Student Services Annual Report 2009-10

Student Services Annual Report 2009-10 - 1 -

Student Services Annual Report 2009-10


Working together to enrich students’ lives

Student Services

Contents

Page No.

Director’s Summary 3 Background 4 Student Services 7 Education Support 10 Student Services Centre 13 Wellbeing 20 Conclusion 23 Financial Report 24


Director’s Summary

The academic year 2009-10 has not been without challenge and change, which in many ways, typifies a normal year in Student Services. It marked a year where Student Services contributed actively to the development of the University Strategy and the accompanying Strategic Education and Research Plans. These are used to shape the work of the department moving forward now. It was also a year where there were staffing and recruitment constraints on the department as the University prepared for major reorganisation in 2010-11. Student Services operated throughout the year without its full staffing complement whilst intent on maintaining its front-line delivery to its student customers. Staff worked extra hours to maintain service standards wherever possible and increased productivity in the Student Services Centre by 3.44% during that time (e.g. student interactions increased in the Student Services Centre from 110,000 to 114,000) in 2009-10. The department, with reduced 265 FTE (as at September 2010) but also made a significant financial contribution of £1.1 million to the University overall with an annual turnover of £29 million, an increase of £4 million on 2008-09 (p. 24). I take great pride in leading a team in Student Services with continued commitment and ingenuity who work together to provide this level of service to the University of Southampton and its students in the face of changing circumstances. The department continued to offer training, development and opportunities to reward and motivate staff in these constrained times. We had a team (Visa Guidance) and an individual (Alison Beard, Head of Support Services) recognised by the Vice Chancellor’s Award, making this the third year running that Student Services employees have been recipients. In addition, our own Student Services’ awards are now linked to our annual action planning process in recognition of individual’s or team’s endeavours to deliver on our service or departmental actions (Student Services Celebrates Staff Engagement). I am particularly proud that members of Student Services continued to contribute to institutional wide developments, often taking the lead in innovative work or issues of national importance. Many individuals deserve recognition for the leadership roles they have played in these. Many of these signal the direction our work will take in the coming year and the influences which shape our future actions. All demonstrate the commitment our staff make to improving continuously the provision for our students, staff and other stakeholders. Student Services are aware that its best assets are its people, Each service is asked to reflect on its achievements throughout the academic year. They have outlined their highlights and points for action inside this main report for interested readers to view. They have also provided some of the feedback our customers or partners have given us this year showing the high premium we attach to achieving good levels of customer satisfaction. In addition, you will find snippets from our statistical reporting which helps us analyse our levels of service throughout the year, and, based on trends from previous years. The Annual Report 2009-10 is both reflective and forward looking in that it celebrates our achievements to date but sets out the agenda for Student Services in 2010-11 and beyond. I am particularly honoured to champion these. I hope you will find the contents interesting and the points for action befittingly challenging for a University of Southampton department which seeks to become a world leader in providing student-centred services in Higher Education.

Dr. Janice H. Rippon Director, Student Services


Background This is the seventh annual review produced by Student Services. During the period since the last report the department has continued to grow with new services being offered to our customers such as Career Destinations and Visa Guidance. The primary customers for Student Services are the undergraduate and postgraduate students of the University of Southampton; however our customer base is varied with services also offered to staff, members of the public, employers and landlords. Student Services is one of the Professional Services within the University of Southampton. It is headed by a Director and 4 Assistant Directors; with each Assistant Director leading one of the four operational units of the department (See Figure 1). The department’s flagship buildings are the Student Services Centre and the Jubilee Sports Centre. In addition it has a number of indoor and outdoor sports facilities, a Day Nursery, three houses on University Road where consultations on disabilities, emotional support and specific learning difficulties take place as well as a staff presence across all the University campuses and halls of residence.

Annual Planning Cycle Student Services encourages all staff to be involved in its annual planning process. Every year, members of each service, and the department as a whole, are asked to look back on what has gone well and what needs to be improved. Our professional reflection, customer feedback on our service quality and our management information are used to inform and prioritise which actions we will take in the coming year to improve our service delivery. When our departmental and service objectives are set we ask individual members of staff to take responsibility for developing these in the coming year. These objectives are formalised in our Personal Performance Development and Review (PPDR) when line managers and staff discuss targets for the coming years and identify key performance indicators for individuals and the services.

Fig 1: Student Services Structure


The annual planning cycle is illustrated in Figure 2. The Directorate team meet in October to agree jointly on the Action Plan, including actions for Year 2 and 3, driving forward the improvement of the department. Student Services is committed to embedding reflection and feedback into the daily work of the department. In support of this, its Evaluation Strategy Group (ESG) was established in 2008 with representatives taken from each section in the department. The current membership includes Dr. Janice Rippon, Director; Martin Dixon, Acting Head of Accommodation Service; Sharon Faulkner, Assistant Manager of Halls of Residence; John Rabbetts, Jubilee Centre Manager; Jane Warren, Dyslexia Tutor/Assessor; Brendan Healy, Lead Careers Advisor; Karen Spires, Financial Information Officer and Tom Eastwood, Business Intelligence. ESG take responsibility for: ■ Reviewing service action plans for common themes to agree department wide

highlights and action points; ■ Ensuring that the University’s strategic Education and Research plans are considered in the action points identified (2010-11 onwards) ; ■ Ensuring, where applicable, that incomplete actions are carried over from the previous year; ■ Actions reflect the feedback from management information sources including; quarterly statistical reports, customer feedback results, financial reporting and benchmarking

This year ESG have identified the common objectives for Student Services to achieve in 2010-11. These can be viewed on page 8. There have been 3 major customer feedback evaluations undertaken this year, which included: ■ The Career Destinations Student and Employer survey;

Fig 2: Student Services Annual Planning Cycle


It was recommended that students should be encouraged to gain work experience. “It (Career Destinations) should be encouraging second and third year students to apply for summer internships.” Recommendation and student quote from Career Destinations Student and Employer Survey

There is a clear majority view in favour of the proposed ‘present and awake’ salaried staff option over the continuance of a revised ‘on call’ warden scheme, partly due to the cost implications. Wardenal Service Focus Groups

87% of respondents said they would recommend University of Southampton accommodation to a prospective student. Accommodation Exit Survey

■ Report on Wardenal Review Student Focus Groups

■ Accommodation Exit Survey


Working together to enrich our students’ experiences

Student Services It is Student Services vision to be recognised as a world leader in the delivery of student centred services in a Higher education environment which values first class education, research and enterprise. We make it our business to do what matters most to our students and their experiences in the learning and social environment to ensure their successful future.

Our key strategic themes are:

- Enabling Living - Enabling Learning

Student Services focus on the following service approaches:

- Student centred/ customer focussed

- Partnership working - Business process

knowledge - Continuous - improvement towards

excellence - Effective internal and

external communication

- Staff recognition and engagement


Department Highlights 2009-10 Student Services contributes to key developments across the University of Southampton as well as focussing on the development of its own services.

University Strategy � Planning for the development of the University’s Residences Strategy 2011-15

throughout 2009-10

� Participating in the Curriculum Innovation Programme (CIP) including leading on the Global Graduate Initiative and the development of the Graduate Attributes Framework.

� Leading the development of a Customer Relationship Management system (CRM)

Strategy and the business case to implement a university wide approach in 2009-10 � Contributing to the scoping of the Southampton Learning Environment and its projects

including Technology Enhanced Learning Policy Development

� Contributing to the development of the University’s Single Equality Scheme, including leading both the Disability and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) strands, for March 2010

� Initiating an audit report and discussion paper for Education Committee on the

disparate practices for student finance across the institution in collaboration with key stakeholders

� Leading on the development of a University wide Confidentiality Policy and its

endorsement through the governance structure completed in April 2010

Crisis Management

� Contributing to the University’s Crisis Management Team (CMT) to ensure business continuity in the event of crisis (e.g. pandemic, weather closure etc) for September 2009)

� Setting up a helpline for staff and students during the Icelandic Volcanic Ash cloud

emergency situation Employability

� Launch of Career Destinations as a new part of the Student Services Centre in October 2009 symbolising a revitalised employability offering to students and graduates

� Joining the Higher Education Achievement Record Trial Wave 2 in March 2010

� Compiling the University’s Employability Statement at request of Business and

Innovation Department by July 2010

� Introducing the UoS Graduate Passport which was given national recognition by Alan Langlands, HEFCE and the media in 2010

Management Information

� Publication of first annual Student Services Statistical Report 2009-10

“The Committee agreed to "approve the paper (Confidentiality Policy) and recommend it to be taken forward for equality impact assessment.” Academic Quality and Standards Committee (AQSC) minutes (February 2010)


■ The Student Services Health and Safety policy and website was reviewed to incorporate changes in Student Services structures and responsibilities. These were commended by the Safety Office. Matt Plant became the new Departmental Safety Officer and Dr. Kevin Partington, Assistant Director chaired a committee which included John Rabbetts, Jubilee Sports Centre; Anne Hunt, Student Services Centre, Naomi Rogers, Enabling Services; Adrian Dolby, Student Services Centre; Dave McFadyen, Safety Office.

■ The Leadership Development Network, to which all staff at all levels and with all

interests are invited, continued to operate jointly with Student and Academic Administration Department in 2009-10. James Irving and Alex Boyland led the Network in 2009-10 focussing on issues such as coping with pressure and change.

■ Introduction of the Partnership Working Scheme to provide shadowing and secondment opportunities across Student Services completed in September 2010 which the new Faculty Operating Officers hope we can open up to administrative staff in the new Faculties in 2010-11. The scheme was developed a group including –Claire Hill, University Residences; Amanda Spencer, Student Services Centre; Helen Stone, Wellbeing and Marjory Webber, Education Support.

■ Development of Student Services customer and stakeholder communication policy and procedures completed in August 2010. All service and department customer communications are developed and shared in this group whose membership is rotated to develop knowledge, expertise and understanding of our customer base across the department. In 2009-10, the members were Amanda Spencer, Student Services Centre; Gail Alexander, Education Support; Kier Jones, University Residences; Helen Stone, Wellbeing; Mark Jones, Student Services

� s completed in August

Key Departmental Action Points ■ Create a re-organised department which delivers priority services, increasing

capacity to deliver services and facilities to the changing student customer base within the budgetary savings targets set

■ All managers to take responsibility for removing barriers to multi-directional staff communication to facilitate and create methods for active, meaningful and valued contribution from staff closest to our customer base

■ To increase our capacity in services by fully implementing group sessions for face-to-face interactions which can be demonstrated to be used and valued by our student customers

■ To use existing and new IT solutions which it can be demonstrated are used to access our services and which are valued by our customers

“The Audit Team identified a number of positive attributes including: - Good cascade arrangement for health and safety management through the Safety

Officer and a network on Local Safety Officers in each of the four services - Well documented inspection reports with clear follow up of the findings and reporting

at the Health and Safety Committee meeting” Extract and Health and Safety Audit Report (March 2010)


Supporting you to succeed

Education Support Education Support delivers services direct to disabled students and those with specific learning difficulties (SpLD), e.g. dyslexia and dyspraxia. The team works in partnership with faculties and other professional services to support students through needs assessments, specialist tuition, learning support advice and guidance. Within a broader University context the service makes contributions to the recruitment, progression and retention of students with disabilities or specific learning difficulties. Education Support continues to work towards a more progressive model of ‘disability support’ to bring about greater inclusive practice in the University.


“Janet Skinner is chairing this Working Party and thanks go to her and her team for all the hours they are putting in to this important work." Quote from Chair of ADSHE's

Need Assessment Centre turnover for 2009/10 was £1,100,763.

Education Support Highlights 2009-10 Education Support is comprised of 3 distinct services, all providing support for learning, Enabling Services, Dyslexia Services and the Needs Assessment Centre. In many cases, the support is dependent on students being able to access funding in form of the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). In 2009-10, for the first time the DSA was administered by Student Finance England instead of the local education authorities.

■ Student Finance England experienced administrative problems at the start of the year which delayed the number of assessments which could be provided by the Needs Assessment Centre for University of Southampton students and those in our outreach centres. However the Needs Assessment Centre were able to recover the backlog and offer a record number of needs assessments during the final quarter of 2009-10.

■ Needs Assessment Centre gained accredited status from Disabled Students’ Allowance Quality Audit Group (DSA-QAG) confirming its

ability to assess the needs of University of Southampton students and those in the outreach centres in other universities. DSA-QAG audits are conducted on an annual review cycle.

■ Janet Skinner, Student Services, was appointed as chair of a working party for the Association of Dyslexia Specialists in HE (ADSHE) developing approved standards for Dyslexia tutors in England and Wales.

■ A successful bid by Enabling Services was made to Student Centredness Fund to

purchase ICT equipment that can be loaned to disabled international students who are not eligible for assistive technology funding through the Disabled Students’ Allowance.

■ Podcasts were produced by the Dyslexia Service promoting their offering to students and demonstrating innovative practice within the service which also includes the use of Adobe Connect distance tutorials.

■ Education Support have undertaken a review of administrative processes associated with registration, intake, exam requirements and casework for individual students

Fig 3: DSA-QAG certificate


“…the additional support from the tutorials have helped me increase my average to 63% and achieve a first in my dissertation project” Dyslexia Tutorial Feedback

Fig 6: Kathryn Earle in Enabling Services

Fig 5: Naomi Rogers in Enabling Services

to prepare for the introduction of electronic management of case files in October 2010.

■ The Clarkson Room, housed inside the Nuffield Theatre, provides a space for students with health conditions to take rest breaks or have quiet space available to facilitate their study needs. The room, managed by Enabling Services, was refurbished using money from the Disability Discrimination Act Long Term Maintenance fund in partnership with Estates and Facilities. The refurbishment has provided additional private areas and improved specialist equipment for students with specific needs.

Key Action Points for 2010-11 ■ Obtain further central University funding to support international students with a disability in relation to assessments, equipment and tutorial support

■ Utilise customer feedback from our students and their Faculties to develop agreed Service Standards for students accessing Education Support services

■ Benchmark specific service offering against other Higher Education Institutions to ensure our students are receiving the best possible support.

Student Services Celebrates Staff Engagement ■ Student Services Section Award 2010 – Most improved business processes – Education Support

■ Student Services Awards 2010 – Outstanding Achievement for successful accreditation and increases in the number of student assessments in quarter 4– Needs Assessment Centre

■ Student Services Awards 2010 – Excellence in Customer Service – Kathryn Earle and Naomi Rogers in Enabling Services for their approach to students with disabilities

■ Student Services Awards 2010 – Best Newcomer for working across all the services acquiring breadth of knowledge in a short space of time – Alison Jones, Education Support Co-ordinator

Fig 4: Refurbished Clarkson room


Guiding you every step of the way

Student Services Centre

The Student Services Centre has continued to grow the services it offers to students in its single location. In 2009-10, it added Career Destinations and the Visa Guidance teams to those available already. Each year it increases the number of interactions it handles whilst reducing the number of staff required to do this. It is a success story in terms of productivity. In 2009-10, 114,050 student interactions were dealt with either at the frontline desk, by email or by phone. The majority of queries relate to accommodation or tuition fees although there are seasonal favourites such as obtaining an ID card or finding out about graduation.


There were 9,578 website hits on the student portal between December 2009 and July 2010

“Anyone who works at a small business needed to be adaptable, responsible and deliver quality… (student name) impressed us from the start by demonstrating these assets. In addition, his calm approach and willingness to do whatever was asked of him showed a real maturity” Internship host – sharpcloud

Student Services Centre Highlights 2009-10 The Student Services Centre hosts Financial Information and Assistance, Career Destinations and Visa Guidance as well as handling an array of University wide enquiries through its Student Advisory Team. It prides itself in providing good advice, information, guidance and services, particularly to its student customers.

■ Preparing for Matrix Accreditation across all services1. ■ Completing the first year of the Graduate Passport award scheme with 825 students

undertaking the programme and 8 students successfully completing within the first year.

■ Introducing new Career Destinations’ initiatives including virtual careers fair, business simulation workshops and corporate breakfasts to develop key graduate employment relationships.

■ Introducing new internship programmes, including HEFCE funded programmes, increasing the number of internships centrally placed from 16 in 2008/09 to 197 in 2009/10.

■ Launching student and employer portals to manage employment opportunities ranging from employer vacancies to central employability events in a single location for our students, graduates and employers to access easily.

■ Improving documented procedures for all aspects of Financial Information and Assistance.

■ Leading the development of web based guidance interviews in the Student Services Centre, which are subsequently being implemented in other services.

1 Matrix is a nationally recognised quality standard for Advice Information and Guidance services.

“…..participating in the graduate passport scheme I see myself more independent and well-prepared to face real world after graduating. Also, I improved my ability to solve issues that might arise in different unexpected situations in my everyday life.” Student quote on the Graduate Passport


■ Developing a Visa Guidance website, following the move of this service into Student Services from the Southampton University’s Advice and Information Centre (SUAIC), to better inform students and staff about the visa application process.

■ Visa Guidance handling 855 applications and achieving a near 100% success rate for visa applications.

Key Action Points for 2010-11 ■ Development of online Access to Learning Fund applications and ID card forms

■ Audit of bursaries and financial awards available across the University and exploration of centralised capability to administer these in Financial Information and Assistance in partnership with Faculties and other Professional Services

■ Improved communication and advertising of Financial Information and Assistance service to students to increase student awareness of available financial support

■ Extension of Graduate Passport in line with University strategic aims ■ Review collation of Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey

results in partnership with Planning Office ■ Work with Faculty partners and the Planning Office to better use the DLHE

information, informing improvements in employability practices ■ Definition and delivery of the Global Graduate Strategy as part of the Curriculum

Innovation Programme and its stakeholders

Student Services Celebrates Staff Engagement ■ Student Services Section Award 2010 – Most Student Centred Approach for its

interactions and customer services – Student Services Centre

■ Student Services Awards 2010 – Technology Innovation – Nadeen Awolola-Hill in Financial Information and Assistance for her use of web-interviews to provide financial advice to students

“I have received the extension to my visa…your kind assistance and promptness made the process easy for me” “I want to express my gratitude to you for all your cooperation and timely response to issues. You really confirm my choosing (sic) University of Southampton” Student quotes on Visa Guidance

Fig 8: Nadeen Awolola-Hill providing an interview via Adobe Connect


Fig 1o: Visa Guidance receiving their award from the Vice Chancellor

■ Student Services Awards 2010 – Best Inter-Service Communication – Helen Ogilvie for her development of the cross-campus information to students using a network of plasma screens. Helen also developed policy guidelines and conducted staff training to facilitate this and liaised with a number of stakeholders.

Vice Chancellor’s Award 2010 – Visa Guidance Team Student Services introduced a new Visa Guidance team in August 2009 at a time when the new Points Based Visa system had been introduced by the government. There were many new rules and regulations, often changing, for the new team to implement throughout 2009-10. They were also housed in temporary accommodation in the Students’ Union for most of this period. They also had to develop systems to support police registration when Hampshire Constabulary were adapting their approach. However, they strove to support international students, providing seamless service in difficult times of transition. They did this with a very good success rate.

Fig 9: Helen Ogilvie providing training to the Student Services Centre


Helping you feel at home

University Residences

University Residences support students applying for halls of residence through the application process and allocating rooms according to student needs. In addition they provide advice and guidance to students to ensure they stay safe and secure in professionally managed accommodation. University Residences manage over 5100 rooms in over 20 halls of residence. A turnover of £21,729,184 was generated through the successful provision of university-run student accommodation in 2009-10.


“Thank you very much indeed for another great help. I am very impressed with your efficiency and the excellent customer service that the Accommodation Office is able to provide” Director of Collaborations and International Relations – WSA

“From the work undertaken we were pleased to note the following areas of good practice: - The University’s Residential Services Management were aware of the content of the Code

prior to our visit. - The students that we spoke to during our visit were all positive about the hall experience. - There were only two deficiencies identified in compliance with an extensive and demanding

code” Excerpts from the Audit carried out by KPMG

University Residences Highlights 2009-10 University Residences comprises the Accommodation Service, situated inside the Student Services Centre, as well as the Wessex Complex, Glen Complex and Small Halls and University Houses based around the main Hall sites. ■ Agreeing Partnership Agreements with Estates and Facilities and iSolutions to

support the operational, maintenance and developmental issues required in halls of residence to enhance the student experience.

■ Improving the support provided to students seeking private rented accommodation in Winchester by improving website content, running workshops and events for target student groups and building successful working relationships with University of Winchester, Winchester City Council and Eastleigh Council.

■ Retaining Universities UK Code of Practice accreditation.

■ Improving in the management of long term maintenance budgets and reactive maintenance within halls of residence to ensure routine re-investment in our Halls of Residence to maintain and improve the quality of our residences in partnership with Estates and Facilities and Finance.

■ Maintaining a high level of student satisfaction in our halls of residence as demonstrated by 78% of customers in the Accommodation Exit Survey rating their overall experience as satisfactory or very satisfactory.

■ Successfully promoting and supporting visitor accommodation to fill the room voids in halls caused by the an unexpected drop in undergraduate student numbers at the start of 2009-10, without which there would have been a significant drop in turnover for Halls of Residence.

■ Meeting the increased needs for pre-sessional student accommodation for longer periods throughout the summer and adapting our cleaning processes accordingly to meet a shorter turnaround ready for student in-take weekend in September 2010.

“Thank you very much for what you have done for me… I‘m greatly indebted to you for your kindness.” Student feedback to Accommodation Service


Key Action Points for 2010-11 ■ Implement Student Services PPDR process consistently for all members of staff

within the service ■ Work with students in Halls of Residence to raise better awareness of Health and

Safety issues and residents’ responsibilities for these ■ Revise Service Level Agreement with A2Dominion, a third party provider of Halls

of Residence in Winchester, to improve student experience at Erasmus Park ■ Gather focussed customer feedback from our Winchester students to better

understand their expectations of services provided by University Residences ■ Develop an accredited housing scheme for Winchester which is comparable to that

operated in Southampton in partnership with the local authorities ■ Review University Residences approach to environmental responsibility and

develop clear actions over the next 5 years for this ■ Develop effective partnership working with new Residence Support Service

particularly in relation to student support, discipline and complaints ■ Review contract processes for halls accommodation with advice from Legal Services

Student Services Celebrates Staff Engagement ■ Student Services Section Awards 2010 – Most Improved Business for recognition

for its achievements detailed above – University Residences ■ Student Services Awards 2010 – Outstanding Achievement – Emma Morgan and Laura O’Loughlin in Accommodation Service for their high level of customer service and commitment maintained during a period of change and constraint within the Accommodation Service where they took on additional responsibilities created through long-term vacancies in the service.


Promoting wellness in the University Community

Wellbeing

Wellbeing provides services and facilities which promote physical, social and emotional wellbeing in the University community for both staff and students. Support can be accessed Sports and Recreation, the Day Nursery and Support Services including Counselling Service, Residences Support Service and First Support.


Wellbeing Highlights 2009-10 Wellbeing includes the Day Nursery, Sport and Recreation and the Support Services. These services are responsible for promoting physical, emotional and social wellbeing in the University community.

■ Carrying out a review of the Day Nursery to improve terms and conditions of staff, raising the minimum qualifications for employees, and widening the provision for children to include education and care in preparation for the opening of the Early Years Centre in August 2010.

■ Continuously improving the sports programme by utilising fully all bookable space

to provide classes and courses including making better use of Wide Lane facilities and the Watersports Centre.

■ Completing a review of the Residences Support Service which focussed on

improving consistency and access of the service to student residents.

■ Running successful Wellbeing workshops, targeted at both staff and students,

including Coping with Stress, Feeling Blue, Exam Stress and Procrastination workshops. All sessions saw an improvement in attendees’ pre and post wellbeing assessment rating.

■ Increasing pastoral partnerships with Schools, Faculties and Partnerships through

use of induction, presentations and meetings to connect with key contacts in implementing the Pastoral Support Framework.

■ Introducing a systematic ‘out of hours’ service for dealing effectively with student emergencies, co-ordinated through First Support.

It is anticipated that the new Residences Support Service will reduce costs of the service by £468,114 in 2010-11 whilst increasing coverage at all hours throughout the evening (e.g. 6pm-8am)

“Participants expressed their thanks and appreciation of the group experience including availability of handouts and text messaging reminders. Two participants felt that it would have been helpful to run the workshop earlier in the year” Exam Stress Workshop Feedback Report

Thank you for organising the course over the weekend. We had an incredible time and loved every minute of it. Watersports Centre customer feedback

Sports and Recreation achieved £1.6million in membership income during 2009-10. It is ranked amongst the highest level of student participation in British University and Colleges (BUCS).


Key Action Points for 2010-11 ■ Undertake targeted customer feedback initiative covering all services to better

understand customer expectations of service provision ■ Review provision of sport and wellbeing as a result of customer feedback and the

reorganisation of the wider department ■ Prepare for accreditation in the ‘Flying High Accreditation Scheme’ for the newly

launched Early Years Centre ■ Implement an agreed training programme for all Wellbeing staff to ensure that

minimum standards for accrediting and national governing bodies are met or exceeded wherever possible

■ Improve access to Support Services through improved communication to students, creation of intake and assessment procedures and managed/integrated casework as appropriate

Student Services Celebrates Staff Engagement ■ Student Services Section Awards 2010 – Most Improved Action Planning –

Wellbeing ■ Student Services Awards 2010 – Innovative Group Sessions – Counselling Service

■ Student Services Awards 2010 – Most Valued Collaborative Service – First Support

■ Student Services Awards 2010 – Best Practitioner – Nina Kempf in the Day Nursery

■ Student Services Awards 2010 – Longest Service – Michael Pearce in Sport and Recreation

Vice Chancellor’s Award 2010

Fig 12: Alison Beard receiving her award from the Vice Chancellor

Alison Beard, Head of Support Services, was nominated for this award by both her team members and the management team. Alison was responsible for leading the improvements in many of the Support Services as well as supporting her staff during periods of change. Her work in developing 24 hour services for students in emergency or crisis situations was particularly commended.


Conclusion The Annual Report 2009-10 demonstrates that Student Services is a department committed to enriching the students’ experiences through continuous improvement and partnership working focussed on student centred approaches. Student Services reports on a successful year in terms of service delivery (or productivity), quality of service (or customer satisfaction) and cost of service or contribution (both financial and reputationally) to the University of Southampton as a whole. It has also maintained its commitment to value staff and develop its services further as it moves into a period of matching its service provision in the new Faculty structure. Student Services will use the points highlighted in this Annual Report to help shape its future, committing to the goals of the University Strategy including preparation for a growth in student numbers and more flexible provision, and its own ambition to be a world class leader in student-centred services in Higher Education.


Student Services Financial Report 2009-10 (Extract from University of Southampton Management Accounts)

Documents

Student Services Annual Report 2009-10