Student Welfare Policy

Introduction

Purpose

1. This Policy sets out the steps Northeastern University London (‘the University’) will take to support the welfare of all students to enable them to fully engage with their studies and perform to their full academic potential.

Scope

2. This Policy applies to all individuals studying at the University, including undergraduate and postgraduate degree students, apprentices, work related learners and mobility students.
3. This Policy should be read in conjunction with the:
   1. Academic Engagement Policy
   2. Discrimination, Bullying and Harassment Policy
   3. Misuse of Substances Statement
   4. Prevent Policy
   5. Safeguarding Policy
   6. Sexual Misconduct Policy
   7. Student Confidentiality Statement
   8. Support to Study Policy and Procedure
   9. Undergraduate Student Attendance Policy

Definitions

4. Student: any individual enrolled on a programme of study at the University, including undergraduate degree programmes, postgraduate degree programmes, work related learning, apprenticeships and mobility programmes.

Support and Monitoring of Student Welfare

5. The University recognises that students’ health, mental health, and personal circumstances can impact their ability to engage with their studies.
6. Students are expected to take responsibility for their own learning experience and to seek out advice and support should they begin to experience health or personal difficulties which may impact their studies.
7. The University provides a range of services to support the welfare of students and help them to address welfare issues and enable them to continue to meet the requirements of their programme of study.
8. Student Support and Development (SSD) provides individualised advice and support to students experiencing welfare issues. In addition to the in-house staff SSD works with external partners and may, where appropriate, refer students to specialist services such as counselling or may guide students to access NHS or community resources.
9. Residence Life provides on-site support for students living in University-procured accommodation.
10. Faculty and staff of the University will be mindful that welfare issues can have a negative impact on students. Where staff become aware of a student experiencing difficulties, they will signpost them to SSD.
11. The University will put into place mechanisms to try to identify where a student may be experiencing difficulties but not have sought support. This will include monitoring attendance and engagement as set out in the University’s Undergraduate Student Attendance Policy and Academic Engagement Policy.

Student Case Management Meetings

12. In order to ensure that the University is providing coherent and coordinated support to students, where there are significant welfare concerns regular Student Case Management Meetings will be held.
13. Student Case Management Meetings will normally be held on a weekly basis and will be chaired by the Head of Student Support and Development, or their nominee.
14. The purpose of the Student Case Management Meeting is to review the support and services being provided to the student and their engagement or lack or engagement with this. Consideration will be given to whether or not the support being provided is sufficient and effective for the students’ needs. Consideration will also be given to whether referral to external services is appropriate or, if the student is already accessing external services, whether the University is working effectively with them. Where the available support is not proving to be sufficient for a student’s needs, referral to the Change in Circumstances: Break in Study Policy may be considered. Where the student is not engaging with support, consideration may be given to invoking the Support to Study Policy and Procedure.
15. Student Support and Development will maintain a register of students about whom there are significant welfare issues for review at the Student Case Management Meetings. This will include students experiencing physical or mental health problems and students where there is a safeguarding concern. At the discretion of the Chair students with poor attendance, at risk of academic failure and those undergoing disciplinary, complaint or academic misconduct procedures may also be included should there be concerns for their welfare.
16. The Student Case Management Meetings will normally include those staff directly involved in the delivery of support and advice to the students. This will normally include Student Mental Health Advisers and Student Wellbeing Coordinators, and, for Student Case Management Meetings involving mobility students, Northeastern’s Director, Global Network Pathway Programs and a representative from the Residence Life leadership team will attend. Other faculty and professional service staff may be included in meetings as needed to ensure that relevant support is offered.

Student Welfare Oversight Group

17. The Student Welfare Oversight Group is responsible for ensuring that the University is making reasonable efforts to identify and assist students experiencing significant welfare issues.
18. There may be occasions where students experiencing significant welfare issues may not seek out support and they may not be visibly unwell or distressed. However, there may be more subtle indicators that the student is experiencing difficulties, such as high levels of absences, making numerous applications for Extenuating Circumstances, missing of formative and summative academic deadlines, and minimal engagement with CANVAS (the virtual learning environment). The University will take steps to identify and contact such students in order to offer support.
19. The Student Welfare Oversight Group will be responsible for commissioning and reviewing attendance, submission and VLE access reports in order to identify students who may be in difficulty but who have not accessed support.
20. The Student Welfare Oversight Group will be Chaired by the Director of Student Engagement and will include the Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning, Head of Student Support and Development, a representative from the Residence Services leadership team, a representative from Academic Support, Head of Visa & Compliance, Head of Registry, and the Associate Director Global Experience Programmes London.
21. The Student Welfare Oversight Group will meet at least twice in each semester.
22. The Student Welfare Oversight Group, where it identifies students that may be in difficulty, will direct SSD and/or Residence Life staff to make contact with the students to try to establish whether the student is experiencing difficulties and, if so, offer support.
23. The SSD or Residence Life staff, after meeting with the student, may deem that the student would benefit from structured pastoral and academic support and the Support to Study Policy and Procedure may be implemented.
24. The Undergraduate Student Attendance Policy and the Academic Engagement Policy will run in parallel with the work of the Student Welfare Oversight Group. The Student Welfare Oversight Group will seek to identify and support students to improve their attendance and engagement before they are subject to action under the Undergraduate Student Attendance Policy or Academic Engagement Policy.

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