Broadcast: News items

PS Essentials - April 2024

Posted on behalf of: Internal Communications

Last updated: Friday, 12 April 2024

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

Following the PS Bigger Picture in March, you can now view the replay and answers to the outstanding questions.

If there is information you would like included in a future edition of PS Essentials, please email the Internal Comms team at: internalcomms@sussex.ac.uk.

Quick links

About you

Stress Awareness Month – webinars and support available

April is Stress Awareness Month and this year’s campaign focuses on the small changes and activities that can help reduce stress in our daily routines. Find out about the events and resources available for staff, including webinars over the coming week exploring work/life balance on 17 April, and wellbeing on 18 April. Further information and guidance are available on the Staff Wellbeing Hub, and our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is available to support you if you’re suffering from anxiety or stress. Your immediate family members can access support through our EAP as well.

About Professional Services

Volunteer to help with Clearing 2024

The Admissions Team is in need of enthusiastic volunteers from across the University to staff the phone lines during Clearing on Thursday 15 August. Clearing is mission critical to the University and plays a vital role in helping Sussex achieving its student recruitment targets, but it is also an exciting opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of applicants.

To sign up, please complete our registration form. Full training will be provided in advance, as well as support on the day itself. If you have any questions or would like to find out more, email Dara O’Kane at: dara.o-kane@sussex.ac.uk.

New salary thresholds for Skilled Worker visas

The UK government recently published updates to the Immigration Rules, including changes to the salary thresholds for the Skilled Worker visa route which came into effect on 4 April 2024. The University is an active sponsor of staff under this visa route, and these changes are relevant for both new and existing sponsored staff, and any recruiting managers who are hiring international applicants.

The general salary threshold has increased to £38,700 for new sponsorships (starting from 4 April 2024), or £29,000 for existing sponsorships (starting on or before 3 April 2024). Visit the HR webpages for further information about these changes, including answers to frequently asked questions.

National Student Survey closes on 30 April

Thank you to everyone who has been helping to promote this year’s National Student Survey (NSS), an important way for final-year undergraduates to tell the world about their time at Sussex. The NSS closes on 30 April so please continue to help engage students in the survey in these final weeks if you can. You can find a briefing document and folder of shared resources on Box to support activity in your area. Please contact internalcomms@sussex.ac.uk if you have any issues accessing these and remember that NSS promotion should be separate from any promotion of other surveys or feedback mechanisms.

As a thank you for taking part, eligible students can get a free ‘Class of 2024’ t-shirt when they show proof of completion. If completing the survey online, they will also be entered into a prize draw for the chance to win one of 10 graduation packages worth £150, and, for every Sussex finalist completing the survey, the University will donate £1 to charities chosen by students.

Survey of taught postgraduate students opens on 15 April

From Monday 15 April, eligible postgraduate students will be invited to take part in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES). The survey, which will run until Thursday 13 June, asks postgraduate students taking a taught course about their learning and teaching experience and is an important chance for us to gather feedback about our postgraduates’ experiences.

Please encourage postgraduate students to complete the 10-minute survey. You can view a Box folder of shared resources (accessible with your usual Sussex login details) to support survey promotion. Thank you in advance for your support.

Supporting underrepresented students with our Access and Participation Plan

Our Access and Participation Plan (APP) sets out how we will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups to access, succeed in and progress from higher education. We are currently developing a new plan, and staff involvement is important in embedding existing and new APP initiatives throughout the University to make a lasting impact in our Sussex community.

We encourage you to share examples of good practice in your School or Division, and your insights into how School and department activities can contribute to meeting our ambition. We also want to hear your views on the support and information that would be most useful to you in helping us collectively achieve our APP targets. Please contact Jo McKinney-Green (APP Programme Manager) at: j.mckinney-green@sussex.ac.uk with your thoughts. You can read an update about our APP progress on the Staff Hub.

Student debt

The University is beginning the final cycle of the year to collect outstanding tuition fees and accommodation debt from students. The approach seeks to balance the need to maximise recovery of income with consideration for the wellbeing of our students and supporting them to continue with their academic studies. View the briefing information sent out last week for staff dealing with enquiries which explains what will be happening, and how staff can help students. The briefing is designed to help staff understand how we are supporting students through the process.

Streamlining our processes to create savings

If you were able to attend the Bigger Picture in March, you will remember our Chief Financial Officer, Jacinda Humphry, talking about our budget in light of the University’s lower than expected student recruitment numbers and the associated reduction in tuition fee income. Jacinda has encouraged everyone to reduce costs wherever possible and look for ways to streamline processes and save time and money. If you have any suggestions, please discuss directly with your line manager or Director in the first instance. You also welcome, as always, to get in touch with Jacinda at: j.humphry@sussex.ac.uk or Emma at: e.potts@sussex.ac.uk.

Projects progress: Transforming Sussex newsletter

Each month, the Transforming Sussex newsletter reports on the progress and achievements of our Capital Programme which consists of over 50 projects that are transforming our University for the better. This month’s issue includes information about the closure of the campus dental service and completion of RAAC replacement at Bramber House. There is also an update on the work to procure a new provider for campus facilities management services from next summer, following Mitie’s decision not to be part of this process. There is also a photo gallery covering the ground breaking ceremony for the West Slope development and our drop-in sessions for staff and students to help design the new Health and Wellbeing Centre.

Coming up

VC Open Forum on 2 May focusing on Sussex 2035 strategy

Sasha will be talking about the Sussex 2035 strategy and sharing a first draft during the next Open Forum on 2 May from 2.30pm-4pm. This is a hybrid event and you can register to join in person at the Attenborough Centre or watch via livestream.