Seven questions with Frankie Gall and Stuart Andrews, the UCL Student Centre team

This week we put seven questions to Frankie Gall and Stuart Andrews from

ucl.ac.uk/current-students/student-centre" target="_self">UCL's Student Centre.

Team Name: UCL Student Centre

Department: UCL Student Registry Services

Members of team: Frankie Gall and Stuart Andrews

Tell us more about your team and what you do:

The Student Centre is made up of four members:

Kate Jones: Student Support & Wellbeing Manager (Student Centre & Events)

Tracey Smith: Student Centre Co-ordinator

Frankie Gall: Student Centre Adviser

Stuart Andrews: Student Centre Adviser

We are the first point of contact for walk-in enquiries from students (prospective, current and Alumni), UCL staff and the wider UCL community. Our role includes advising on general student records and examination enquiries, enrolling new students throughout the year and signposting to other teams and services across UCL.

What makes it so important (and interesting)?

It is important that students have a place they can go to for advice and support on their broad range of issues. As the Student Centre is the face-to-face point of contact for Student and Registry Services, it is a crucial part of UCL.

What has been a personal highlight so far working in the UCL Student Centre?

It is always a personal highlight when Start of Session runs smoothly. This year during the enrolment period, the Student Centre averaged 900 walk-in enquiries every day. This, as well as the peak in email enquiries and the recent merger with the IOE was a testing time for our small team of three.

Explain some of the challenges involved in working in the Student Centre

With an ever-growing number of students at UCL, including the merger with the IOE, it is challenging to facilitate support for the large number of students at UCL. Since November 2014, the Student Centre team have dealt with 37,816 walk-in enquiries. On top of this, we receive a high volume of email enquiries - since September 2014, we have dealt with over 29,000.

What advice would you give to students hoping to make the most out of their time at UCL?

Get involved in everything you can - UCLU clubs and societies are a great way to experience new things. Don't forget to sign-up with UCLU VSU. There are many opportunities out there for students. For example, many programmes offer students the opportunity to study abroad as part of their course - fully supported by the UCL Study Abroad Team.

Tell us about a project you are working on now which is top of your to-do list?

We are currently assessing how best to provide support for UCL students in the future. We are very excited to be planning the new Student Enquiries Centre which will be on the first floor of the New Student Centre building. As well as carrying out benchmarking activities, we are visiting other Universities to see their student services and discuss best practice.

Describe your perfect evening (or weekend) after a long week.

Catching up with friends with lots of travelling.