Students' unions Archives - Alterline

Student Life Pulse Light 2026

Run our Light Student Life Pulse insight programme in the Spring 2026. Get in touch now if you're looking to understand your students' experiences, benchmarked against the 14 students' unions we're currently working with in our Pulse community

Engaging Students for a Sustainable Future

What do students expect from their students' union and university with regards to tackling sustainability and the climate emergency? Join us on our new national collaborative insight project to gain fresh quantitative and qualitative evidence to help drive action and innovation in the sustainability areas which matter most to students.

The rising need for student mental health and wellbeing support

Student mental health and wellbeing have been high on the university agenda since it was recognised that there appeared to be higher levels of mental distress amongst students compared to their non-student peers.[1] Coupled with the intimate link between achieving academic success and strong mental health, the case for university and students’ unions’ teams to focus on developing their wellbeing…

Research-led strategy secures over £400,000 investment for Westminster Students’ Union

A new strategic plan at Westminster Students’ Union is leading to big improvements for students. The new strategy has been built upon intelligence generated by Alterline into the lives and needs of students’ and has already secured over £400,000 investment to improve the social spaces on offer at one of the Unions central London locations. Alterline's intelligence report highlighted a…

Students’ Unions and their role in student wellbeing

Rightly much attention is currently being paid to the issue of mental health on campuses with many new policies and initiatives, both nationally and locally. Students’ unions are keen to play their part and do all they can to contribute to members’ wellbeing and yet when it comes to practical actions many unions find themselves under resourced to meet the…

Being well, doing well re-launched for 25/26

We continue to build on the evidence gathered to date and work with both university and union teams to generate insight and solutions based on student voice.

Manchester student life – research to support the Union’s strategic plan

Alterline’s research and consultancy support, alongside their ground breaking segmentation were instrumental in the development of our new strategic plan. They brought real insight and challenge to the process and transformed our understanding and relationship with our students.Ben Ward - Union Director With over 43,000 students the University of Manchester Students’ Union has the largest membership of any…

YUSU Strategic Planning

Over the last few years, Alterline has worked with students’ unions across the country to help them better understand student experiences and drive change. The University of York Students’ Union (YUSU) has been through a period of rapid, exciting growth over the past three years. Student numbers at the institution have grown significantly, with the Union’s staff team, physical building and relationship…

Bristol SU – The power of a brand to connect with students

Bristol SU has undergone a significant transformation in the last 4 years from a failing organisation in significant debt into a successfully functioning business with an annual turnover of £3-4 million, representing a body of approximately 20,000 students. In 2015, the Union commissioned Alterline to develop a new brand for them which would help them connect more effectively with their…

Sheffield Hallam Students’ Union – A new strategic vision

Having worked together before on a number of student experience projects, Sheffield Hallam Students’ Union commissioned Alterline to support their strategic visioning process by helping them to better understand students. A large scale quantitative survey which sought to explore current perceptions and future aspirations was completed by 3529 students. The survey was followed by a series of focus groups which…