Broadcast: News items

Tim Westlake, Chief Operating Officer

Dear colleague,

PS Essentials highlights the key priorities for Professional Services colleagues and recent news and updates which you and your teams may find useful. Please take five minutes to read the full update below.

This month, we also share a short video in which Director for the Student Experience, Jayne Aldridge speaks with student Temilade Salami about the opening of the new Student Centre and the role of our staff in supporting students. Please take a few moments to watch it.

If there is information you would like included in PS Essentials, please submit your request via the online form.

With best wishes,

Tim

Quick links

About you

• Manage your absence requests in MyView from October
  
  
• Financial year end 2021/2022 - deadline for expenses and transactions
  
  
• Annual Leave Purchase Scheme closes on 31 August
  
  
• View the USS pension scheme webinar replay

About Professional Services

• Staff survey results offer insights to help improve colleague experience
  
  
• Sussex climbs the rankings in National Student Survey 2022
  
  
• Sussex appoints interim Provost and key leadership positions
  
  
• Exciting changes in the Division for the Student Experience
  
  
• An update on building our HR leadership 
  
  
• Gemma Harman joins Senate representing Professional Services
  
  
• Celebrating positive impact: Research with Impact Awards and Education Awards
  
  
• Investing in a Better Sussex: July highlights
  
  
• Records management compliance assessment
  
  
• Summer campus updates
  
  
• Global engagement and partnerships update 

What's happening this month

• Graduation underway for thousands of Sussex students: 5 – 22 July
  
  
• What Foreign Interference Looks Like: 18 July

A reminder

• Safeguarding Essentials online course now available for staff
  
  
• Volunteer to help with Clearing 2022
  
  
• Appraisals reminder – guidance available for staff

Our next edition of PS Essentials will be issued in September 2022.

About you

Manage your absence requests in MyView from October

We are taking a more technology-based approach to some of the HR services we provide to staff, and are currently upgrading our self-service portal MyView to enable you to manage your absence requests digitally. From October 2022, all sickness absences will be submitted via MyView and you will also be able to record other absences such as annual leave in one place online. To find out what you need to do in readiness, read the full update.

Financial year end 2022 - deadline for expenses and transactions

The University financial year end for 2021/22 is Sunday 31 July. As this date falls over a weekend, it’s important to make sure that your expense claims and other transactions are completed well before that weekend to avoid creating tasks for authorisers outside of normal working hours.

Any transactions that miss the Sunday night ‘cut-off’ will fall into the 2022/23 financial year as unbudgeted items, and cannot be adjusted due to strict accounting rules.

Staff with financial responsibilities were sent further information from Finance this week. If you have any queries or need help to plan around absence, contact Finance Service Desk at financeservicedesk@sussex.ac.uk or on 01273 87(7172).

Annual Leave Purchase Scheme closes on 31 August

The Annual Leave Purchase Scheme window for applications will be open until Wednesday 31 August 2022. You can apply for up to 10 days’ additional annual leave per leave year, paid for in equal instalments directly from your monthly pay. Any additional leave that you buy during this period can be used from the new leave year, which starts on Saturday 1 October 2022. Read more about the scheme, view the FAQs and download the application forms.

View the USS pension scheme webinar replay

We recently held webinars to provide staff with clear information about the USS pension scheme and what it offers - you can now watch the replay or download the presentation. Find out more about the pension options available on the Pensions webpage.

About Professional Services

Staff survey results offer insights to help improve colleague experience

Our spring staff survey results are now available, with Schools and Divisions now reviewing their results in detail and taking forward actions over the coming weeks and months. Our overall engagement score was marginally lower than our previous survey in September (down one percentage point to 60%). We have seen improvements in the areas of dignity and respect, bullying and harassment and wellbeing but remain focused on addressing key issues staff have highlighted. Read the results highlights.

Sussex climbs the rankings in National Student Survey 2022

Final year students gave their verdict on Sussex in this year’s National Student Survey (NSS), sharing their views on many aspects of student life from teaching and assessment to organisation, management, and student voice. The University climbed one place in the ‘Overall Satisfaction’ rankings, to 61^st in the UK, and although this is positive news, we continue to work hard towards our target ranking of 25^th place. Read more about our NSS 2022 results.

Sussex appoints interim Provost and key leadership positions

Professor Keith Jones has been appointed Interim Provost when Professor Rachel Mills leaves us later this month. Keith is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) and a member of the University Executive Group (UEG), the University Leadership Team and Senate. Keith will take up his position from 25 July, and will continue with his existing executive responsibilities.

Emma Potts will return to the post of interim Deputy Chief Operating Officer, having most recently been Interim Director of Research and Enterprise. We also welcome Peter Mitchell to Sussex as Interim HR Director and you can read more in the HR leadership update below. And finally, Geraldine Ismail has been appointed Interim Head of Legal Services and will be taking her post on 1 August 2022. Read more about the new appointments.

Exciting changes in the Division for the Student Experience

Jayne Aldridge, Director for the Student Experience, recently shared an update on changes underway which will enable us to continuously improve the student experience at Sussex. The structures within the Student Experience Division have been reconfigured in order to better enable us to have the right level of resource in the right place at the right time across the academic and calendar years. Read the full update including next steps.

An update on building our HR leadership

Over the past six months the HR Division has undergone significant transformation and in a recent update, Director of HR Siobhan O’Reilly shared some further news. Siobhan will be leaving Sussex at the end of September, having established a newly formed leadership team which will focus on strategic leadership and on culture, equality and inclusion (CEI). Read more about the HR leadership changes.

Last week, we welcomed Peter Mitchell as Interim Director of HR. Siobhan remains the Director of HR until the end of September. Providing continuity in the work we are doing and ensuring a smooth transition whilst we recruit our permanent Director of HR, Peter will keep the People Strategy on track and support the current union negotiations. Peter has over 30 years’ experience, mostly within the UK Higher Education sector, including permanent roles as Director of HR at SOAS and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and recent interim roles at University of Derby and Kingston University.

Gemma Harman joins Senate representing Professional Services

We are pleased to share that Gemma Harman has been elected as a Professional Services representative to Senate. Gemma will serve from 1 August 2022 to 31 July 2025. View the results of the election on the Governance webpages.

Senate is responsible for the academic standards and the direction and regulation of academic matters of the University. This includes teaching, examining and research as well as oversight of quality assurance and education standards. Two members of Professional Services staff are elected to Senate, and our other elected member is Kit Eves.

Celebrating the positive impact of our people

As part of our Festival of Doctoral Research, we recently hosted a major event dedicated to celebrating the real-world impact of Sussex research: Research with Impact Day. Bringing together academic and Professional Services colleagues, the day concluded with a celebratory reception where Interim Vice-Chancellor David Maguire and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) Keith Jones presented certificates to Research with Impact Award winners from across the University. Find out about our Research with Impact Award winners.

We also recognised the incredible impact of our staff on our student experience when David Maguire, and Kelly Coate, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students, also member of the University Executive Group, hosted the first in-person Sussex Education Awards since 2019. With over 350 nominations received, the awards were an opportunity for students and colleagues to say thank you to staff who've made a positive impact on their time at Sussex. Take a look at the shortlisted nominees and winners.

Congratulations to all nominees and winners, and well done to everyone who helped deliver these fantastic events.

Investing in a Better Sussex: July highlights

Our 2022/2023 Annual Plan was approved by the Capital Expenditure Board in June, and over the summer we will be further preparing for work to start and continue on a number of projects and programmes.

Work is underway on other projects and programmes, including:

• My Sussex: The online Student Support System will be available this autumn.
• West Slope: Enabling works and the new student laundry are underway, and the new play area and student garden are getting ready to open.
• The Professional Services space review: A programme manager is now in place, and architects Stride Treglowan have been appointed.
• Student Information System: On 8 July, University Council gave the go-ahead to a new Student Information System (SIS), another key project which will play a critical role in enabling digital and operational transformation. .
• Sussex Regional Access Centre (SRAC): The SRAC will be closing on 31 July.

Read more about the projects underway. The next webinar in our series will be held on Thursday 15 September.

Records management compliance assessment

Earlier this year, a records management review was carried out across the University to understand general awareness of the Records Management Policy and Master Records Retention Schedule. The review included how we create, use, handle, store and dispose of records and also captured the medium, location, volume, and nature of our records.

You can now view the findings of this assessment. If you require assistance on any aspect of records management, please contact the Information Management team.

Summer campus updates

The University pharmacy has now relocated to one of the Retail Arches adjacent to the Student Centre. It continues to be open Monday to Friday, from 9am – 5.30pm, and on Saturday from 9am – 1pm.

With the majority of our undergraduate students having checked out of their onsite accommodation, we welcome some summer schools back on campus. After a two-year break due to COVID restrictions, EF (Education First) students have arrived in Stanmer Court, SCLS pre-sessional English students have settled into Brighthelm and Embassy. St Andrews and Sprachcafe students join us over the next couple of weeks. Find more information about some of the global partners we are working with this summer below.

Global engagement and partnerships update

Our commitment to internationalisation is reflected in our engagement with partners around the world, and that commitment continues through the summer months and beyond.

• Our recent Global Partnerships Conference not only highlighted the value of a global outlook, it also demonstrated a true collaborative working across the University, involving academic Schools and Professional Service divisions.
• We have also opened our doors to students from our global partners around the world for the summer, with our International Junior Research Associates Scheme and Undergraduate Summer School starting again.
• For staff, we continue to offer exciting opportunities to work with partner institutions worldwide through our global mobility schemes.

Read the full update on global engagement.

What’s happening this month

Graduation underway for thousands of Sussex students: 5 – 22 July

The biggest-ever University of Sussex graduation is underway at the Brighton Centre, supported by hundreds of staff from across the institution who have volunteered to help during the ceremonies. We are welcoming back Sussex students from 2020 and 2021, who were unable to graduate because of COVID-19 restrictions, as well as this year’s cohort of 2022 graduates. Over 9,684 students from 165 countries are set to attend, accompanied by 26,847 guests. You can watch each ceremony live on the Graduation webpage.

What Foreign Interference Looks Like: 18 July

Taking place online from 12.30pm – 3.30pm, this session aims to raise awareness of how hostile state actors might seek to interfere with work in universities and how that could affect the intellectual property of academics. During the session you will learn about commonly deployed tactics and know what to look for and report to the University. Book your place.

A reminder

Safeguarding Essentials online course now available for staff

Following positive feedback, the University has made the Safeguarding Essentials course available to all staff. The course, which takes around an hour to complete, outlines what safeguarding means practically and helps you understand your role in safeguarding children and adults at risk. We also have designated staff throughout the University act as Local Safeguarding Officers (LSO), to whom you can report concerns or ask for further advice. View more detailed information about the course and the role of LSOs.

Volunteer to help with Clearing 2022

Could you help out on one of the most important days in our calendar? We are calling for volunteers to work in our Clearing Call Centre on Thursday 18 August between 8am – 5pm. Full training will be provided, and you’ll be supported by the Admissions Team both leading up to Clearing and on the day itself.

To volunteer, please complete the Clearing registration form. If you have any questions or would like any further information, contact Matt Bridge (m.bridge@sussex.ac.uk), or Dara O’Kane (d.o-kane@sussex.ac.uk).

Appraisals reminder – guidance available for staff

With appraisals for PS staff due to be completed by the end of September 2022, did you know that as well as an FAQ for appraisers and appraisees, you can view guidelines and step by step outline of the appraisal process? Take a look at the useful information on how to prepare on the Appraisals webpage.