Testimonial #29

“When I first started at Sussex, I remember [a student advisor] introducing herself to a group of us and telling us that while she hoped we would never need to use the support services, they are there to help when you need them. At the time, I didn't think too much about what she said and I just got on with Freshers' Week.

Later in the academic year I was diagnosed with a serious illness and I became distressed, isolating myself from the university, friends and family.

I was scared to talk to anyone about my problems and it reached the point where I thought I would have no alternative but to leave the university. Finally, at that stage I spoke to [the same advisor] and now I wish I spoke to her much sooner! I was taken aback by her professionalism, understanding and knowledge. She was non-judgemental and sympathetic to my situation and guided me through the process of reintegrating with the university. Her knowledge of my school/degree gave me the confidence to trust her advice.

I think it is incredibly important to have a permanent contact at the university who understands your personal circumstances and you feel you can confide in. There is absolutely no way I would have felt comfortable explaining by situation in an open plan office or having to repeat myself every time I'm presented with a different student advisor. In fact, it has been deeply troubling me thinking that this support might be taken away and replaced with something more akin to a bank call centre.

While most students will never have to use support services, they are absolutely essential in some circumstances and there is no substitute for having a permanent in-house student adviser who you know and trust. Removing this will be removing the human face of the university and I for one would not be comfortable discussing my personal problems with anyone else.

There are some very vulnerable people and I believe cutting this "model of best practice" service will have a human cost far greater than any financial savings you think you are making.”

Testimonial #28

“After a very successful first year, my second year suddenly felt absurdly difficult. I became stressed and anxious, my marks dropped steeply and my self confidence was at an all time low. I probably would have dropped out of the course without my student advisor. She took the time for a long, personal talk, listened to me and showed me exactly where I had problems and where I was just imagining them, where others had gotten just as stuck as I had and how had they had managed. She
helped me put every aspect of my situation into proper context and find out exactly how to get out of it. She showed immense experience and knowledge about every detail of my course, the department and the different teachers' personalities. The idea that a centralised, impersonal service could provide the same assistance is absolutely ridiculous.”

Testimonial #27

During my first year at Sussex, I encountered some problems which were really getting on top of me with regards to my work and personal well-being. I began by seeing my Academic Advisor who was less than helpful, probing into my problem and coming across as unsympathetic and unhelpful. After discontinuing my correspondance with the tutor in question, I went to see K., one of the Student Advisors in the Informatics department. K. couldn't have been more helpful. She listened, put my mind at rest and helped resolve the problem (and further ones I encountered).

I see the inclusion of Student Advisors in each department as absolutely essential given their links with their particular department faculty members and knowledge of the department's workings. A general "student support" office sounds impersonal to me and I doubt it will be able to offer the quality service that the Student Advisors provide. The fact that the new student support service doesn't expect to see one student on multiple occassions worries me somewhat too, further re-enforcing my expectations that the proposed new support scheme will be impersonal, less effective and less approachable by hesitant students.

Testimonial #26

I saw my student advisor a number of times at the end of my second year, at a point where I was very depressed and anxious. I had a death in the family and was feeling very pressured about getting my work done and trying to transfer into a different degree course whilst also trying to grieve. The help that I was given by my student advisor - both emotional and practical - was invaluable. The service was very personal, private and his knowledge of the department and of my courses was really important. I am sure that if I hadn't been given the advice and care that I received, I wouldn't have been able to complete the year. I've read about the proposed changes to student advice services and it would be really damaging if they took place. The kind of holistic support the student advisors give at the moment has been highly praised by external assessments. It would be madness to replace them with the generalised, centralised and inevitably impersonal system that has been proposed.

Testimonial #25

I am now a third year mature student. during my second year my marriage broke down. I managed most of it on my own, managing to keep university and home separate. BUT it came to the point that I could not complete all the tasks due by the due dates. Whilst my department was helpful (VERY) the student advice service provided practical help regarding the evidence needed - reassurance that my evidence was sufficient (it's a hard thing to prove and document!) and reassurance that it was OK to ask for mitigating evidence to be taken into account. The impartial support was vital. I only needed to use it a couple of times, but it was essential, I was all ready to just go and leave the degree. Dilemmas with students cover a wide range of experience and we do need immediate access, often it is "just" before we give up or do something else, had I had to wait, due to lack of advisors, for an appointment some time in the future... I probably would not now be in my third year.

Testimonial #24

I am very upset to hear that university management's vision of university is one where student support is considered an optional part of our education, one occupying a minor step beneath the academic development of students.
I believe categorizing the distinction between academic and personal, pshycological support represents quite a contradiction in a context such as this and any university, where we are encouraged to grow as persons, and not only as brains. More importantly, not matter how this relation is institutionalised, no matter how they portray us students, we are still gonna be one entity, made of intellectual passions and emotional drives, which could dangerously become conflictual if one of the two is denied attention.

Now, at the management level we are witnessing a very obviously selective support of specific sectors of the university, according to priorities that I dont understand how can be in line with "bettering the student experience". This decisions makes it ever more clear that the quality of such experience is being sacrificed to the quantity of students' finances being brought to university.

I am keen on expressing my deep concern with the decision to drastically cut the number of student advisors team. Based on my experience of intermission, I must and want to acknowledge how student advisors have played a crucial role in bridging my personal issues and my academic life, in a way that very few other support areas of university provide the space for.

Testimonial #23

It is no exaggeration to say that without my student advisor I would not have attained my first class degree at Sussex, I worked myself into an anxious mess and comtemplated simply not taking my final exams. Being able to speak to somebody who is personnal, freindly and well trained in all aspects of student support is vital. You really cannot put a price on somebody that can be so influential on a persons life. The other stories on this blog show how adaptable student advisors are, no matter what your story, your degree, your problems they are that first point of contact that can mean so much. If the university cuts numbers that will enevitably mean longer waits to see them, I know from personnal experience if i had been made to wait any longer than two days at certain points I look back and am afraid of what I may have done. Axing this service at sussex would be a truly stupid thing to do to add to the long list of truly stupid decisions the Sussex administration is making.

Testimonial #22

I am now a third year student and have been in close contact with student advisors for much of the last two years as a student mentor. Through numerous students both referred to be for academic support from a student advisor and students I have referred to them myself, I see on a regular basis how vital student advisors, and the student support team, as a whole are to the success of many students at Sussex. The increased retention rate and student satisfaction since the creation of student advisors is further proof of this.

Many of my friends have used this service and one in particular would have failed out in second year had it not been for the support her advisor gave her. This year, she is thriving. Additionally, I now find myself in need of my student advisor's assistance to apply for impairment after prolonged illness. She has been invaluable in explaining the procudure and how it could help me and been extremely sympathetic to my experienes. She has also been amazingly supportive of everything we have done as student mentors.

I think the management's plans for student advice (the centralised service with no confidential space and the reduced numbers) and the increased role of academic advisors is absurd. Academic advisors are not enough, as many issues students face are too sensitive and/or embarassing to be discussed with your own professor. Not to mention that most of them don't care, wouldn't know how to deal with these issues, and already refer many students on to student advisors in recognition of this. I would strongly urge the management to reconsider these proposals and urge every student who has benefitted from this service (or even knows someone who has) to provide a testimonial as proof of the outstanding work these people do for us every year.

Testimonial #21

I am here after six years at Sussex largely thanks to the continued support of the student advisors. Leaving an alcoholic mother to attend university was hugely distressing for me as an under-grad and having a person whom i could visit for advice who knew me and my back story was vital. Now as a post-grad just finishing my part time masters (which has unfortunately taken 3 years to complete due to my mothers liver failure and liver transplant) this service is just as valuable. Having one specific contact is more important than i can convey. If i had had to explain over and over again the painful details of my mum's illness and my situation i might not have had the strength to complete my course but with the help of my advisor i was able to defer, seek counselling and achieve distinction grades. The brilliantly informed advice was obviously a huge help but mostly just having a caring ear was the most important thing. For students in the most difficult situations this caring human face can make all the difference between a pass grade or another failed degree statistic and a ruined life. Whether these things matter to the VC does not seem clear. Things like student well being do not seem to register that deeply however may i also add that the £15,000 that i have spent in fees at sussex would not be in the university bank account if this service had not been available, i simply would not have made it through. Maybe that will speak more loudly.