News release
Strictly embargoed until 9am Friday 17 October 2014
STUDENT SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE, UNIVERSITY OF
CHESTER WINS UK’S TOP EXCELLENCE AWARD
The Student Support and Guidance (SSG) team at the University
of Chester has won the British Quality Foundation’s 2014 UK
Excellence Award, the UK’s premier award for business
excellence. It was selected by an independent awards jury for its
outstanding performance and sustained business excellence.
The University of Chester is a leading member of the Cathedrals Group: a network of
British Universities founded as faith-based Higher Education (HE) institutions. SSG’s
main vision and mission focuses on preparing their students to take a full and active
role, not just in their futures but also their communities. Their primary roles include
Welfare, Disability, Student Skills Development and sport and provide an ‘out-of-hours’
service for all residential students. SSG also provides the pastoral care and
development of approximately 18,000 students across two campuses.
SSG’s customer service provision has been recognised by the achievement of many
awards and accolades including an ‘Outstanding’ rating consistently for three years and,
in 2012, a most improved student experience award in the Times HE Student
Experience Survey.
SSG was presented with its Award by HRH The Princess Royal at the 2014 UK
Excellence Award Ceremony which took place on Thursday 16 October at the
InterContinental London Park Lane. The event was hosted by actor, comedian and
television presenter, Alexander Armstrong.
The UK Excellence Award is one of the highest accolades any organisation in the UK
can achieve. Launched in 1994, it recognises organisations which have demonstrated
excellence in all areas of operation. Entrants are assessed against the EFQM
Excellence Model, a management framework used by over 30,000 organisations in
Europe and beyond.
Ian Stokes, Chief Executive of the BQF, said: ‘Winning the UK Excellence Award is an
exceptional achievement for any organisation and in doing so, Student Support and
Guidance join an elite club of high performers, demonstrating excellence across the
board.”
Notes for editors:
1. UK Excellence Award Ceremony
The UK Excellence Award Ceremony is an annual event run by the British Quality Foundation and
features the presentation of the UK Excellence Award, the Achievement Awards, the Lean Six Sigma
Award and the Gold Medal Award for Excellence.
The 2014 ceremony took place on Thursday 16 October at the InterContinental London Park Lane. It was
hosted by actor, comedian and television presenter, Alexander Armstrong, and attended by guest of
honour, HRH The Princess Royal.
2. UK Excellence Award
The UK Excellence Award is one of the highest accolades any organisation in the UK can achieve.
Launched in 1994, it recognises organisations which have demonstrated excellence in all areas of
operation. Entrants are assessed against the EFQM Excellence Model, a management framework used
by over 30,000 organisations in Europe and beyond. It enables organisations to assess their degree of
excellence and helps them to understand their key strengths and the areas for improvement. Previous
winners include One Vision Housing, Siemens Healthcare and Ricoh UK Ltd.
3. Achievement Awards
The Achievement Awards recognise outstanding performance in key areas of business activity such as
Leadership, Customer Satisfaction and Innovation. Previous winners include Skanska UK, Greater Anglia
and Marks and Spencer.
4. Lean Six Sigma Award
The Lean Six Sigma Award recognises exceptional performance improvement projects based on Lean Six
Sigma. Previous winners include London Underground, Royal Mail and Cooper Vision
5. Gold Medal Award for Excellence
The Gold Medal for Excellence is presented annually by the BQF Board of Directors to an organisation
that has shown outstanding and continued commitment to excellence over a number of years. Previous
winners include Interserve, Siemens and the Probation Service.
6. British Quality Foundation
Founded in 1993 by Government and leading UK businesses, the British Quality Foundation (BQF) is an
independent, not-for-profit, corporate membership organisation. With nearly 600 members spanning the
public, voluntary and private sectors, it is the community for every business seeking excellent insights,
tools and experiences to improve itself.
As a Primary Partner of EFQM, the BQF is the only organisation able to provide its full range of products
and services in the UK. Its Patron is HRH The Princess Royal and current President is David Callaghan,
Senior Vice President Alliances and Channels, Oracle Corporation Europe, Middle East and Africa.
7. More information
Please contact Amanda Allbright on 020 7654 5003 or [email protected].
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