The Programme is led by student experience leaders from across our Schools, Faculties and central Directorates, ensuring all affected areas are represented. Please contact the leaders in your area for more information.

Around 50 colleagues have joined the Programme’s implementation teams, using their hands-on experience to develop and implement the new technology and processes.

Leading, co-ordinating, and facilitating the above work is a dedicated multi-functional Programme Team reporting to Simon Merrywest, our Programme Director.

People and Structures

• Delivered a revised grade 8 and 9 student experience leadership structure enabling increased collaborative working through new and consistent job descriptions, alongside significant financial savings.
• Commenced the implementation of new structures in the areas of student marketing and recruitment and applications and admissions (Cohort 1), which were shaped by significant staff engagement activity.
• Developed a set of principles to define how we will work together in the future.
• Undertaken extensive, early stakeholder engagement – on an unprecedented scale – on the developing Cohort 2 designs. This has included academic and PS communities and taught and research students.
• Implemented new structures for managers (grades 6 and above) in the areas of Teaching, Learning, Student Experience; Campus Life; Postgraduate Research; Widening Participation; and Student Communications and Engagement (Cohort 2).
• Developed, and consulted on organisational design for Grade 2-5 colleagues across Teaching, Learning and Student Experience (TLSE), Postgraduate Research (PGR) teams in Faculties, Schools and the Directorate for the Student Experience (DSE), and Grades 3 to 7 in the International Programmes Office (IPO). 

Technology and Process

• Involved over 450 colleagues and students in the original design and discovery phase, ensuring requirements for technology and process changes were informed by our people.
• Delivered a revised grade 8 and 9 student experience leadership structure enabling increased collaborative working through new and consistent job descriptions, alongside significant financial savings.
• Launched a new version of the My Manchester platform, for students.
• Released the first pan-University customer relationship management system (CRM).
• Launched Togetherall, a 24/7 mental health and wellbeing platform (formerly Big White Wall).
• Released new technology to support student recruitment and outreach, via GeckoEngage.
• Introduced the Engagement Monitoring project, developing a system to record student attendance at learning events.
• Launched new functionality to make it easier for students to view and pay their fees.
• Released a personal safety app, SafeZone.
• Upgraded our student records system, saving £250,000 in ongoing support costs and giving us the technical platform needed to roll out new processes.
• Developed high level business process design across the ‘Core Student’ journey (registration to graduation), utilising new technology and systems.
• Successfully released new technology and process associated with applications and admissions which has introduced standardised and streamlined processes for taught and postgraduate research admissions that will improve the experience for both staff and applicants.
• Successfully released new technology and process associated mainly with improving the application experience for students joining the University from overseas.

The new designs for roles, structures, technology and processes are all guided by our 'How We Work Together' principles. They help to shape the most important factor in implementing these changes successfully - our culture and behaviours. These principles reflect the culture of the University, our heritage, our progress over recent years, how we work now and our future aspirations. 

See the How We Work Together principles here

Over the coming months, SEP will deliver:

• New organisational structures across Cohort 3 areas.
• Detailed business readiness activities, including local impact assessments, transition plans, and training and communication.
• Changes to the way we work together, based on best practice from our operational teams, our response to COVID-19 and the wider expertise of our colleagues.
• Continuous playback of how our proposals, plans and communications are informed by feedback from our students and staff.
• Technology and process improvements, albeit with a slightly revised schedule as confirmed in our most recent update on this side of the Programme.