IMPACT REPORT 2016 / 17
4 Introduction 6 More Money for Students
7 Increasing Enjoyment 8 Campaigning and Representation
10 Making Brunel Safer 11 Providing
Advice and Support
12 Raising Money to
Support Our Work
“The Union exists to ensure that every Brunel student has the opportunity to enjoy, challenge, influence and benefit from all aspects of their studies and the wider student experience.” 4
We aim to make students’ lives better. We are delivering this aim in several ways; More Money for Students, Increasing Enjoyment, Campaigning and Representation, Making Brunel Safe, Providing Advice and Support, and Raising Money to Support Our Work. This year we have been working hard to ensure our members have the best experience at Brunel. In this report, we’re showcasing some of our best achievements this year, along with the impact we’ve had on our members. We hope you get a sense of what a diverse, busy, and exciting organisation we are, and how we make a difference for students every day!
More Money for Students
We are always looking for ways to increase the value for money students get at Brunel. Whether that’s by saving them money on the things they need, or helping them get money that they’re entitled to from other sources.
Increasing Enjoyment
We aim to provide a range of exciting, inclusive, and diverse activities for our members to enjoy. We also have a wide range of sports clubs and societies, giving something for everyone.
Campaigning and Representation
It’s our duty to represent our members’ interests in the wider university context, as well as throughout the local community and further afield. We also support campaigns on issues that students are passionate about, and run the student elections each year to choose who will become full-time and part-time officers championing the needs of students across The Union and The University.
Making Brunel Safer
The safety of our students is paramount to us, which is why we work tirelessly to ensure that campus, and any other venues we use, are safe and inclusive spaces. This year we’ve launched a series of initiatives to build on this, from adopting the ‘Ask For Angela’ campaign, through to working on our Best Bar None award application.
Providing Advice and Support
University can be a challenging time, and for some students problems will arise which they can’t solve on their own. The Union aims to provide advice and support to any student experiencing difficulties that are impacting their studies or enjoyment at Brunel. The main way we do this is through The Advice and Representation Centre (ARC). The ARC offers financial and housing advice, and signposts students to services for any other issues they have.
Raising Money to Support Our Work
To continue providing opportunities, support, representation and enjoyment to our members, we need enough income to operate effectively. We work to bring in additional money from sponsorships, sales of merchandise and NUS cards, and giving space to market stall traders on campus, as well as through our venues.
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MORE SUPPORT FOR OUR STUDENTS Our link with the National Union of Students (NUS) means we can sell NUS Extra cards to our members. This discount card provided hundreds of deals, discounts, and offers to students across the country, saving our members money wherever they go.
Through The ARC we have gained over £127,000 for students, from rectifying student finance mistakes to assisting them in getting their deposit returned at the end of a tenancy.
£127K We have also given out £2,500 worth of meal vouchers to students in need, meaning they can get hot food when they are struggling.
1716 CARDS SOLD THIS YEAR 6
INCREASING ENJOYMENT From putting on Freshers’ Fayre at the start of term 1 through to the end of year Mega Global bash.
Following on from launching Team Brunel, we held the West London Varsity on campus this year; competing against St Mary’s University for the coveted trophy. With a closely fought contest, we emerged victorious at 18-17.
We put on the Team Brunel Ball, celebrating sporting successes through the year, and providing a night to remember.
We hosted the first Annual Union Awards event – recognising the achievements of staff, student staff, and students who volunteer their time with the Union. The creation of Team Brunel has meant a huge boost in sports at Brunel. Pulling all sporting activities under one umbrella means there is an increased sense of team spirit, and a cohesive, recognisable brand.
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CAMPAIGNS & REPRESENTATION Boycotting the National Student Survey.
CRE
A
17%
DE
SE
This year, following Government legislation that was set to link the NSS to the Teaching Excellence Framework, and raising tuition fees, NUS nationally voted to boycott the survey. At the Union we ran a campaign across digital channels, as well as putting up posters and talking to students. We saw the fill-out rate decrease from 71% to 54%.
Getting more students registered to vote in local and general elections.
We ran a voter registration day on campus; giving out free ice cream to anyone who filled in a complete voter registration form. We got 336 completed voter registration forms – and gave away all the ice cream!
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Increased number of females standing in elections.
This year we focused on increasing the percentage of female candidates standing in the elections, and the number winning sabbatical posts. We are pleased to saw that there was an increase in women running in our principal elections and that we now have an Officer team which is more representative of the student population with a 50/50 split between female and male officers. We also held a women in leadership conference which focused on encouraging women to take up leadership positions not just in their Union but in wider society. Liberated Library The liberated library campaign was run by The Union in conjunction with the University to offer new books by authors from the global south, people of colour, female, LGBT+, and disabled authors. Throughout February 2017 students were invited to suggest books online or in the Library. From the 6th - 10th February stalls and book displays celebrated a diverse range of authors and launched the campaign. A total of 65 books were suggested, the library already owns 21 and the remaining 44 books have been purchased. A celebration and launch event for the new books will take place in autumn 2017. The suggestions will also be fed back to academic departments as suggestions to diversify the curriculum.
This year we saw a voting turnout of 780 votes in the summer elections, an increase of 58%. This gives the Union a stronger mandate to get things done within the University and demonstrates an increase in students engaging with the democracy of the Union.
Raising the percentage of PG students voting.
This year we wanted to increase the number of postgraduate students voting in the elections, as they were one of the least engaged groups of students. We held an increased number of events targeting postgraduate students and tried to ensure that we were relevant to them. All our elections saw a significant increase in Postgraduate voters across all our elections, with a 34% increase in the principle elections. Demonstrating that we are becoming increasingly relative to these students and therefore we will be able to better represent them in future, improving their experience here at Brunel.
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MAKING BRUNEL SAFER The Ask For Angela campaign, which has been run nationwide in clubs, bars, pubs, and on campuses was launched at Brunel this year in Union venues Loco’s and Academy.
We have been awarded a Best Bar None award, which recognises the responsible sale of alcohol, and venues ensuring the safety of their customers.
This means that students can go to a member of staff in venues and ‘Ask for Angela’ if they are in an uncomfortable, unsafe, or potentially unsafe situation.
Hi, can you get Angela for me please?
Staff have been trained to offer support and options for the student to de-escalate the situation.
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We are pleased to have been awarded Gold this year, meaning we are following high levels of safety across our venues. This includes everything from safety drills to drug and alcohol awareness policies. Working with the University, we helped them develop USV React workshops on how to respond to and support victims of sexual violence. All Union staff will undertake this training, meaning we are better equipped to support students when needed.
PROVIDING ADVICE & SUPPORT We have provided support to over 1000 students on a 1–2–1 basis through our Advice and Representation Centre.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) grants licences to organisations that provide expert financial advice to clients, following a rigorous requirement list. The ARC has this year, retained their FCA licence, meaning their approach to debt advice is recognised at a national level.
This includes everything from helping overturn an eviction notice, to assisting students filling in paperwork to get benefits that they are entitled to.
We also hold an Advice Quality Standard award, ensuring the advice and support that we give is of a high standard.
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RAISING MONEY TO SUPPORT OUR WORK We have brought in over £54,000 in advertising, sponsorship, and on-campus activities.
This all goes towards providing more for students across all areas the Union works in. From our Christmas Market in December, which this year featured 2 Reindeer, 1 Owl, and a lot of Christmas cheer to the pop-up stalls on campus throughout the year giving out free products to students, we have had a successful year.
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Some of our great events were made possible by our sponsor and partnership work.
Intu shopping centre sponsored our open Air Cinema at Freshers’ Fayre, providing us with £650 worth of equipment for our students to enjoy.
Oxygen Free Running sponsored our inflatable basketball court, also at this years Freshers’ Fayre.
Over the year we have sold a LOT of food in our venues
Nightlife events also create a lot of important revenue
13,280 BURGERS
OVER 80 CLUB NIGHTS
1283 CHICKEN WINGS
17,500 TICKETS SOLD
1487 JACKET SPUDS
11,601 BREAKFASTS
ACCOUNTS
Our income and expenditure accounts will be available in October 2017.
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BRUNEL UNION OF STUDENTS - IMPACT REPORT 2016 / 17