Salford Business School’s Lead for Student Experience and Engagement, Charlie Seager, had the opportunity to present at not one, but two national conferences on behalf of the University throughout April. Charlie showcased the fantastic work we’re doing to support our students, while sharing our evolving practices with the wider academic community.
Showcasing outstanding student support
The first event was the UK Advising and Tutoring Association (UKAT) Annual Conference, held at University College London from the 7-8 April. Charlie delivered a presentation titled, “Exploring the Impact of the Academic Personal Tutoring Team at Salford Business School: Two Years On.” The talk reflected on the development and success of our dedicated Academic Personal Tutoring (APT) team since its inception, sharing insights into best practice.
The APT team at Salford Business School offers one-to-one personalised academic support to our undergraduate students, using data-driven targeted interventions to identify those who may need additional academic guidance. The outcomes over the past two years have been hugely encouraging: improved progression metrics, increased assignment submission rates, and most importantly, stronger feelings of academic confidence and belonging among our students, according to their feedback.
Charlie has been instrumental in the success of this work, alongside the collaborative efforts of our wider student support teams, such as our Postgraduate Academic Tutor team and our Student Progression Administration team. Collectively, all three contributed to the school receiving the Institutional Outstanding Student Support Award at the UKAT Awards, which was also presented at this conference; a true testament to the dedication and innovation of our colleagues in putting students first.
Enhancing organisational efficiency to support student success
Later in the month, Charlie travelled to Newcastle for the UK Academy for Information Systems (UKAIS) Annual Conference, hosted by Newcastle University between the 23-24 April. This time, Charlie was presenting a Research in Progress paper developed in collaboration with Salford Business School colleagues, Dr Yun Chen and Dr Kate Han.
Their project, “Automating Business Process to Enhance Organisational Efficiency and Productivity: Using Academic Intervention at Salford Business School as a Case Study,” investigates how automation can be used within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem to streamline key administrative processes in our APT team. The ultimate goal is to free up more of our tutors’ time so they can focus on what matters most: delivering impactful, personalised support to students.
The project has now been awarded research funding, enabling the team to develop a working prototype and explore the transformative potential of automation within academic support systems.
On paving the way to drive student success with these pioneering projects, Charlie, commented: “It’s been a fulfilling month of learning, sharing and celebrating, and I’m incredibly proud to represent Salford Business School on platforms that value innovation, student success and meaningful collaboration. I look forward to building on this momentum as we continue to develop new ways to enhance the student experience.”
Stay tuned for more updates on these projects as they continue to evolve.