It’s official – Northumbria has the best student support team in the country

Northumbria University has been presented with a national award for having the UK’s most ‘Outstanding Student Services Team’.

The Times Higher Education’s Leadership and Management award was presented to the University’s Student Support and Wellbeing team in recognition of the excellence of support offered to students at Northumbria.

The team, which is part of the Academic Services department, was commended for projects including the transformation of support for students who were considering changing course or possibly dropping out of their studies, its new approach to counselling and mental health services to support students experiencing personal, emotional and mental health issues and a new central welcome event which was developed for new students to help to ensure a smooth transition into university life.

The initiatives make Northumbria’s support for students distinctive in the higher education sector were commended by the judges as being “strong examples of excellence” and a “strong commitment to quality in the heartland of student services and support.”

Levi Pay, Head of Student Support and Wellbeing, said: “Effective specialist student support is about far more than just adding value to a student’s university experience or helping students to focus on their studies.

Specialist advice and support, at its best, is challenging, life-changing, and sometimes even life-saving for students. The judges commended us particularly for our change of circumstances and mental health support models, but the same ambitions underpin all of our support services – from hardship funding and dyslexia tuition to faith advice and immigration support. It is great to receive confirmation from the sector that our efficient models for delivering support are leading the way.”

Professor Jane Core, Director of Academic Services, said: “This is a real achievement for our team and is also a credit to the partnership working that we have across the whole university, where the focus on student experience is at the forefront of all that we do. Our services are widely recognised for professional excellence and innovation and we take pride in the recognition that this award reflects upon the University and the energy and commitment that underpins our professional support services.”

To find out more about Northumbria’s Student Support and Wellbeing services, visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/ssw or register one of our open days on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 June at www.northumbria.ac.uk/openday