Unite Students Accommodation Matters

In September, a new cohort of students will be walking through the doors of universities up and down the UK. So, in this month’s episode of Accommodation Matters, we’re looking at what we’ve learned about this cohort through our 2023 Applicant Index research, what universities are doing to accommodate and support these students when they arrive at university, and some of the challenges that might come with that – such as mental health, finances and building an inclusive community for LGBTQ+ and international student populations.

Hosted by Jenny Shaw, HE External Engagement Director at Unite Students, this episode’s guests include:

• Tony Moss, Pro Vice Chancellor (Education & Student Experience) at London South Bank University

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on 11th July 2023 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Resources

Unite Students’ 2023 Applicant Index is available to download from the Unite Students website. [July 2023]

HEPI’s latest Student Academic Experience Survey is available to download from the HEPI website. [June 2023]

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of individual guest speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unite Students and/or Unite Group plc.

Last year’s cost of living episode of Accommodation Matters proved to be the most popular yet – but more than a year on, how has the cost of living crisis moved on, and what does the cost of living picture look like for students in 2023?

Our expert panel explores a wide range of talking points including food inflation, student maintenance loans, stigmas around seeking help with financial issues, challenges with student accommodation, and what university and accommodation teams can do (and are doing) to support students at this tough time.

Hosted by Jenny Shaw, HE External Engagement Director at Unite Students, this episode’s guests include:

• Vivi Friedgut, CEO at Blackbullion

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on 12th June 2023 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Resources

The Student Cost of Living report is available to download from the Russell Group Students’ Unions website. [January 2023]

The findings from Savanta’s cost of living research for Office for Students (OfS) are available from the OfS website. [March 2023]

The 2023 HEPI and Advance HE Student Academic Experience Survey can be downloaded from the HEPI website. [June 2023]

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of individual guest speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unite Students and/or Unite Group plc.

International students make up a substantial proportion of the UK’s student population, but how do their mental health needs differ from those of home students? That’s the question we’re looking to get to the bottom of in this month’s episode of Accommodation Matters.

Host Jenny Shaw oversees an expert conversation that covers some of the factors that have a particular impact on international students’ mental health – including finances, visas and cultural competency in student support – and how other countries’ approach to mental health can influence students’ own views on seeking support, as well as how mental health issues might present for students from different cultures.

This episode’s guests include:

• Jamie-Lukas Campbell, Postgraduate Officer at Queens University Belfast Student Union

Special guest Bernadette Cochonat, Head of International Sales and Partnerships at Unite Students, additionally shares her insights into some of the specific factors and cultural background impacting on students from key markets China, India and Nigeria.

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on 17th April and 5th May 2023 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Resources

Understanding Student Mental Health Inequalities: International Students, a report by Student Minds, is available from the Student Minds website. [2022]

Unite Students’ Living Black at University report is available from the Unite Students website. [2022]

Following on from our latest Accommodation Matters episode ‘What does 1 million applicants mean for student accommodation?’, we now share Jenny Shaw’s full interview with Ben Jordan, Head of Policy at UCAS, about the UCAS ‘Journey To A Million’ essay series – sponsored by Unite Students and Knight Frank.

In this short 10-minute primer, Ben shares:

• What the core ‘Journey to a Million’ concept is

Jenny and Ben also delve into some of the potential outcomes and implications of a growth in applicant demand, including further education, university choices, international students and the wider student experience.

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on 17th April 2023 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Resources

The UCAS Journey To A Million essay collection, sponsored by Unite Students and Knight Frank, can be found at the UCAS website.

Further essays will be added to the site in the coming weeks, including the Unite Students and Knight Frank co-authored essay on student accommodation - coming Thursday 18th May.

UCAS is projecting that by 2030, there could be up to one million applicants for Higher Education in the United Kingdom – throwing up countless considerations across the sector. The UCAS essay series Journey To A Million is exploring some of these issues and how they might play out through the rest of the decade.

Ahead of the release of Unite Students’ essay, co-authored with Knight Frank, we’re looking at what the Journey To A Million means for student accommodation - covering supply and demand, research into the student experience, and what accommodation for the next generation of students looks like.

The expert guests in this episode, hosted by Jenny Shaw, include:

• Ben Jordan, Head of Policy at UCAS

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on 17th and 19th April 2023 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Resources

The UCAS Journey To A Million essay collection, sponsored by Unite Students and Knight Frank, can be found at the UCAS website. Further essays will be added to the site in the coming months.

The 2023 UCAS and Knight Frank student sentiment survey report is now available from the Knight Frank website.

You can read the Property Marketing Strategists’ research at their website.

Following on from the publication of Unite Students’ new report into the university and accommodation experiences of neurodivergent students, this month on Accommodation Matters we’re talking through some of the findings and recommendations.

Guests talk through practical ways for universities and accommodation providers to make student accommodation a better environment for neurodivergent students, including arrival and orientation at university, making adjustments to student rooms, and staff support.

Our expert panel, hosted by Jenny Shaw, includes:

• Freya Selman, Co-founder of Bristol University Neurodiversity Society (BUNS)

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on 17th March 2023 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Resources

The An Asset, Not A Problem: Meeting the needs of neurodivergent students report is available for download now from Unite Students’ website [2023].

Living Black at University can also be found on the Unite Students website [2022].

Learn more about Bristol University Neurodiversity Society (BUNS) from the Bristol SU website.

Welcome to the sixth series of Accommodation Matters – bringing sector experts together to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation.

In this episode, host Jenny Shaw is looking to learn more about the sector’s hottest topic: student belonging. The experts share their insights on topics including how a sense of belonging comes about in student accommodation, how student accommodation practitioners can facilitate it in their buildings, and supporting students from marginalised communities to belong in their accommodation.

This month’s panel features:

• Yvonne Turnbull, Director of Student Advice and Wellbeing at Liverpool John Moores University

Accommodation Matters was recorded on 16th February 2023 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Resources

The What Works? Student retention and success report can be downloaded from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation website [2012].

Unite Students’ 2022 Applicant Index is available to download from the Unite Students website, as is the Living Black at University research report [2022].

You can learn more about Imperial College’s Belonging, Engagement and Community (BEC) Project at the Imperial website.

More information on WAU Agency's 'Investor in Students' scheme is available from the WAU website.

Wonkhe and Pearson’s Building Belonging in Higher Education report is available to download from Wonkhe’s website [2022].

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation, and this month, we're exploring all things student marketing.

Our expert panel, hosted by Jenny Shaw, looks at current data trends in student accommodation marketing, as well as the importance of brand, the impact of cost of living on both students and brands, and the use of social media in marketing to students.

This month’s panel includes:

• Josephine Hansom, Vice President and Youth Practice Lead at Savanta

HEPI’s 2022 student experience report can be downloaded from the HEPI website.

Accommodation Matters was recorded on 29th November 2022 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Content note: This episode contains discussion of sensitive topics including drugs, alcohol, gambling and sex work. If you or someone you know needs support with the topics discussed in this episode, there are specialist organisations that can help you in complete confidence – please refer to the ‘Support’ section of the show notes for signposting.

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation, and this month, we’re looking at high-risk student behaviours that take place behind closed doors, such as drug-taking, drinking, gambling and sex work.

Our expert Higher Education panel, hosted by Jenny Shaw, explores why students might engage in these behaviours, what the risks are, and what university and student accommodation practitioners can do to support students and reduce harms.

This month’s panel includes:

• Mandi Barron, Director of Student Services at Bournemouth University

The panel is also joined by guest contributor Tracy Lumb, Senior Project Manager – Wellbeing at SOS UK, who shares her insights on student drug and alcohol misuse.

Tracy and Jenny will be speaking further on the topic at ‘Tackling drug use in student accommodation’, a Westminster Forum event, on Tuesday 10th January 2023. More details are available at the Westminster Forum site.

Unite Students is sponsoring the Universities UK taskforce on student drug use. The Student Drug Use Taskforce was launched by Universities UK (UUK), in partnership with Unite Students, GuildHE and Independent HE, and in order to better understand demand for and use of drugs within the UK student population, and produce evidence-led sector guidance with a view to reducing harms from drug use and better tackle supply.

Accommodation Matters was recorded on 11th November 2022 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Resources

The following resources are referenced during the episode:

• Taking The Hit report (2018): https://www.release.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf/publications/Taking%20the%20Hit%20-%20Student%20drug%20use%20and%20how%20institutions%20respond%20-.pdf

Support

This podcast covers some sensitive topics. If you or someone around you needs support for these issues, the following organisations can help.

Drugs:

• Talk To Frank: 0300 123 6600 https://www.talktofrank.com/get-help/find-support-near-you

Alcohol:

• Drinkaware: https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

Gambling:

• Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM): https://www.ygam.org/support-and-advice/

Sex work:

• Support For Student Sex Workers: https://www.supportforstudentsexworkers.org/support/

Welcome to the fifth series of Accommodation Matters – bringing sector experts together to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. We’re kicking off the new series by looking at the intersection between student accommodation and the hospitality sector.

Host Jenny Shaw is joined by a very special panel made up of student accommodation practitioners with hotel experience - discussing how they’ve applied their hotel experience to the world of student accommodation, whether students should be considered customers, and hotel trends that might emerge in PBSA.

This month’s expert panel is:

• Vikki Welch, Associate Director of Student Living at University of Nottingham

The panel is also joined by guest contributor David Marr, Head of Operations for Scotland and the North at Unite Students. He shares his personal experience of leaving home at 18 to work in the hotel sector, and how that’s shaped his view on supporting students as they make the transition to university life.

Accommodation Matters was recorded on 3rd October 2022 and produced by Ed Palmer.