Student-Centred Campus Experience

Increase our physical presence across campus, giving students more opportunities to engage in person with our Officers and staff.

Students engage with the Union in many different ways, and we want to build on the strong sense of community already created through activities taking place in our building by bringing our Officers and staff into more spaces across campus. We will increase our presence on both campuses through outreach, activities and events across Stag Hill and Manor Park, and use our ‘Union2U' campaign to create more opportunities for students to connect with elected Officers and Union staff as part of their everyday campus experience. This will help us build relationships with an even wider range of students and ensure the Union is visible, accessible and connected across campus.

Measure: Increase in awareness of who the sabbatical officers are and what they do in the Pulse survey.

Ensure the student experience is the top priority in the University’s campus masterplan.

As the University continues to develop its long-term campus estate, the Students' Union building should be recognised as a strategic priority for future investment. Improving our building is not simply an investment in a physical space; it is an investment in student life, engagement, inclusion and success. Across the sector, other Union buildings are seen as desirable destinations for student support, activity and socialisation. A continued lack of investment in the Union building demonstrates to students that their sense of belonging and 'home' on campus is not a University priority, and risks the ongoing failure of current and future generations of students while the building continues to deteriorate. A modern, welcoming and accessible Union building would strengthen student belonging, participation in clubs, societies and democratic activity, and better support wellbeing and connection. Any future development should hold student belonging and the social spaces that underpin this as a core focus of future development.

Measure: For the University to commit, through its capital planning process, to the future of the Students' Union building by publishing a way forward.

Work together to develop our campus spaces to create a more accessible and inclusive environment for students, ensuring student voice is prioritised in identifying campus improvements.

The increasing diversity of the student population means that the experiences, interests and needs of students are more varied than ever. Improvements to the estate must reflect this diversity and ensure that all students have an inclusive and accessible place to live and study, both now and as the University grows. 

We want the University to work collaboratively with students to identify and deliver practical accessibility and inclusion improvements for current and future students through the Campus Masterplan. The Students’ Union’s Equality Networks provide an important channel for bringing diverse student voices and lived experiences into these conversations, helping to ensure that developments reflect the needs of the communities they are intended to support. We will work with the University and our Equality Networks to ensure students have meaningful opportunities to shape practical improvements to the estate that make Surrey a truly inclusive place to live and study.

Measure: Five impactful accessibility projects to be completed this year, covering a diverse range of needs, identified in partnership with students.