Developing a Student Futures Manifesto is the key recommendation from the Commission. The Manifestos will be a blueprint for how universities and students work together to improve the student experience.

As part of the Manifestos, Canterbury Christ Church will co-produce and publish a series of actions within the six themes the final report of the Student Futures Commission identified for successful student futures:

1. Support for students before they reach university.
2. An induction into university life for each year of study.
3. Support for mental health and wellbeing.
4. A clear outline of the teaching students will receive and the necessary tools to access it.
5. Activities inside and outside the curriculum that build skills, networks and communities.
6. A clear pathway towards graduate outcomes.

The manifesto will be a public statement of the commitments Canterbury Christ Church is making, and showcase the positive initiatives being undertaken. It will be co-produced with students and led by a member of the university’s senior leadership who reports directly to the Vice-Chancellor.

Commenting on Canterbury Christ Church and the 20 universities which have already made the pledge, Chair of the UPP Foundation Student Futures Commission, Mary Curnock Cook CBE said: “A Student Futures Manifesto, co-created and co-owned by students and their university, will be a powerful expression of intent about what students need to support successful lives and careers. They will help to rebuild the full student experience through a partnership between universities and their students. It is a testament to Canterbury Christ Church University and the wider HE sector’s commitment to successful student futures that 20 universities have already taken on this challenge.

Richard Brabner, Director of the UPP Foundation, the charity which established the Commission said: “The UPP Foundation established the Student Futures Commission to support the sector in light of the disruption everyone has faced during the pandemic. We wanted the Commission to be supportive, constructive and challenging. Student Futures Manifestos are exactly this – a positive call to action to put student needs first.

“We are delighted Canterbury Christ Church University has made this pledge and expect many more universities to do so in the months ahead.”

 

Notes to editors

• The UPP Foundation was created in 2016 by University Partnerships Programme (UPP), the leading provider of on campus student accommodation infrastructure and support services in the UK. The UPP Foundation is a registered charity that offers grants to universities, charities and other higher education bodies.
  
  
• The UPP Foundation established the Student Futures Commission in partnership with Shakespeare Martineau, Group GTI, and Wonkhe. The Commission has brought together evidence from across the higher education sector, students and students’ unions, experts from secondary education, graduate employment and representatives from the charity and voluntary sector. This included formal oral evidence sessions, written evidence, and two comprehensive polls of UK higher education students. Further information can be found on the Commission’s website: https://upp-foundation.org/student-futures-commission/
  
  
• List of universities to make the Student Futures Manifesto pledge

Buckinghamshire New University

Canterbury Christ Church University

De Montfort University

Edge Hill University

University of Essex

University of Hertfordshire

University of Huddersfield

University of Hull

Lancaster University

University of Lincoln

Liverpool John Moores University

London South Bank University

Manchester Metropolitan University

Northumbria University

Newman University, Birmingham

University of Salford

Sheffield Hallam University

University of the West of England Bristol

University of West London

University of Worcester