Lobbying University staff

As part of your campaign, you might want to write to specific University staff or departments, especially if they have information you need, they could be an ally, or they might be affected by your campaign in some way.

You could write open letters (see above) to show how many students back your position. Another option would be to encourage students to write to staff directly. If you chose the latter option, you could create a short template, and suggest that people personalise it to fit their own experience. York University Students’ Union did a letter writing campaign a few years ago about academic policy, using Action Network, where students signed the online letter and that then sent an email automatically to the relevant university staff.

Here are some people you might consider emailing, depending on your campaign aims and issue area:

• If it pertains to University Strategy, Higher Education funding, national or international issues, University spending and investment, or other high level matters, you can email the Principal
• You may also wish to contact a relevant member of the Principal’s Office for high-level issue areas, depending on remit.
• For Faculty-level problems, you could email the Dean for your Faculty, your Associate Dean (Students), or your Associate Dean (Education).
• If you are a postgrad, you could email the Provost.
• For School-level problems, you could email your Head of School.
• Where your campaign is about student support, health, or wellbeing, you could contact staff from Student Services
• You can also check out the list of Professional Services Units at the University to find out what different Units do, and who might be more relevant to contact.

They might offer to meet with you to discuss your thoughts in more detail, and to explain their perspective.

Here are some general tips for writing to University staff:

• Do
  • Make sure your email is going to the right person. Does this person have the influence or remit to do what you are asking of them? If not, they’re probably not the right person to contact.
  • Open your email politely, using their full name.
  • Provide data/research evidence if you have it to support your point (don’t worry if not).
  • Show passion about the topic, clearly explain what you want them to do and why they should do it.
  • Thank them for taking the time to read your email and end by saying that you hope to hear from them soon.
• Don't
  • Be rude or disrespectful (they probably won’t reply).
  • Be too informal (i.e. don’t swear).
  • Make your email too long. Keep it as concise as you can while still explaining your campaign, evidence if relevant, and what you want them to do.