Summer support for students: review

Annex B

Student Support Stakeholder Engagement Group

Details of Meetings and Topics

Meeting 1 – August 2021

Focus on stakeholder views on summer student support and identification of key themes to be considered as part of the review: Financial Support; Timing of Payments; Holistic Support

Meeting 2 – September 2021

Focus on student mental health (Holistic Support) and the creation of a Student Summer Support Survey suggested by stakeholders to engage with students directly

Meeting 3 – October 2021

Focus on NUS research findings from their national 'Coronavirus Student Survey' and finalisation of research questions for the 'Student Summer Support Survey' (presentation from NUS)

Meeting 4 – December 2021

Focus on student support interaction with benefits; benefit entitlement over summer; accessibility to a summer support package and identification of potential priority groups for support (presentations from Social Security Scotland and CPAG)

Meeting 5 – January 2022

Focus on the Higher Education Discretionary Fund model as a means of administering summer support (presentation from NASMA)

Meeting 6 – March 2022

Focus on high level research findings from the SG Student Summer Support Survey and discussion on delivering Student Engagement Workshops to gain a more in depth understanding of student financial experiences over the summer (using the results of the survey to help develop these)

Meeting 7 – April 2022

Focus on refining the Discretionary Fund model and exploring the potential of creating some form of agreement in principle for administering Discretionary Funds, similar to the approach implemented by the Hub for Success across their 7 partner institutions (presentation from the Hub for Success)

Meeting 8 – June 2022

Focus on feedback from Student Engagement Workshops and development of Discretionary Fund Guiding Principles