The Students' Union is here to make sure your views and opinions are listened to and acted on during your time at Staffordshire University.
How to use your Voice at Staffs
The Students' Union is here to make sure your views and opinions are listened to and acted on during your time at Staffordshire University.
This could be anything from a problem on your course to an idea around a topic we should campaign for. Our goal is to make a #BetterStaffs for our students.
An example to get you started
Say that you were worried about making new friends when you arrived. You decide to tell us this.
By giving us feedback, we can reassure you that everyone is in the same boat and direct you to relevant information - such as our Get Involved hub - to make it all the more likely that you'll meet new people that are just like you.
Now, let's say a lot of new students tell us the same thing.
This collective feedback allows us to prioritise how much work we put into making sure students can easily make friends when they start University.
Case Study: Mental Health
Year on year, students at Staffs would tell us that their mental health and well-being is important to them, but especially to them doing well in their degrees.
This feedback was from surveys, specialist research, social media comments and students telling us through their Course Reps or Elected Officers. We also ran a referendum asking students to prioritise topics we should work on and 'Mental Health' came in the Top 5.
What next?
Once we established that mental health was important to our students, we began campaigning. As a result we:
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Lobbied for improved access to health and well-being services in the University, locally and nationally
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Participated in campaigns looking to raise awareness around the topic such as University Mental Health Day,
Movember and Mental Health Awareness Week
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Applied (and received) funding to run a campaign around the transition through education - making sure all students are aware of the services on offer and self-help
How can I have my say?
Luckily, you have four full-time Elected Officers, Course Reps and a staff team dedicated to canvassing your views and representing them at the highest level of University meetings.
You can make sure your voice is heard by:
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Giving feedback about your course to your Course Rep
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Speaking to one of your Elected Officers about your overall University experience
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Submitting an idea for a #BetterStaffs online (and upvoting/downvoting the ones you have an opinion on)
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Voting in any of our elections - but especially our big annual one called 'The Leadership Race'
Start by sharing this article with another student at Staffs so that we can spread the word!
How do you feel about starting University? Email union@staffs.ac.uk or have your say: