Our vision is that

Every University of Staffordshire student will be proud to be part of Staffs

The University, the Students Union, the locality and its' learner community

Our Values

Putting Students First
Our students are the focus of our work. We are passionate about them, led by them and represent and advocate them at every opportunity. They are our first consideration in everything we do
Enabling
We recognise our role is to support students through their time at University and what underpins our approach is a focus on giving our members and staff the ability and confidence to undertake things for themselves, rather than always serving up a solution
Innovative
We believe we can make things happen and seek out new ways to challenge ourselves and find new approaches or solutions to achieve results. We don’t feel constrained by convention and we are willing to revisit and re-engineer our work if it gets better results
Welcoming
We recognise the importance of creating an open and honest environment that our students can trust. We will be there for you; helping you to feel welcome and part of the wider student community.
Actively Inclusive
Our membership is constantly changing and reflects a broad range of backgrounds, ages, lifestyles and experiences. Our approach is to actively find ways to listen to, connect and welcome in those individuals to unite as a community and to demonstrate that everyone is valued.
Responsible
We recognise the responsibilities we have as an organisation towards our members, our staff, and the wider communities we are part of. We ensure we understand the impact of our actions and actively seek ways of eliminating or mitigating any negative impacts.

Our Strategic Themes

a sense of belonging

To enable students to have the opportunity to (quickly) transition to their university experience and feel that they belong in this (new) community and see it as their “place of possibility”

what this means

  • Early intervention with applicants to connect them to their Staffordshire experience and fellow students.

  • A coordinated orientation and introduction to University.

  • Define & showcase the wealth of opportunities and range of activities and events available at (and around) Staffs as a relevant feed to students.

  • Identify and minimise barriers to involvement to improve the breadth of participation across the Membership.

  • Ensure University staff are able to promote and signpost appropriately to the Students Union.

  • Help students find their tribes & recognise there are “students like me”.

  • Educate on the cultural and social competency and behaviours of the membership to value and respect the inclusion of everyone and to “disagree agreeably”.

  • Work with partners to provide easy transition to accommodation that meets individual’s needs, through their time with Staffs.

an experience you shape

To enable students to identify that they are participants & co-creators of their experiences (either directly or indirectly) rather than just recipients.

To ensure credit is given honestly to students’ contributions to change. Close the feedback loop.

what this means

  • Empower student representation through a Student Voice Strategy that ensures an informed, accessible and evidence-led network of representatives (beyond 3 officers) that actively engages with relevant parties to develop continuous improvement to the student experience (with examples, case studies and stories to tell – weekly impact reporting).

  • Continue to build and support student communities by bringing together students to pursue co-curricular and extra-curricular activities across and between campuses using community organising principles.

  • Expand the opportunities, beyond employed Team Members, for students to shape the delivery of services.

  1. ​Create event teams & ambassadors to lead on event programming

  2. Hold termly user forums for all services

  3. Schedule an annual calendar of consultations in collaboration with the University

  • Implementation of a methodical and consistent service follow-up programme to measure and evaluate how well we are doing, across the Union services in delivering a quality and trusted experience for students. This to be backed up with a programme to test and develop experience touchpoints.

support you can trust

Students know what they can trust the Union to do, with a clarity of expectations (and limitations).

The Union delivers with competency, consistency, honesty and empathy, whilst empowering and equipping students with skills in the process

what this means

  • We will be transparent in our work; actions taken (or not), in relation to member feedback, will be clearly communicated in a timely way.

  • We will communicate clearly and regularly (weekly) how we are representing students academic & wider interests and are acting on their feedback (storytelling).

  • We will be clear on our offer to students and the expectations they should have

  • We will develop our collaborative approach with the University to define our approach to: sports, student voice and trading services.

  • We will map the service touchpoints, to reduce friction and ensure we deliver

  • We will review and revise the Student Charter with the University.

our enabling themes

engagement

  • We will identify and map the engagement of our members and develop their connections through communities to recognise their involvement as being the Union.

people & culture

  • Our values shape our culture and our people make the Union. We will focus on collective endeavour and collaboration rather than competition and ensure we have the competencies to ensure everyone counts.

partnership

  • The work of the Union develops in parallel with the University and its strategy and through our vision of every students being proud to be Staffs, our influence needs to reach beyond campus. Through building and establishing effective partnership we recognise that we can deliver better for everyone.

finance & resources

  • Recognising the partnership we have with the University. We will evidence the value we deliver to the student experience to ensure we have the necessary resources to deliver for our students now and in the future
  • Our systems