Service Statement
1. Service Purpose
Mission:
To provide a professional accessible advisory service for students that is free, informative, independent and confidential, in order to help students achieve their potential at university.
Service Key Aims/Responsibilities:
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Quality Service Provision - To ensure delivery of a quality service and implement effective procedures and processes to ensure monitoring and continuous improvement
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Meeting Changing Needs -To develop the resources of the Advice Place, including staff knowledge and skills, to meet the changing needs of students
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Awareness and Delivery - To ensure that all students are aware of the service and how to make best use of this resource and that the service is accessible to all
2. Service Details/Key Functions
a) What we provide:
The Advice Place provides information, advice and where appropriate negotiation, advocacy and referral in the following key areas:
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Finance – grants, fees, debt, hardship, university bursaries and grants, banks and insurance, small loans, late awards, educational sponsorship
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Academic - appeals, complaints, course changes and problems, academic misconduct eg.plagiarism,
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Benefits – income support, job seekers allowance, housing benefits, council tax, disability, tax credits
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University Policies and Regulations – complaints, discipline, understanding procedures
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Accommodation – landlord and tenant disputes, service provision problems, accommodation choices, tenants rights, repairs, leases, deposits
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Personal – health, sexuality, harassment
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Employment – Employment rights, tax and National Insurance
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City information
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University information
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Remote reporting and reporting crime directly to the police
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C-Card scheme
Counselling is not part of the service offered.
b) Who the service is provided for:
The Advice Place serves the following groups:
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All Edinburgh University students
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Prospective University of Edinburgh students
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University staff, EUSA Staff
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The general public (resources permitting)
c) How we deliver the service:
Delivery methods: We deal with enquiries via the following methods:
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Drop in visits and/or appointments to the following locations
The Advice Places at Potterrow, King’s Buildings
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Telephone
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Email and mail correspondence
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Social networks
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People: The Advice Place service is delivered by the following people:
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Professional advisory staff, trained to provide generalist advice and individual specialist areas of expertise.
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Student volunteers who have successfully completed an appropriate training programme
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d) Service Levels
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Opening hours - We provide drop in access to the service through a commitment to operating the following opening hours:
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Monday to Friday 9.30am to 17:00pm in the central area (open till 7pm on Tuesdays, open at 10.30 am on Wednesdays)
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Opening hours 11am to 2pm at King’s Buildings ( term time only)
Telephone and Email enquiries – Staff are contactable by telephone in the Central Area and by email from 9.00am to 5pm Monday to Friday (10.30am on Wednesdays and until 7pm Tuesdays )
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Appointments - In addition to office hours, appointments can be made outside opening hours by prior arrangement.
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e) Statement of Principles
The Advice Place adheres to the following principles, which define it's ways of working and relationship with clients:
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Impartial: We offer the service to all groups, irrespective of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief or age. In all cases we will seek to avoid situations where the same adviser is acting for opposing parties in a dispute, with appropriate referrals being attempted in such situations.
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Independent: We act on behalf and in the interests of the client, advising independently of the University of Edinburgh or any other organisation or authority.
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Client centered: We promote the client’s ability to make informed decisions. This involves presenting options and assessing their likely outcomes.
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Confidential: We will not divulge the name, address or personal details of the client’s enquiry to any outside agency without the client’s prior permission. The client has the right to access records relating to their case provided that such access does not breach the confidentiality of other parties.
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Self enabling: We seek to enable the client to act on their own behalf, giving them the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions. We do not assume the responsibility for making the client’s decision.
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3) Key Service Standards
The Advice Place is committed to achieving the following key service standards:
Response times:
We aim to respond to the client’s initial contact:
on demand during opening hours and within a maximum of 1 working day, or within a timeframe agreed with the client
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We aim to respond to telephone and email messages within one working day.
Approachability:
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Staff will present a friendly, approachable image to clients at all times
Welcome:
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We aim to provide a welcoming environment for all our walk in advisory service outlets
Greetings:
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Staff will adhere to the agreed standards when initially greeting clients.
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4. Key Operating Links
The team will manage links with several other departments/individuals in order to fulfil the above functions. In particular they will rely on receipt of information from and effective communications with other departments/organisations in order to achieve targets and standards of service delivery.
The following summary describes the key links and, where appropriate, highlights details of specific information requirements of respective parties:
Required by the Advice Place (Internal):
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EUSA Office Bearers: brief and update on current welfare issues.
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Student Volunteers: commit to volunteer for a minimum of 2 hours each week.
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Communications Department: deliver accurate printed copy within agreed deadlines, provide information on publish deadlines.
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Welfare Sub Committee: communicate information on welfare campaigns.
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Support Services (Finance): communicate information on deadlines.
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Reception/Central Administration staff: undertake appropriate referrals to service.
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Required of the Advice Place (Internal):
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EUSA Office Bearers: brief and update on current welfare issues, present Annual Report. Student Volunteers: provide training, and ongoing support.
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SRC Executive: present Annual Report.
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Communications Department: provide accurate copy within agreed deadlines.
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Welfare Sub Committee: brief and advise on current welfare issues/campaigns.
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Support Services (Finance): provide information for emergency cash by 3.30pm each working day.
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Reception/Central Administration staff: provide updated information and leaflets concerning service details.
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Required by the Advice Place (External):
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International Office: discuss changes to immigration rules, communicate the advisory capacity and remit of service.
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Chaplaincy: give information on specific activities throughout the year.
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Accommodation Service: undertake appropriate referrals to service.
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Registry: provide information on scholarships, financial support and deadlines.
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Policy and Planning: consultation and feedback on University regulations.
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Directors of Studies: undertake appropriate referrals to service.
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NHS Lothian: provide c-card training and reports.
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SAAS/Student Finance Direct: provide information on funding system changes.
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Student Loans Company: provide information on funding system changes.
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Required of the Advice Place (External):
The service will monitor and report results on volumes, query types, client base and service standards. Details of proposed measures include:
Volume and Query Types
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Overall number of queries dealt with on a quarterly/annual basis
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The number of queries on a category basis.
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The number of queries by method of contact
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The number of queries by site
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Client base
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Client base by fee status and undergraduate/postgraduate status
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Service standards
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Percentage of clients seeing an adviser within stated response times
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Percentage of clients rating staff as being approachable?
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Percentage of clients rating the service as ‘welcoming’
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Percentage of cl ients who would recommend the service to others
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Results will be monitored and reported via the following methods:
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Ongoing recording of client queries by site, fee status, type of contact and category of query
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An Advice Place users survey conducted on an annual basis
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Regular reporting of results to EUSA’s Vice President Societies and Activities, the EUSA Representation Manager, the Chief Executive and the Senate's Quality and Assurance Committee.
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Production of an Advice Place Annual Report for the attention of University committees and personnel, EUSA Executive Office Bearers and Senior Staff
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6. Feedback
Client feedback concerning the service is welcomed via the following channels:
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The Advice Place Continuous Feedback survey
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Outreach surveys
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Via email - advice@eusa.ed.ac.uk
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EUSA’s Vice President Societies and Activities - vpsa@eusa.ed.ac.uk
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The Advice Place welcomes feedback from its clients and views their input as an opportunity for continuous improvement of the service offered. It is hoped that any problems or concerns can be resolved through the above feedback mechanisms.
If a student wishes to put forward a complaint concerning the service they have received it should be put in writing, for the attention of the EUSA’s Representation Manager sarah.purves@eusa.ed.ac.uk.
Complaints should be made within 28 days of any specific incident or problem arising.