The University’s Academic Registry, Student Services, and Information Services and Systems have received the accreditation for three years.

The matrix Standard promotes the delivery of high quality information, advice and/or guidance by ensuring organisations review, evaluate and develop their service; encourage the take up of professionally recognised qualifications and the continuous professional development of their staff.

The Standard consists of four elements that fit around the organisation's business themes, including Leadership and Management, Resources, Service Delivery, and Continuous Quality Improvement.

Swansea’s areas of strength, as highlighted in the assessment carried out by EMQC Ltd, on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), included:

• Each of the services within Academic Registry, Student Services, and Information Services and Systems has developed a good understanding of the needs of their specific customer groups and has used this understanding to develop and improve services to them.
• There are good levels of customer satisfaction across all areas of service delivery.
• There is a real culture of customer focus that stems from the Senior Managers down to, and upwards from, front line staff. The culture is becoming embedded across all services.
• Staff who do not have front facing roles recognise the value of good customer service and the impact their roles have on front line service provision. This means that there is a unified standard of service across services.
• Staff are empowered to develop services both within their own areas of expertise and as members of wider teams and working groups across all areas of service delivery. There was some very good evidence of staff coming up with ideas that help move services forward.
• There is a very good understanding of the value of sharing information, within the parameters of data protection and confidentiality, and using shared information not only for the benefit of individual students but to develop and improve other areas of service provision.

 Two areas were also selected for Compliance Plus (sector exemplar), which were: 

• The introduction through the Academic Registry of Student Experience Surveys for Level 1 and Level 2 students enables the University to gain customer insight into students’ needs at earlier stages of their overall student experience than the NSS provides. This provides the opportunity to identify and react to service improvements at an earlier stage. This, coupled with the embedded role of Swansea Students’ Union, in the consultation process which is regarded within the sector as an exemplar, demonstrate compliance plus.
• The sharing of information internally, between services and with academics demonstrates not only good practice in the way in which sensitive information is managed, but also how it is used to support students as well as being used to develop and improve services across other parts of ISS.

Raymond Ciborowski, Swansea University’s Registrar and Head of Administration, said: “The matrix Standard journey is an important aspect of continuous improvement both within Academic Registry, Student Services, and Information Services and Systems, in their collaborative work with colleagues across the campus, and with external partners.

“This award wholly reflects the commitment staff have shown to our users. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the staff who really do make a difference, on a daily basis, to the experiences of our users and visitors.”