Once you are either fully or temporarily registered as a Canterbury Christ Church University student, you will be eligible for your student smartcard.
What is my smartcard?
Your smartcard is your personal University Student ID card and therefore very important. As well as enabling us to track your attendance, so we can be confident you're engaging with your studies and support you if you need it, it allows you access to a range of student services such as:
- gaining access to your campus library to borrow books (between your course start and end date)
- gaining access to Augustine House during extended opening hours
- printing, copying or scanning on any of the multi-functional devices (MFDs) available on all campuses
- accessing restricted areas on the Canterbury campus, such as computing labs and accommodation (visit Security Lodge to get this activated on your card)
- getting into 'access controlled' buildings on both Canterbury and Medway campuses
- paying (cashless) for items at campus catering outlets and at the University Bookshop.
- receiving discounts on purchases at various high street stores
- getting free entry to Canterbury Cathedral
Meeting the smartcard photo criteria
Your smartcard photo is your ID so needs to meet certain criteria (similar to passport photos). It must be:
- of your head and shoulders only (like a passport photo)
- without any filters
- in colour, and taken against a light background
- taken recently
- taken of you facing forward with your eyes open and clearly visible (with no sunglasses, tinted glasses or hair across your eyes)
- free from reflection or excessive shadows
- of you on your own (no other people or objects in the photo)
- taken of the full head, without any covering, unless it is worn for religious beliefs or medical reasons
- taken with nothing covering your face
Arrangements for getting your smartcard
You will receive your smartcard through the post. It will be sent to you at your correspondence address as stated in MyRecord at the time of sending.
- Once you receive confirmation that you are registered, please allow up to a week for your smartcard to arrive via Royal Mail
- If your smartcard hasn’t arrived after a week, please contact registration@canterbury.ac.uk who will investigate
International students will be eligible to receive their smartcard once they have had their in-person check with the Compliance team.
Please note for our September intake we will have a cut off for posting your smartcard and we'll then arrange for it to be collected in person.
Register your attendance so we can support you in your studies
It’s important for us to know if you’ve attended lectures, seminars or classes in person or online so we can support you in your studies. By 'tapping in' with your smartcard and registering your attendance, we’ll notice if you’ve missed any timetabled sessions and if you need any support to get back on track.
It's never too early to practice 'tapping in' with your smartcard, so please take the opportunity to 'tap in' to your timetabled activities during Welcome Week. This will help you get into the habit before teaching on your modules begins.
International students must tap in to their teaching
If you are here on a Student Route Visa, your leave to remain is dependent on your continued engagement with your studies. One of the ways in which we monitor your engagement will be through you tapping into your lectures, seminars and other learning activities. If you miss any of these without prior agreement from the University then we may withdraw our sponsorship of your visa. If this happens, then you would no longer be able to continue with your course and would need to return home.