University of Aberdeen, UK: Adapting organisational structure to improve the student experience

Previous Challenges
Support services working independently from each other and spread out across campus

Using the Barometer data
To improve the student experience, the University of Aberdeen has implemented a structural change to the support services departments. The new structure sees the different support areas all reporting to the Director of Student Life, providing a more collaborative way of working with shared objectives.

The following departments now report to the Director of Student Life:

• Student support
• Chaplains
• Sport
• Infohub
• Catering services
• Careers services
• Residential services
• Recruitment
• Admissions

Alongside the structural change, the Infohub has been integral in creating a collaborative working environment. The objective of the Infohub is to answer any questions without the need for students to be redirected to a different department. The helpdesks cover IT, registry, finance, admissions and accommodation, allowing them to be able to help students with ID cards, payments, accommodation booking, council tax support and any other assistance they may require.