Welcome
Open Staff Forum
Housing
- International Representatives’ Conference
2 November 2009
Content
1. Introducing Housing Services
• Who, what and where?
2. A growing, caring approach
3. Our residences
• Wide variety, costs and facilities
4. Supporting our residents and students
(i) In residence.
(ii) Throughout their time at Sussex
Brighton
Open Staff Forum
2 November 2009
Campus residences
• 5,004 bed-spaces.
• All self-catering.
• 11 Residences.
• Majority on-campus.
Open Staff Forum
• And some throughout city.
2 November 2009
Housing Services
- a caring, fresh, student focused approach
•Dean Spears
•Laura King
Head of Housing Services
Deputy Housing Services Manager (Private Sector & Headlease)
•Graham Mayes
•Jason Lucy
Deputy Housing Services Manager (Systems)
Housing Officer - Families & Postgraduate
•Oscar Barker-Phelps
•Nicola Rees
Housing Officer – Undergraduates and Specialist Groups
Housing Officer – Headlease Residences
•Lucy Walker
•Mark Woolford
Housing Officer - Headlease Residences
Housing Officer - Private Sector Advice
•Michelle Smith
•Zara Kershaw
Housing Officer – Applications and Allocations
Housing Assistant – Support, all areas
•Kate Dumbrell
Housing Assistant – Support, all areas
•3 Summer Housing Office Assistants – to help, advise, and support new residents
Strategic context
Making the future (2013-2018)
2014/15 13,500 students
2018/19 18,000 students
Aim: accommodate 40% of full time registered students.
•
New plan devised to supersede 2009-15 plan, building
on strengths and successes
•
Seeks to increase our academic, social, cultural and
economic impact through growth
(i) Doubling research grant and contract income
(ii) 50% increase in students
•
Underpinned with high quality scalable services and
infrastructure including £500m investment in Falmer
campus
Dean
Headline outcomes
•
Accommodate guaranteed students term-time, staff, visitors
and large groups.
•
8,000 reception visitors & thousands of enquires annually.
•
StarRez: online communication, social media.
•
Comprehensive welfare support package.
•
Charge rents / changes / swap and changes.
•
Opened on-line shop - it easier to book summer rooms.
•
Launched on-line housing e-induction.
•
Manage housing summer school business.
•
Provide private sector advice.
•
Engage with community groups.
•
Manage 300 Headlease bed-spaces / 450 Homestay.
•
Work with partners to provide a coordinated service.
Developing housing expertise
– Global network
Provide an efficient allocation process:
•Installed StarRez (March 2012) – high performing housing application and allocation software.
•Increased speed of communication – All housing applicants waiting for ‘A’ levels received their housing
offer 48 hours after ‘A’ Level results by email.
•Regarded as the optimum software of its kind in Europe, North America and Australia.
•Allows US to make better use of our resources.
•Sussex is now part of a global housing allocation network:
Impact: 98% of all housing applicants receive one of their top three housing application preference.
.
Housing guarantee
Undergraduates:
 Submit an application
 Firmly accept an offer of a place
 Return the Housing Application Form by the 1st August
Postgraduates:
 All eligible first year full time postgraduates coming for a full academic year
 And who are studying for a research degree
 Or are from outside the EU and studying a taught masters programme
 And £250 prepayment by the 1st August
Flexible waiting list from August for non-guaranteed – last year 400 allocated.
Six large in-takes annually: Sep, Jan, March, April, June, July, August
Making a housing preference
Selected areas in each residence:
•Same Gender
•Quiet
•Mature
•All self-catering
Fair tenancy lengths:
•39 weeks (Sep – June) – UGs
•50 weeks (Sep – Aug) – PGs
Wide range of rents, all-inclusive.
Flexible and supportive:
•600 residents swap annually.
Housing Video Tour
- Compare our residences
www.facebook.com/sussexunihousing
Facebook Page for Applicants,
Agents, Parents, Former Residents:
• facebook/sussexunihousing
•3,500 members.
Facebook Groups for residences
• www.sussex.ac.uk/residentialservices
•15,000 members
/SussexUni
Student Room:
•www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/University
_of_Sussex:_Accommodation
www.sussex.ac.uk/accommodation
Open Staff Forum
2 November 2009
Living with US
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9cueagygqw
Applicant preferences and demand
Ensuite - most popular: 4 applicants per bed-space in 2011/12.
2 applicants per bed-space in 2013/14, 2014/15 following 1,105 new bed-spaces.
Level 1 residences: 1 applicant per bed-space: 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15.
3 rent levels reflecting residence facilities (2015/16 prices):
Level 1 – single, shared bathroom, 1 between up to 12 residents:
£83.34 - £111 per week (£63 shared)
•East Slope
•Park Village
•Park Houses
•Headlease and off-campus houses
Level 2 – single, townhouse: 2 bathrooms between 5/6 residents:
£122.60 - £129.36 per week
•Brighthelm
•Kings Road
•Lewes Court Phase I
Level 3 – single, en-suite
£140.69 - £148.32 per week
Lewes Court Phase II
•Northfield
•Stanmer Court
•Swanborough
Funded support package
Scholarship funding – contribution to rent:
•2014/15: 992 residents in receipt of First Generation
Scholarship Scheme (FGSS) and 181 receive Sussex
Excellence Scheme (SES) and use as contribution to rent.
•40% of recipients use funding as contribution to higher end,
en-suite, level 3 accommodation.
Student services:
•Housing Services reception: swaps, changes, private sector
advice, tenancy checking, inspections, off-campus property
management, forthcoming city-base, homestay, applications,
allocations, summer rooms, families, social media, enquiries,
open days etc.
Residential welfare support: residential advisors, mediation.
Community Fund: supporting grass roots projects.
Residences welcome dinners.
24 hour on and off campus receptions.
Community engagement.
Dean
Supporting our residents
100 Residential Advisors (RAs)
•Senior students live in our residences.
•RAs – trained mediators, first point of call, sign-post.
•Work with partners to manage community relations.
•Welcome, help and advise.
•Broader support services: Student Life Centre, Counselling, Student Support
Unit, Students’ Union and more.
Provide information, advice and support
to our students:
•
- Deliver Housing Talks to all students.
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•
•
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- Help to resolve issues in private sector.
- Housing Office reception
- 24 hour reception
- Workshops, events and link in with the Students’
Students’ Union.
Helping our students at all times
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1M6Lu38Sow
Next 5 years, planning for the future
Partnership working:
•Working with partners to safeguard and enhance
Sussex future: e.g., City Strategic Housing
Partnership, Elected Members, Planners, community
meetings, national advisory panels, Students’ Union re
private rented sector.
New developments (subject to planning approval
etc…):
•Master plan: seek approval following appeal, Spring /
Summer 2015.
•East Slope: from 2018/19 – 2020-21, increase to
2,000 bed-spaces, gain of 1,400.
•North Laine: work with City College to maintain
interest in 400 bed-spaces: next 5 years.
•Retained Land: Falmer: work with City Council and
AMEX to maintain interest in 600 bed-spaces: next 5
years.
Dean
ESR Open day 8 Jan
2014
ESR Open day 8 Jan
2014
ESR Open day 8 Jan
2014
Sussex Uni’ Housing
Dean Spears
Head of Housing
[email protected]
Tel: UK (0) 1273 678220
www.sussex.ac.uk/accommodation
www.facebook.com/sussexunihousing
FB: Dean Sussex Spears