This page is the right landing for you if you need a pointer in the right direction to tackle a situation you are in. Read through the sections of the guidelines below dealing with services, skills, boundaries, harassment, bullying, reporting and cases of emergency. This page is designed to help you approach the right person to receive the support you need.
Rest assured that you will always find a listening ear and advice.
The student guidelines for wellbeing have been endorsed by the Junior College Board on 29 May 2019.
Effective from 1 October 2019
It is the mission of the College to promote a holistic quality education for you. The aim of these guidelines is to provide awareness and information on how to act in certain situations.
The measures indicated have been purposely kept as brief as possible to be practical.
The College offers you different forms of support according to your specific needs. The full list of all the services and facilities available is easily found on this website.
The Office of the Principal (B004) is your destination if you need to enquire about time-table issues, inform the Administration about an achievement outside the College, report unjust/unfair treatment, report inappropriate/illicit behaviour, obtain permission to use the lifts, enquire about lost and found items, report an emergency and find a listening ear when in distress.
The Student Services Office (B104) is your target with respect to updating personal data and health records, exemption processing (A, B and C forms), queries about attendance and assessment marks, applying for access arrangements, general queries regarding examinations, enquiring about the maintenance grant, informing the Administration about special/exceptional health requirements/hospitalisation, requesting to change subjects, enquiring about SIMS, requesting reference letters and requesting to withdraw from the programme of studies.
The Wellbeing Services include the Counselling Unit, Student Advisory and the Office of the Youth Worker. These services are all situated in the basement wing of block D. They are available to all College students, parents and staff. Their main focus is to help you address personal, emotional and/or educational-related problems that might get in the way of living a positive College experience and realising your full academic and personal potential.
a. The Counselling Unit professionals will always respect your values, choices and lifestyle adopted. Confidentiality is guaranteed to all students and staff, except in those cases when a person is acting or is likely to act in a way that could cause serious harm to oneself or put others at risk of harm.
b. The Advisory Services will help you make the appropriate choice of subjects, acquire the correct information about career prospects, help you manage time better and explore smart ways of studying.
c. The Youth Worker, together with students and other stakeholders at the College, works to create initiatives that help you develop personally, socially and educationally. The youth worker is the main contact person for all foreign students on the College Campus. The youth worker offers support and is available to mentor you with regards to College life and your holistic development.
The Chaplaincy (C016) embraces the charisma of helping you discover and develop your spiritual potential. The Chaplain celebrates mass daily at the Chapel and is available for pastoral counselling and spiritual direction.
The Sport & Leisure Department oversees the College’s sport related activities and manages all sport facilities. Booking of the facilities is free of charge during College hours and is on a first come first served basis. The Sport & Leisure Coordinator is also the main contact or reference person for student athletes.
The Library and its staff may help you with other services beyond the usual lending of books. You can also use its services to learn how to use references in your assigned tasks and work and how to search for material.
IT Services offers a range of facilities and services to assist you with your IT-related needs. You are provided with an IT Account that grants you access to several services, including an email address to which all official communication by the College is channelled.
Studies at intermediate and advanced levels require some level of adjustment with respect to study habits adopted at secondary level. As a student at this level you will be facing certain challenges in adopting a suitable method of note taking, studying skills and exam preparation, proper use of internet platforms like JC VLE and managing your time.
Our Counsellors, Student Advisor, Youth Worker as well as your own subject tutors are always available in guiding you to develop the necessary skills required so that you can successfully complete your programme of studies. These competent professionals are all situated in the basement of the College.
Should you feel more comfortable approaching your subject tutors, do not hesitate to do so as they may guide you more specifically in gaining more confidence in the particular subject.
Strive to develop the necessary skills as early as possible in the study programme so as to fully profit from your experience at College.
Regular attendance to all the sessions is an important key to your success and understanding.
Joining a College-led group/club may help you develop further your communication and social skills whilst helping you foster a sense of belonging to the College community. The full list of groups and activities organised by College is easily found on the website.
The relationship between students and members of staff is a professional one and deserves respect at all times. For this reason you are called to exercise caution and attention to maintain this boundary.
Time-tabled sessions serve different educational purposes such as the imparting of new knowledge, putting theory into practice, debating and discussing points of interest and dealing with educational problems. Personal problems are more appropriately managed within the Wellbeing Services and disclosure of a personal nature is not encouraged during a class.
You are also expected to exercise caution and attention in the language used in the presence of your tutors and other members of staff. Excessive sharing of personal experiences is not appropriate during a subject session as it endangers the ethical boundary.
If you are going through a rough time and feel the need to share your distress with your tutor, you may do so in a contact hour. Your tutor will then help you refer to the other professional services available at the College.
Harassment and/or bullying is any unwanted, unwelcome or uninvited behaviour, which makes you feel humiliated, intimidated or offended. In living together as a community, individuals must recognise that what is acceptable to one person may not be acceptable to another. These guidelines refer to any interaction in your life as a student; student-student interactions as well as student-staff interactions. The following may be considered as a broad classification system in this regard: Physical conduct: any unwelcome physical contact Verbal conduct: unwelcome remarks about age, sexual orientation, dress, appearance, gender, race, disability, religion, membership to a group, family responsibilities and upbringing, including insensitive jokes, offensive remarks as well as slander, personal insults, persistent criticism, threats and abuse of power Non-verbal forms of harassment: isolation, obscene gestures, setting impossible deadlines, non-cooperation and exclusion, offensive photography, racist propaganda, stereotyping to a specific national group and stalking.
The above list in not an exhaustive list and should not be considered as such.
Bullying, though interchangeable with harassment is considered to be more an emotive event with more emphasis on intimidation. Examples include: invasion of privacy, spying, malicious behaviour, open aggressiveness, distressful/offensive behaviour, constant pressure, anti-social behaviour, repeated statements to demean your status and cyber-bullying. This list in not exhaustive and for the purposes of the UM Harassment and Bullying Policy both will be referred to as harassment.
If you are experiencing such behaviour, you are encouraged to share your experience with any member of the academic staff or the administrative staff (such as Subject/Area Coordinators, Vice-Principal and/or the Principal), who in turn may communicate directly with the UM Harassment Advisor to provide you with further assistance.
Sexual Harassment as defined by the Laws of Malta may involve: unwelcome physical contact (such as touching, hugging or kissing), leering, suggestive comments/jokes, unwelcome acts/words/conduct that you can reasonably regard as offensive/humiliating or intimidating, unwanted invitations to go out on dates or requests for sexual interaction, intrusive questions about your private life or body, unnecessary familiarity, insults or taunts based on your gender or sexual orientation, sexually explicit emails or text messages, unwanted contact/intrusion, messages/offensive postings (on social networks, texts, emails and more), sexual images displayed electronically and in print, sexually explicit pictures and behaviour which would also be an offence under the criminal law (physical sexual assault, indecent exposure and obscene/pornographic communications). The list above is not exhaustive and should not be considered as such.
If you are experiencing any form of sexual harassment it is important that you contact one of the Sexual Harassment Advisors at JC: Dr Angele Deguara (Sociology) and Dr Olivia Galea Seychell (Psychology) who will help and support you. Access the webpage for full information about the UM Sexual Harassment Policy.
If you notice that a friend needs support or attention because s/he is passing through a rough time, it is advisable to refer your friend to someone within the Wellbeing Services. You may opt to go alone and give the details to the Counsellor, Student Advisor or Youth Worker or accompany your friend to the first meeting.
You may also refer your friend to one of your tutors, Subject Coordinators or at the Office of the Principal, who will in turn approach the relevant professional within the College to help and support your friend.
If you notice irregular, inappropriate and/or illicit behaviour it would be ideal if you report these activities directly to the Office of the Principal. Confidentiality is guaranteed.
Should you require reporting other incidents, please be aware of the following hierarchical structure. Depending on the gravity of the incident kindly speak to: your lecturer or professionals from the Wellbeing Services, Subject Coordinator, Area Coordinator, Vice-Principal and finally the Principal.
In case of emergency (health related incidents occurring around you such as fire, injuries, loss of consciousness, etc.) call 112. It is important that you also contact the Office of the Principal either by calling +356 2590 7244 or sending someone around you.
Do not move the injured individual unless you possess the necessary skills acquired through an official First-Aid course.
AEDs available in the foyer and in the third floor may only be used by trained First-Aiders.
Should you require reporting an incident to the police whilst you are at College, you may do so at the Ħamrun Police Station. You can report incidents involving theft, violence, and abuse amongst other.
If you are experiencing a form of cyber-bullying, it is important that you talk to a staff member as indicated in point 5.3 above. It is also recommended that you report any form of cyber-bullying to the Cyber Crime Unit by calling +356 2294 2231 or writing an email.
