University of Salford: International Partner Handbook (Agents)

PARTNER HANDBOOK

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YOUR GUIDE TO WORKING WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF SALFORD

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CONTENTS 04 INTRODUCTION 05 ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF SALFORD 06 SALFORD ALUMNI COMMUNITY 07 MEET OUR TEAM 08 THE APPLICATION PROCESS / Using the Agent Portal / Applying for postgraduate taught, Pre-sessional English and International Foundation Year / Applying for undergraduate courses

11 ENTRY REQUIREMENTS 11 CAS AND VISA COMPLIANCE 11 NEW STUDENT ARRIVAL PROCESS 12 OUR RELATIONSHIP / Marketing and advertising / Consumer protection laws / Tagging students who applied directly

13 COMMISSION 14 ANTI-BRIBERY POLICY 14 USEFUL RESOURCES

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THANK YOU FOR WORKING WITH US! Dear Agent Partner, We are extremely proud of the University of Salford, where our internationalisation comes to life through the success of our international students and alumni from over 130 countries.

The International Office supports a range of services across student recruitment, partnership development and global experience opportunities and I am delighted that you have joined our agent partner network.

As an agent partner, you play an important part in our global presence, sometimes in markets where we are not able to visit often, providing local support to our shared international student clients. Together we can achieve our shared goals of recruitment of high calibre students who will go on to be successful University of Salford graduates.

We have the strongest commitment to the success of our agent partners through first-class account management, responsive wraparound services, and supporting the agent voice in sector-led advocacy.

FIRST-CLASS ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT Your Account Manager(s) will work with you throughout the recruitment cycles, supporting you in lead generation, enquiry and application management through to student enrolment.

Account Managers align to regions as we value a partnership of sharing and developing knowledge and expertise together.

WRAPAROUND SERVICES You will be supported in all aspects of business services to make working with Salford as efficient as possible from contract management and post-contract on-boarding, through to commission invoicing and regular communications and updates. We are continuing to develop our product training, agent portal and business systems to benefit your work with Salford.

SECTOR-LED ADVOCACY We are a proud support of sector-led initiatives, working with BUILA, UUKi, UKCISA and UKVI on the UK quality assurance framework for Education Agents, including the National Code of Ethical Practice for UK Education Agents, the Good Practice Guide for UK Providers Using Education Agents, and the British Council Agent Training suite. You are encouraged to use these tools alongside your specific resources for the University of Salford.

Whilst you can be sure to be supported through a programme of online events and in-country visits, please accept this as an open invitation to our beautiful Peel Park and MediaCityUK campuses in Salford.

I look forward to developing a long and successful partnership.

Nancy Cooke

Associate Director: International Development University of Salford

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ABOUT US At the University of Salford, we embed industry into everything we do, so that our students gain the real-world skills they need to succeed in their chosen career. Our wide range of courses draw on industry insights and collaborations, and many of our courses are professionally accredited. Our university is made up of four schools: / The School of Science, Engineering and Environment / The School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology / Salford Business School / The School of Health and Society

OUR KEY SELLING POINTS ARE: INDUSTRY FOCUSSED COURSES / Our students learn from industry experts and many of our courses are accredited by professional bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, or the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Our students’ learning is enhanced through placements, internships, live projects or field trips, to give them the skills they need to succeed in their career.

UNIQUE LOCATION / We are the only university with a campus in MediaCity, offering students opportunities to collaborate with our neighbours such as ITV and the BBC. / Our Peel Park campus is just minutes from Manchester, an internationally recognised city with a wealth of job opportunities and affordable living compared to other UK cities.

A DIVERSE STUDENT AND ALUMNI POPULATION / We’re proud to have over 20,000 students, from over 130 countries, are currently studying on our campus in Salford. They will soon become part of our global community of over 180,000 alumni stretching in all corners of the world, who are making a real difference in their communities.

PERSONALISED SUPPORT / Our students repeatedly tell us how much they value the excellent support offered by our lecturers and tutors, and how approachable they are. / We offer personalised support to all international students, from academic skills and English language development to visas. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have offered our students financial support for learning devices and Quarantine Hotels.

We also launched our Team Quarantine scheme, to support students with advice and friendship throughout their self-isolation period. / We’ve also given out over £10 million in scholarships and discounts to international students over the last 5 years.

You can find out more about us and our courses at salford.ac.uk

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SALFORD ALUMNI COMMUNITY At Salford, we strongly believe that our relationship with our students doesn’t end at graduation – our graduates are valued members of our global community of over 180,000 alumni. We’re pleased to offer a range of benefits and services to our alumni, as well as opportunities for them to get involved in supporting the University: Salford alumni can expect to engage in the following activities: / / / / / / / / / / /

Events – social and educational Careers support for life Networking opportunities – in person and online Opportunities to deliver careers talks to students Opportunities to be involved in expert panels Get involved with course design Mentoring students – in person or online Offer placements to students Reunions and campus visits Continued access to libraries and sports facilities Access to exclusive online networking hub, From Salford

You can visit salford.ac.uk/alumni to find out more details.

FROM SALFORD From Salford is exclusive online networking and mentoring hub designed to give Salford graduates the opportunity to support each other and share career tips and expertise, as well as access a range of services.

There are thousands of Salford alumni on the platform and the number is rising every day. All our members contribute to an active, sociable and vibrant community that continues the longstanding Salford tradition of supporting others and sharing knowledge.

At fromsalford.com graduates can: / Network exclusively with fellow Salford graduates / Find a mentor or become a mentor / Continue learning through access to online journals and e-books / Find job opportunities and post jobs / Promote their business to the Salford alumni community / Join a group of like-minded alumni in their area or start their own group / Share news of an event or register to join us at one / Trade ideas, explore career options and support others / Purchase exclusive Salford merch

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MEET OUR TEAM CONTACT

MANAGEMENT

PHONE NUMBER

EMAIL ADDRESS

Nancy Cooke

Associate Director International Development

+44 (0) 7973 665 684

n.d.cooke@salford.ac.uk

Elena Nikoulina

Head of International Recruitment

+44 (0) 781406 7292

e.nikoulina@salford.ac.uk

Haylea Jefferys

Marketing Manager for International Recruitment

N/A

h.m.jefferys@salford.ac.uk

REGIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

CONTACT PHONE NUMBER

EMAIL ADDRESS

Jordan Aird

Senior International Recruitment Officer (South Asia)

+44 (0) 790 993 7562

j.d.aird@salford.ac.uk

Madhu Sharma

In-Country representative (India based)

+91 998 797 4914

m.sharma1@salford.ac.uk

James Leadbetter

Senior International Recruitment Officer (East and Southeast Asia, UK International)

+44 (0) 781 631 8825

j.m.leadbetter1@salford.ac.uk

Nick Croft

Senior International Recruitment Officer (Europe, the Levant and Gulf, and Pakistan)

+44 (0) 745 226 7947

n.croft@salford.ac.uk

Quentin Albert

Senior International Recruitment Officer (Africa)

+44 (0) 7815435617

q.albert@salford.ac.uk

Adekola Adebisi

In-Country representative (Nigeria based)

+234 805 658 7532

a.adebisi@salford.ac.uk

Mark Knight

International Recruitment Assistant

N/A

m.knight9@salford.ac.uk

Karen Walmsley

International Support Officer

N/A

k.walmsley@salford.ac.uk

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THE APPLICATION PROCESS THE AGENT PORTAL The Salford Agent Portal aims to provide a comprehensive application and management system for our agent representatives. The aim of the portal is to provide practical efficiencies, such as a faster turnaround times, ease of viewing decisions, and more effective follow up on behalf of applicants.

Applications submitted through the Agent Portal will also be automatically tagged to your agency.

The Salford Agent Portal has been designed in a flexible manner to meet the requirements of different agencies.

AGENT REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES AGENT PORTAL / Each Login Profile is required to have an associated Agent Portal Account Manager. This is an employee of the Agent Representative. / For each Login Profile, the Agent Representative, through the Agent Portal Account Manager, is required to provide the University a list of all employees who will have access to the Login Profile.

The Agent Portal should be used when applying for postgraduate courses, International Foundation Year and Presessional English courses.

/ The Agent Portal Account Manager is responsible for providing an up to date list of Agent Portal Users at the Agent Representative organisation that have access to each Agent Portal Login Profile registered to the agency

DATA PROTECTION NOTICE

/ The Agent Portal Account Manager is also responsible for removing Agent Portal access to any Agent Portal User who is no longer an employee of the Agent Representative organisation and informing the University of Salford Account Manager.

The Agent Representative acknowledges that, in respect of all personal data of applicants that it inputs into the Agent Portal, it is acting as a data controller under this Agreement and agrees to comply with all of the obligations of a data controller under applicable Data Protection Legislation (in the manner as if those obligations applied to it). (The expressions ‘personal data’, ‘data processor’ and ‘data controller’ have their respective meanings under the Data Protection Legislation). The Agent Representative acknowledges that, in respect to access to the Agent Portal and personal data of applicants stored within the Agent Portal, it is responsible for ensuring its employees is complying by all applicable Data Protection Legislation.

/ Each Login Profile will require a Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) code to gain access to the agent portal. This will be sent to the assigned email address. / The Agent Representative and all their assigned Agent Portal Users are responsible for adhering to and respecting the function of the MFA. / Each agency branch is required to have its own individual Login Profile. Each agency branch may have more than one Login Profile. / Failure to adhere to any of these responsibilities may result in a breach in the Representative Agreement.

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APPLYING FOR POSTGRADUATE TAUGHT COURSES / PRE-SESSIONAL ENGLISH / INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION YEAR COURSES To apply for Postgraduate taught, Pre-sessional English and International Foundation courses you will need to use the University’s CRM system and log into the portal specifically designed for agents.

/ More than one course can be applied for at a time.

/ Please register an account with University of Salford Applicant Portal and add in personal details of the applicant.

Contact your Account Manager for more information.

/ Applicants should reply to their offers (accept, decline, defer, withdraw) via the Applicant Portal. They will get access to this once you set them up in the Agent Portal.

/ Search and select chosen course of study.

/ Applicants should notify Admissions of changes in personal details.

/ Complete the application form, including adding in education history, as accurately as possible, as prompted in the Agent Portal.

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR STUDENTS APPLYING FOR POSTGRADUATE TAUGHT COURSES:

/ Applicants can defer twice within the same academic year, or once to the next academic year. This can be both conditional and unconditional offers.

/ Submit the application. / The Admissions team will process the application as quickly as possible and if further information is required, the Admissions team will contact you by email with the list of outstanding documents to be uploaded to the Agent Portal. / Once the Admissions team make a decision, this will be visible on the Agent Portal and the letter will be emailed to you within 24 hours. / If conditions are met gradually throughout the cycle, the applicant can download an updated offer letter through the Agent Portal. / Applicants must meet the conditions of their offer by the agreed deadline to go Unconditional, and to start the CAS process (but only when the application has been formally accepted).

NECESSARY DOCUMENTS FOR POSTGRADUATE TAUGHT/INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION AND PRE-SESSIONAL APPLICANTS / Copies of all awarded qualifications, or full details of pending awards. This includes transcripts, not just the certificates. / A valid English language qualification, either as a copy if awarded or details if pending. / A personal statement. / A reference. / A passport. / Copies of any previous visa refusals, awarded visas, residency permits, academic & employment history form (if applicable). / A CV and any evidence of any professional qualifications and memberships to date.

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APPLYING FOR UNDERGRADUATE COURSES To apply for undergraduate courses at the University of Salford you will need to follow the UCAS process for your students.

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR STUDENTS APPLYING FOR AN UNDERGRADUATE COURSE:

/ Register with UCAS Apply at ucas.com

/ Applicants can only register and apply once in a cycle. If they have applied in previous cycles and want to apply again, they will have to submit a new application.

/ Complete all questions and add in personal details and education history, as accurately as possible, as prompted in UCAS Apply. / Select course choices using UCAS Course Search. / Submit the application, completing the declaration to confirm that UCAS can send the application to the chosen institutions. / University of Salford will process the application as quickly as possible and if further information is required, an email will be sent by the Admissions team with the requested items. / If a decision can be processed, this will be updated on UCAS Track. An offer letter with the conditions can be downloaded from UCAS Track, and a separate letter without conditions will be sent from Admissions. See more at ucas.com/undergraduate/after-you-apply/ tracking-your-ucas-application / Applicants must then reply to their choices by the specific deadline (see Important Notes). / Applicants must meet the conditions of their offer by the agreed deadline to get an Unconditional offer and to start the CAS process (but only for the course that has been selected as their Firm choice).

/ Applying through UCAS costs £22 for a single choice, or £26.50 for more than one choice, for those applying for entry in 2022. This must be paid before UCAS will release the application to the institution(s). / UCAS will send text/email reminders when deadlines to reply to offers approach – please do not miss these! The applications will be declined by default otherwise. / Applications can only be deferred once to the next cycle, and only when the offer is unconditional. Applicants must meet all conditions by the end of the cycle in which they applied.

NECESSARY DOCUMENTS FOR UNDERGRADUATE APPLICANTS / Full and accurate details of the applicants’ qualifications, both awarded and pending (copies may be requested). / A valid English language qualification, either awarded or pending. / A personal statement. / A reference (if no reference is available, the applicant can tick “I have agreed with my chosen institution that a reference is not required” in UCAS Apply; the Admissions team will make this a condition of the offer (if necessary)). / A passport (cannot be provided in UCAS Apply, but will be requested by the Admissions team).

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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS For specific entry requirements, please check the individual course pages on our website. You can use Course Finder to browse for different subjects, and filter for specific levels and study types at: salford.ac.uk/search/courses The course pages show English language requirements in UKVI IELTS, but we also accept a range of other international qualifications.

For students below the required level, we offer pathways onto our degree courses such as Pre-sessional English for all levels and the International Foundation Year for students wanting to progress to undergraduate courses. You can find a full list of the qualifications we accept, as well as the English language courses that we offer at: salford.ac.uk/international/english-language-requirements

CAS AND VISA COMPLIANCE Our Home Office Compliance team help ensure that our university meets the UKVI and Home Office requirements and to guide our students with any queries about their visa.

We have recently created new guidance, including videos to support new students with the CAS and visa process at: salford.ac.uk/international/visa

NEW STUDENT ARRIVAL PROCESS We keep new students informed early to help them plan for their arrival. It is very important that students’ register on-time, so that they do not miss their mandatory induction sessions.

We send out a digital Welcome Guide with lots of useful information to help them prepare for their studies, including how to register, travel advice, tips to help them settle into student life, and much more. The Welcome Guide links to the Welcome website for more information salford.ac.uk/welcome Some of the support we offer to new students includes: / / / / /

Free taxi transfer from Manchester airport International Student induction (for larger intakes) Welcome events Course induction Study skills workshops and advice

Please check our website for important dates at salford.ac.uk/international/apply and encourage students to read all welcome information carefully and follow the instructions so that they can join their course on-time.

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OUR RELATIONSHIP MARKETING AND ADVERTISING As a university we are bound by UK regulations when it comes to advertising our services for students. The UK Competitions and Market Authority (CMA) sets out policies that all UK universities must follow.

This means all information provided to students about our services must be accurate, so that students can make a fair and informed choice. Any misleading or false information puts the university at risk of being penalised.

Please comply with these regulations at all times, which you can do so by following the guidelines in this handbook. If you deliberately or consistently ignore these regulations, we may be forced to end our partnership.

We ask that you provide students with official University of Salford marketing materials as much as possible. You can find a list of resources towards the back of this handbook.

If you create your own adverts for the University of Salford, we ask you to please follow our brand guidelines which are available in the resources section (see page 14). You should only use images which are provided by us and use our high-resolution logo which your Account Manager can supply to you.

CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS Please visit the UK government website for more information about consumer protection in the UK and ensure you comply with this: gov.uk/government/organisations/competitionand-markets-authority Both written and verbal information provided to prospective students acts as a contract and binds the University of Salford to these promises. So please ensure that all information from your staff is a correct representation of our services, and ask our team for more details about anything you are not sure of.

TAGGING STUDENTS WHO HAVE APPLIED DIRECTLY If you have any questions about tagging direct students to your agency, please contact your account manager to discuss the process.

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COMMISSION Commission will be paid to you 3 times a year in line with the agent contract, please see the dates below. You will receive a commission proforma to submit the student details. Following this the commission team will verify each student, ensuring that the student is visa cleared and a proportion of the tuition fees have been paid.

Once the students have been verified, you will receive a verification report advising of commission payable.

A purchase order will then be sent to you, to enable you to create an invoice and request payment. Please note, commission will only be paid into the bank account that is on the finance system. If bank account details change then you must inform the commission team at salford-commission@salford.ac.uk All progression commission will be paid automatically. All commission is paid by bank transfer in UK GBP.

COMMISSION VERIFICATION, REPORTS AND PAYMENTS

STAGE 1 Representative completes Commission Proforma.

SEPTEMBER INTAKE COMMISSION ROUND

NOVEMBER / JANUARY COMMISSION ROUND

MARCH / JUNE COMMISSION ROUND

Date Start

Date End

Date Start

Date End

Date Start

Date End

08-NOV

19-NOV

08-MAR

19-MAR

22-AUG

05-SEP

08-NOV

26-NOV

08-MAR

26-MAR

05-SEP

19-SEP

28-NOV

02-DEC

28-MAR

02-APR

20-SEP

30-SEP

03-DEC

10-DEC

03-APR

10-APR

03-OCT

10-OCT

STAGE 2 Registration verification period. All registrations will be verified by Salford.

Feedback may be requested.

STAGE 3 Commission Reports are finalised and are sent to Representatives with a purchase order number finalised.

STAGE 4 Invoices with a purchase order number are sent to invoices-finance@salford.ac.uk

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ANTI-BRIBERY POLICY To ensure that the University is compliant with applicable United Kingdom anti-bribery laws and regulations, we ask that all partners must: / Not offer or give any bribe (whether money, a gift or other advantage) to any foreign official with the intention of influencing the performance of an official function, or to any other person to reward or cause improper performance of a function. / Comply with the University’s anti-bribery and anti-corruption policy (as updated from time to time) and have in place its own policies and procedures to combat bribery and corruption.

USEFUL RESOURCES We have created a web page especially for our partners which contains our latest marketing materials for you to access, as well as our brand guidelines.

Please check this page regularly for the latest publications and share these with your students salford.ac.uk/international/ agent-partner-resources

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International Office University of Salford 6th floor, Maxwell Building Manchester M5 4WT United Kingdom Email: salford-international@salford.ac.uk Web: salford.ac.uk/international

@salforduniglobal @UniversityofSalfordInternational @salforduniversity