HomeLock-Keeper's Cottage Graduate Centre
Graduate School in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Regulations for Student Use
General Regulations
The Graduate Centre is open for use between 08:00am and midnight daily.
Access is by personal swipe card. Only card-holders may enter the Graduate Centre.
Postgraduate students may make use of the two workrooms and the common room at all times during the opening hours of the Centre. The seminar room may be used for academic study when not in use by departments.
No fliers, posters, or any other paper announcements may be posted anywhere in the building. The Graduate Centre Guardians (see below) are instructed to remove such items. Events can be advertised on the plasma screen in the foyer. In such cases, please email publicity material to the Graduate School Administrator, Linda Grant (l.grant@qmul.ac.uk).
Graduate Centre Guardian
Kurosh Meshkat, PhD student in the School of English, and Philip Gabriel, PhD student in the Department of Engineering, have been appointed Guardians of the Graduate Centre for the academic year 2008-09. The Guardians are responsible for the day-to-day running of the Lock-keeper’s Cottage and for ensuring that a collegial academic environment is maintained at all times. Toward that end, they are fully empowered by the Director of the Graduate School to prevent – or if necessary, stop – damaging, disruptive or anti-social behaviour. (This includes eating or drinking in the workrooms or the seminar room.) The Guardians act as the first point of call for postgraduate users (and may be contacted at lock-keepers@qmul.ac.uk) and report to the Director of the Graduate School, Professor Richard Schoch (r.w.schoch@qmul.ac.uk).
Computing Regulations
All PCs in the Graduate Centre are on the QMUL Student Service System.
Student access to workstations is on a rota system per desk (each workroom has a file with active rotas for its desks). The rota for each desk is divided into four daily time slots: 8am-12pm, 12pm-4pm, 4pm-8pm and 8pm-midnight. There is also a dedicated workstation, the ‘Express Desk’, which is allocated for checking email. Students are recommended that they occupy this desk for no longer than half an hour. Students may sign up for four rota slots per week on the main workstations. If students do not make use of their slots, they will be given up to other users. Any free desks may be used on a first-come-first-served basis but they will need to sign the rota on the day of use. The rotas are on the notice board in each workroom.
Please note that the workrooms and workstations are provided for individual study. Any large groups will be requested to study in the library, where there are group-study areas available.
The printer located in workroom 1 is available to the student service PCs in all workrooms but not to any portable brought into the building. Printing is subject to the print credit system used in the general access student PC facilities across the campus.
Telephones in the building are on the internal system. It is expressly forbidden to a) use the telephones for anything other than brief internal calls or emergencies and b) use computers, laptops or other equipment to make any telephone calls whatsoever. Such behaviour is disruptive to other students using the Lock-keeper’s Cottage and entirely unacceptable. Students found breaching this regulation will face a suspension of their access to the Lock-keeper’s Cottage.
Mobile phones should not be used in the workrooms or seminar room.
Common Room Regulations
Kitchen facilities in the common room are for general use but users should at all times treat kitchen equipment with care and respect.
Coffee, tea and milk will be provided by the Graduate Centre and students will be expected to purchase coffee and tea using an honesty system. Students are required to pay 20 pence per cup in the payment box located in the common room.
Students may use the fridge to store cold drinks on an occasional basis when using the Graduate Centre. Food may not be stored for more than 24 hours.
The consumption of alcohol in the Graduate Centre is forbidden, unless under academic supervision at scheduled events.
It is the responsibility of the students to leave the kitchen in good order at all times, making use of the washing up facilities.
Newspapers and journals are provided on weekdays for student users in the common room. They should remain in the common room at all times.
Safety Regulations
Smoking is prohibited in the Graduate Centre.
Food and drink consumption is prohibited in all rooms but the common room. This rule will be strictly enforced. The only exception is covered bottles of water, which may be taken into the workrooms. But the bottles should be sealed to ensure that there is no spillage, which can cause serious damage to the computers.
All users of the Graduate Centre must make themselves aware of the safety notices posted throughout the building.
The Graduate Centre is under camera surveillance at all times and is patrolled by QMUL Security.
Please note that all students are responsible for their own belongings. Do not leave personal items unattended.
Please ensure that all windows are closed when vacating the workrooms. Failure to do so in the past has resulted in widespread theft.
Professor Richard Schoch
Director
Graduate School in Humanities and Social Sciences
September 2008
