Wed 20 Nov 2024
University student organisations are challenged to ensure a positive and continually improving student experience. Choosing the right Membership Management solution for your Student’s Union can make all the difference. With that said, selecting the best one can be daunting, especially when you have so many other things going on.
Mon 30 Sep 2024
Choosing the right membership management system is a crucial decision for any student organisation. It can shape how efficiently you manage members, streamline operations, and ultimately enhance student engagement. But with so many options available, what should you prioritise? This article breaks down five key things to consider when selecting a system, helping you choose the best system for your student organisation.
Tue 12 Nov 2024
In today's fast-paced and competitive academic environment, Student Unions are under increasing pressure to deliver a high-quality experience and measurable value. The key to success lies in understanding student needs, providing the proper support, and making data-driven decisions that boost both engagement and outcomes. Data analysis is crucial in achieving these goals. However, despite the potential of data to drive meaningful change, many organisations struggle to fully leverage its power.
Tue 18 May 2021
Need more ideas to help manage your Student Groups? After the popularity of our last "top tips" post, here are some more ideas to help you manage your Student Groups, and make your members' experiences with joining your Sports Clubs and Societies easier!
Wed 16 Oct 2024
Running a sports club or society is about more than just organising events—it’s about building a strong, connected community where members feel they belong. Engaging your current members while attracting new ones can be challenging, especially when you're trying to build a sense of community and boost event turnout with limited feedback. However, with a few key strategies, you can turn your club into a place everyone wants to be part of.
Here are 5 tips to help boost engagement...
Tue 15 Jun 2021
June 2021 - "MSL has provided MSA a platform to engage and interact with students whilst developing the student Office Bearers skills. At current stage, we have more than 20,000 memberships and the list continues to grow as we continue to deliver and improve our services in this challenging time." - Sylvia Francisca, Finance Director, Monash Student Association
Tue 20 Dec 2022
We spoke with Hannah, the communications and marketing manager at UCLan SU to find out what the future holds for the SU - along with some Top Tips to better support each and every student.
Thu 23 Nov 2023
Our tradition of bringing the MSL community* together started again on the 8th June - we heard from great speakers, shared ideas, and took part in inspiring discussions led by you! Look out for more sessions to be announced in the coming months.
Thu 23 Nov 2023
Our tradition of bringing the MSL community* together started again on the 8th June - we heard from great speakers, shared ideas, and took part in inspiring discussions led by you! Look out for more sessions to be announced in the coming months.
Thu 23 Nov 2023
Boo! 🎃 Here is your Autumn news round up, it's all about events and top tips...
Fri 21 Jan 2022
With your Welcome and Orientation Weeks just around the corner, whatever it might look like this year, we've created some top tips to help you prepare.
Thu 18 Nov 2021
With less than a week to go until Black Friday, if you’d like to offer your members a Black Friday deal on your products then you’ve come to the right place!
Wed 18 Jan 2023
Making a digital impact through their website, clubs and societies resources, events and ticketing, student voice and integrated elections and volunteering/employability hub.
Thu 04 Aug 2022
From our SU22 session - we looked at making it easy for your new members to engage with your organisation, great employability features in the MSL System, running fantastic events, elections and advice services plus student group features.
Thu 08 Sep 2022
Dundee University Students' Assocation has turned to MSL to help form the big-picture understanding of their members' needs, wants, expectations and behaviours.
Tue 07 Sep 2021
September 2021 - Arts Students’ Union is the focal point of support and activities for students at the six constituent colleges of University of the Arts London (UAL). The Union provides participation opportunities through sports clubs, societies, the Arts Programme and representation through the elected officers, council and course reps. So when the Union looked at ways to encourage greater participation in activities, elections was the first area reviewed - with the support of the team at MS
Wed 11 Aug 2021
With Welcome Week just around the corner, to accompany our "Getting ready for Welcome Week" online training sessions taking place w/c 16th August, we've created some top tips to help you prepare.
Tue 08 Jun 2021
Ahead of a hopeful return to more normal campus life, here are six ways you could improve your purchase process for your members - for both face-to-face and online sales to make buying from you a little easier.
Mon 07 Mar 2022
MSL is pleased to announce a new partnership with native to bring more options for events technology to students’ organisations using the MSL System. A free, optional plug-in for MSL clients provides a range of new features such as digital wristbands, ticket scanning and features to build a following. Used either in conjunction with MSL’s popular events tools or as the sole events platform, the native partnership gives MSL clients more choice and flexibility to promote and deliver great even
Fri 30 Apr 2021
April 2021 - Harper Adams Students’ Union has taken advantage of the MSL System® for the past three years, broadening its service provision and digitising many of its processes to keep pace with the changing demands of members. The MSL System has helped the Union deliver impactful Student Voice campaigns, hugely popular digital engagement programmes and utilise the data it now has at its fingertips to shape the next five-year’s ambitious development strategy.
Wed 19 Jan 2022
Ahead of your upcoming elections, here are some of our tips to help you prepare for this exciting time of year, making the setup and running of your election through your MSL System as easy as possible!
Thu 03 Dec 2020
BLOG: Tis the season to be jolly and we know how hard our MSL community is working to get students and staff into the festive spirit, even as students start to head for home. We’re especially delighted to see Christmas Fairs going ahead giving a welcome opportunity for talented students to sell their products over the festive period and beyond. Read how our creative clients are using resources in their MSL System to build attractive and engaging fairs...
Wed 18 Nov 2020
Autumn 2020 release round-up: Our hard working development team was especially busy over the summer so we are pleased to bring you details of some of the newer features and improvements released over the last few months which you may have missed. Many of our developments are driven by the MSL community and so we're always excited to release new features that have been requested by our clients and their teams.
Mon 14 Dec 2020
Sending our best wishes to the fabulous MSL Community...
Thu 11 Mar 2021
March 2021 - The Australian National University Students’ Association first chose the MSL System to underpin its burgeoning digital engagement requirements. The digital transformation had started back in 2016 when MSL Elections was used to run online voting for the first time - a move which resulted in the highest number of votes placed and posts filled for five years. Encouraged by their members’ enthusiasm for participating online, the decision was made to implement the core MSL System.
Thu 15 Jul 2021
It's less than a month until results day and only a matter of weeks before we're in the middle of your welcome week preparations. MSL is on hand to provide guidance and support with any queries you might have; here are some of our top tips to help you prepare for your events.
Thu 29 Apr 2021
Need ideas to help manage your Student Groups? Look no further.
Mon 12 Apr 2021
April 2021 - UCLan Students’ Union has always tried to offer lots of different ways to engage with their students as a union providing services and support to members on separate campuses in Preston and Burnley in Lancashire. Whilst digital engagement has been an integral part of the overall communications strategy, it wasn’t until the Union embarked upon user experience research in 2020 that they understood exactly what their students were looking for from the union’s website.
Thu 04 Mar 2021
March 2021 - From using a shared, university-owned ticketing system, to driving a digital communications strategy, managing a 250% increase in cases and growing the team during a pandemic, the Advice Centre at the Royal Holloway University London Students’ Union has come far in the two years since it implemented MSL’s Student Case Manager system.
Thu 25 Mar 2021
March 2021 - In 2020, the Heriot-Watt University Dubai Student Council chose to launch their brand new digital presence with MSL, the largest provider of digital student engagement solutions in the UK, Australia and Ireland.
“The new website and our digital resources puts us at the forefront of student engagement across the UAE and reinforces the importance of ensuring students have a positive student experience alongside the studies.” - Soehl Abraham, Student President
Fri 09 Oct 2020
October 2020 - Cambridge Students’ Union has implemented the core MSL System together with online Elections and Referenda and Student Group Finances to provide a range of digital engagement services to members. The newly merged under- and post-graduate organisations will offer access to clubs and societies resources, ticketing, feedback and online community tools and online voting through its new website
Mon 20 May 2019
Edinburgh University Sports’ Union (EUSU) joined the MSL community in 2016, following a search for the digital resources needed to support the diverse requirements of their clubs, members and recreational sport participants. Read how the MSL System® has helped EUSU grow club memberships, promote events, sell tickets and increase participation in non-BUCS sports by 90%.
Mon 20 May 2019
May 2019 - Edinburgh University Sports’ Union (EUSU) joined the MSL community in 2016, following a search for the digital resources needed to support the diverse requirements of their clubs, members and recreational sport participants. Read how the MSL System® has helped EUSU grow club memberships, promote events, sell tickets and increase participation in non-BUCS sports by 90%.
Thu 29 Aug 2019
August 2019: Harper Adams Students’ Union is set to reinvent itself by taking advantage of the MSL System® to broaden its service provision, digitise its manual processes and develop staff resources to keep pace with the changing demands of members.
Tue 31 Mar 2020
31st March 2020 - The University of Buckingham has chosen the MSL System to support the Students’ Union services it delivers for its 3000+ students. The University will use the core MSL System™ which includes events and ticket sales, clubs and societies, feedback resources, and the StudentLink™ app to increase engagement with students both on and off campus and in work placements.
Tue 04 Jun 2019
3rd June 2019 - The Royal College of Art Students’ Union has chosen to work with Membership Solutions Ltd on a brand new website incorporating a student voice platform, club and society resources, online elections and StudentLink® app. The new membership management solution will help bring together students from the College’s three campuses in London.
Tue 01 Oct 2019
1st October 2019 - A new academic year invariably means new staff members, new roles, new tasks and lots of things that need to be done right now to support your members as they settle into the new academic year. This post looks at development work we've done to help simplify the process of assigning permissions and get your team working as quickly as possible.
Wed 18 Sep 2019
18th September 2019 - Read about the schedule of work MSL is embarking on which will result in a consistent user experience across the entire MSL System.
Fri 06 Sep 2019
6th September 2019 - We’re sure you appreciate the role data plays within the MSL System; you work with data every day and it drives every decision made in your organisation. But just in case you were in any doubt, data also underpins everything that the MSL System does for you. Read about one of the most important projects in MSL's history and the benefits it will bring...
Wed 15 Aug 2018
As part our modernisaton programme, we have made a number of improvements and updates to your MSL Venues and Door Entry system. A summary has been provided here and more information can be found on the Knowledge Base. We recommend that you and your venues team review these changes prior to using the updated application for a live event. Read more...
Tue 02 Jul 2019
2nd July 2019 - This month, we welcome Gary Bryant to the MSL team - he joins as our new Chief Executive and will be meeting many of you over the coming weeks and months. If you plan to be at this week's NUS Trade Show, you can meet Gary then as he will be in attendance on our stand B76.
Wed 24 Jul 2019
24th July 2019 - Campus is buzzing with smartly dressed parents, friends and family and the ocassional roar can be heard from the graduation ceremonies taking place this week. So we know that it's only a matter of weeks before we're in the middle of your Freshers preparations and the excitement that surrounds Results Day. The MSL team is on hand to provide guidance and help with all those annual tasks that will be coming around again soon and Knowledge Base support is just a click away!
Fri 08 Jun 2018
June 2018 - As exam fever begins to abate and ball tickets go on sale, it can only mean one thing - Freshers is just around the corner! No, we can't believe it either but we're looking forward to a summer of helping you get ready for arguably the most exciting time of year for your teams and your brand new student members.
Tue 18 Jun 2019
18th June 2019 - The University of Cumbria Students’ Union will use MSL's Student Group Finances system to improve the support services provided to its clubs and societies. With a growing number of student-led groups the Union has recognised the need to streamline their finance processes for committees and so encourage more activities and participation. Student Group Finances will support this initiative by enabling finance requests to be quickly and easily carried out online.
Wed 05 Dec 2018
December 2018 - We can't believe this is our final news round-up for 2018: we've welcomed new clients from the UK, Ireland and Australia; you have embraced our new developments and improvements to your MSL System; and your year-round endeavours in supporting members and engaging with the hardest to reach students are awe-inspiring. We are proud to play a part in what you have achieved this year.
Mon 08 Apr 2019
8th April 2019 - Leeds Trinity Students’ Union has selected the MSL System® to underpin its plans for increasing student engagement through activities, representation and clubs and societies. The MSL System will provide a new website, student groups resources, events and ticketing, ecommerce, integrated online elections and the StudentLink® app.
Tue 02 Apr 2019
March 2019 - We know a few of you are still in the midst of nominations, campaigning and voting but the frenzy of activity that comes at this time of year is gradually reducing. We hear snippets of great stories about fantastic engagement from nominees, innovative campaigning from candidates and best ever voter turnouts; please send us your highlights so we can share them with the community!
Thu 24 Jan 2019
MONSU Peninsula – the students’ union for the Peninsula campus of Monash University – will use the MSL System® to support its primary objective of enhancing the university experience of their student members through events, services and support. The Students’ Union new membership management system will include a website, the StudentLink® app, volunteering and employability resources, online elections and venue management.
Mon 03 Dec 2018
December 2018 - We’ve been spending some time thinking about MSL's brand and identity: what does it mean to you, our MSL community; how do prospective users of the MSL System view the MSL 'brand'; and how do we demonstrate our commitment to providing easy-to-use products that support an inclusive, diverse, accessible and engaging member experience? It's an evolving process - but we've made a start with a new logo, corporate style and, coming soon, a new website.
Mon 05 Nov 2018
November 2018 - Whilst Freshers 2018 was the usual fun and occasionally frantic ride we have all come to expect, the MSL team continued with developments and updates and we're pleased to announce that the newest version of StudentLink has been released to the stores. This version will offer users an even more streamlined mobile experience for buying tickets, placing votes and generally interacting with you.
Thu 22 Feb 2018
MSL's new dashboards help you track and celebrate your student groups' contribution to membership engagement - and they are free of charge to add to your current MSL System set up....
Wed 21 Mar 2018
The University of Dundee and Dundee University Students’ Association (DUSA) have selected Membership Solutions Ltd’s online elections system to support their staff and Students’ Association elections. The new digital solution will ensure all staff and students at the university can stay informed about and take part in key elections.
Thu 19 Apr 2018
MSL is seeking a technical customer services coordinator to join the team. The successful candidate will have excellent written written and verbal communication skills as well as good all-round IT knowledge for supporting our existing customers in using and exploiting the MSL System's functionality.
Wed 08 Mar 2017
21st June 2016 - Coventry University Students’ Union has chosen Membership Solutions Ltd to supply their new membership management system together with Elections and Volunteering modules to enhance their student engagement activities.
Thu 24 Nov 2016
November 2016 - It's never too early to be prepared.... Our winter missive has lots to help you prepare including details of December's Refreshers web briefing and January's Elections training, featuring not one, but two ways to get your team up-to-speed on all things voting related. We also want you to share your knowledge and expertise via the hardware forum on MyMSL and we'd like to welcome UEA Students' Union who are already doing amazing things with their new MSL System.
Fri 28 Jul 2017
July 2017 - “Adopting MSL for our student intranet has been pain free... bespoke elements have been delivered on time. Although the directory search and user profiles are bespoke to us I am sure they would be of use to many other membership based organisations." Caroline Persaud, Registrar, Goodenough College
Thu 08 Jun 2017
We are really pleased to announce the release of v7.95. This includes the imminent release of ‘Manage People’ functionality to your admin website. This is the next phase of our modernisation programme planned to improve the efficiency and user experience of the MSL System. It allows authorised users to carry out admin functions - previously available via the Windows-only Memberships Admin application - over the web, accessible by standard browsers and support on smartphones and tablets.
Wed 08 Mar 2017
10th August 2015 - Aston Students’ Union has selected Membership Solutions Ltd (MSL) to design and implement its new website and complete membership management system, further strengthening their relationship established in 2014 with the Union’s use of the MSL online elections platform
Mon 12 Dec 2016
December 2016 - As 2016 draws to a close, the team at MSL is still a busy bunch which is why we've squeezed in one last round-up of our news before everyone in the MSL community goes off for their well-deserved breaks. We bring you details of more developments to the MSL System, a heads-up for a hotly anticipated new feature on the App and a warm welcome to another new client to MSL.
Fri 07 Jul 2017
The University of Chester’s volunteering service has chosen MSL’s Volunteering and Employability System to support its drive to encourage more students to develop their career skills, improve their CV and to give something back to their community through volunteering.
Wed 19 Jul 2017
July 2017 - " Our aim is to keep the student community connected and up-to-date with what is happening in and around their campus and the new website affords us the opportunity to do this on a channel we are sure students will embrace." Calvin Hepburn, President, University of Strathclyde Students’ Association
Mon 26 Jun 2017
June 2017 - MSL Towers has been enjoying the summer weather and, whilst the call of a refreshing drink at the Dirty Duck is strong, the MSL team is staying put not least because we've had such a busy spring and early summer. We're working on a number of new client implementations (watch out for news on who else has joined our happy band of MSLers), the modernisation programme continues to gather pace and Student Group Finances has proven to be very popular.
Wed 08 Mar 2017
In August 2016, the Australian National University Students’ Association ran their Student Representative Council and National Union of Students’ Delegates elections completely online for the first time. The Association utilised Membership Solutions Ltd’s elections module which enabled the elections process to be managed through the Association’s own elections website. The move to digital resulted in the highest number of votes placed and posts filled for some five years.
Wed 10 May 2017
April 2017 - "The integration, professionalism and advice from the MSL team has been outstanding and we’re looking forward to providing a great experience for our students.” Jon May, Communications Manager, University of Westminster Students’ Union
Fri 13 Jan 2017
13th January 2017 - The Australian National University Students’ Association and the Postgraduate and Research Students' Association have selected the MSL System to support their growing digital membership management requirements. The new system will provide new websites, clubs and societies tools, messaging, e-commerce and community resources for both associations as well as a shared online elections platform.
Fri 31 Mar 2017
April 2017 - British Summer Time has arrived and that can only mean one thing.... you're planning for results day and all the things you need to have ready to showcase what a great student experience looks like. We have tips and offers to get your website looking its best and another of our popular web briefings lined up to get your team raring to go.
Mon 20 Feb 2017
20th February 2017 - “The MSL System will allow us to maintain the strong working partnership we have developed with the clubs over the past 12 months.” Richard McGloin, Director of Commercial Services , Sheffield Hallam University
Tue 10 Jan 2017
Gary McLachlan, Change and Represent Manager at University of Exeter Students' Guild explains how they use the MSL news widgets in this first article of a series on supporting the Guild’s democratic systems.
Mon 16 May 2016
May 2016 - We're guessing there's one big thing on everyone's mind right now - Freshers. The opportunities this presents for engagement, doing business and of course celebrating achievements at the start of the student journey are huge so we hope that the following news, solutions and support activities will help your preparations.
Thu 06 Aug 2015
August 2015 - New to your Students' Union? Not sure what MSL does and how we support you and your student members? Our quick guide could help....
Fri 07 Oct 2016
7th October 2016 - We are pleased to bring you details of release v7.91 which contains improvements to the Admin Website, App, Data, Events, News, POS, Profile and Community, Reports, Volunteering and Website.
Wed 13 Jul 2016
July 2016 - In September 2015, North East Scotland College Students’ Association (NESColSA) chose to implement a new membership management platform. The move to digital engagement was planned not only to help the Association better support their students, elections, clubs and societies activity but also to drive the organisation’s development over the coming years.
Fri 23 Sep 2016
23rd September 2016 - “Our digital capacity is a crucial component of our overall transformation strategy - we just can't realize our ambitions for education or students without it. So when we reviewed this area last year we set out to find a partner that could inspire confidence - faster moving, more straightforward to do business with and more understanding of what goes on in SUs than our previous provider. MSL fits that bill.” Jim Dickinson, Chief Executive, UEA Students’ Union
Wed 28 Sep 2016
Sept 2016 - "Looking towards the future, we are excited to see how we can leverage MSL to enhance our engagement with the student body, not only for elections but throughout the entire year.” Benjamin Gill, President, ANU Students’ Association
Wed 07 Sep 2016
September 2016 - OK, so we know summer is officially over but the promise of a mini-heatwave this week means we're clinging onto the flip-flops and shorts for as long as possible. We've had so much good stuff to share with you over the summer months, we're pleased to bring you a final round-up of our news and want to ask you to share some of your successes from the last year.
Thu 11 Aug 2016
August 2016 - Summer may mean holidays to anyone who doesn't work in students' unions but to the MSL team and all of you out there getting ready for the new term and Freshers, we know the summer months are a time to put new ideas in place, refresh websites and get excited about bigger and better participation projects.
Thu 14 Apr 2016
April 2016 - Having worked with a restrictive and cumbersome financial management system for several years, the University of Nottingham Students’ Union (UoNSU) set out to upgrade to something that could automate processes and streamline workflow more easily.
Thu 10 Mar 2016
You're all busy with elections which can mean only one thing - summer term is nearly upon us. It's been great to see the real-time elections stats in use and initial feedback is that many of you have seen your best turnout in years. You're obviously doing a great job engaging your students!
Wed 09 Dec 2015
December 2015 - The end of Autumn term has crept up on us and we're looking forward to finishing off all those last minute jobs so we can enjoy the forthcoming festivities. With that in mind, we bring you our final round-up of news and events for 2015 along with our best wishes for an enjoyable festive break.
Thu 13 Aug 2015
13th August 2015 - The new Student Case Manager module from Membership Solutions Ltd (MSL) is proving popular with students’ unions who run advice centres to support their student members. The new facility – developed with case management experts, Iizuka Software – is designed specifically to manage the diverse welfare issues faced by many students in tertiary education and to streamline the workload of their advisors.
Tue 06 Oct 2015
October 2015 - Wishing everyone a successful Freshers' Week! We know Freshers' is keeping everyone busy but we also know how keen you are to stay up to date with our news and developments so we've squeezed in this short but sweet late summer newsletter for you to enjoy before the new year starts.
Thu 04 Jun 2015
3rd June 1015 - MSL has been chosen to provide the elections platform for Central Students’ Union (Central SU) which represents students at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, part of the University of London.
Mon 27 Apr 2015
24th April 2015 - Membership Solutions Ltd (MSL) is delighted to see many of its students’ union clients and universities appearing in the top 10 of the this year’s Whatuni Student Choice Awards, where Loughborough Students’ Union was rated as the best students’ union overall.
Tue 23 Jun 2015
June 2015 - As promised, we're pleased to present the second edition of our Summer 2015 newsletter....
Fri 13 Mar 2015
March 2015 - All the news from MSL this sunny Spring day!
Fri 18 Jul 2014
Membership Solutions Ltd (MSL) is delighted to announce a new partnership with IIZUKA to provide an integrated Case Management solution for managing advice and general enquiries in the education sector....
Tue 09 Dec 2014
Hopefully you're all looking forward to a nice break. This month's newsletter contains important details of our closure over the Christmas break, the date of our next Elections Training, plus information about new modules.
Wed 01 Oct 2014
This article explains how to run your election in line with this guidance using your MSL system
Fri 11 Apr 2014
Keeping you up to date on new staff, new developments, new features and our Easter opening hours.
Fri 13 Dec 2013
Hopefully you're all looking forward to a nice break. This month's newsletter contains important details of our closure over the Christmas break, the date of our next Elections Training, information about the Volunteering module, plus some nice bits and bobs from and about you, our clients.
Fri 01 Nov 2013
Welcome to our November Newsletter to catch you up on news gone by and new things to look out for. Plus a big welcome to our new clients who have joined us over the summer.
Thu 17 May 2012
We have new staff to tell you about, lots of updates and new developments and a website admin training session coming up.
Thu 05 May 2011
Spring development updates, MSL events module focus group, memberships admin training and more.
Tue 20 Dec 2011
Elections, Surveys, Friendly URLs and the Votey Uppy Downy Thingy.
Mon 04 Jul 2011
You'll notice in the notes for this release there have been a lot of improvements to Memberships Admin, for full details you can see the release notes (and we have updated the Support documentation) but we thought we'd outline some of the major improvements here.
Thu 27 Oct 2011
New editor, elections get-together and recruitment.
Fri 26 Aug 2011
Events module improvements and training, WYSIWYG editor change and new posts on the forum.
Fri 08 Jul 2011
Development updates, Summer training, Recruitment and more.
Wed 22 Jul 2009
We are delighted to announce that QMSU have signed with MSL to run their website and membership system.
Wed 05 Nov 2008
We have been totting up some figures for our 7 SU Clients over the last two months.
Wed 20 May 2009
We are delighted to announce that Leeds University Union have chosen us to run their SU website and membership system.
Thu 29 Jan 2009
MSL are proud to be running the membership system and website for the Association of Managers of Students' Unions.
Wed 25 Feb 2009
We are delighted to announce that Manchester Met have launched their new website.