Voice of the union

Placards and protest may help raise awareness of how an issue is widely or deeply felt by students. But what is the best way to effectively support students when everyone already agrees there is a crisis?

This question has never been as pertinent as it is right now, with a cost of living crisis affecting our students more than most.

Over 7,000 students, including those at Manchester Met, shared that “being able to pay for the things I need” was their biggest concern in a National Union of Students survey last autumn.

As a leading widening participation university, a financial crisis brings even greater responsibility. Many of our students are more exposed to the risks that accompany a financial squeeze than their peers at other institutions.

That’s why, at the start of the 2022/23 academic year the Union drafted our Cost of Living Discussion Paper. A student-centred document that drew on available national student feedback, brought to life with the real experiences of Manchester Met students.

The report was designed to kickstart a conversation with senior university colleagues about how we could collaborate to support students at Manchester Met.

The Professional Services quickly assembled a cost of living group comprised of Union and University senior staff who could take and action decisions quickly on cost of living.

Our report provided Manchester Met student specific context to the picture of hardship students were facing as a result of the national cost of living crisis and contained over 60 possible actions that the Union and University should consider together to help mitigate some of the risk to students.

What we found was that we were pushing at open doors.

Everywhere we turned within the University, the issue was understood, our ideas were heard and action quickly followed.

The report called for improved student support through an increase in the hardship funds available to students, and the University responded to the tune of over £2million for students in need.

Applications for the hardship and crisis funds have been extended to be open for the entire academic year, with the average amount awarded up to around £600 per student.

Our recommendations to put money back into students’ pockets led to MetCard balances being made available as cash and a £250,000 increase in the placement travel costs fund for Faculty of Health and Education students.

The University and Union have existing services and support mechanisms available to students during times of hardship, but our report highlighted the need for these services to be highly visible and accessible to all.

The University quickly created the Cost of Living Hub, bringing support information into one easily accessible space for students and providing a single, inclusive and constantly updated point of truth as new initiatives to support students were established.

Manchester Met is a university of place. We value in-person lectures and seminars because it creates strong physical communities that encourage connections and grow belonging.

With the cost of home-heating and travel to university rising, we encouraged the university to find ways to create a home away from home for our students.

Facilities colleagues were quick to increase microwave provision across campus (beautifully dubbed as ‘bring and ping stations’) and invest in existing spaces to make them more comfortable and welcoming.

The team has also invested over £175,000 into reducing the cost of food on campus through discounts, happy hours and reduced food waste schemes.

These changes represent a fraction of the action taken by The Union and Manchester Met. We’ve collaborated effectively to implement changes across the University that will make a real impact to the students who most need it.

We will continue to do so, on this issue and any others that present themselves to our community because students are at the heart of everything that we do.