It’s Ok To Not Be OK

It's Ok Not To Be OK is the name of our internal project.  It’s not a particularly original name, but we think it summarises a key message which we are developing for a small, but important, number of our students.

In Corporate Communications we have been improving the way we communicate with our students, bringing a new approach to telling them what is happening across the university, especially in the three core support teams of SAW, Library and Student Futures.

Over the summer we ran an ‘onboarding’ campaign which gave our new students key information about starting at LJMU, and celebrated this new phase of their life.

And since Week 1 we have started a new weekly email to all students about key events, opportunities and life at LJMU.

We are also including a spotlight feature, highlighting student and staff successes, so that we can all feel proud about the achievements of others in the LJMU community.

But for a very small number of students they feel unhappy in their situation - with a challenge, or challenges, which feel insurmountable and as a result they could pause their education with us.  It could be they really don’t like their course, or their accommodation, or just feel homesick.

These are the people we are targeting with this campaign. 

If you are interested in discussing this campaign, giving feedback and comments, with Tris Brown, LJMU Head of Communications, then join our open Teams meeting on Tuesday October 12 at 4pm: Click here to join the meeting

Built around the principle that we have specialist teams ready and willing to provide support, we want to pierce the noise and reach this group of students just at the point where we can change the outcome.  Our students are not alone, and the first step to resolving a problem is to make them know that we want them to come forward and speak to us.

Using case studies of real-life students who have faced the challenges they may be facing, who have reached out for support and been able to change their situation, these single-issue communications are designed to only appeal to those who really need our help.  We have spent time on a strong creative treatment which supports these aims and are researching the optimal times to reach out through the communications channels available.

The first one was sent yesterday to remind students of the looming deadline for module changes which, if missed, can mean dropping out of university to start again next year – a situation we all hope we can avoid if necessary.

We would like to thank many people for the feedback we have had so far from colleagues in different teams across LJMU.  If you want to give feedback, ideas and comments, on the campaign then join Corporate Comms for an open Teams meeting on Tuesday October 12 at 4pm. Click here to join the meeting (LJMU staff only).

We will discuss the campaign in greater detail and invite everyone to contribute their thoughts on how we can reach this group.