Union Priority
Create opportunities for greater student-led collaboration to empower our current and future student leaders.
Our active clubs and societies are one of the Students’ Union’s key strengths, with students taking the lead, running their own activities, learning new skills and benefitting others. We want to offer more collaboration opportunities between student groups – using these as avenues to incentivise and increase engagement in other Union activities, democracy, and leadership opportunities. We also want to introduce a referral scheme through the Union’s Support Zone, aiming to help students who are feeling isolated join a new activity or group, working directly with our clubs and societies to make this happen.
Measure: Increase to the Pulse measure for the SU’s role in belonging to the University community, currently 56%.
University Priority
Set out a clear action plan for improving the commuter student experience, including consideration of the commuter experience in designing spaces within the Union building.
The experience and priorities of commuting students can differ significantly from those of students living on or near campus. Reduced time on campus, travel time to and from events, and limited opportunities to participate in evening activities can all create barriers to fully engaging with university life.
As the number of commuter students continues to grow, the University needs to look beyond individual initiatives and take a broader view of the commuter student experience. This should include practical measures such as an efficient academic timetable, greater availability of daytime events and activities, and better consideration of the challenges involved in commuting to University. The University’s new Commuter Lounge, scheduled to launch in January, is a positive and welcome step towards providing dedicated support and recognition for commuting students. However, a physical space alone cannot address the wider barriers that commuter students face. We therefore want to see the University set out a clear programme of action to make being a commuter student at Surrey a more attractive prospect, with the Commuter Lounge forming one part of a wider approach. This should include clear measures of success (including how the usage and impact of the new lounge will be monitored), alongside other actions to address the wider academic, social and practical experience of commuting students.
Measure: Narrow the satisfaction gap for ‘social experience’ and ‘having activities to be involved with’ in Pulse for students with ‘other living arrangements’ or ‘living elsewhere not with students’.
Partnership Priority
Facilitate the development of academic communities to create a sense of belonging within departments.
For many students, a sense of belonging at Surrey begins within their academic communities – feeling known by academic staff, connected to their fellow learners, and having their feedback heard and acted upon. Departmental societies play a huge part in making this happen. We want to work collaboratively to develop our academic communities through existing departmental societies and through creating these in Schools where student satisfaction has scope to improve. Through collaboration between students, society and committee members, Course Reps, Head Reps, and University staff, we aim to foster a sense of belonging, where students feel valued and connected.
Measure: Improvement to Pulse measure for ‘I feel part of a community of staff and students’ - currently at 69%.