Broadcast: News items

PS Essentials - May 2024

Posted on behalf of: Internal Communications

Last updated: Friday, 10 May 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.

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

Join our Wellbeing Festival for staff on 17 July

Our inaugural all-staff Wellbeing Festival will be a celebration designed to harmonise mental, physical, and financial wellbeing. Taking place on campus, the festival is set to inspire with a dynamic lineup of expert speakers, fitness activities, learning opportunities and more. Both drop-in and bookable activities will be available, and you can select events to suit your work schedule.

If you can't join in person, there will be a range of online events so you can be part of the festival wherever you are. A number of sessions will also be recorded for people to access at a later date. The full lineup and further details and links to bookable activities will be shared in the coming weeks.

The festival is being developed in collaboration with colleagues across the University and if you would like to get involved with helping to deliver the day, please email Wendy Carey at: w.carey@sussex.ac.uk.

Pause and Flow – supporting staff through menopause and menstruation

Read Pause and Flow, a new annual update from Organisational Development that highlights progress around support for people experiencing menopause and menstruation in the workplace. You can find out more about Menopause Cafes, staff training, online support groups, the Period Dignity Project and other successes from 2023/24.

Take part in Learning at Work Week

Visit the Staff Hub to find out about a range of events and activities happening for Learning at Work Week (13-17 May). This annual campaign promotes the development of learning cultures in the workplace, so take the opportunity to explore what’s on offer, learn something new and refresh your skills. You can also join the Development and Wellbeing drop-in event at the Meeting House on Thursday 16 May, from 11am-2pm, to get advice and information on how to access a range of development options and wellbeing support.

Mentoring summer update

Our staff mentoring programme is open to all staff and provides an opportunity to share and develop knowledge, skills and experience in a confidential, safe space. With Achievement and Development Review (ADR) season approaching, this is the perfect time to reflect and consider where mentoring could support your professional development. Find out more about mentoring and new initiatives now available, including speed mentoring sessions and mentor search support.

About Professional Services

Join us to celebrate Summer Graduation

Summer Graduation is taking place from Monday 22 to Friday 26 July at the Brighton Centre and you have the opportunity to play a part in this key event. Staff are at the heart of this very special occasion and we are calling for volunteers to help deliver the event. Over 100 staff are needed each day to make the celebration a success and you can find out more about the different roles available on the graduation webpage. If you have any queries please contact: graduation@sussex.ac.uk

Overseas Postgraduate Taught student payment arrangements

As part of our planning to reduce levels of student debt in the next academic year, and to support the student visa application process and the University’s compliance with UK Visas and Immigration, overseas postgraduate taught students will be asked to pay a larger proportion of their fees as a deposit before they join us. Students were previously asked for a £3,500 deposit, and this has now increased to £5,000. Additionally, students will be required to pay 50% of their remaining fees at enrolment, with the balance to be paid by the end of January (exact date to be confirmed), earlier in the academic year than previously. These new arrangements, which have been benchmarked against other universities, seek to help ensure that students arrive at the University with appropriate financial arrangements in place.

Postgraduate housing

Due to a later start to this academic year, some postgraduate students have been asked to vacate their student housing a week earlier than their contracted term to allow for new student residents arriving in September. We are working with all the affected students to minimise the disruption for them. Those who cannot vacate early due to course deadlines will be supported to move to alternative campus accommodation to leave blocks free for new arrivals. Students vacating their accommodation early at the University’s request will be reimbursed for that week’s rental cost. If you have any questions, please contact: housing@sussex.ac.uk.

Projects progress: Transforming Sussex newsletter

Keep up to date with what’s happening across the Capital Programme and beyond with Transforming Sussex. This month's edition showcases some exciting highlights: the launch of our catering partners' innovative sustainability initiatives, the opening of the UK's first-ever university contactless market - The Atrium - and the new Research Management System’s go-live date. Plus, get an exclusive glimpse at how spaces in the West Slope could look with virtual reality created by our architects.

Coming up

VC Open Forum on 3 June

The next VC Open Forum for all staff is on Monday 3 June, from 12.30pm-2pm. You can register now to attend in person at the Chichester 1 lecture theatre. The event will also be livestreamed for a remote audience.

A reminder

Can you help our student recruitment efforts during Clearing 2024?

Our Admissions team is looking for enthusiastic volunteers from across the University to staff the phone lines during Clearing on Thursday 15 August. Clearing is mission critical to the University, playing a vital role in helping Sussex achieve its student recruitment targets. 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 questions or would like to find out more, email Dara O’Kane at: dara.o-kane@sussex.ac.uk.

Take our Sussex 2035 survey by 16 May

We are inviting all staff, students and alumni to read the final draft of the University’s new strategy 'Sussex 2035: Creating Progressive Futures' and then share their thoughts on it through our consultation survey.

Thanks to those of you who gave feedback on the strategy discussion paper, shared earlier this year, which outlined the vision, mission & purpose, and values for our next University strategy, Sussex 2035.

Since then, we have worked hard to develop the full strategy, taking on board comments and suggestions from across our community. We now have a full draft for consultation (log in with your Sussex credentials) which we’re inviting you to read, and we’d also welcome you sharing your thoughts on this draft via our survey.

Answering your questions from the PS Bigger Picture

As a reminder, you can view a recording of the PS Bigger Picture event on 18 March, alongside written answers to questions not answered live, on the Staff Hub (log in with your Sussex credentials). Areas covered include reviewing pay and conditions, the University’s current financial picture, and how we are responding to key challenges affecting student recruitment.