Communicating with students

Ensuring an excellent student experience is one of the headline aims of the University. A major part of that experience relates to how we communicate to and with our students.

Before students arrive

Communication with new students begins in May when we launch the Your Portsmouth website www.port.ac.uk/yourportsmouth. This an interactive site, linked to Facebook and Twitter, designed to encourage new students to gather as much information as possible before they arrive. By communicating with other new students and reading posts from the University, we hope to arm students with important and interesting information over the summer so they can more quickly settle into life in Portsmouth in September.

New students will also receive their Your Portsmouth packs when they confirm their place in August. The packs contain information about what to do before they arrive and what to do in the first few weeks of term.

You can see the Your Portsmouth packs for 2011, plus other material, on the Pre-arrival Student Material pages.

When students get here

The Student Handbook has been reissued for 2011 in much the same format as 2010. Please draw attention to the section detailing our commitment to our students and the commitment we expect from our students in return. 

The University plans to make changes to the timing of the academic year from 2012 and our new students will be affected by these changes. A statement to introduce the changes to students at this early stage can be found on the Pre-arrival Student Material pages. More information will be provided to students by Schools/Departments as September 2012 approaches. Further information for staff is available at www.port.ac.uk/ras2012.

Student induction presentation

A powerpoint presentation has been produced to help staff with student inductions. The 2011 presentation can be found on the Pre-arrival Student Material pages for information only.

The presentation provides information on how we will communicate with students, what support services we offer and details the shared commitment between us and our students. Please use the presentation as you see fit to assist in inducting students to the University.

Student Communications Policy

The Student Communications Policy outlines how we will communicate with all students via rational and effective channels. Below you will find details of the main message categories for student communication and the channels available to staff when communicating with students:

Message categories
Primary channels
Secondary channels
Serious Incident communication 

Student Opinion Panel

To assist in ensuring good practice in student communication and to assess the provision of a variety of student services, volunteers will be recruited to the Student Opinion Panel. The panel will consist of cross-section of all types of students studying in various modes and members will be asked to complete surveys or attend focus groups in return for book vouchers or the chance to win prizes.

Future improvements

We are always looking to improve our communication with students, therefore if you have any comments, suggestions or queries please contact

Sarah Avison, Internal Communications Manager
sarah.avison@port.ac.uk