Frequently Asked Questions

general

It is a listening and information service, run by students for students. We provide a confidential, anonymous, non-judgemental, non-directional and non-advisory service. We take calls from students of The University of Manchester.

You can call us about anything. We are here to listen whether you need something as simple as a number for a taxi or are struggling with academic or personal issues. We are non-judgemental and no issue is too small or too big for us!

You can call Nightline via phone, IM (online messaging) or Nightmail (email). The phone number can be found on the back of your university student id card. The IM messaging link will be prompted when we are opened. You can email [email protected] using your university email account. Please note, phone and IM are open from 8pm–8am during University of Manchester term time, and Nightmail is open 24/7.

The phones service is only open during University of Manchester term time, but during the holidays you can still get hold of us by email on [email protected].

The phones are answered by university students who have undergone extensive training to be a good listeners and ready to take all types of call. All our volunteers are anonymous so they will not reveal their identity to you. If you have concern about confidentiality, you can read more about it at our confidentiality policy. 

There is no time limit to calls during our opening hours: 8pm–8am every day.

Yes. We only break confidentiality in cases of a terrorist threat, court order, at a caller’s request or due to a serious abuse of the service. For more information see our confidentiality policy.

We endeavour to answer all our calls during our opening hours 8pm–8am every day during term time . If our volunteers are not picking up, it is very likely that we are in the middle of a call at the moment. Please try other ways to chat with us via phone, IM, Nightmail or contact us sometime later. 
To get updated information about our service, please visit our news and social media.  
If you have any difficulties accessing your student ID card, you can chat with us via IM or Nighmail. The IM messaging link will be prompted when we are opened during term time from 8pm to 8am. The Nightline service is opened 24/7 by emailing [email protected] using your university email account. If there are any issues you would like to address to us, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Nightmail

Our email service is open for 24/7 throughout the year even out of term time. Feel free to email us at anytime and our volunteers will get back to you within 48 hours. 

Our Nightmail service follows the same confidentiality principles as phone and IM services. Our email system removes the email addresses from any emails sent to us. If you choose to use your name in the email, you may do so.
There is a team of specially trained Nightliners who answer the emails. If you have concerns, you may read our confidentiality available on our website.

Our volunteers will aim to get back to you as soon as possible, which is typically within a few hours. If we’re experiencing technical problems, or a high volume of emails, then it may take us up to 48 hours to reply.

As with our phone lines, you can talk to us about anything. We are here to listen to anything you want to talk about, whether it’s stress at university, problems at home, or even if you just want to chat to someone. No issue is too big or too small.

If you’re looking for more information about how to volunteer for Nightline, or you’d like to get in contact with the committee that runs Nightline, then please contact [email protected] .
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