How to build an effective relationship with a university

Dedicating time to build and nurture strong relationships between schools/colleges and universities can lead to vastly improved support for students and their understanding of higher education (HE). Holding strong relationships with universities offers numerous mutual benefits beyond enriching student experience comprising of. These include opportunities to enhance and align academic provision, and building valuable professional networks.

Universities are fortunate to offer a vast range of expertise amongst our staff. You will need to interact with multiple individuals within an institution to provide your students with a rounded understanding of HE. However, the phrase ‘too many cooks’ exists for a reason!

To build an effective relationship with a university, it is essential to establish a single point of contact (SPOC). Equally, universities need to know their contact within your school or college.

Determining SPOCs allows key contacts to arm themselves with knowledge of the nuances within your institution. They can use this knowledge to deliver more strategic, purposeful, and impactful activity to benefit you and your students. Your contact will draw on expertise from their colleagues within the university to support with this activity. They’ll also reduce any disconnect in activity, and the risk of wasted time or resource for both institutions.

Regular and effective communication between you and your SPOC will allow you to maximise the relationship with the university. Busy schedules will likely demand much of this communication to take place over email. This can work very well for established relationships. However, there’s an argument for building relationships the old-fashioned way by meeting in person. Meeting on Teams or Zoom is a close second.

Arranging to meet your SPOC allows you to connect with them and put a face to a name. Equally, meetings can act as a springboard to share important information about your institutions, set expectations, and create mutually beneficial goals.

It’s worth remembering that your school or college isn’t the only party benefiting from the relationship. Universities benefit too. With consideration from both sides, these relationships can become ‘win-win’ situations, which will help your relationship to continually thrive.

Through regular and transparent communication with your SPOC, activity can be delivered that helps both you and the university to achieve your objectives, such as offering a platform for outreach sessions which reach target student demographics for the university. To achieve this win-win scenario, clarity in expectations and objectives from both sides is essential.

Strong relationships are a central pillar for success in education. Those between schools/ colleges and universities are no exception. The benefits can be felt widely, with greater opportunities unlocked for both students and staff. In securing strong relationships with HE institutions, there is an opportunity to gain more than a SPOC. You will also gain a new colleague in your network with whom you share a drive for supporting students to make the best decisions about their future.