A NN U A L R E V I EW 2012-13
Contents
2. A Great Year for SUSU | 3. Highlights | 4. Your University, Your Voice 6. Making Your Union Even Better | 10. Get a Helping Hand 12. Something for Everyone | 16. What You’ve Created 18. The £s You Put Back into SUSU | 20. Financial Impact | 22. Our Impact
A
great year for
SUSU
“
It’s been another year of high impact, hard work and activity from the students’ union, and this year’s annual review covers the incredible variety of work that SUSU undertakes through our student membership to give you a snapshot of everything that we have achieved over the past twelve months. It has also been a year of exciting new projects, with lots of ideas coming to fruition, helped in part by the continued commitment and support we receive from our colleagues at the University. We look forward to many more successful collaborations in the coming months and year. We are incredibly proud to work with and have the support of thousands of students who work tirelessly to deliver such a wide range of events and activities for their peers, and so our thanks must go to these dedicated volunteers who continually unlock the potential the enrich the lives of our members.
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Sam Ling Union President & Chair of Trustee Board 2012-13
Here are just some of the
highlights
May
Jun
We engaged over 2,000 students at a Petting Zoo -part of a whole week of events to help students de-stress during exams.
Over 2,000 students attended Graduation Ball, and saw big name acts, including Pixie Lott & Annie Mac performing.
Nov A parody article from the Wessex Scene that lampoons homophobia went viral, getting 15,000 Facebook shares.
Dec Running the first empowerment workshop to encourage more women to stand for senior leadership roles within SUSU.
Jul The Union President & Vice Chancellor signed the first Relationship Agreement between SUSU & the University - marking a new era of collaboration.
Jan New Innovations Fund awarded over £17,000 to 5 new and exciting projects; including a drama from SUSUtv and new online elections tools.
Aug SUSU became a Registered Charity, opening new funding opportunities and strengthening our governance.
Feb National Student Volunteering Week saw one of our volunteers, Tasha Unwin, as a finalist for the Volunteer of the Year Award.
from a great year
at SUSU…
Sep
Oct
Freshers’ Week saw an ambitious schedule of activities to welcome students to the University & introduce them to everything that SUSU does.
Mar
The Bridge was re-opened after a massive refurbishment project, and has quickly become the most popular place on campus.
Apr
Southampton Swap Shop saw over 214kg of unwanted clothes swapped for something new, with 537 items of clothing being recycled.
Athletic Union Awards Ball held at St Mary’s Stadium, with 700 students attending to celebrate the achievements of the Athletic Union.
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Your University, Your Voice The students’ union has a long-standing high reputation within the university community for its positive impact on shaping the academic life of students. This year we’ve boosted our support to course representatives, introduced a new way to help raise the standard of teaching at the University and posed our members one big question.
Collaboration
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Many initiatives within the University emerge from close collaboration between SUSU officers, the Pro Vice Chancellors and other university colleagues.
We have continued to influence the Curriculum Innovation Scheme by working with the University to substantially increase the number of Curriculum Innovation modules that are available to students, giving them an opportunity to expand their skills and knowledge, and study in a truly creative way. Employability continues to be a big concern for our members, and so this year we also began working with the University on a new approach to ensure that students are prepared for life after their studies, and have the skills they need to get their careers off to a successful start.
Course Reps
95%
of course representatives say they feel supported by SUSU.
82%
say that the University made changes as a result of their actions.
Excellence in Teaching Awards (ETAs)
Course Reps, Academic Presidents & Faculty Officers making a real difference‌ Course representatives are key to shaping academic experience and making the student voice heard. To help improve their impact, we tripled the training hours that we provide to them and empowered them to get more done by introducing a range of online systems to make it easier to access materials, report issues, and seek support.
Course Representatives, Academic Presidents and Faculty Officers have also been integral in shortlisting and choosing winners for the first ever Excellence in Teaching Awards. The awards highlight great teaching practices and reward lecturers who continually strive to improve the education of our members.
663 total nominations were received from students choosing their best lecturers.
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Making your Union even better As a student run organisation, our role is to act on our members’ views and enable them to shape everything that we do. SUSU has been built on the great ideas of generations of students, and we have been working hard to ensure that it’s easy for students to keep getting involved in shaping SUSU for the better.
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student representatives met across this year, discussing ideas such as...
Reviewing our support for students at sites.
Union Council has met 6 times this year. 10 Policies were passed, varying from our business ethics policy, to governance changes in light of our charity registration, and the creation of new student officer positions and decision making structures (zones).
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Lobbying against the increase of International Fees between years. Stopping external letting agencies pressuring students to get houses to early. Why less women are running for leadership positions. The benefits of video recording lectures.
Over
65,000 Elections
votes cast across the year.
For the first time ever we brought all of the student officer elections together in to one month, to reduce confusion and increase our impact. We also helped voters make more informed choices by introducing innovative online tools.
Brand new eChoice online tool helped 1,100 students make an informed choice.
Choice
A new web tool to find out which of the positions have an influence on my life.
300
268 candidates stood to be leaders of your students’ union.
students used this
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Responsible for representing students living in halls, the JCRs have improved the way that they use social media to communicate more openly with their audience, and are working together on inter-hall events to ensure benefit from larger scale activities.
JCRs
They continue to support intra-mural sport as well as a large programme of social events.
NUS
Referendum
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4,891
students voted in just 18 hours, deciding the future of their students’ union.
This year we asked our members if they wanted to become re-affiliated to the NUS. The referendum saw a record of 4,891 students expressing their views and hundreds hitting the campaign trail. The answer was an overwhelming no.
Training & skills development
436
nominations were submitted, celebrating the hard work and dedication of volunteers across SUSU.
Excellence in Volunteering Awards (EVAs)
We are focussing on improving the support we give to the thousands of students who run activities, campaigns and services - working in hundreds of different roles throughout SUSU. This year we produced opportunity profiles for almost 50 of these roles, which provide clarity and enable students to understand the skills that we can help them develop, as well as how they can shape SUSU as an organisation. We have also appointed and provided training for 220 members of student staff over the past year, and as the largest part of our workforce they have a say in how we can best serve our members whilst receiving pay and skill development to complement their studies.
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Get a Helping Hand SUSU provides a range of support for all of our members, and work to make astounding leaps on ethical, environmental, equality and diversity issues.
We have continued to act as a watchdog for students, working to offer confidential help, support and advice to those who need it.
Advice & Support
The Advice Centre team have been working behind the scenes in partnership with the University to bring benefits to all of our members. This year’s developments include improving the University’s procedures for handling appeals and complaints, particularly for common topics like academic integrity and illegible scripts. Offering advice in more formats... Face to Face
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1,285
students had one to one sessions with our advisers.
We have also reviewed the support available to students with mental health issues, and worked closely with the University’s Counselling team to complete research and a proposal for a new, safe and sustainable peer to peer support scheme.
Our members are creating a Sustainability Strategy for the students’ union, bringing the priorities of students to the heart of how we work as an organisation.
Sustainability
Collaboration with the University on two successful Blackout campaigns has meant that we’ve been able to save around 10 tonnes of carbon and promote energy saving by switching off equipment and lights across all of Highfield campus. On top of this, we’ve had record attendance at new initiatives such as Swap Shop another joint venture with the University to prove that one person’s trash is another’s treasure.
To increase our impact on the local community, we launched Community Action - which gives students the funding and staff support they need to run projects that benefit the wider community.
Volunteering
So far we’ve supported the creation of a nature trail and sustainability lessons for young carers in the New Forest - and the applications for funding are still coming in.
Celebrating the diversity of our members...
Over
200
students celebrated Diwali at SUSU’s allday events.
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Something for Everyone At SUSU there really is something for everyone, and our student groups have continued to thrive this year.
Students at sites
We have developed our provision across the satellite campuses, and worked in partnership to promote and celebrate the achievements of students through our media. Our campuses have engaged our members in successful events. The highlight of these is the successful ‘Giveit-a-Go’ month in Winchester, where students could try out new activities from boxing to life drawing. We also extended our popular postgraduate coffee morning to a ‘Relax and Unwind’ coffee break pioneered at Southampton General Hospital, where over 200 students attended and engaged with SUSU.
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Raise and Give (RAG) Fundraising Totals...
RAG has grown its reach and engagement with students this year, running far more events and embracing wider opportunities than ever before.
£80,000
for charity in 2011-12
...and on target to beat this with a term still to go.
with £7,500 to Southampton Women’s Aid, Parkinson’s & Hepatitis C Trust.
£10,695 to Southampton Samaritans, Anthony Nolan Trust & Water Aid.
From RAG wristbands and hoodies to climbing Kilimanjaro, a revamped week of fundraising to corporate sponsorship packs - RAG left no stone unturned in its attempts to fundraise.
The new team have put lots of energy into growing and rewarding the RAG teams by running training sessions, supporting each other, and developing new ideas like The Big Give (which raised over £6,500 in just one week).
2011-2012
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Faith provision
98%
student satisfaction in our prayer facilities - the highest level achieved in the iBarometer global survey.
Societies Over
200
societies now affiliated to SUSU.
This year we were delighted to see the opening of a new prayer facility on Highfield campus for Islamic students. This came after almost a decade of lobbying and stalled projects, and provides facilities of a high quality and the capacity needed by students. We were able to secure a quarter of a million pounds, and find a suitable location for the much improved facility.
Societies now offer clearer and more up to date information to their audiences by promoting their events via the SUSU calendar and managing their own pages on the SUSU website. The newly created Student Groups’ Support Packages will give customised support to our members.
Student Groups’ Support Packages
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Our sporting clubs have had a great year.
Sport Hera are just some of the huge sporting achievements of our members‌
SUSU has given a focus to improving support and communication with them, while the clubs have continued to deliver impressive results.
Luis Felipe Paulinyi won the 2012 Archery Back2Back national tournament, beating a member of the GB Olympic team in the final. American Football made it to the national finals, with one of our players going to play for Great Britain against Sweden in the precursor game for the World Championships. Women’s Basketball won team of the year and are on course for promotion to BUCS premier south division.
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What You’ve Created Writers see and review Muse performing live & interview big names, including DJ Fresh, for features.
Media The four student media groups have had another great year, here are just some of their highlights...
Surge Radio broadcast on FM throughout Freshers’ 2012 & hosted a whole week of work experience advice to help volunteers get into the radio industry. SUSUtv continue to produce content at an impressive rate - from live broadcasts during Freshers, Elections and Varsity through to big production collaborative costume dramas like Elfrida. The Wessex Scene won a Student Publication Award at the first ever Student Publication Association Conference, which was organised and hosted by SUSU.
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The Performing Arts societies have gone from strength to strength, and with a significant increase in funding from SUSU this year, they have engaged over 1,000 students in 33 societies.
Performing Arts Performing Arts nominated for
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Curtain Call Awards
Union Films
The year has seen the provision of a fairer offer across all of these groups, with key performance slots open to all and more assistance in planning budgets. We have also introduced a system to audit the specialist skills of our members to help them get jobs in industry in the future.
Union Films has had a steady increase in attendance, with the new Audience Choice feature enabling the audience to vote in advance for the film they most want to see. This initiative has boosted engagement and interaction, and provides a unique selling point that sets Union Films apart from the competition of larger multiplex cinemas. The marathons and all-nighters continue to be impressive and popular, and the coming term will see the output transformed by the installation of the latest technology in the form of a brand new digital projector. This will allow Union Films to increase its offering even further – with great value 3D screenings starting soon.
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The £s You Put Back into SUSU One of our core benefits for members is the provision of safe, affordable and relevant social opportunities. This year we’ve invested in some amazing facilities and broadened our food offering to make it more innovative and inclusive.
Sales of food increased by
150%
We undertook a major refurbishment to create an outstanding new space in The Bridge. With a contribution of £100,000 from the University, SUSU invested £400,000 and created the most popular place to eat and relax on Highfield campus - with sales of food rising by 150% compared to last year.
The Bridge
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The flexibility of the space has also been popular with student groups, who now have access to a great new venue for meetings and events.
Our events for Freshers’ Week 2012 saw over 13,000 tickets sold, and in the last year we have hosted big name acts ranging from Pixie Lott to Wiley. We also undertook a night life survey to understand our students better and shape how we utilise our facilities.
Nightlife
This year has seen The Shop focus on ethical shopping, with the expansion of the Green Label Project which offers students clarity over the different ranges we stock as well as the widest range of Fairtrade products yet.
The Shop
We’ve also been squeezing all of our suppliers for the best deals, and grown our vegan and gluten free sandwich ranges, to enable us to serve a wider selection of our members. Finally our new range of house wines is all Fairtrade.
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Financial Impact Other Income
£320,716 Total Income from Trading
Saving for the Future
Advertising and Sponsorship
£4,092,782
£228,827
Support & Services to Members
£147,567
£2,340,033
Income £7,058,941
Expenditure £7,058,941
Block Grant
£2,416,616
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Costs of Providing Trading Services
£3,932,993
Student Allocations
£638,348
£700,000 We’ve increased spending in student allocations by
£600,000
£186,352 £500,000
£400,000
£300,000
£200,000
£100,000
£0 Actual 2011-12
Budget 2012-13
Student Communities
External Engagement
Ethical & Environmental
Sport
Officers
Education & Welfare
Societies
Media & Film
Democracy
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Our Impact Over 100 student DJs
After the first SUSU run Winchester School of Art (WSA) fashion show
6 students exhibited their work at a national showcase.
For the first time a
team of 20 Winchester School of Art students have written articles and designed for SUSU media.
Our annual celebration of We received nearly
100% more applicants this year for our part time roles after the launch of our new recruitment video.
You
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Over 500 students trained through 17 bespoke courses, equipping our volunteers with the skills to excel in their roles.
in Surge are trained and able to broadcast with new industry standard software and equipment.
International Women’s Day gave 500 students and staff a chance to reflect on diversity issues and enjoy original creative performances from 15 University of Southampton students.
Updated lines and cooling equipment in our bars to improve the quality of all draught products for thousands of our members.
In house preparation of sandwiches for The Shop has saved
us
ÂŁ40,000, which we have invested back into SUSU.
Over 280 students performed at Pure Dance to
over 1,130 students
Student campaigners empowered
4,891 students to vote in the NUS referendum, deciding the future of SUSU.
and alumni.
Nearly
2,000 graduates rated their Graduation Ball at Oceana in June as excellent.
The Safety Bus service was extended to Portswood, helping over 5,000 students get home safely. We now have 200 affiliated societies with
Over 6,000 students voted in Spring Elections, with student media collaborating to provide excellent coverage.
14,126 memberships.
Negotiated a new proof-reading policy with the University to eliminate errors in exam papers and reduce
stress for students.
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Our live elections night coverage attracted an audience of over
Completed research and proposal for
15,000, allowing
new peer to peer support, which will provide safe, sustainable support by students for students.
Over 200,000 people engaged with The Edge online with interviews from over 60 artists, including alt-J, Bastille, Greg James and The Vaccines.
remote students and alumni to keep in touch with this exciting event where the new leaders are chosen.
Our students increase their contribution to farmers around the world by buying 40%
more
Divine Fairtrade chocolate.
...and the World Beyond
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Blackout 2013 saw 200 students turn off all non-essential electrical equipment, highlighting potential energy savings of over 300 tonnes of carbon – which is enough to power 238 households.
About SUSU The University of Southampton Students’ Union (SUSU) has over 22,000 members from many different backgrounds, and represents the voice of students on issues at local, national and international levels. SUSU also provides important services for its members, including great value amenities and facilities, free and confidential advice and support and a whole range of exciting opportunities to have fun and socialise. All of this student led activity gives our members a unique opportunity to make things happen, create important friendships and develop skills for life.
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Some of the people working together to make SUSU great. Union President Sam Ling VP Academic Affairs Sasha Watson VP Winchester and Sites Nicole Trengove VP Communications David Gilani VP Sports Development Dean Jones VP Welfare Chloe Green VP Student Engagement Shane Murphy Ethical and Environmental Officer Joshua Cox Student Trustee Emma Miles Student Trustee Peter Ward Student Trustee Rupert Bailey Student Trustee Zack Young External Trustee Mike Snell External Trustee Mark Beattie External Trustee Nigel Coopey Chair of Council James O’Mahony Humanities Faculty Officer Rachel Stockey Engineering & Environment Faculty Officer Raminder Poonian Medicine Faculty Officer Andy Catton Social & Human Sciences Faculty Officer Alexander Bees Natural & Environmental Sciences Faculty Officer Maha Olschowsky Health Sciences Faculty Officer Christopher Hambley
Students’ Union, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ Web: www.susu.org Email: hello@susu.org Tel: 023 8059 5200
Postgraduate Officer (taught) Sam Crabb Postgraduate Officer (research) Alexander Barbu International Students’ Officer Husain Patel The Edge Editor David Martin Surge Radio Station Manager Ben Morton Wessex Scene Editor Ellie Sellwood SUSUtv Station Manager Carly Brown Athletic Union Officer Saranna Harris Sports & Health Officer Heather Undrell Community Volunteering Officer Aleesha Adams Junior Common Room Officer Jack Hodgson Performing Arts Officer Claire Gilbert Raise & Give (RAG) Officer Caroline Hughes Societies Officer Jade Head Student Enterprise Officer Tunde Yusuff Union Films Cinema Manager Rowanna Baker National Oceanography Centre (Site) Officer Katy O’Brien Winchester (Site) Officer Ellen Green Union Councillor Reetam Singh Union Councillor Peter Shaw Union Councillor Johanna Kainz Union Councillor Josie Torrice Union Councillor Alastair Mogford Union Councillor Adam Proudley Union Councillor Michael Champion Union Councillor Luke O’Brien
Union Councillor Sophie Bradfield Union Councillor Marcus Burton Union Councillor Taimoor Siddiquie Union Councillor Oliver Coles Union Councillor Anh Nguyen Union Councillor Alice North Union Councillor Matthew Higgins Union Councillor Andrea Sipka Union Councillor Jawad Bhatti Union Councillor Joe Hart Union Councillor Matt Wimsett Union Councillor Jack Kanani Union Councillor Ioana Nicolescu Union Councillor Jamie Barker Union Councillor Fiona Cook Union Councillor James Brant Union Councillor Nikhita Chulani Union Councillor Jed Marshall Union Councillor John Preston Union Councillor David Gunns Union Councillor Joel Young Union Councillor Laura Mason Union Councillor Matthew Hicken Union Councillor Simon Boyce Union Councillor Simon Duncan Union Councillor Sophie Van Eetvelt
This annual review is also available in other formats All papers in this booklet are printed from sustainable forests.