Belonging through design: the University of Salford’s inclusive community approach

Results

71%* of offer-holders said using the Salford Uni CampusConnect app positively influenced their decision to study at UoS
88%* agreed they felt more prepared to start university
83%* agreed they felt like part of the UoS community
6,077 applicant-to-applicant connections made
73 active community group chats
45 events organised in the current cycle
Over 100,000 messages exchanged in first 5 months
Only 9 active student ambassadors driving engagement

*Statistics represent students who responded to the community feedback survey

Overview

The University of Salford (UoS) is committed to providing a vibrant and inclusive student community, centred on belonging, inclusion and connection. To strengthen pre-arrival confidence and community, they partnered with CampusConnect to launch an online space for undergraduate students.

The team had tried various initiatives in the past, including a different peer-to-peer engagement platform and a Facebook community. The latter was popular with students until a few years ago, when the team began to see a shift in students’ social media use. Vicki Hennessy, Associate Director for Student Recruitment and Widening Participation at UoS, explains: “In response to a clear need from our future students to build their university community before they arrived, we began to look at what external providers could offer in this space.”

When exploring new ways to connect with students, Vicki says that technology was a key consideration. CampusConnect’s strong API and ability to integrate with Dynamics stood out immediately, and positive feedback from a colleague who’d used the platform elsewhere helped seal the decision.

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Seamless integration and a safe space for students

CampusConnect worked closely with the University to design an effective community and deliver a smooth implementation. Vikki McKay, Applicant Services Manager at Salford who led the project, recalls: “The set-up was really straightforward - there were no glitches. It’s been a lot less work than I was anticipating, which is thanks to the team’s support.”

A key strength of CampusConnect is how naturally it fits within a university’s digital ecosystem. Each community is fully branded and customisable, helping students see it as part of the institution itself. Combined with built-in moderation and reporting tools, the result is a safe, authentic space that feels both official and welcoming.

Another standout for the Salford team is the community management support provided by a dedicated CampusConnect team member. Vicki Hennessy adds: “The Community Manager role is invaluable. Adele supports with everything from moderation to evaluation, which really helps with both engagement and safeguarding.”

Recognising students’ identities proactively

CampusConnect’s community-building capabilities have played a key role in helping UoS to support a diverse range of students to arrive on campus with confidence. Students join subject-based groups and can explore or suggest additional spaces that reflect their interests or identities - from gaming to mature student networks.

“Having identity-based groups in place means students feel seen from the outset. We’ve seen from the feedback that they’re valuing the opportunity: it’s reduced their anxiety and helped them connect with others or their course or with common interests.”

Vicki Hennessy, Associate Director for Student Recruitment and Widening Participation, University of Salford

The team has seen these groups come to life through open day meet-ups and gaming sessions, showing how the community helps students overcome early social hurdles. Allowing students to suggest new groups reveals valuable insights into how they prefer to connect and belong.

Vicki Hennessy explains: “We know that going to university is a big change for students - whether they’ve just turned 18, or are returning to education. We want to make sure everyone is welcomed into the Salford community and feels confident about joining us.”

Authentic voices from ambassadors

Student ambassadors bring relatable voices and authentic experiences to the community, helping to drive engagement with incoming students. Vikki McKay shares the strategy behind this: “As staff, we’ve tried to be really hands-off. We want it to be a student-led community where their voices shine through.”

With a digital-first approach, CampusConnect enables universities to work with a smaller team of ambassadors while still achieving high levels of engagement. The Salford team allows ambassadors to lead groups tailored to their area of interest: mature student ambassadors are placed in the mature students’ group for example, and those who travel to campus lead the commuter students’ group. Vikki praises their work:

“They’ve been brilliant. They’re familiar with giving advice and sharing their experience, so the training session from CampusConnect helped them transfer those skills to this context. It’s a great opportunity for them, not only to gain employability skills but also to build their networks.”

Creating efficiencies in staff-student communication

As well as bringing students together, the community has offered new ways for staff to collaborate. Vikki McKay expands: “It’s given the Applicant Services team a different way of connecting with our applicants – over the summer we did lots of ‘ask me anything’ sessions, which saved a lot of emails and provided applicants with instant responses to their queries.” Q&As and video recordings can also be retained on the app for other students to access.

The team has also found a more engaging way to get important information seen. Vikki adds: “We’re able to send push notifications around key deadlines, which is great because making sure students read emails can be challenging, but they’re more receptive to messages that come from an app.”

“The CampusConnect platform supports high-quality engagement because it’s just got it all there. We’ve seen high engagement in the groups, while some students prefer one-to-one messaging.”

Vikki McKay, Applicant Services Manager

Looking ahead: expanding to new cohorts

The University of Salford plans to build on the success of its undergraduate community. Vicki Hennessy explains: “We’ll continue using CampusConnect with our undergraduate applicants and leverage the community more around offer-holder days. It’s got real potential to encourage more people to come onto campus, while also providing an alternative engagement opportunity for those who can’t.”

Throughout partnership, collaboration and trust have been key. Vicki says: “Working with the CampusConnect team has been really positive. They’re receptive to our ideas, they come with great suggestions, and we trust their expertise. We’ve used the community in ways they’ve recommended - and it’s worked.”

Next year, the team will also trial a postgraduate community, using the platform to explore new engagement opportunities. As the community continues to grow, the University of Salford is strengthening connections and support for students from offer to arrival.

About CampusConnect

CampusConnect works with leading universities and business schools to build bespoke, customisable communities that deliver exceptional institutional ROI via conversion, progression, and an outstanding student experience.