Living with Unite Students just got better – 09 July14

Two year, £40 million investment, to support students’ success

Unite Students is making things even better for our students. We’re reinvesting all our profits over the next two years into making sure we provide the best experience for students – one that provides them with everything they need to be successful at university, whether defined as academic achievement, personal growth or preparing for the world of work. From September we’re:

• Upgrading our high speed Wi-Fi to 20Mb throughout all our properties.
• Cleaning flats for free. We will provide fortnightly cleaning for kitchens and communal areas within shared flats at no extra cost.
• Adding more noticeboard space. We know how important it is to students to make their room feel like home so we’re adding more noticeboard space to bedrooms to give them a bit more flexibility to be creative.
• Helping build communities. Our new World of Unite Facebook app is already helping students meet new friends and build connections before they arrive. www.unite-students.com/worldofunite
• We’ve also updated our image, enlisting the help of Hemingway Design to give us a brand new look.

And over the next two years, we’re:

• Updating our common spaces. Making our common rooms more youthful, vibrant spaces with designated private and group study areas.
• Installing LED lighting throughout all our 130 properties, in all bedrooms, corridors, communal areas and receptions – the lighting is healthier, designed to provide the best conditions for study, and is more environmentally friendly.

We’ve been listening to what our students and university partners want and all these changes have the approval of our 900-strong student panel made up of Unite and non-Unite students, so we’re confident they will make a real difference to the experience students have living with us.  This new investment follows the introduction of other services over the last two years, including:

• Changing our payment dates to align with student loan payments – we now only ask for a 10% payment before students receive their loan.
• Introducing a ‘no place no pay’ guarantee so students can book their accommodation with the reassurance that they’ll get a 100% refund of their deposit if they don’t get the grades or visa they need.
• Launching the MyUnite app which allows students to log maintenance issues and track their status, get in touch with our 24-hour contact centre in case they get locked out and receive notifications when they receive a parcel.
• Introducing our Wellbeing initiative, a broad approach to ensuring the welfare of our student residents in all aspects of their life – physical health, mental health, study and achievement – working in close partnership with university student services departments.