Broadcast: News items

Academic update: July 2024

Posted on behalf of: Internal Communications

Last updated: Friday, 12 July 2024

Academic Update highlights the key priorities for academic colleagues and recent news and updates which you and your teams may find useful.

If there is information you would like included in future Academic Updates, please submit your request to the Internal Comms mailbox.

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Education and Students

NSS results
The latest National Student Survey (NSS) results, released on Wednesday 10 July, show that we have continued to build on last year’s progress and received improved results for every theme compared with last year, apart from one (assessment and feedback). This achievement includes being ranked 12th in the country (of HE providers ranked in the domestic league tables) for organisation and management, a rise of 13 places to 50th for academic support, and a significant leap of 21 places to 79th for learning opportunities. The top performing subjects at Sussex in 2024 are Ecology and Environmental Biology, History of Art, Liberal Arts, Mathematics, and Music - this is the first graduating cohort for Liberal Arts.

Research and Innovation

2024 Research Culture and Research Impact Award winners
Congratulations to all the award winners announced at the 2024 Research Culture and Research Impact Award Ceremony on Tuesday 18 June. The ceremony celebrated the great achievements in developing and strengthening research and impact within the Sussex research community. For a full list of awardees please visit the news article with more information about the work of the awardees and shortlisted entrants to be found on the Research Culture and Research Impact webpages.

External funding deadlines calendar
For all funding opportunities please remember to visit the Research Development Calendar which includes a list of all upcoming funding deadlines for all major funders and their most popular funding schemes. You can also visit Research Professional for more funding opportunities for your specific discipline. We are looking to hold some training sessions by Research Professional later this year on how to best use your account. Need any further help with your research funding? Contact the Research Development team.

Global and Civic Engagement

Sussex Court and international visits
In late June, the PVC for Global and Civic Engagement hosted an interactive meeting of Court, part of the University’s governance structure as set out in Regulation 6. This brought together representatives from a wide range of external organisations to hear from the Vice-Chancellor, to share their priorities and concerns, and to discuss collaboration and partnership opportunities with a wide range of academic and PS staff from across the University. This has provided a strong platform for developing new programmes of education and research work with stakeholders in our local community.

Also in late June, the University welcomed staff from Shanghai University and from University of Bologna as they visited Sussex to strengthen our institutional partnerships. Colleagues met with a range of staff during their visits, particularly focusing on links with MAH in the case of the Shanghai visit, and the Business School, Global Studies, and LPS in the case of the Bologna visit. The PVC for Global and Civic Engagement also joined Alice McCallum and Louis Adekola from the International Office on a visit to Nigeria in early July for meetings with Sussex alumni and prospective students, as well as with key partners, including University of Lagos.

Please contact the PVC for Global and Civic Engagement, Robin Banerjee, if you have questions or new ideas about strengthening global or civic partnerships with specific organisations.

About you

Take a look at what’s on offer at the All-Staff Wellbeing Festival next week
Get inspired by the variety of activities and experiences available for you at the festival on Wednesday 17 July, including talks and wellbeing advice through to sports, creative writing, dance and boundary walks. There are lots of options throughout the day including in person and online events so you can plan around your work commitments. If for any reason you can’t attend a booked session, please cancel on LearnUpon or email: od@sussex.ac.uk.

Forms and guidance for your Achievement and Development Review
You can now view and download forms and guidance for this year’s Achievement and Development Review (ADR) cycle, which runs until 30 September for all staff. The ADR guidance for Professional Services staff includes tips for setting SMART objectives and answers to frequently asked questions. You can also watch the ADR video overview on Learnupon, or browse the ADR pathway for reviewees or reviewers on LinkedIn Learning.

Explore our new Sussex Leader and Manager Competency Framework
The new framework is closely linked to our values and aligned with our People Strategy, outlining expectations around leading self, leading people and leading the University. Find out what the framework offers and read useful suggestions about how you can use it in your role and as part of ongoing self development, whether you are a leader or manager or not.

Annual Leave Purchase Scheme window closes on 31 August
The current window to buy additional annual leave to take in the 2024/25 academic year will close on 31 August 2024. Up to 10 days additional leave (pro rata for part-time staff), for use from 1 October 2024, can be purchased during this window. There will also be another window to apply for up to five additional days leave from 1 January to 28 February 2025, for use by 30 September 2025.

Please speak with your manager as soon as possible If you are considering buying additional annual leave, to discuss capacity and ensure fairness of opportunity across your team. Application forms need to be signed off by your manager first, so please allow for this in order to submit your application by the deadline.

About Sussex

Senate: staff elections
The Governance Team will be running elections this year for Senate roles, as follows:

Three academic elected representatives to Senate from the Faculty of Media, Arts & Humanities
Three academic elected representatives to Senate from the University of Sussex Business School

The academic elected membership of Senate will move from School representation to Faculty representation with equal representation for each Faculty. Each Faculty will have five elected members, and this has different implications for different Faculties.

Senate is responsible for academic standards and the direction and regulation of academic matters of the University. This encompasses teaching, examining and research as well as oversight of quality assurance and standards of the education provided by the University. Academic members are elected by and from the teaching staff (Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, Readers and Professors), and serve a term of three years.

Nominations are now open with a deadline of Friday 26 July. Nominators should check that their nominee is willing and eligible to serve. Self-nomination is permissible. Nomination forms and information to check if you are eligible to nominate yourself, be nominated and vote, are available on the Governance webpage. Voting will take place between 12 August and 2 September.

The Governance Team are holding webinars about the elections and the roles of Senate; these are open to all staff eligible for nomination. If you would like to attend a session on Monday 22 July (2pm-3pm) or Wednesday 24 July (2pm-3pm), please email Lisa Glandfield.

Can you help with UCAS process market research?
If you have a young person in your household going through the UCAS decision making process, please consider sharing any communications they have received from other universities (e.g. offer holder communications, Open Day brochures) with our Marketing and Recruitment teams. This will provide us with helpful insight into how our competitors are communicating with young people and highlight any trends. Any context would also be helpful around which university it is from, the subject applied for, and further communications following offer acceptance.

Please send any communications to Carolyn Keys, CRM Marketing Officer, and Sarah Massie, Senior CRM Business Partner. Any personal or sensitive information from the communications will be removed.

Sussex joins the Big Read
Sussex is taking part this year, for the first time, in the shared-reading initiative the Big Read. The Library will be sending a copy of Everything is Everything by Sussex alumnus, Clive Myrie, to new students, as well as giving out books across campus to staff and returning students.

We hope that the award-winning Big Read, which began at Kingston University in 2016, will foster a strong sense of belonging and provide a talking point for the whole Sussex community. Events exploring themes within this moving memoir will take place throughout the next academic year, including a visit from Clive himself.

If you are interested in holding a reading group in your team, please complete the form on the Big Read webpage and the Library team can organise a box of books to be delivered to your department. On the same page you can also sign up to the Sussex Big Read distribution group for updates on events. Don’t forget to share your thoughts about the book on social media with #SussexBigRead.

Summer Senate report now available to view
The summer term Senate meeting was on 26 June and you can now read the report summarising the business and decisions of the meeting. During the session, Senate heard about key education and research business such as approval of the University progression and award regulations which will provide a single underpinning set of regulations to inform all examination boards of taught programmes of study. Senate also considered proposals for amendments to Senate’s own regulations and composition in light of the move to a Faculty structure, which are going forward to Council for approval.

The next Senate meeting is planned for 13 November 2024 and minutes and papers will be published a week in advance. Two elected senators, Gemma Harman and Kit Eves, act as spokespeople for PS staff. Please contact them in confidence if there is a matter you would like them to raise at Senate. You can also get in touch via their shared email inbox: pssenators@sussex.ac.uk.

Green Impact Award winners revealed
Congratulations to teams in PS and the wider University who received Green Impact Awards for their efforts to create a more sustainable working environment at a ceremony on 20 June. Around 200 Professional Services staff took part in the initiative this year and 20 awards were distributed to teams and individuals across the University. The award ceremony, which celebrated sustainability successes and commitment, included a workshop on developing toolkit actions for the programme’s relaunch which is coming soon. Find out more about the Green Impact programme and how you can get involved.

Degree apprenticeships update
Preparation for our first set of degree apprenticeships starting in September is progressing well, and we are developing a bid for three possible new apprenticeship programmes for delivery in 2025. With around 100 universities in the UK already delivering apprenticeships, we have been able to learn from their successes and challenges. Find out about our progress, what we will be offering and how we are working with employers.

MS Teams Calling successfully rolled out across campus
The University’s telephony system has been successfully moved across to MS Teams Calling. If you have a University extension number, you can now easily make and receive internal and external calls from wherever you’re working using the MS Teams application. Find out more and view our short video from colleagues behind the rollout. New to MS Teams? Find out how to get started.

Find out about projects and programme progress in the Transforming Sussex newsletter
Take a look at the June edition of the Transforming Sussex newsletter to find out the latest news from the projects and programmes that our transforming our University. This month features news on RAAC work, lecture theatre refurbs, the steps we’re taking to improve our website, and improvements being made to study spaces. To keep up-to-date with the projects transforming Sussex, sign up to our newsletter mailing list.

A reminder

Financial year end 31 July – action needed if you are involved in purchasing
Our financial year end is Wednesday 31 July. The finance system will be available until 5pm on 31 July - please make sure all tasks are completed well in advance to avoid authorisers and other colleagues having to resolve outstanding issues at short notice. Whilst research project budgets run until the individual project end date, it is still important to record transactions properly for year end.

Special arrangements are in place for REED timesheets for hours worked up to 28 July, and it is particularly important that timesheets continue to be authorised on a timely basis. All other transactions not completed and authorised by Wednesday 31 July will fall into the 2024/25 financial year due to strict accounting rules.

Purchasing card transactions will need to be coded and authorised in a shorter timeframe than usual and further information will be provided shortly.

It is vital that staff submitting transactions provide authorisers with clear commentary to explain the transaction, particularly where this appears to be over budget. Where an explanation is not sufficient, authorisers should reject the transaction and ask for more information. Anyone asked to receipt goods or services not received by the University should contact the Finance Service Desk for advice.

Find out more about how to get ready for year end and 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).

Food and drink on campus over the summer
A reminder that whist Eat Central is closed, there are plenty of other places to buy food and drink on campus over the summer. The Sussex Saver meal is being served in the Veg Bowl @ Dhaba. Arts Piazza and Botanical Café are open during the week, and the new Atrium Market in the Student Centre is open 24x7. A full list of opening hours is available and you can join the Food at Sussex group on Viva Engage for more news and information.

Share information about projects and initiatives with Internal Comms
Internal Communications are always keen to hear your good news stories, and information you would like to share across Divisions and around the University community. If you have something you would like to share, please see this recent guide, or get in touch with Internal Communications by emailing: internalcomms@sussex.ac.uk.