Students (recruited via UniTemps)can join your project to co-design, co-produce, or co-create any particular activity, resource, research or module. For example, if you are looking to re-engage students in your module, it may be useful to bring in to give student voice i to nput into project. You can have an information gathering session with the students, have them organise focus groups with their cohort, they can support with designing and testing module content ideas, they can help you connect to the wider student body through support events etc. 

Student partnership can take on different forms for different projects and can be as unique to the project as you see fit. The purpose and shape of your student partnership project will depend on what you are hoping to acheive. Overall, partnership is essentially a process of engagement, not a product. When implemented successfully, it ensures that the student voice is not only heard but actively turned into action through partnership with students.

If the project directlly impacts and involves students, SACA could be key to working ethically, collaboratively,representatively and developmentally with students in a way that benefits both you and them. Funding is available for projects which are targeted at partnering with students to co-create and improve the teaching and learning experience within the University. The SACA SharePoint (Internal Only) gives more detail on the funding criteria for the scheme if you are considering applying. If you are unsure, then please reach out to the Student Engagement Officer to get advice and guidance on whether your project could be funded by SACA and how to apply.

Students can be recruited via Unitemps. Please find a suggested job advert (Internal Only). Please note, this will need to be adjusted based on individual project needs. Once the advert is live, there are many ways to get the word out to students. For example, including it in one of the newsletters, posting on social media, advertising through the SU, and visiting Departments in person to tell students about the opportunity. Following this, a shortlisting process should take place. Please find the student partnership guidance here.  

When in the role, students can support with a range of tasks and activities. Please refer to the job advertisement as a guideline. Below are some examples of tasks and responsibilities:

• Provide a student perspective across projects. 
• Make recommendations for project teams on how to best represent the interest of the student body. 
• Carry out information gathering activities where required and requested by the project teams.  
• Organise and lead student engagement activities, such as workshops and focus groups. 
• Draft, create and distribute student surveys as and when required by the project teams.  
• Ad-hoc project admin tasks, including data analysis, supporting with website maintenance and drafting student-facing communications.  
• Attend meetings with key stakeholders and influence decision-making.  
• Other tasks based on requirements of project teams and the wider Department.  
• Complete a personal development task as set by your supervisor. 

We accept applications from staff across central university in the UK campus. All applications must submitted through the request form  following an expression of interest email to the Student Engagement Officer.  We recommend if you are a student leading the application, that you collaborate with a staff member to complete the costing information sheet.

You can apply for funding by first sending a expression of interest email to the Student Engagement Officer. Following this, you can submit Bid Request Form

Yes, Students as Change Agents is heavily based on student-staff partnership, so all projects should be surrounded around this partnership to drive the project forward.Staff offer vital insights into the department or issue that you might not be aware of and could greatly impact your project. They will help you navigate the tricky process of making a lasting change and help make sure what you are trying to do aligns with the goals of the department.

Yes, project applications are reviewed by a panel against our criteria. If a department submits multiple projects, we will look at it against your School Enhancement Plan and previous involvements with SACA as a reference point but this doesn't define the outcome of your application.

If you would like to receive funding for your project but have missed the deadline, please reach out to the Student Engagement Officer who can discuss with you what options are available to you or if you can still apply for funding. It is also worth checking within your school if their is some funding available for a small co-creation project.

That is entirely up to your project and the work you have to do. Usually most projects run from the start of the academic year till the middle of the last semster.The timing of your project could change through the year based on the availability of your student partners and other factors of your project.

We ask that projects finish latest by the end July at the end of the financial year so that all timesheets can be approved. We will ask you to report on your project  via a 'project evaluation' form in June, although we acknowledge some projects maynot be quite finished at that stage in the year but this helps with dissemination and presentation that has been done so far.

Applications for funding will be scored against our rubric below.

1. The applicants have demonstrated that their proposed project has a potential to significantly impact the School's APP-eligible students and directly responds to issues that persistently scorelowly in their NSS results.
2. The proposed project distinguishes itself from others in the sector. It demonstrates a new way of thinking and meets the priority of co-creating with students on the project.
3. The applicants have shown how the the proposed project has the potential to impact the education and student experience in the relevant area, beyond just the student partners on the project. Whilst also showing potential to impact staff professional development in the project.
4. The application shows that there is a strong, clear structure and outlined strategic plan to identify and mitigate any risk that might arise. 
5. The application provides clear and thorough explanation of how project and its findings can be transferred and implemented across different areas within the University as well as how they will disseminate findings from the project

A detailed breakdown of how the panel scores each of these criteria can be found on our Sharepoint (Internal Only).

This is entirely based on your project and how much it entails. For example in the Faculty of Science ESE project, 12 students were recruited to have a wide range representation of courses in the project. Usually we recommend 2-5 students to give the project a balanced group dynamic. eams can be bigger than this, especially if you are considering a collaborative project across one or more departments/faculties, but not so big that the stipends are diluted and it is difficult to find a time to meet and really work effectively as a team. Consider the kinds of activities you wish to do for your project to best decide how many students to recruit.

Once your project is underway, you can let people know via your departmental news channels, especially if later on you want to advertise for focus group participants, or send out a survey. At the end of your project, you should aim to produce a community-facing output to promote dissemination. This could be a short video, a Xerte, blog post, case study, a final report or a conference presentation. These will be advertised via various channels including the Students as Change Agents website and Sharepoint.

There is no limit to how much funding you can propose in your application as long as it is within reason as we only have a limited budgetary resources to fund more than one project across the university. If you are unsure of how much funding you will need, a good indicator to help is to look at the Unitemps pay charge and calculate based on the amount of hours you estimate you would want to work with your student partners for. This will help you gauge how much you will need to bid for.

Yes, every year project funding must be spent by 31st July (end of the University's financial year).

We ask for a budget breakdown in the application form to demonstrate that your project is feasible and that you are using the funding in a way that will help you achieve the aims of your project. However, you won't be held to that and we do understand that your project may change as you undertake it which could have implications on how the funding is spent. 

The funding will be managed by the Student Engagement Officer, who will monitor the project spend and approve the timesheets of the student partners. If you will be using your funding to pay for food and vouchers, discuss with the Student Engagement Officer and a transfer will be arranged. 

The SACA will provide support where you would need..The SACA team will be responsible for approving timesheets your student partners submit and are able to help you with dealing with UniTemps and sorting out recruitment if you need assistance.

The SACA team can also you with tips from past projects, resources such as focus group training and other information you might need to help you manage a successful project.

Just reach out to the Student Engagement Officer for any questions or assistance.