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Vacation opening information

Over the summer and winter vacation periods some of our facilities on campus may have reduced opening hours. We'll let you know the specifics in advance so keep checking for further details. 

Find out more

Summer break opening hours: 22 June - 22 September 2019

A number of services will have reduced opening hours/service over the summer break which runs from 22 June - 22 September, and includes the bank holiday, Monday 26 August. Details for core BU services are below.

Bus services

There will be a reduced UNIBUS service from the end of June with normal services beginning again in September.

The UNIBUS service will not operate on the bank holiday, Monday 26 August - check out the full bus timetables in iBU or visit the UNIBUS website. 

Libraries

Both libraries will be open over the summer break and library staff will be available for help and advice. Check our website for full details of the library opening hours over the holidays. 

If you plan to study at home over the break, remember that books and DVDs can be borrowed for the whole of the vacation. Also, the e-journals and e-books that BU subscribes to are all available off campus. Detailed help in accessing e-resources off campus is available online in our library guide. If you are staying here in Bournemouth, you’ll find plenty of quiet study space and computers in the library, as well as printing, copying and scanning facilities. 

Both libraries will be closed on the bank holiday, Monday 26 August.

Open Access Centres

The computer facilities will remain open 24 hours, 7 days per week as usual, in Poole House and Studland House.

AskBU

AskBU will be open throughout the summer, only closing for the bank holiday, Monday 26 August. The team will be available via email: askbu@bournemouth.ac.uk and phone: 01202 969696 during the following times:

  • Monday - Thursday: 8.30am - 5pm (Wednesdays closed between: 2pm - 3.30pm)
  • Friday: 8.30am - 4.30pm

Please check the AskBU page for contact information and where to find the team if you're on campus. Or check our frequently asked questions which may be able to help with your query.

Careers & Employability

The Careers Centre will remain open over the summer break from 10am - 4pm, Monday to Friday, closing for the bank holiday, Monday 26 August. You can book an appointment to speak with a Careers Advisor via telephone, Skype and face-to-face, or you can drop into the Careers Centre.

You can also use the online careers service MyCareerHub to search for careers resources, graduate jobs and placements.

Residential Services

The main Residential Services and LettingsBU office (Melbury House) will be closed for walk-in appointments on 15 & 16 August to deal with the main A-level results and Clearing period. Staff will be available via telephone or email for any urgent enquiries, but it is a busy time so please be patient. The office will also be closed on the bank holiday, Monday 26 August.

  • All halls of residence will have a member of staff available 24/7 over the entire summer period and/or an emergency telephone number for you to contact and speak with a member of staff. If you are unsure what this is please speak with your local accommodation team.
  • If you're living in Unilet accommodation, you should continue to use your usual out of hours support and call the main Poole House reception number (01202 524111) for emergencies.
  • If you’re living in private accommodation, including a property arranged through LettingsBU, you should have been provided with an out of hours numbers to call, so contact your landlord or agent direct if you haven’t or are unsure.

Medical centre

Our on-site Student Medical centre on campus will be closed for the summer break. If you need to contact a doctor you can call Talbot Medical Centre in Wallisdown, at 63 Kinson Road BH10 4BX on 01202 636400, or call NHS 111. If it is an emergency please call 999.

Student Wellbeing

Student Wellbeing will continue to provide assessment appointments, wellbeing support and counselling over the summer, however, this will be a reduced service open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9.30am - 4.30pm. If you register with Student Wellbeing, send an email or leave a voice message, please do allow extra time for the team to get back to you. Check the webpages for more information.

Additional Learning Support

ALS will be open throughout the summer Monday to Friday, 9am - 4pm, closed from 12pm on Wednesdays and on the bank holiday, Monday 26 August.

Faith & Reflection

Faith & Reflection in Talbot House will be open throughout the holidays from 8am - 9pm, Monday - Friday, although there will be no chaplain on duty out of term hours.

Cash office – Poole House

The Cash office in Poole House will be open from 8.30am - 4pm, Monday - Friday, except for the bank holiday, Monday 26 August.

University Music facilities

Practice rooms at Talbot House will be open as normal over the summer break but closed on the bank holiday, Monday 26 August. The Music Admin office will be closed throughout the summer break but emails will be monitored regularly.

Music ensembles and tuition will resume on Monday 23 September - please contact musicadmin@bournemouth.ac.uk with any enquiries or visit the University Music web pages for more details.

SportBU

Over the summer break SportBU will be open on the following hours:

  • Monday - Friday: 7.15am - 8.30pm
  • Saturday & Sunday: 9am - 6pm

SportBU will be closed on the bank holiday, Monday 26 August and also on Tuesday 10 September for staff training. Normal opening hours will resume from Monday 16 September.

SUBU Advice 

You can visit the SUBU Advice team in SC202, the Student Centre on Talbot Campus, or find helpful information via the website, they'll also be closed for the bank holiday, Monday 26 August:

  • open for enquiries in SC202: Monday - Friday, 10am - 4pm
  • drop-in sessions in SC202: Monday - Friday, 2pm - 4pm
  • appointments only in BG07: Monday - Friday, 10am - 4pm. 

SUBU outlets

Over the summer break the Student Shop in Poole House will be open Monday - Friday, 8.30am - 4pm, the Student Centre will be open from 9am - 3pm, both will be closed on bank holiday, Monday 26 August. Dylan’s will be closed for the summer from Saturday 6 July.

Winter break opening hours: 16 December 2019 - 3 January 2020

Over the winter break we close down much of our campus to reduce our environmental impact and ensure our buildings are secure at a time when many people leave for the holidays. For those areas we’re closing, we will shut down at 1pm on Tuesday 24 December and re-open on Thursday 2 January 2020. This applies to all areas other than those listed below.

Access to BU facilities during the holidays

If you do use any BU facilities over the holidays and experience or notice any issues with buildings or facilities, please inform the member of staff in Poole House or Studland House receptions who can let our Estates team know. If you are involved in, or witness an emergency on campus, call 01202 962222. Facilities open during the holidays are: 

Open Access Centres

The PC labs and reception areas in both Poole House (Talbot Campus) and Studland House (Lansdowne Campus) will be open 24/7 throughout the holiday. 

Library

The libraries on both campuses will be closed from 1pm on Tuesday 24 December until 8am on Thursday 2 January, and will be open at slightly reduced hours for the rest of the winter break. If you plan to visit the library, please check the winter break opening hours beforehand, as they are slightly different to term time hours. Any changes to opening hours due to unforeseen circumstances will be shared via Twitter @BU_Library. 

Loans over the winter break:

From Saturday 30 November, you can borrow Ordinary Loans, One Week Loans and DVDs for the whole of the winter break. They will be due for return or renewal on Wednesday 8 January 2020. More details are available on Brightspace as well as on the Library webpages. E-journals and e-books are all available off campus via the Library area on Brightspace, using your BU username and password as usual, while the Study Skills area on Brightspace has lots of resources to help you brush up on skills such as revision and exam techniques. 

Faith & Reflection

Muslim prayer facilities will continue to be available on Talbot Campus during the holiday closure period. If you wish to use these facilities in Talbot House you can borrow the keys from a member of staff at Poole House reception – you will need to have your BU ID with you. Alternatively PG10 is available every day for Muslim prayer. Please contact the Islamic Society via their Facebook page for further details. 

Student Wellbeing

Student Wellbeing will be closed between Saturday 14 December and Sunday 5 January. During normal term time hours, the service is open on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons between 12pm and - 4pm. Students can also access the Big White Wall - a free, anonymous online mental health support service available 24/7. 

Residential Services

All BU halls of residence will have a member of staff available 24/7 over the period. Residents in Okeford House, St Johns, Unilet, Student Village and university-managed LettingsBU accommodation should continue to use their usual out of hours support. Students living in non-BU private accommodation should be given out of hours numbers to call by their landlord. If they are yet to receive these, they should contact their landlord directly. 

For students staying in BU accommodation over Christmas and New Year, the ResLifeBU team will be organising a festive get together – interested students should contact ResLifeBU Officer, Sam on sglynjones@bournemouth.ac.uk for more information. 

Students needing wellbeing support over the winter break are encouraged to contact Shelter on 0344 515 2000 for housing support, the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 for personal support or the NHS Mental Health Emergency team on 01202 657279 in the event of a crises.

University Music

Music rooms will be unavailable from 24 December to 2 January. 

Future Students enquiries

The Future Students Enquiry Team's phone lines will close from 12pm (GMT) on Tuesday 24 December and re-open at until 9am (GMT) on Thursday 2 January 2020.

However, advisors will be available to answer any queries via email and live chat on Friday 27 December, Monday 30 and Tuesday 31 December between 10am and 2pm (GMT).​ 

Christmas Vacation Bus Services

A reduced, vacation bus service will operate from Saturday 14 to Friday 20 December and again from Thursday 2 to Sunday 5 January. There will be no UNIBUS service between Saturday 21 December and Wednesday 1 January. The full service will start running again on Thursday 6 January 2019. Please check www.unibuses.co.uk for details.  

Online resources

While the university services are closed over the Christmas period, you may find the following external services helpful if you need immediate support:

Returning to BU

As we prepare for re-opening the campus on Thursday 2 January 2020, we will notify you if there is a weather warning for ice and snow. We will endeavour to open the campuses for business as usual, however, if weather and travel conditions are severe, updates will be posted on Twitter, Facebook, the university website, Brightspace, iBU and by email to your university accounts. You can also call BU’s Information Line – 01202 968999 – which will provide regular recorded updates in the event of adverse weather. 

Spring break opening hours: 6 April - 24 April 2020

A number of services, including the buses and libraries, will have reduced opening hours/service over the spring break.

The majority of university services will also be closed for the Easter weekend bank holidays, except for the Open Access computer centres in Poole House (Talbot Campus) and Studland House (Lansdowne Campus) which are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Opening hours for core BU services are below:

Bus services

There will be a reduced UNIBUS service over spring break as below, with normal services beginning again after the vacation. 

  • The U1 will operate a 15 minute circular route
  • The U3 will operate a normal 30 minute service Monday to Friday and will operate an hourly service on Saturdays
  • The U2 and U4 buses will not be running, but staff and students will still be able to use their UNIBUS Key Cards on all more bus network zone A services, which include - M1, M2, 13, 14, 15, and 17.

The UNIBUS service will not operate on the bank holidays – Good Friday and Easter Monday. Check out the full bus timetables in iBU or visit the UNIBUS website. 

Libraries

Both libraries will be open during the spring break, but closed for the Easter weekend bank holiday (Good Friday to Easter Monday inclusive) - check online for full library opening hours.  

If you plan to study at home, remember that books and DVDs can be borrowed for the whole of the spring break. For more details see the Library area on Brightspace or the Library webpages. The Library’s e-journals and e-books are all available off campus, using your BU username and password. Check out our library guide on logging into e-resources from off-campus for more detail. Also, the Study Skills area on Brightspace has lots of resources and online tutorials to help you brush up on skills such as revision and exam techniques. 

AskBU

AskBU will be open during the spring break but closed for the Easter weekend bank holiday. The team will be available via email: askbu@bournemouth.ac.uk and phone: 01202 969696 during the following times:

  • Monday - Thursday: 8.30am - 5pm (Wednesdays closed between: 2pm - 3.30pm)
  • Friday: 8.30am - 4.30pm

Please check the AskBU page for contact information and where to find the team if you're on campus. Or check our frequently asked questions which may be able to help with your query.

Careers & Employability

The Careers & Employability service will be open and available in the Careers Centre (outside the library, Talbot Campus) as usual over the spring break, but closed for the Easter weekend bank holiday. You can also book for Careers Advisor appointments via phone and skype as well as search for jobs, resources and advice on MyCareerHub.

Additional Learning Support

The ALS offices at both campuses will be open as usual, 9am-4pm, (9am-12pm on Wednesdays), but closed for the Easter weekend bank holiday. Any appointments booked with staff will carry on as normal.

Open Access Centres

These facilities will remain open 24 hours, 7 days per week as usual, in Poole House and Studland House.

Residential Services

The main office will be open as usual during the spring break but closed over Easter weekend bank holiday. All halls of residence will have a member of staff available 24/7 over the period and/or an emergency telephone number for you to contact a member of staff. If you are unsure what this is please speak with your local accommodation team.

If you're living in Unilet accommodation, you should continue to use your usual out of hours support and call the main Poole House reception number (01202 524111) for emergencies.

If you’re living in private accommodation, including a property arranged through LettingsBU, you should have an out of hours numbers to call, so contact your landlord or agent direct if you haven’t or are unsure.

Student Wellbeing

The team will be available in Talbot House, Talbot Campus every Tuesday and Thursday, 9am-4pm, during the spring break. Out of hours advice and guidance can be found on our Student Wellbeing web pages.

Faith & Reflection

Faith & Reflection in Talbot House will be open throughout the holidays from 8am - 9pm, Monday - Friday.

SUBU Advice

During the break the team are open for enquiries Monday - Friday, 10am - 4pm in the Student Centre (SC202). They also offer drop-in sessions in SC202 from Monday - Friday, 2pm - 4pm and appointments are available at Lansdowne - find out more on the SUBU Advice web pages, including recommendations for out of hours support.

University Music facilities

University Music ensembles and tuition will not be running over the spring break.

Please contact musicadmin@bournemouth.ac.uk for more information.

SportBU 

SportBU facilities will be open during the spring break, as per the hours listed below, but closed for the Easter weekend bank holiday. Opening hours are: 

  • Monday - Friday: 7.15am - 8.30pm
  • Saturday - Sunday: 9am - 6pm   

There is also a reduced timetable for group fitness classes during the holidays - find out more on the SportBU web pages.

Cash office – Poole House

The Cash Office in Poole House will be open from 8.30am - 4pm, Monday - Friday, but closed for the Easter weekend bank holiday.