Most spelling and keyboard errors are easily dealt with using automated spell checkers and I'm always a bit surprised when undergraduates haven't used them. Faculty guidance suggests that at Level 1 every error in a student's written work should be pointed out but by level 3 undergraduates are expected to deal with errors independently.

Assessment takes into account the standard of written English and although the BA Learning, Technology and Research degree promotes the exploration of audio and visual media, despite all encouragement most undergraduates fall back on Word documents to present text-based reports. A few still do not use the integrated grammar and spelling check, perhaps because they have left no time to check their work before the deadline. More serious is the problem for those who have checked, but failed to recognise some commonly mis-spelt words which would not be automatically detected.

effect/affect fare/fair their/there cited/sited where/were

Looking for online advice from universities, I was surprised not to see more as its a very common problem. There's a good site called Spelling Tips from Students and others, from Middlesex University. I'm not surprised that this is a lively area, and a good example of user-generated study support.

The FirstClass client spell check options can be set via the Preferences menu.