Lancaster Success Programme

Opportunities to connect with other LSP students and key members of staff before you arrive

Once your place is confirmed, the Student Success team will keep in regular contact with you via email and will answer any questions you may have. You will also have an opportunity to join a Teams space to meet other new students on the LSP.

Prepare for Lancaster – on campus taster day in September

Prepare for Lancaster (PfL) is an orientation day for LSP students in September. This day will introduce you to the University, the LSP, your department and the range of services available to Lancaster University students. There will also be the chance for participants to get to know each other.

“It allowed me to know people and gain a familiar face which would ease any anxieties of meeting new people and not knowing exactly who is available for support.”

"I feel the university is very welcoming and I cannot wait to get started. The activities were very useful and have benefitted me a lot."

Introduction to Lancaster

Your induction to the LSP will take place in the first two weeks of term. You will be added to the LSP Teams space, where you can connect with LSP staff and students in years 1, 2 and 3. LSP students also have their own Facebook page which you will be invited to join.

Meet your Success Coaches

At the beginning of term you have your first one-to-one meeting with your personal Student Success Coach, who will help you to settle in to life at Lancaster and support you throughout your student journey. These meetings are offered in-person and via video call.

Meet your LSP Advocates

We currently have five Student Advocates, whose role is to consult with students on the LSP and gather feedback, which is then communicated to staff via a termly committee. They also organise social events and help to publicise opportunities and events. We will be advertising for additional LSP Advocates from among our new LSP members at the start of term. All our Student Advocates are paid the National Living Wage.

Welcome to Lancaster event

Our LSP welcome event gives you an opportunity to meet other students on the LSP, Student Advocates and staff in an informal setting. Pizza is usually involved!

One-to-one personal development coaching​

The regular one-to-one meetings with your LSP Student Success Coach are designed to empower you to reflect and build on your current strengths and to learn from all of your experiences, whether positive or negative. You will be encouraged to develop core skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, planning for the future, resilience, managing new situations and communicating effectively. These meetings are student-led, and it is usual for students to have one or two per term, but if you need more you just need to ask.

We will also help you to make the most of the wide range of opportunities available at the University and through external agencies, such as access to internships and career development activities.

Enrichment fund

As an engaging member of the LSP, you will have access to an enrichment fund which you can spend on items to support your student experience. Typical purchases include: books, stationery and electronic equipment (such as a contribution to a printer or laptop). You can discuss possible purchases and how to claim with your Student Success Coach.

​Action Learning Sets (ALSs)​

Action Learning Sets are a chance for you to get together in a small group of around 5 or 6 LSP students and meet regularly along with a Student Success Coach. The aim is for the ALS members help each other identify learning needs and reflect and learn from issues they are facing. It is a really open, collaborative process which makes it easy to build up meaningful connections with people. Firm friendships have been forged in the ALSs and the feedback from two participants below speaks for itself.

“The ALS sessions are really useful, not only for receiving and giving help on how we can overcome and deal with certain troubles in our lives, but also for personal confidence building. I have always been nervous speaking to people, where I am the focus of a group and am being listened to. However, the last session was really comforting to have a group listen to me. This has already improved my confidence speaking to new people already, and I’m ready/looking forward to future sessions.”

Social and Networking Events

The Student Success Team and the Student Advocates run social events throughout the year which offer great opportunities to connect with other students on the LSP. The social events are often varied with activities and refreshments are usually provided. Some examples of social events we have run include Coffee and cake drop-in, summer social BBQ, and games night. The themes of the social events are based on student suggestions and feedback to ensure everyone gets the most out of them.

Lancaster Award

The Lancaster Award is developed in partnership with employers to reward students for taking part in extra-curricular activities. As an engaging member of the LSP, you can earn up to 20 points towards this award, where there are three levels - bronze, silver and gold.

Regular communications

Your Success Coach will keep in contact with you via email and will offer you several appointment slots throughout each term. You can also get in touch with them at any time to ask questions. Staff regularly post links to events or opportunities which may be of interest to students on the student-staff Teams page, where students can also interact with each other and staff. There is also a welcome newsletter at the start of each term which highlights what is coming up on the programme.​

Referral routes to support​

We work closely with other departments and support services across the university such as Careers, Transitions, Learning Development, Global Futures, Counselling and Disability. We enable you to take advantage of the extensive range of support available across the university and, where appropriate, make referrals on your behalf.

To be eligible to join this programme, students must satisfy one of the following criteria:

• have a contextual offer
• be a Lancaster Access Programme student
• be a Realising Opportunities student
• hold a Lancaster Sanctuary Scholarship
• be in receipt of a Lancaster University Care Package
• be 21 or older at the commencement of your undergraduate degree (a mature student).

All prospective students who are eligible to join the LSP will be contacted via email in June.

Students who are eligible to apply for a place on the Lancaster Success Programme will be contacted by email in June 2022 and invited to complete a short online application form. Please complete the form before the application deadline of 20th July 2022. Places are limited, so it is advisable to apply early to secure a place.

Around 25% of the students on the LSP are mature, which means that we know what helps mature students to feel they belong. Our current mature students range in age from early 20s to 50s and come from departments right across the University. On the Lancaster Success Programme there are tailored avenues of support including 1:1 meetings, Action Learning Sets and social events for mature students only.

• Action Learning Sets – all mature LSP students are invited to join these small staff facilitated peer support groups, which enable mature students from a variety of departments in your year group to meet 2 or 3 times per term to discuss challenges they face in Higher Education.
• Plenty of mature social events, which start right at the beginning of term.

For more information on LSP and university level support for mature students please visit the mature student webpage.

Once prospective students have applied for a place on the LSP there will be opportunities to attend an LSP Information Session. These are online interactive sessions run by the Student Success Team where you will receive an overview of the LSP support and the chance to ask any questions you might have.

Alternatively, if you have any questions, please just contact the Student Success Team via email, studentsuccess@lancaster.ac.uk where we will be happy to help.

There are a small number of places available for current students who are eligible and would benefit from engaging in the support offered by the LSP. If you would like to join, please speak to your department about the programme, complete our self-referral form, or email studentsuccess@lancaster.ac.uk.

You will remain a member of the LSP for your whole degree, including an periods on placement or studying abroad.

You will be offered two half hour long one-to-one personal development meetings with your dedicated Success Coach per term and it is expected that you will attend at least 3 throughout the year. Participation in our social and networking events is optional, but students really value these so we would encourage you to attend as many as you can. We hold two pre-arrival events and three or four events per term. Three hour-long optional Action Learning Sets per term are offered to mature students. These are small group facilitated peer support sessions.

Each LSP student has access to a small amount of funding to help with purchases which enhance their student experience, such as books, a bus pass, a University gym membership or contribution towards purchasing a laptop.