University of Sussex
University of Sussex,
International Office,
Sussex House, Falmer,
Brighton BN1 9RH, UK
T +44 (0)1273 876787
F +44 (0)1273 876677
www.sussex.ac.uk
www.bankdesign.com
International Agents’
Guide 2013-2014
Contents
International representative relationship
01 International representative relationship
We are delighted that you are
representing the University
of Sussex and we hope to develop a
strong working partnership with you
in the months and years ahead.
Advising prospective students carries
with it a huge responsibility –
ensuring that the best advice is given
accurately and professionally. It can
also be tremendously rewarding –
I hope this guide and the work of our
international team will make this as
easy as possible for you.
02 Working with us
04 Why choose the University of Sussex?
06 Our assessment process
07 Our international student body
08 Frequently asked questions
10 Graduation ceremony
12 Important dates
13Housing
16Languages
18 Fees and funding
20Promotion
22 Legal aspects
26 Claiming commission
In pursuing our mission, the University of Sussex – our staff
and students – share the following values:
•excellence – through a commitment to the highest
standards of research, scholarship, teaching and learning
to provide a stimulating environment for students and staff
and to maximise their contribution to societies
•interdisciplinarity – through tackling multidimensional
problems while maintaining a strong, broad-based set of
disciplines across the arts, social sciences and sciences
•engagement – by actively seeking and considering an
external perspective on all our activities, including an
international perspective
•challenge – in which all members of the Sussex
community are prepared to explore creatively the status
quo and alternatives within the context of excellence
•professionalism – by upholding freedom of academic
enquiry, undertaking activities in a responsible manner
using robust, transparent processes and maintaining
professional ethical standards
27 Our commission process
28 Study Group
•equality and diversity – by developing entry routes to
the University based on educational merit and valuing the
strength derived from people from different backgrounds,
traditions, cultures and perspectives
30 Applying to the University of Sussex
32 Ordering additional materials
34 Our team
41 How to get to Sussex
Our values
•partnership – by developing long-lasting relationships
that bring together complementary skills and resources to
create mutual benefit
24 Switching representatives
36Appendices
Along with our agreement, this guide outlines the service you
can expect from Sussex and the responsibilities you have.
Martin Hookham
Head of International Office
•service – in which members of the Sussex community
seek to use their skills and talents to contribute to local,
national and international communities and organisations.
1
Working with
What you can expect from us
Your responsibilities
•a dedicated member of staff who will respond to any
queries in a timely and professional manner
•Sussex will be promoted in a professional and ethical
manner
•applications will be processed quickly and efficiently
•representatives will maintain a standard of conduct not
harmful to the work, good order or good name of the
University
•regular updates, information and materials about the
University, including changes to courses and entry
requirements
•delivery of training programmes including updates on UK
developments in Higher Education
•promotion of the agency through our representative
webpages
•support and advice with advertising campaigns and
exhibitions
•submit complete, accurate, genuine applications
•at all times, representatives will act in the best interest
of the student and the University. They will conduct all
interactions with students in this manner
•working together with the University to ensure that advice
is given to student customers in a professional and
accurate manner.
•a partnership approach to working together to provide the
best level of service to our student customers.
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3
Why choose the University of Sussex?
International students face more choices than ever before and,
as a representative, you are one source of information they rely on.
When you offer students a course from Sussex, you can be assured
you are offering them:
•a chance to study at one of the UK’s top universities –
Sussex is ranked 13th in the UK, 34th in Europe and
110th in the world in The Times Higher Education World
University Rankings 2012-2013
•superb location – we offer a beautiful campus in the
exciting, fun city of Brighton with excellent transport links
to London and the rest of the world
•intellectual challenge – the high level of our teaching
encourages creative thinking, pedagogic diversity
and interdisciplinarity. All courses are informed by
contemporary research and deliver skills for life to students
from all cultural backgrounds
•outstanding research culture – every single one of our
departments has research that is rated as world leading
(2008 UK Research Assessment Exercise). This means
that students of any level and discipline will acquire
excellent research skills, useful for any career
•an international university experience – around one in four
of our students comes from outside the UK. One in seven
of our undergraduate students spends part of their degree
overseas. Our research tackles major world issues, such as •the University’s Careers and Employability Centre gives
climate change and development studies
students the best possible start in their chosen career –
from help with CV preparation and job hunting to careers
events and skills workshops
•helpful and supportive environment – we are proud to
have staff who are helpful and accommodating to students
regardless of their background. We are happy to arrange
bespoke campus visits, including one-to-one meetings
with academics and tours given by current international
students.
Additional resources
www.sussex.ac.uk/publications/brand
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5
Our assessment process
Our international student body
Students are rightly demanding that the information they get
from organisations we work with is accurate, and the advice given
is delivered professionally with their best interests at heart. This
section outlines how Sussex will monitor an agent’s performance to
ensure that these expectations are met on behalf of our students.
Total overseas fee-paying students by nationality, University of Sussex, March 2013
China 1,262
Europe inc EEA 68
Other 81
Monitoring
Annual review
Performance will be measured on the following criteria:
•quality of applications
•professionalism of agency staff
•quality of counselling
•level of proactive engagement with the University and the
local market
•the number of students sent in one year.
After commission claims are settled, the International
Officer for your region will contact you to give feedback on
performance over the last year and set targets for the next
recruitment cycle.
Representatives will be graded in each of the five criteria
with either a ‘poor’, ‘average’, ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ rating. If
a representative attains ‘good’ or better in each of the five
criteria, the representative will achieve ‘preferred’ status.
Feedback will be invited to ensure that there is fairness in the
grading and support measures put in place to ensure that
representatives are achieving the highest scores possible.
6
Annual representative questionnaire
A compulsory questionnaire will be sent to representatives
each year to receive the latest information about the agency,
its staff, training programmes undertaken and other key
factors that students may use to determine which agency is
best for them. This will be displayed on our website so that
students will be able to make an informed choice about who
they would like to advise them.
Annual student questionnaire
Students who have applied with a representative will be
invited to give feedback on their experience, which will form
part of the annual review. Students will be asked about the
professionalism of the agency and the quality of the advice
given to them during their application process.
Preferred status
All representatives will be listed on our agency web pages
and those that have ‘preferred’ status will be detailed as
such giving an additional reason why a student may choose
one agency over another.
South Asia 88
Sub-Saharan Africa 93
Central and South America 124
South East Asia 169
East Asia 186
Middle East 197
Turkey 80
Nigeria 100
Canada 110
Japan 115
India 117
USA 210
7
Frequently asked questions
Wherever you are in the world, some questions always come up from
students, counsellors or parents. Here’s a selection:
Where is the University of Sussex?
How competitive are places at Sussex?
The University of Sussex is located at Falmer, on the outskirts
of Brighton & Hove. ‘Sussex’ is the name of the county.
Brighton is an iconic seaside city known for its vibrant,
tolerant and multicultural community. The city is home to
the Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe, England’s largest
arts festival. There are many cultural activities happening
throughout the year.
Sussex offers high-quality courses and there is competition
over places. Competition varies significantly depending
on the course chosen. BMBS Medicine has capped
international numbers (7.5 per cent of their students can be
international), so competition is very tough.
For more information about Brighton, visit
www.visitbrighton.com
Other undergraduate courses are competitive but entry
is assessed on individual merit. It is important applicants
declare their full academic history. Our published
requirements are a fair reflection of the offers we make.
Postgraduate business courses fill up quickly, compared to
others. Applicants should apply early in the academic cycle,
ideally by the spring to have a better chance of securing a
place.
How safe is the campus?
Our campus is open to members of the public but we
have permanent security on duty at all times. They can be
contacted by dialling 3333 from any phone on the campus,
including those in study bedrooms.
During term time, buses run on campus 24 hours a day,
providing safe, reliable transport from the city centre to the
University.
The University of Sussex Students’ Union provides support
and advice for all students to keep safe. Visit
www.sussexstudent.com/advice
8
9
Graduation ceremony
All our graduation ceremonies can be viewed online. To watch the
University’s biggest celebrations, you can stream all the ceremonies
live at www.sussex.ac.uk/graduation
You can hear our Chancellor’s engaging, inspiring and
entertaining speech and look out for some of the unique
celebrations students have when they collect their degrees.
If you miss the ceremony, you can see photos online at
www.flickr.com/photos/universityofsussex/
10
We would encourage you to join in the celebrations by
watching online – you might even see some familiar faces!
11
Important dates
Housing
January
February
March
April
New Year’s Day
Send commission
proformas for spring
starters
Easter break
Housing applications open
(Easter falls at a different
time every year between
22 March and 25 April)
Spring term ends
May
June
July
August
Applications for
Chancellor’s International
Scholarships close
Chancellor’s International
Scholarship winners
announced
International Baccalaureate
results released
Housing deadline
National holidays
Summer term ends
Spring term starts
Winter graduation
Summer term starts
Pre-sessional English
10-week course starts
Summer graduation
Pre-sessional English
five-week course starts
International Study Centre
results day
International Study Centre
results day
National holiday
September
October
November
December
Housing swap list opens
Commission process
begins
Agents to submit
commission claims
Teaching ends
Arrivals weekend
Freshers’ week
Autumn term starts
UCAS system re-opens
For further information about the University calendar, visit
www.sussex.ac.uk/ogs/govdocuments/termdates
12
A level results day
Christmas break
(24-31 December)
The University has a range of housing options based on different
budgets and needs. Accommodation is guaranteed for first-year
international students.
There are 4,500 bedrooms for students in Universitymanaged housing. Most of these rooms are on campus but
there are some available in the city centre too.
As well as an overview of our residences, there are individual
videos for each one of them. You can find videos of our
housing options at www.tinyurl.com/aablz8t and
www.sussex.ac.uk/residentialservices/residences/
housingtour
Housing is guaranteed for first-year international students
provided that they meet the following conditions:
Undergraduate students must:
•apply before 1 August
•hold Sussex as a firm UCAS choice.
Postgraduates must:
•apply before 1 August
•pay £250 deposit.
The application deadline is 1 August every year. The
allocation is conducted immediately after this deadline.
Late applicants get fewer choices and in some cases, we
are unable to allocate them housing. In these cases, the
students are placed in temporary accommodation, added
to the Housing Waiting List, and the Housing Office helps
them to find a private rental locally, using their list of trusted
landlords. Obviously, this can upset international students
who already have to adapt to life in a new country, so it is
important to stress the deadline to applicants.
If you have a student with special needs affecting the type of
housing they will require, you should contact us at
[email protected]
We house 60 couples with children, and international
students are prioritised in our family accommodation.
However, accommodation is not guaranteed (refer to
Appendix D).
13
Housing (continued)
After applying
Once they are allocated a room, students are informed
and they will have to sign a tenancy agreement. They
will also have to pay a £250 deposit to secure their
room. All details are sent in an email along with housing
information.
Students are given an option to opt out of their tenancy
agreement by joining the housing swap list once they have
moved in. This lets students switch tenancy agreements
and move to alternative University housing. Most of the
time, we will encourage students to stay within their study
group (undergraduate or postgraduate), as they are more
likely to have similar academic commitments.
The Housing Office have a great Facebook page showing
photographs of our student residences. This means
students can connect with their new flatmates before they
come. You are welcome to like their page and leave a
comment at www.facebook.com/SussexUniHousing
Housing in the second year
Students will be expected to move in to private housing after
one year in University-managed accommodation. There is
significant help and support provided by both the University
and the Students’ Union. The Union provide a free letting
service to help students find safe, suitable accommodation.
Visit www.sussex.ac.uk/residentialservices/privatesector
and www.sussexstudentlettings.com
Residential Advisors
Residential Advisors are second- and third-year
undergraduate as well as returning postgraduate students
who are placed in the University residences. They help
students settle in to their housing. There are 100 Residential
Advisors involved in the scheme. International students are
welcome to apply.
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15
Languages
Pre-sessional English
Housing
Language as an elective
The University runs a wide range of courses for students who
want to improve their English language skills. By far the most
common are the pre-sessional courses, available as five- or
10-week blocks.
During their studies at SCLS, students live in University
accommodation. It is very unlikely they will stay in the same
room once their academic course starts, students must be
prepared to move.
Requirements
New business proposals
Undergraduate students can take language electives as part
of their degrees for two years. This will result in a singlehonours degree award of ‘ … with proficiency in (specific
language)’. It is recorded on the degree certificate, as part of
their degree.
The five-week course is designed for students who have an
IELTS score of 0.5 below the requirement (with no band
score more than 1.0 below the overall requirement).
SCLS are happy to design bespoke courses for specific
groups of students, for example from one university.
Alternatively, we will always consider groups joining
our current courses. Proposals should be sent to the
International Officer responsible for your country. Please
include:
The 10-week course is for students who have an IELTS
score of 1.5 below the requirement (with no band score
more than 1.5 below the overall requirement). We cannot
accept any student with any single band score below 5.0.
•institution name and profile
These courses focus on academic English, which greatly
differs from the standardised English tests available. All the
aspects tested are far more interconnected and focus on a
single topic, appropriate for students from any background.
Students are given help and guidance from tutors on how to
improve throughout the course.
•the size of the group
At the end of the course, students take our in-house test.
They do not re-take IELTS. Pre-sessional English students
enjoy a great deal of success: 98 per cent progress to their
academic course. Once they start their studies, students
have greater study skills and fewer problems adapting to the
academic culture at Sussex.
•duration of the proposed course
•the type of English they would like to learn (eg business,
study skills, etc)
•if the group would like to be open or closed (ie learn with
other students or by themselves)
•their current language level (if known).
There are no language entry requirements necessary to enter
this scheme.
Languages offered are:
•French
•German
•Italian
•Spanish
•Arabic
•Japanese
•Mandarin.
English teaching for language assistants
As well a full-time four-week course for a Certificate in
TESOL, we also offer an intensive, one-week, full-time course
to introduce the skills and techniques required to teach
English as a foreign language. For more information, visit
www.sussex.ac.uk/languages/elt/assistant
When you sign an agreement with the University, you
automatically have an agreement with Sussex Centre for
Language Studies (SCLS). Note that SCLS make commission
payments separately from the International Office.
16
17
Fees and funding
All of our fees are available here:
Funding
October
Undergraduate Prospectus
The University of Sussex offers some of the most generous
scholarships in the UK with many designed specifically for
international students. Our main awards for international
students give funds totalling around £1.2 million each year.
Our scholarships are awarded based on an essay submitted
by the student.
The International Officer for your region will ask you to
send in the list of students you are claiming for, using our
commission proforma.
www.sussex.ac.uk/study/ug/funding
Postgraduate Prospectus
www.sussex.ac.uk/study/pg/feesandfunding
Payment options
Chancellor’s International Scholarships
Please return the completed commission proforma to them,
ensuring it meets our specifications.
The administrative team will check these details with our
database.
Note:
•international bank transfer. This can take around
10 working days. See Appendix C for bank details.
We are proud to offer 25 scholarships to international
students applying for a taught Masters course. The award
is 50 per cent of the international student tuition fee and is
available for most courses. Awards are based on academic
merit and potential.
After 1 September:
The deadline is 1 May – winners are notified on 11 June.
•International Study Centre progressed students
•Travelex bank-to-bank transfer
For further details, visit
www.sussex.ac.uk/study/funding/pgt2013
•Summer School students.
•note that most students will not be able to complete their
registration online because we will need to see original
versions of their documents.
Chancellor’s International Research Scholarships
The International Officer will contact you with amendments
and changes.
Upon arrival:
The research proposal should identify one of our key
research themes:
Before 1 September:
•major credit card (MasterCard, Visa) via Sussex Direct
•traveller’s cheques – no charge if in sterling
•cash – not recommended. The Payments Office will only
accept payments under £500.
Future increase in fees for international students are limited
to between five and eight per cent per year.
10 scholarships are available and cover all international fees
for three years and £40,500 living costs (£13,500 annually).
•Culture and Heritage
•please use our commission proforma.
Do not include:
• pre-sessional students
November
December
We will send you a final confirmed commission proforma with
all changes. This will be used to create an invoice.
•Environment and Health
A purchase order number will be sent to you from
[email protected]. This must be included on the
invoice.
•Global Transformations
Send invoice to [email protected] for payment.
•Mind and Brain
Invoices must:-
•Security and Social Justice.
•be on company-headed paper
The deadline is 31 March – winners are announced on
1 June.
•include the purchase order number.
•Digital and Social Media
For further details, visit
www.sussex.ac.uk/study/funding/pgr2013
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19
Promotion
We promote the University via a number of marketing channels
and, as our in-country representatives, we will rely on your local
market knowledge to help us identify the best opportunities.
In print
Online
We are happy to help you advertise the University of Sussex
in suitable publications in your country. We are able to
produce adverts suited to both online and print publications.
The University website is our most important resource for
connecting with potential students. We are happy to support
online and mobile marketing campaigns to promote events
and the University in particular.
General advertising
•send the details of the opportunity to the team member
responsible for your country or region
We are happy to consider joint marketing projects on an
individual basis. In order to be considered, we will expect a
comprehensive business proposal.
In person
Education fairs
Wherever possible, we will attend your education fairs. In
markets where we work with more than one organisation, we
will attend as many events as we can. It may not always be
possible for us to attend every city, and we will need to be
assured of the return on investment.
At events organised by an external group, such as the
British Council, we will ask for assistance. In this case,
we would prefer an experienced counsellor who is fully
trained to talk about Sussex, rather than an interpreter
employed on an ad hoc basis. While interpreters are useful,
we expect that representatives will be able to confidently
counsel prospective students with little intervention from us,
especially at busy events.
•include some basic market research, for example the
readership numbers and who it is aimed at as well as the
kind of advert you need
•adverts must be created by the University’s approved
designers in order to ensure they are consistent across all
markets.
Advertising attendance at exhibitions, visits to your
offices
Please send us the assistant’s name as far in advance as
possible, so we can arrange for them to have a name badge.
•we are happy to supply copies of our logo to be used
within advertisements. Our logos should not be altered in
any way
Unless requested, please do not send more than one
assistant.
•we will supply all images from our media library. Do not
use other images
All data collected must be sent to the International Officer as
an Excel spreadsheet within five days of the exhibition.
•photographs of individual team members can be supplied
on request. Please do not source images from the internet
Presentations
•please send us a copy via email to approve before printing.
We are happy to deliver presentations to students as part
of exhibitions and during visits to schools and colleges. In
order for us to be properly prepared, please let us know in
advance:
•the size of the group
Details should be provided in line with requirements for
general advertising stated above.
Social media
We understand the importance of social media, and we have
links freely available on our website at
www.sussex.ac.uk/socialmedia
There may be some social media sites in your region that
Sussex does not currently engage with. We would be
interested in running campaigns using these sites and we
will consider all proposals. We would need more information
regarding the nature and reach of the site.
Online exhibitions
These are an increasingly popular forum for recruiting
students, and the members of the international team are
happy to participate. If we take part in an online exhibition
targeted at a specific region, we will encourage students to
get in touch with the local representatives. This information
will be presented to them as a list, with no company
favoured over another.
If you are organising your own exhibition, it is important that
the appropriate IT support is available to us, as well as the
security of the site. A realistic breakdown of the commitment
individual team members will have to make should be
included in proposals too.
•the educational background of the audience
•if audiovisual facilities are available
•if an interpreter is available.
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21
Legal aspects
There are three English laws that you will need to be familiar
with and operate within when recruiting students on behalf of
Sussex:
•facilitation payments – payments for meetings with
companies/institutions to generate new business, including
payments for delivering lectures
•Bribery Act 2010
•accepting a gift from an applicant or anyone associated
with them before they have a decision from Sussex
•Data Protection Act 1998
•Freedom of Information Act 2000.
•giving disproportionately expensive gifts or cash to any
member of staff (including senior management).
Bribery Act 2010
This law applies to all businesses in England and Wales,
and includes any country they operate in. As we accept
applications from students from all over the world, this law
applies globally for Sussex.
Under this act, the University can be liable for prosecution
for failing to prevent a person from bribing on our behalf,
particularly if they provide a service to us. There is no legal
precedent currently, but if the University is found to be in
breach of the act, it is likely we would have to pay a large
fine and would suffer significant reputational damage. The
most serious cases could lead to a prison sentence for a
senior member of the University.
How the Bribery Act 2010 affects you
Normal business activity, including hospitality and gift-giving
between businesses and institutions that we meet and host,
is not affected as long as it is not excessive.
Additionally, legitimate ‘fast-track’ payments will continue
where appropriate, for example, to ensure a faster service to
obtain a visa.
Under the act, employees and those who provide a service
on our behalf are treated in the same manner. The law
means that the University can be prosecuted if one of our
representatives commits bribery on our behalf. This can
include the following:
•paying an official to perform a standard function
(eg ‘looking’ at an application submitted to Sussex)
22
In practice, international business is not as easy to monitor,
and cultures of gift-giving vary hugely around the world.
Our team are aware of the cultural differences of what
constitutes corruption. We will provide webinars and faceto-face training to ensure that our representatives operate
without incident. Should incidents occur, staff will discuss
with the Head of International Office and come up with
measures to avoid them in the future. We are confident that
all our staff will behave responsibly and act within this law.
However, if any of our staff were placed in a situation where
they could be in breach of this law, they will act responsibly
and within this law. The situation would be reported back
to the Head of International Office. It could have a serious
negative effect on our working relationship and, in the most
severe cases, this could result in the University terminating
its agreement.
As our in-country representative, we expect you will ensure
that none of our staff is ever placed in a situation that will
embarrass them or pressurise them in to breaking the law.
For more information, visit
www.sussex.ac.uk/ogs/policies/goodconduct/
fraudbriberycorruption
Data Protection Act 1998
Freedom of Information Act 2000
This law applies to the personal data we have about living
individuals. The University must comply with the rules of
information handling including maintaining student data
securely and processing and disclosing data within its Data
Protection notification.
This law gives everyone a general right to access information
held by the University. Sussex is a public institution and some
of our funds come from the UK Government, so the act
allows any member of the public to ask us anything about
any aspect of our business.
Personal data include addresses, telephone numbers, and
We are prepared for most of these questions and our
previous institutions, as well as grades and sensitive personal information systems are designed so that we can answer
data including ethnic origin.
them quite easily. The person who requests the information
does not have to say how they will use the information and
How the Data Protection Act 1998 affects you
the University must respond within 20 working days. We do
not answer every question, particularly if the information is
When a student makes an application to the University, this
commercially sensitive or about highly sensitive issues.
act applies immediately. While we will update you if you
request an update for a specific person who is tagged as
one of your applicants, we cannot give information about any How the Freedom of Information Act 2000 affects you
aspect of the student to any other person (including family
Previous requests regarding agents have centred on the
members) without obtaining permission from the student first. commission payments the University makes to companies,
usually with detailed requests regarding bonuses and targets.
Once the student has fully registered, the same law applies.
We will confirm only the following:
•if the student is registered or not
•the date they started and their expected completion date.
We cannot update representatives or other third parties
(including their parents) with any other information without
obtaining permission from the student first.
After a student has left the University, we will confirm dates
of attendance and the details of academic award (but not
the grade). For more information, visit
www.sussex.ac.uk/ogs/policies/information/dpa
Every request for information is treated sensitively. If
necessary, legal advice will be sought.
However, we will not disclose commercially sensitive
information – details about payments to individual
businesses are never given. Instead, we will give overall
payment amounts for broad geographical areas, which would
not reveal individual payments.
Examples:
‘In 2012, the University of Sussex paid £xxx in commission
to its agents in South East Asia.’
‘In 2012, the University of Sussex paid £xxx in commission
to its agents in China’.
For more information, visit
www.sussex.ac.uk/ogs/policies/information/foi
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Switching representatives
Sussex has multiple representatives in most of the countries we
recruit in, so it is possible you will work with applicants who wish to
change agents part way through the application process.
We are happy for students to do this, as long as it is a
decision the student makes as an individual, rather than with
encouragement from one particular company. We expect that
companies will compete but this does not include stealing
students from rivals.
The student is the only person who can give permission for
such a change. They need to email us directly and say which
agent they would like to work with and which agent they are
leaving. Owing to data protection legislation, no other party
(including parents or family members) is allowed to make
this change. We will inform the student when we have made
this change.
Some companies have their own forms for this purpose but
an email from the student will be sufficient.
Commission payments
When a student has used two agents, we will decide how
the commission will be divided between the two companies
proportionate to the level of service given to the student.
Evidence used to decide payment levels includes:
•information given by the student
•application records
•evidence such as emails or scanned copies of forms.
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25
Claiming commission
A significant part of our relationship – and where you will have the
most contact with our team – will be when you submit a commission
claim relating to students you have sent to Sussex.
As all the students you are claiming for have to be checked
as fully registered students individually, this is a challenge for
our administrative team. We will usually bring in additional
staff to assist with this process in the autumn of each year.
In order to make this process as easy as possible, we
recommend the following:
•please wait until you are certain of all the students you
are going to claim for. While we do accept additional
submissions where students have been genuinely
forgotten, fewer submissions help both parties to ensure
there are no financial errors. For students starting
in September of a given year, claims will need to be
submitted by 30 November
•initial claims must be submitted on a fully completed
proforma invoice (refer to Appendix A)
Our commission process
October
November
The International Officer for your region will ask you to
send in the list of students you are claiming for, using our
commission claim invoice (refer to Appendix B).
The International Officer will contact you with
amendments and changes.
Please return the completed commission claim invoice to
them, ensuring it meets our specifications.
December
All commission claims for students starting at any other time
in the academic year should be sent to us within two months
of enrolling at Sussex.
The administrative team will check these details with our
database.
Claims sent before the students have enrolled will not be
checked until the autumn term starts.
Note:
•please use our commission claim invoice.
We will send you a final confirmed commission claim
invoice with all changes. This will be used to create an
invoice.
A purchase order number will be sent to you from
[email protected]. This must be included on the
invoice.
Do not include:
• pre-sessional students
•International Study Centre progressed students
•Summer School students.
Send invoice to [email protected] for payment.
Invoices must:
•be on company-headed paper
•include the purchase order number.
•these can be sent to any member of the international
team
•on verification, we return the list of students you are
eligible to claim for. Create two invoices: one for students
taking Sussex Centre for Language Studies (SCLS) courses
and one for all other courses. Some students may appear
on both invoices. It is important that the invoices give us
comprehensive information (refer to Appendix B)
•return completed invoices to SCLS and the international
team.
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Study Group
The University works with a private partner called Study Group.
They teach courses at the International Study Centre based on
our campus.
Courses include:
•International Foundation Year
•International Year One
•Pre-Masters courses.
These courses are managed by Study Group and are entirely
separate from other courses, including our English language
pre-sessional courses run by the Sussex Centre for Language
Studies.
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If you do not currently have an agreement with Study Group,
you will need to negotiate with them directly and we will
be able to put you in touch with the right people to do
this. Commission claims for these courses must be sent to
colleagues at Study Group and are payable separately. For
more information, visit www.studygroup.com/isc/sussex
Study Group students are a vital part of the University and
they are fully integrated in to the student population. The
International Study Centre building is on our campus, and
students enjoy the same access to all the University’s
facilities as other University of Sussex students.
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Applying to the University of Sussex
Undergraduate applications
Guidelines for writing a research proposal
All undergraduate applications must be made via UCAS.
Records of prior acceptance are not issued by Sussex.
There are no restrictions on the A level subjects we
recognise, eg A level Mandarin taken by a Chinese student
will be recognised by Sussex.
The research proposal should be entirely the applicant’s own
work and should not be the result of collaboration with a
prospective supervisor. Applicants should include:
Postgraduate taught applications
•introduction – introduce the questions and issues central
to your research. Identify the field of study in broad terms
and indicate how you expect your research to contribute to
the field
All applications must be made via the agent portal at
www.sussex.ac.uk/pgapplication/agency/
By submitting applications online via the portal, you can
submit all the details of your company with any application.
This ensures we can make the correct commission payment
to you later in the year. Along with our dedicated system, our
International Admissions Officer is available to help you if
problems arise with the portal.
Postgraduate research applications
•title – ensure it is concise and explicit. This can be
provisional
•research background and questions – use this section
to expand your introduction. What are the key texts and
approaches in the field, and how does your proposal differ
from existing lines of argument? What does your project
contribute to existing work in the field? How does it extend
our understanding of particular questions or topics? You
need to set out your research questions as clearly as
possible, explain problems that you want to explore and
say why it is important to do so. In other words, think
about how to situate your project in the context of the
discipline
Before making a formal application, it is advisable to make
an informal enquiry to check a supervisor is available. The
International Officer responsible for your country can help you
to do this. Research students can apply to start at any time in •research methods – this section should describe how
you will achieve what you set out to do in research
the year, but our international funding is designed for students
background and questions. This will obviously depend
to start in September.
very much on your research topic. Does your project
The major part of the application is the research proposal and
involve archival sources, particular databases or specialist
it is vital that applicants commit time to ensuring it reflects
libraries or equipment? Is your study interdisciplinary?
their best work. The proposal ensures that the project is not
What theoretical resources do you intend to use and why?
impossible and can be adequately supervised. Although word
Is your research based on the work of a single researcher
counts will vary, the social sciences and arts tend to require
or a group of different sources? What forms of textual,
more developed proposals of around 2,000 words.
historical or visual analysis are relevant to your topic/field?
Science students should outline their general area of
interest and they will need to consider Sussex’s current
research projects, as their own research will be tied to
ongoing research projects and the availability of experimental
equipment. Current projects can be found on each
Department’s web pages.
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•schedule of work – use this section to show that you
have a realistic plan for completion of your studies within
three to four years. You need to think here about dividing
the proposal into sections and giving an indication of how
you plan to research and write up weach section
Other applications
Decisions
Students will choose their course in their second term.
We endeavour to inform the student and your company of
our decision within one week of receiving a full application
for taught courses. However this will vary at different points
in the year.
International Foundation Year and International
Year One
International Study Centre (ISC) courses
Applications for all courses are made online via an agent
portal. All of the ISC’s decision-making processes are
•bibliography – include a bibliography, in a standard format independent from the University.
such as Harvard, listing the books and articles to which
you refer in the proposal.
Progression to University of Sussex courses
Students do not need to apply with an IELTS/TOEFL score as
we are more than happy to make conditional offers including
English language requirements.
If an application is unsuccessful, we are happy to provide
written feedback upon request. Details of our feedback,
appeals and complaints policy can be found at
www.sussex.ac.uk/admissions/pg/applicantfeedback
Students must complete an application form in the spring
term. They are helped by our International Admissions
Officer, who runs meetings at the ISC to help students
complete their paperwork. Students will receive their offer
letter from the University by the end of March.
Pre-Masters students
Students will choose their pathway before they begin
the course. They attend a meeting with the International
Admissions Officer where they indicate the Masters course
they wish to progress to.
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Ordering additional materials
The main materials we use are the Undergraduate
Prospectus and the Postgraduate Prospectus, as well as our
website. We will send you one copy of the new version of
both prospectuses every summer. However, given the size of
your company and what your students prefer, you may need
more.
Please get in touch with us with your request for more
marketing materials, if necessary. We will be producing a
range of marketing material throughout the year, which we
will provide to you free of charge.
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33
Our team
International Office
Head of International Office
Martin Hookham
[email protected]
Assistant Head of International Office
Victoria Shaw
[email protected]
Senior International Officer, Africa and the Middle East
Tosin Adebisi
[email protected]
Senior International Officer, Europe
Amanda Barton
[email protected]
Senior International Officer, East and South East Asia
Katie Floyd
[email protected]
Senior International Officer, South Asia
John Sander
[email protected]
Senior International Officer, the Americas
Gareth Topp
[email protected]
International Officer, East and South East Asia
Siobhan Marshall
[email protected]
International Officer, East and South East Asia
Brían McNamara
[email protected]
International Officer, South Asia
Michael Naylor
[email protected]
International Officer, Africa and the Middle East
Guy Robson
[email protected]
Project Manager, Beijing
Amy Pan
[email protected]
Senior Administration Officer
Katherine Jarvis
[email protected]
Administration Co-ordinator
Beverley Traylen
[email protected]
Sarah Hofsten
[email protected]
International Admissions Officer
Amy Clark
[email protected]
Undergraduate Admissions Officer
Louise Guy
[email protected]
Admissions
Contact us
International Office, Sussex House, Room 200, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RH, UK
T +44 1273 876787
F +44 1273 876677
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35
Appendix A: example proforma invoice
Appendix B: example commission claim invoice –
International Office
(Name of company): claim for commission
Company name and address:
Date invoice created:
Student
family
name
Student
Date of
Course
first name birth
(dd/mm/yy)
Level of
study
Registration Progression Fee status Fee level
number
status
Commission
Invoice to: University of Sussex
Invoice number:
Purchase order number:
Student
family name
Student
first name
Date of birth
(dd/mm/yy)
Course
Level of study Registration
number
Fee level
Commission
Grand total
xxxx
Please arrange the transfer of commission in GBP (£) to the following account:
Account name:
Account number:
IBAN:
BIC:
Bank address:
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37
Appendix C: University bank details
Appendix D: information about family flats
Students should be encouraged to pay at least part of their
fees before they leave their home country and depart for
the UK. The sums of money involved are significant and
problems need to be resolved with the sending bank, so it is
far easier to do before leaving.
We have a limited number of small flats (located mainly on
campus) reserved for students who have dependent children
with them. Most of the flats have only one bedroom and so
are suitable only for a single parent or couple with a child
under five. However, there are some two-bedroom flats
suitable for students with two children under 10 or with one
child over 10. There is a heavy demand for family flats, and
applicants will be put on a waiting list until a flat becomes
available.
Students are encouraged to pay the University by Travelex
Bank transfer. Further information can be found at
www.sussex.ac.uk/direct
If this is not possible, the student can pay by ‘standard’ bank
transfers to the account below. Students should quote their
registration number and name as a reference.
Address:
Barclays Bank PLC,
University of Sussex Branch,
Lewes Group of branches,
The Old Bank,
High Street,
Lewes BN7 2JP, UK
Sort code:
20-49-76
Account:
40880914
Bank swift code: BARCGB22
IBAN: GB26 BARC 20497640880914
Reference: student’s full name and applicant/
registration number
Once completed, please fax a copy of the bank transfer/
remittance advice to the Chief Cashier, who can be
contacted on +44 (0)1273 877367.
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Allocation policy
Priority is given to registered students on a full-time course,
and overseas students have a higher priority than home
students. Students who have a relevant medical problem (a
relevant medical problem is one that affects the person’s
housing requirement), or who have a child with a relevant
medical problem, will be prioritised over other applicants.
Students with existing children will be prioritised over those
expecting a child, and students on longer courses are
prioritised over those on shorter courses.
If there is any change to the size of the student’s family
when they are living in the flat, they should inform the
Housing Office as soon as possible. Every effort will be
made to move them to a larger/smaller flat as appropriate,
although this cannot be guaranteed. If the University is
unable to move a family who are expecting a child to
larger accommodation, the family will be asked to look for
alternative accommodation in the private rented sector. This
is because the University may be in breach of overcrowding
regulations by allowing a family to stay in a flat that has
become too small for the size of family.
Financial issues
In the academic year 2013/2014, rents for family flats range
from £120.00 to £210.00 per week, payable in advance.
Electricity, gas and water charges are included in this price
(apart from Lewes Court, where electricity is payable). It will
normally be expected that the first rent installment is made
before moving in. Individual payment schedules for paying
rent are set up with the Student Accounts Office.
When a student is offered a family flat, it will be on the
condition that their children take up residence in the flat with
them within a month of the start of the tenancy.
The Students’ Union Advice and Representation Centre can
give detailed advice on housing benefit and grants available.
Contact them on +44 (0)1273 678555.
Once a student with children is living in a family flat, they will
normally be able to continue living there for the remainder of
their course, as long as they observe the requirements of the
tenancy. Tenancies will be renewed at the beginning of each
August and there will normally be a rent increase.
Full-time registered students are exempt from council tax.
However, adult partners may be liable and applicants should
make further enquiries of Brighton & Hove Council at
www.brighton-hove.gov.uk
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How to get to Sussex
Facilities
Family facilities on campus
All family flats are fully furnished, with shelves, cupboards, a
chest of drawers, a wardrobe, a desk, a table, chairs, easy
chairs, a double bed, and bunk beds, a single bed or a cot
as appropriate. There will also be an electric cooker, fridgefreezer and kettle provided. Bathrooms will have a sink,
toilet, mirror and either a bath or a shower (not normally
both). Vacuum cleaners are normally shared between the
families in a block. Porters will supply light bulbs, toilet rolls
and rubbish bags on request.
•nursery – available for children aged between four months
and three years (fees charged). There is usually a waiting
list for sessions. T +44 (0)1273 678356
How to apply
Please complete a family flat application form and return it,
together with a copy of the birth certificate for each child, to:
•pre-school – available for children aged three to five years
(fees charged). This service is also in great demand.
T +44 (0)1273 678357
•playground – there is an area near Park Village with basic
play facilities such as swings, a slide, a climbing frame and
benches
•family rooms – we have a social room in East Slope
where families can hold social events or meet regularly. A
selection of toys and books is available
Jason Lucy, Housing Assistant,
Bramber House,
University of Sussex, Falmer,
Brighton BN1 9QU, UK
E [email protected]
•International Partners’ Group – this is a social group
which meets once a week in term time to improve English
language skills and to socialise
You will be placed on a waiting list and will be contacted
when a flat is likely to become available for you.
•Health Centre – there is an NHS general practice with
four doctors (two of them female) on campus. A baby
clinic is held twice a month, at which a health visitor and
nurse will discuss baby and childcare issues
•Meeting House – there is usually an alcohol-free, familyfriendly social event arranged on Saturday afternoons
The University campus is located at Falmer, on the outskirts
of Brighton, within easy reach of London and major
international airports (Gatwick and Heathrow). For more
information, visit www.sussex.ac.uk/findus
•social events and outings – the University organises a
number of trips and events each year for families.
Schools
The nearest primary school to the University is Coldean
County on Selham Drive. For more information on schools in
the area, visit the following website for Brighton & Hove
www.brighton-hove.gov.uk or, for Lewes, contact East
Sussex County Council on T +44 (0)1273 481000.
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Acknowledgements
The University would like to thank and credit the following for the use
of photographs and illustrations:
inside front cover: istockphoto.com
page 20 and 32 (top and bottom right): istockphoto.com
page 21, 27 and 32 (bottom left): shutterstock.com
page 41: Gellatly Norman Associates
All other photography by Stuart Robinson at the University of Sussex.
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