
Incoming resident students are encouraged to work through the IT Pre-Arrival Guide at
http://www.homerton.cam.ac.uk/pre-arrival/ prior to arriving to see what you should bring with you, how to prepare
your computer for use on the College network, and how to claim your passwords and setup your network access once
you arrive. A printable checklist has been produced for reference and is available at
http://www.homerton.cam.ac.uk/pre-arrival/pdf/checklist.pdf.
All use of network connected systems at the College is subject to Acceptable Use Policies outlined by the University
here: http://www.cam.ac.uk/cs/isss/rules/isss.html and by the College here:
http://www.homerton.cam.ac.uk/itdept/aup.pdf.
The IT Office can provide technical support to all College members during office hours, which are 9:00am – 6:00pm
Monday-Thursday and 9:00am – 5:30pm on Fridays. Additional information and advice can be obtained from the I.T.
Department by: Telephone : +44 (0) 1223 747109 and Email : IT-support@homerton.cam.ac.uk.
CamSIS and the Cambridge University Skills Portal
CamSIS is the University’s system for handling information related to your student record. You will need to use
CamSIS to make any changes to your contact details and to validate your personal data. You will need to use your
Raven password to log in to the system and further information will be provided at the start of your course.
The University’s online Skills Portal is a good way to find out about developing your skills and learning about making
the most of your time in Cambridge. See http://www.skills.cam.ac.uk/undergrads/ for more information and
resources.
Medical Care
You will remember that we included some guidance in our spring mailing about medical care whilst in Cambridge.
Please remember to bring any medical history information and up to date immunisation records with you to
Cambridge. You will be directed to complete an online student health form before term begins. Finally, please
carefully read both our health information sheet and medical advice before arriving in Cambridge.
Useful web sites
You may find the following web sites useful in preparing for your arrival in the UK:
http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/
http://www.britishcouncil.org/first_steps_2011-12.pdf
http://www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/publications/international/2011intfreshersguide.pdf
What to do next
Please complete and return the following forms as soon as possible. We are happy to receive these documents by
email (simply click on the 'Submit by Email' button on the form itself). If you are using an internet based email
provider, you may need to save these forms to your desktop and send them as attachments to njc46@cam.ac.uk).
Please ensure that you use the correct version of Adobe Acrobat if you wish to submit by email (version 8 or above for
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PCs or 5 or above for Macs). Alternatively, we are happy for the forms to be faxed/posted (contact details can be
found at the foot of this page).
Registration Form
Consent form 1 (Consent to inform a Parent or Guardian in case of emergency)
Consent form 2 (Consent to discuss your College Financial Arrangements with a Parent or Guardian)
Matriculation Dinner invitation
If you have any queries at all, please contact Mrs Natasha Thomas in the Admissions Office on Tel: 01223 747252 or
via e-mail to njc46@cam.ac.uk. We look forward to meeting you soon!
Return address:
Admissions Office
Homerton College
Hills Road, Cambridge
CB2 8PH
Tel: 01223 747252
Email: njc46@cam.ac.uk
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