A phone call offering vital support: The kindness behind the Supporting Student Success scheme
Student Ambassadors are taking time out of their own studies and busy lives to offer a friendly nudge to fellow students who may need a bit of support.
For some, a kind voice at the other end of the phone can be the first step towards getting back on track – and that’s exactly what the Supporting Student Success scheme aims to provide.
The University recently launched our Supporting Student Success scheme to help better support students who may be struggling with their academic studies or issues in their personal lives.
Throughout Trimester B, a team of experienced student ambassadors will be contacting students by telephone. Those identified through low attendance or a high number of Fit to Sit submissions will be offered guidance to help them access academic, wellbeing and practical support services.
Among the friendly voices behind the calls are Sayyab Suleman and Carolanne Hall.
We caught up with them to learn more about why the scheme matters and what inspired them to get involved in supporting students across GCU.
Sayyab Suleman is a recent GCU graduate, having completed a BA in Social Sciences with a major in Criminology in November.
He joined the scheme to make a difference for students who may be struggling or experiencing low attendance, recognising the value of support that he felt was lacking during his time at college.
He said: “The reason I wanted to get involved was to have an impact on different students and their lives at GCU and being able to offer support.
“I had been to college before, and they did not have any of those programmes in place and I genuinely think it is crucial to someone’s development further on in their course.
Sayyab recognises that his call to a student might be the first time someone has received a push in the right direction.
He said: “My favourite part of this job is knowing that I can have an effect on people who might be struggling but be too scared to speak or not quite know where to go or who to speak to.
“Being able to be there for other students and offer them the help and guidance is a fulfilling aspect of the job.”
He has specific moments that he remembers of when his call has truly helped students and one that stands out for him is a student that had been in hospital.
He said: “A call that I remember would be one student who had mentioned they'd been in hospital for a while and that they had missed a lot of classes.
“They had notified their lecturers, but they were unsure of how life would be like getting back into class.
“Being there on the call and offering them reassurance and then signposting them to not only different services within university, like the Campus Life Desk, but even the out of hours support.
“The services that they can call if they're feeling bit stressed or something that they could fall back on, even out with regular university time, I thought was quite helpful.”
Carolanne Hall is a current student studying BSc Nursing Studies (Learning Disability) and she has learned more about GCU by taking on this role and is able to share with friends.
She said: “I have found a lot of information about GCU myself and how to reach out and even if friends are going through hard times and need a little bit of support - I can also help them and signpost them to different things.
“There are lots of different types of support available within the University, including guidance on how to use the SEAtS app, which can sometimes cause issues with attendance.
“Some students simply need a bit of help figuring it out – and by letting them know, we can help resolve a problem they might not even have realised was happening.”
Carolanne has also noticed the difference she has made for a student even just through a short phone call.
She said: “If they have got placements as well as assessments and then work it can be difficult juggling it all.
“I like to let them know the support that is available to them here at GCU by signposting them to relevant services.”
Opting out:
Ahead of receiving a call, students identified will get an email to inform them about the scheme and the opportunity to opt-out if preferred. To opt-out of being called, students should email supportingstudentsuccess@gcu.ac.uk with their student ID and the words ‘opt out’.
More information about our Student Success Scheme
By Lucy Rodgers
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