Our beliefs are stances we take on issues impacting Hallam students.
Our priorities are the six beliefs we promise to focus on and try to fix first.
Liberation student support
HSU should create a clear and specific plan to support liberation students, including access to funding, extracurricular activities, and training for staff.
Lead: Leah Steel
Equitable student experience between City and Collegiate campuses
Students studying at Collegiate Campus deserve a student experience that is equitable to students based at City Campus. Students should not feel less represented, less connected to the Students’ Union, or have reduced access to services, opportunities, or support because of the campus their course is based at.
Lead: Layla Barrett
Cost of living
The University and HSU should support students during the Cost of Living crisis.
Lead: Franklin Okafor
No Cuts
Students should have fully funded courses, with respect to the individual course, and support services that are adequately staffed, without fear of transfer, with HSU supporting them through the lobbying of SHU management and support of industrial action that defends student interest.
Lead: Molly Pemberton
Student employment and transition
Students should have as many opportunities as possible to earn money while studying. They should be supported to gain real world skills, including self-employment and offered career mentorship to streamline industry transition.
Lead: Ebuka Hilary Obi
Mental health and wellbeing
Students' mental health and wellbeing should be supported.
Lead: Shafaq Sajid
We're aware these are all important too, and we'll get to them when we can.
Night-time safety
Students should feel safe at night, whether they're participating in the night-time economy, travelling back from placement or in their own accommodation.
Student accommodation
All student accommodation should be safe and fit for student living.
Fossil free careers
HSU should lobby the University to end partnerships with oil, gas, and mining companies, implementing an Ethical Careers Policy that excludes them and ensuring its events nor platforms provide visibility or endorsement to these industries.
Arms free careers
HSU should lobby the University to reject partnerships with arms companies, adopting an Ethical Careers Policy that excludes the arms industry, collaborating with peace organisations, and ensuring its events nor platforms provide visibility or endorsement to these companies.
Postgraduate work experience
Students and prospective students of Postgraduate courses with Work Experience should be given all the information they need to make an informed choice about their studies, and they should be adequately supported by the University to find an appropriate placement.
Sandwich placement support
The University should ensure all students are given correct information about sandwich placements and work experience, support students in finding an appropriate placement, and give consistent support to students while on placement.
Additional course costs
HSU should lobby the University to ensure additional course cost documents are up to date and accurately reflect what students are spending on their courses.
Integrated healthcare placement support
The University should improve its support for Healthcare students on integrated placements.
Anti-racism at HSU
HSU should ensure it is an actively anti-racist organisation.
University communications
The University should improve communications to students around significant changes, including timetabling and issues relating to the new buildings.
Sustainability
HSU should ensure it is environmentally sustainable and has a clear sustainability strategy.
Disability training and accessible events
HSU should ensure that all staff receive disability training to increase understanding and should deliver accessible events for students.
Sexual health
The University and HSU should provide students with resources, advice, and information about sexual health.
Timetabling
The University should ensure timetables are convenient for students.
Inclusive practice and lecture capture
The University should ensure that Baseline Inclusive Measures, including lecture capture, are applied consistently across the University.
Ethnicity degree awarding gap
The University should work to reduce the ethnicity degree awarding gap.
Software provision
The University should ensure all students have access to the appropriate software required to succeed on their course.
Community, belonging, and academic societies
The University and HSU should collaborate to ensure students feel part of a wider community at Hallam, including through academic societies.
Drugs and alcohol harm reduction
Students' safety should be prioritised when working on issues around drugs and alcohol.
Academic misconduct and University regulation
SHU regulations and procedures around academic conduct should be transparent and comply with OIA guidelines.
Palestinian Student Support
HSU should actively support our Palestinian students and give them official Liberation group status, with all the protections, resources and support that affords.
Palestinian Solidarity*
HSU should proudly stand in solidarity with Palestine; publicly recognising Palestine as an independent state and expressing solidarity with those affected by the conflict in Palestine. *This is a Student Voice Conclusion.
Course Content
Sheffield Hallam University should be honest about the course they offer.
Freedom of Gender Expression
Students should be able to express their gender comfortably, without discrimination or scrutiny- this includes using whichever bathroom they are comfortable with, regardless of sex assigned at birth.
Engaging Non-Traditional Students
HSU should develop an engagement offer and communication strategy that includes non-traditional students. This should also account for time-poor student needs and digital engagement.
Hallam Commercial Outlets
Hallam students should have access to Hallam specific commercial outlets.
Something we're missing?
Each Officer is assigned a HSU priority to lead on, but they also have individual priorities.
We hear your feedback and work with the University and Sheffield's wider stakeholders to resolve issues and improve the student experience.
Use our tracker to monitor progress on key student issues.
Our bye-laws are a set of rules that outline how we operate. They include what you can expect from us, what we expect from you, and how we'll work to make your time at uni better.
Think we should work differently? Any Hallam student can make changes to the bye-laws, either via a Referendum or via a vote at a Members' Meeting.
Share your comments and thoughts with us and encourage your mates to share too. The more contributions we have about a certain topic, the stronger our case for resolving it.