Fostering Student Success Through Holistic and Digitally Support
We always try and link our objectives to the university’s strategic aims. Blackbullion helps us to support students from registration through to graduation.
Key metrics for success
active student users in the past 12 months
automated emails sent to students through the FMS in the past 12 months, in relation to fund applications
saved for staff if we assume it would take 5 minutes to send each email manually – equivalent to over 2 weeks!
financial education lessons started in the past 12 months
awarded to students in 12 months
funds managed through Blackbullion’s Funds Management System (FMS)
Unibattle winners
invited to Food pantry
collaborated with in the past 12 months
UH proudly holds the title of Money Smartest University 2024, a testament to their strategic and collaborative approach to financial education and support, evidenced by their success in the Unibattle competition.
Thanks for giving me this award…I would like to thank my university for providing me with this award…Whenever I plug in my AirPods, I will remember the university. It will be a part of my life. Thanks a lot for this award.
Key Challenges
When supporting students at University, there is often talk about supporting the whole student experience and with multiple aspects of university life, there is an increasing need to work across many different teams.
Resources at universities are squeezed, and many staff are having to do more with less. Working collaboratively to ensure there is a streamlined approach to student support across the university is crucial in providing students with the best possible support to survive and thrive during their studies.
This holistic approach isn’t without its challenges – UH recognised several critical difficulties within the higher education landscape and, as part of this, proactively leveraged Blackbullion to overcome them:
UH Approach
Silos and Resistance
Breaking down traditional departmental silos and encouraging collaboration across academic and professional services can be difficult.
We’ve had to reach across several different key areas of the university…It’s been quite far-reaching, including central financial, procurement, the student union, estates, and the learning resources centre.
Communication
Ensuring effective communication and information sharing between different departments and support services is vital to provide joined-up support for students.
Competing Priorities
Student support needs to be balanced against other university priorities, and Staff are already having to do more with less.
Resource Limitations
Like many institutions, UH operates within resource constraints.
Defining Boundaries and Roles
Clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of different staff members in student support is crucial to avoid duplication of effort.
Student Awareness and Trust
Students need to be aware of the support available across the university and how to access it. Fostering a culture of trust and partnership between students and staff is key to encouraging students to seek support when they need it.
Evolving Student Expectations
Today’s students expect seamless, digital-first experiences and having the Blackbullion platform and app, which is available 24/7, allows students to access funds and support when and where they need it.
Centralised, Streamlined Support
UH recognised the importance of providing students with a single, reliable point of access for all financial support and guidance, as well as funding applications.
The solution – A whole university approach
The University of Hertfordshire has engaged multiple stakeholders and effectively integrated Blackbullion’s solutions to create a powerful and interconnected support system:
Food Pantry Initiative
A food pantry was established to address students’ financial hardship related to the rising cost of living, demonstrating a proactive approach to student wellbeing.
The initiative was created by the Financial Support Steering Group (made up of numerous colleagues from across the university), who manage the hardship funding within the university. Whilst also providing money for the support funds, they decided to use some funds to create an on-site food pantry to help students with essential and immediate needs. The initiative was seen as a vital measure to provide immediate support rather than having to wait for other support.
Stakeholder engagement was key to getting the initiative started,
We managed to source a location on campus, which is an old cafe which was no longer being used. By engaging and campaigning to different stakeholders from estates to the learning resource centre, and gaining their support was vital.
Teams involved in the initiative
Estates for location sourcing and tidying up the pantry
Student Union for feedback and support
Student Wellbeing for feedback and support
Dean of Students for feedback and support
Student Immigration Team and International Office for sharing the information and asking for advice about expansion
Widening Access and Student Success Team for feedback and support
Central Finance for approval with procuring stock
Library and Computing Services for support with booking appointments and engaging students
Once the space was secured, the team asked students about the types of items which would be most useful and how they could best experience the pantry which led to there being an appointment only system to ensure it could be stocked, have staff available as well as essential stock – and to ensure students weren’t disappointed or had a wasted journey.
One of the surprising things was the amount of kitchen cleaners, health and beauty products such as shampoos etc and bathroom cleaners were the items to go first,..these are things students may not buy…The impact of being able to supply these items to students in need is positive.
The pantry initiative has supported over 200 students already, and over 3000 have been invited, as the team look at those with zero household income on their student finance letters and then points them to the support available.
Especially in that interim period…of applying for a fund and receiving an award or waiting for payday…that sort of feedback’s been great.
The short-term plan is to expand the pantry and look at expanding that to reach out to more students and make that a bigger success than what it already is.
FMS Efficiency and Accessibility
The Funds Management System (FMS) has significantly streamlined the administration of multiple funds, reducing manual workload and providing students with a clear and user-friendly application experience through the Funding Hub.
It really has saved the department so much time using Blackbullion. We used to waste a ridiculous amount of time.
Instead of reviewing applications all day, we can now go out and be more proactive—speaking to students, running events, giving tailored advice.
Before Blackbullion, managing multiple funds and diverse application processes could be cumbersome for both students and staff. The FMS provides a unified and streamlined system for application, assessment, and disbursement. UH uses Blackbullion to address challenges such as student expectations, resource limitations, and the need for streamlined processes for fund applications and assessments.
Just the continued improvements with the platform… every little update makes our job easier.
Even little things like the fact that we can now reopen cases if a case has been incorrectly closed or it’s a vulnerable student that didn’t get back to us—that’s really useful.
The FMS enables the efficient management of diverse funding streams within a single, integrated platform, ensuring consistency and transparency. Blackbullion’s FMS automates administrative tasks, freeing up valuable staff time to focus on more complex student needs and strategic initiatives.
And not only that, it’s helped staff provide up-to-date information, which can impact on strategic and decision-making at the wider university level,
Our budget was not tightened or reduced this year. In fact, it was increased… because we had the data from the students applying through Blackbullion to help decision making.
The reporting is really useful. It allows us to analyse our funds and make sure we’re diversifying and reaching as many students as possible.
Empowering Students Through Learning
By embedding financial education within the funding application by using the assignment functionality within the FMS, UH ensures that students not only receive financial assistance but also develop crucial financial skills.
Providing students with financial wellbeing lessons, tools, and skills to benefit them during and beyond their university experience is a key objective. By having the Blackbullion financial wellbeing platform, with its comprehensive library of interactive modules, tools, and resources, this improves students’ financial literacy and empowers them to make informed financial decisions. The Student Budgeting App complements the platform and provides students with budgeting tools, spending insights, and access to relevant financial education content on the go.
If you’re an international student who just arrived here, aspects like how to open a bank account, how to budget, how to recognise fraud—that’s really important information that is available for students to review and learn from.
The integration of financial education modules directly into the fund application process ensures that students engage with relevant learning content as part of their support journey. The ability to embed financial education assignments directly within the fund application process ensures that learning is an integral part of the support journey, reinforcing key financial concepts.
Blackbullion is a multifunctional tool. We manage our funds on there, but also the fact that there’s so much learning capacity—pathways, resources, and campaigns.
Student Feedback
Today’s students expect seamless, digital-first experiences. Blackbullion’s integrated platform provides a central, accessible hub for financial information, learning resources, and fund applications, meeting these expectations effectively. Not content with being more efficient and wanting to help students, the student feedback on both the financial support and the food pantry initiative has been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting significant relief from financial stress and a stronger sense of community.
91.2% [of surveyed students] were very happy or somewhat happy with the Blackbullion application process.
The Impact – Benefits for Students and Staff
Impact: The strategic implementation of the whole university approach has yielded significant positive impacts across the University of Hertfordshire.
Significant Time Savings: The automation capabilities of the FMS have demonstrably reduced administrative burden, freeing up staff time for more direct student support and strategic initiatives.
Enhanced Accessibility and Convenience: The Blackbullion platform provides a 24/7 service for students to access information, learning resources, and submit funding applications, offering unparalleled flexibility and convenience.
Centralised Information and Clarity: The Blackbullion platform and App act as a source of truth for all financial support-related information, eliminating confusion for students and providing staff with a clear point of reference.
Fostering Cross-University Collaboration: Blackbullion’s platform and the data it provides facilitate better communication and collaboration across different departments involved in student support, as evidenced by the food pantry initiative and Unibattle success. Marketing campaigns also provide a mechanism for coordinated messaging across teams.
A Unified Approach to Student Support
The University of Hertfordshire’s adoption of Blackbullion has fostered a more unified and consistent approach to student support across the institution:
- Empowering Cross-Departmental Support: The intuitive nature of the FMS allows other relevant teams across the university to potentially utilise the same system for managing specific support funds, promoting a uniform approach to student assistance.
- Cross-Departmental Collaboration Benefits: Cross-departmental efforts have led to meeting student needs, improved engagement, enhanced efficiency, data-driven decision-making, and a positive perception of student finance.
Lessons Learned: Key lessons include
- breaking down silos
- open communication and collaboration
- data-informed practices
- proactive approach to student support.
Dedicated Support from Blackbullion
The University of Hertfordshire benefits from the ongoing support of Blackbullion’s dedicated Customer Success and Support teams. This partnership ensures that the university can effectively leverage the platform’s capabilities and address any queries or technical needs promptly.
I feel like we’ve given feedback on things like having a tool to sort of bulk close things… and that was brought in. Just how responsive you guys seem to be in terms of our feedback is great.
Take the Next Step Towards Enhanced Student Support
If you are not yet leveraging the power of Blackbullion to transform your institution’s student financial initiatives, we invite you to learn more.
Book a call with our team or contact us at hello@blackbullion.com to discover how Blackbullion can help you achieve similar success. Sign up to our staff email newsletter to stay informed about the latest developments and success stories from our community of over 75 universities, colleges, and businesses.
