Change can be daunting, especially when it comes to the university and Union services you rely on. As part of becoming City St George's Students' Union we need to update and moderise our advice and welfare provision to ensure students across all sites have access to a reliable and equitable service. This article is an update on the ongoing research aimed at redesigning our Advice and Support service at Clerkenwell and Tooting campuses, as well as online. This project is driven by your needs and preferences, and we want to ensure that the new service model is better than ever! 🎉

We want to hear from you

Student feedback and insight is at the heart of any of our work, and this research project has several key objectives:

• Gathering detailed information on how services are currently delivered at both campuses and online.
• Collecting data on the specific needs and preferences of students at all sites.
• Gathering insights from staff members who deliver welfare services in the university and Union to understand their experiences and suggestions for improvements.
• Evaluating the potential impact of the proposed service model on students and staff, including completing an equality impact assessment to make sure no student unfairly impacted by the proposed changes.

Why do you need to change and modernise the service?

There is a need to modernise our Advice and Support service to better meet the evolving needs of our student community. Health and Medicine students, in particular, often turn to Union services during times of stress, anxiety, or other problems - in particular to the peer support offered by our elected Sabbatical Officers. By updating and improving our service, we aim to provide more effective and timely support to all students, ensuring that you have access to the resources you need when you need them. 💖

Our timeline and what you can expect

We will continue to deliver our current service at all sites of City St George's, nothing will stop whilst we carry out our research and review. This review is being led by the Union's Advice and Support Manager, and is being supported by Eve, Deputy President (Welfare - Tooting) and Ashton, Deputy President (Wellbeing and Equity) to make sure we have good student representation. 

Here's a brief overview of the tasks and timeline:

• Survey design and distribution - you may see this named 'Rate Your Union': April 1 - April 30 📅
• Focus group planning and execution: April 1 - April 30 🗣️
• 1:1 interviews with key university staff: April 1 - April 30 🗨️
• Data collection completion: May 1 - May 16 📊
• Data analysis: May 17 - May 31 📈
• Developing a new service model: June 1 - June 16 🔄
• Launch a new service: 1 August 📅

What this means for you

We know that some students are concerned about changes to the Advice and Support service. Rest assured, the new service will be better resourced in terms of staff time and we are committed to daily coverage from an independent Union Adviser on site every day at both Clerkenwell and Tooting. Our goal is to ensure you have access to the in-person or online support you need, when you need it. 💪

How you can help

Your input is crucial to the success of this project. We encourage you to complete the survey and share your views. Your feedback will directly influence the redesign of the service, ensuring it meets your needs and preferences. 🗳️

Click here to complete the survey: https://cityunilondon.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_da8fQWoFmYpXpAy