Category: Services

Changes to Campus Services provision

The College is making some changes to how and where some services are provided on campus. The changes are being made to enable reinvestment elsewhere as part of our continuing commitment to an excellent student and staff experience.

The Campus Services team aims to provide the best possible service and experience for our staff and student community, through everything from catering outlets and hospitality services, to sports facilities, student accommodation, the Student Hub, and Early Years provision.

These services operate at a loss – they are subsidised by millions of pounds a year to try and keep prices cheaper than the high street. College therefore regularly looks for ways to offset those costs, where services are under-used or not cost-effective. Only changes which clearly enable reinvestment to the wider benefit of the community, against a minimal impact on staff and students, are considered.

The new changes being introduced mainly consist of shorter opening hours for some outlets, and reducing some cooked meal options. Some of the changes have already taken place, while others will be coming in over July and August.

Find out more about the changes

Student Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) distribution

Staff working with students should be aware that students who selected Imperial as a BRP collection location in their visa application will be emailed directly by Registry inviting them to book an appointment to pick up their BRP. This is to minimise queuing, as Registry will be issuing approximately 3,000 BRPs at the start of term.

 

All other students will need to collect their BRPs from High Street Kensington post office, or Peascod Street Windsor for Silwood Park.

 

Staff can visit the website to find out more.

Survey on mental health in the HE sector

The Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) is the equality policy and advice body for universities in England, and has recently launched an anonymous HE sector survey to examine mental health in the workplace.

The survey is aimed at understanding how universities can:

  • develop an environment that encourages staff to inform the university about mental health difficulties to receive targeted support;
  • ensure that the courses, work environment, facilities, and services are accessible to students experiencing mental health difficulties.

Responses to the survey will be invaluable in helping the ECU develop materials to promote an inclusive university environment that is supportive of mental health.

Please let the ECU know your views by completing the survey here – the survey is open until 12 April.

Image library login fault

There is currently an intermittent fault with the College image library which makes it appear that users are unable to log in.

If this happens, click your browser’s back button and try again. You should find that you have been logged in on the second attempt. The fault has been reported and we are awaiting a fix.

If you have any further problems, please contact Peter Gillings.

Survey on staff commuting

Staff are invited to complete a short survey on their daily travel to and from Imperial. The data gathered will help the College ascertain how successful current travel initiatives are and help formulate sustainable initiatives for the future.  In particular, this year’s survey includes a section on a proposed new bike scheme, with feedback sought on potential take-up. The information will also inform the College’s report to HEFCE on its travel-associated carbon emissions when this becomes part of the Estates Management Statistics survey from August 2013.

The survey should take 5-10 minutes to complete and participants will be entered into a draw to win a £100 Amazon voucher. Results of the survey will be published on the Sustainability website.

Change of name from Commercial Services to Campus Services

The Commercial Services Division has been renamed as Campus Services with effect from this week. The new name reflects the main focus of the Division’s work in providing facilities and services for students, staff and visitors. Staff across the College are asked to ensure that any references to Campus Services – on the website, in documents or elsewhere – use its new name.

All staff and students are invited to meet the Campus Services senior team and representatives from each of its departments (Accommodation, Catering, Conferencing, Sport Imperial and the Student Hub) between 12:00 and 14:00 on Thursday 14 February in the SCR and JCR on the South Kensington Campus to hear more about their services and give feedback.

Scam phone calls

The Telecoms Department are warning staff that the College is currently receiving a number of scam phone calls. These are from individuals claiming to be from the directory “Who’s Who” and have an originating ID of 001-866-978-6670. Staff are advised not to give out credit card details. Because the calls are originating outside of the UK they cannot be blocked by the Telephone Preference Service announced in Staff Briefing #77. Telecoms are working with their suppliers to block the calls by other means.

New supplier for print facility at South Kensington

From 1 February the Office Depot print facility at the Sherfield building will be taken over by a new supplier, Service Point.

Service Point will be able to provide all services previously available through Office Depot, and will also be able to service all our campuses through various print sites located in and around London.

For further details and updates please check the Purchasing pages or contact Victoria Stanger if you have any queries.

New redistribution network for unwanted resources

The Energy and Environment Team are inviting staff to register for the free Waste Action Reuse Portal (or WARPit), a network for loaning, giving or claiming unwanted resources within the College.

Using this network saves the College money, frees up space, diverts resources from landfill, reduces carbon emissions and saves on the costs of removal and disposal.

Register for the service

More information can be found on the WARPit website. Queries should be directed to Lisa Holland or Helen Swanton.