Student Citizenship
Our Student Citizenship Programme is designed to support you, our students, and make sure your time in Leeds is positive both for yourself and the communities that you live in.
Through our Student Citizenship programme, the University deliver year-round initiatives to educate students on the impact you have locally as well as encouraging active and positive participation in community life.
Where negative situations occur, we work closely with the Leeds Antisocial Behaviour Team and West Yorkshire Police in handling these incidents.
Where a University of Leeds student has been identified as being involved in a complaint, we follow the four stage process outlined in the drop down boxes below. The process is designed to give students the opportunity to rectify any negative behaviour and support you in avoiding further complaints or disciplinary action.
For any questions about how we handle complaints, please read our Student Citizenship FAQs.
Stage one
Identification of the University of Leeds student involvement with community issues
Community issues are shared with the University through a data sharing agreement with Leeds City Council. Where our students have been identified as living at a property implicated for causing a neighbourhood issue, the Sustainability Service initiate the University process with handling community complaints.
Assessment of issue impact
The University assess the severity and impact of the incident reported before determining the best course of action.
Stage two
Contact made with students involved
All students identified as living at the property are contacted through a letter. This includes the details from the witnessed report and provides guidance on living locally and the University and Leeds City Council processes and sanctions if further complaints are registered.
Stage three
Good Citizenship training
If the issue was deemed to have had a moderate impact, students will be invited to Good Citizenship training. Students that fail to attend the training will be referred to the Head of Student Cases.
All students identified as living at the property are contacted through a letter and email to invite them to attend citizenship training. The letter details the allegations, provides guidance on resident responsibilities and details the University and Leeds City Council processes for responding to neighbourhood issues.
This workshop has been developed to give students a better understanding of their role and responsibilities in society and how to make a positive contribution to the local community.
This includes guidance on how to manage conflict with others, identify solutions to neighbourhood disputes, understand the consequences and impacts of nuisance behaviours and help them to prevent further situations that would result in further complaints.
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Describe the rights and responsibilities of citizens and the sanctions should these be breached. Including Leeds City Council and University sanctions for community conduct.
- Describe the impact anti-social behaviour has on people, businesses and organisations in the community;
- Describe examples of anti-social behaviour and the solutions to resolve situations; and
- Describe how they might contribute positively to their community and articulate actions to enable them to make such a contribution.
Stage four
Referral to the Head of Student cases
If the complaint was classed as having a major impact or if students have attended the training and receive further complaints they will be directly referred to the Head of Student cases.
Student behaviour to be considered under the General Disciplinary Regulations.
Good Citizenship Training
Students who have been involved in a complaint about a substantial issue impacting on their neighbours will be required to attend our compulsory Good Citizenship training workshop, as outlined in the complaints process above.
Good Citizenship training is all about helping you, as students, understand your role and responsibilities in society and how you can positively contribute to your local community. It includes guidance on how to manage conflict with others, identify solutions to disputes and prevent situations that could result in further complaints.
The workshop has been developed by the Sustainability Service with input from students, Leeds University Union and our partners. It is delivered by our appointed, experienced training provider.
For any questions about the Good Citizenship Training, or why you may have been asked to take part, please read our Student Citizenship FAQs.
Book your training
You only need to register for this workshop if you are a University of Leeds student who has received an invitation from the Sustainability Service to attend Good Citizenship Training.
Upcoming workshop sessions
All workshops currently take place virtually through Microsoft Teams and you can book a place through our Eventbrite page, which is updated regularly with new workshop dates. Please book a workshop that takes place on or before the specified date in your letter, unless you have a prior agreement with the Student Citizenship team.
Please only register and attend one workshop. If you need to change your registration date, then request a refund through Eventbrite and re-register for a different workshop.
What you'll need
Make sure you log onto the meeting on time - all sessions are currently run virtually on Microsoft Teams and if you join late you will be asked to book onto another session within the time period you have been given. You will need something to take notes on during the workshop.
Spaces on workshops are limited - if you are unable to attend and need to change your booking, then you will need to request a 'refund' through Eventbrite and re-register for a different workshop. If you are unable to do this, or you wish to attend a session which is showing as fully booked, then contact the Student Citizenship team and we will help where we can.
If you experience any issues during this process, please first check the Student Citizenship FAQs. If you still experience issues, then email studentcitizenship@leeds.ac.uk.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. Our student citizenship work is linked to the following SDGs:
- Goal 3: Good health and well-being
- Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
- Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
Find out more about our impact on the SDGs.