An exceptional welcome for our students : Staff Hub : University of Sussex

An exceptional welcome for our students

By: Tom Walters
Last updated: Friday, 15 September 2017

As our new COO, Tim Westlake, has said in his recent emails, we want to share more information about how Professional Services teams are working hard to deliver exceptional levels of service to our students and staff throughout the year.

This coming week sees the arrival of thousands of new students on campus, each ready to start their own unique Sussex journey. It is a hugely busy time for the University, and in particular, those Professional Services staff whose job it is to ensure as smooth an induction process as possible.

Here six key staff members from various divisions and within one of our busiest schools tell us about their roles during welcome week.

Melinda Lowing - Retention and Progression Manager

My team organises the central arrangements for the University’s student induction. At the moment we are busy finalising months of preparations to ensure that everything is ready for our new students.

There is plenty going on over arrivals weekend, when new students arrive and move into their accommodation. We will have a large team of friendly student ambassadors in turquoise t-shirts to welcome students and their guests, answer queries and direct them around campus. There will be helpdesk marquees, and minibuses to drive students from Falmer station to their accommodation. We also are running a welcome reception for students and families to meet University staff, including their lecturers, and an event to help new undergraduate mature students settle in to university life.

During the induction week we will be hosting a tea tent in our large helpdesk marquee by Bramber House, and there will be plenty of student ambassadors around the campus to help our new students.

On the Friday evening, we will have our fireworks event to allow students to celebrate the end of their first week at Sussex. We’ll be there in our high-vis marshal vests, ensuring that the event runs smoothly. You are also welcome to come and watch; the fun starts at 6.30pm with live music and barbecues at Falmer Bar, and fireworks at 8pm.

Fran Bernard - School Administrator (Psychology)

Large undergraduate cohorts in Psychology present challenges for the student experience so, new for this year, we are creating a system which groups students into four ‘Houses’ – each appropriately named after a prominent psychologist with a Sussex connection. We really want to help our students to quickly make their own connections and we feel this will happen if they’re in smaller groups. So we’re allocating students to their Houses by seminar groupings on one of their core modules. These House groupings will bring students together for information and social gatherings throughout the year.

On the Wednesday of induction week, students will meet with their Academic Advisor, then gather with other students in their House followed by a welcome party in the Pevensey 1 courtyard. Themed like a village fete, it will include games and afternoon tea. Following feedback from our Student Experience Groups last year, this will be a more inclusive, no-alcohol event. We are also planning to create a ‘quiet area’ at the event for students and staff who may appreciate this.

Sara Dyer - Head of International Student Support

The International Student Support team is looking forward to welcoming students from overseas (including the EU).

We will be running a meet-and-greet coach service from Heathrow airport over the weekend of 16-17 September, with staff and student helpers based at the airport on both days. There will also be helpers at Gatwick airport and Pool Valley coach station, directing new arrivals to public transport; a free minibus service will be operating from Brighton station for students living off campus.

In addition to our normal opening hours, the International Student Support Office (Bramber House, Level 2) will be open during arrivals weekend on both days, 10am-6pm, to greet new students and answer questions.

Our team of international student advisers will also be assisting those students already in the UK who need to make a new visa application before starting or continuing their studies at Sussex. An adviser will be available to assist with any student immigration questions during our arrivals weekend opening times.

Further details about our welcome support for new international students, including links to our International Student Support mini-guides, are available online.

Rachel Gould - Head of Student Life Team

In my role as Head of the Student Life Team and acting manager of the Student Support Unit, I will be part of a committed team of dedicated staff, working flat out, to help settle students in to university life.

We will be supporting students with their transition to university in a myriad of different ways - from ensuring students with disabilities and additional needs have everything they require in place to support their learning, to giving money advice and troubleshooting funding delays.

Student Life Advisors will also be going out to School and Department inductions across the University to introduce themselves and our services to all new students.

Back at the Student Life Centre we will be meeting with students at our busy information desk, via welfare drop-ins and in appointments, which provide a supportive space in which students can raise questions, queries, worries and concerns.

Each of these meetings is a space for new students to express themselves and be heard, but also to engage in conversations about how to make the very best of all the opportunities for personal growth and development within their reach as part of our community, now they are Sussex students.

Dean Spears - Head of University Housing Services

The four teams that form Housing Services are busy preparing to welcome the most students ever into our on- and off-campus residences from arrivals weekend - 5,420 new residents in total!

As soon a new resident receives their housing allocation, they can if they wish, find their housemate, ask questions and interact with Housing Officers, Students’ Union Officers and others on University-managed Facebook groups to help to make the whole moving away from home experience more pleasurable. And thousands do just that.

New residents arrive from 10am on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 September, and then operational plans with Sussex Estates and Facilities (SEF) kick in following all of the preparation, housekeeping, maintenance and safety checks beforehand.

Student Residential Advisors are also on hand to welcome new residents and - in the first few days following arrivals weekend - are there to sign-post, help and mediate.

It’s a real team effort. I love having one of the country’s few all-female property-management teams who, like all of the teams in the service, share a real passion for working with partners to deliver an outstanding student housing experience. We couldn’t do it without the support of everyone.

Tim May – Head of Student Systems

The Registration team are busy preparing to welcome and register the new intake and returning students over the next couple of weeks.

We’ve printed around 6,000 ID cards in readiness for our new students arriving and we’ve sent nearly 2,000 cards out to students who have already been able to complete all of the formalities of registering with the University.

By arrivals weekend we’ll have set up the registration venue in Bramber House, ready to open the doors on Monday 18 September, with a new model that splits out different student groups to aid the flow through the process.

We’re installing more PCs, more passport scanning machines and more ID card machines in the registration venue to enable a significant increase in capacity as we attempt to minimise wait times for students as they come to finalise their registration and to collect their university ID cards.

So far, approximately 4,000 new students have completed online registration and a further 4,000 returning students have also completed the process prior to returning to their studies.

We’re preparing for a busy few weeks!

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An exceptional welcome for our students