Huddersfield Students’ UnionImpact Report

2011/12

huddersfield.su/impactreport

Huddersfield Students’ UnionImpact Report

2011/12

Welcome to our Impact Report which reviews our performance over the last academic year and presents some of the highlights of what has overall been a very

successful year for Huddersfield Students’ Union.

We are an organisation that is committed to making student life better in every way possible. Over the last academic year we’ve worked even harder and smarter

to improve the experience of all students at the University of Huddersfield - and to put them at

the heart of our decision-making process.

“I am proud of what our student and staff team have achieved over my 2 years in office. This year,

graduating students were asked about their Students’ Union as part of the National Student Survey for the first time ever - I’m pleased to say that our score was well above the average for similar institutions, which

is testament to our hard work.”

Matt ChristieStudents’ Union President 2011/12

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About the Students’ Union

Our VisionTo have a positive impact on the lives

of all our students.

Our MissionWorking together to make student life better.

What is the Impact Report?This Impact Report is our way of illustrating exactly

how we have achieved our mission of making student life better for all of our students. The Report highlights

a selection of key statistics which are by no means the whole story but we’ve chosen these carefully to

provide you with an overview of our work. We’ve included some case studies and testimonials that further demonstrate the real impact we can and

do have on our student members’ lives.

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Our Values

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Our leadership is democratic and accountable

We operate ethically and sustainably

We are accessible and inclusive for all our members

We work in partnership with the University and

other organisations

We strive to improve and innovate in all that we offer

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Our ImpactA Powerful Student Voice

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We are student-led :Huddersfield Students’ Union is a democratic organisation whose leaders are elected from our membership – University of Huddersfield students. This year saw our biggest ever election turnout, with just under 5,000 members voting – this was one of the highest turnouts in our mission group.

The turnout at elections is one of the best ways of demonstrating the legitimacy of our work, and proving that we genuinely represent the Student Voice. The turnout provides an indication of how much our members care about the Students’ Union and who is elected to run it in the year ahead. Since 2007 we have progressively increased the number of candidates and the number of students voting in our elections.

We also strive to provide opportunities for our members to be involved in our decision-making throughout the year. This year we introduced Student Groups that convened on a monthly basis, open to all members, to allow students to put forward ideas in the following four areas: Education, Activities, Media, Welfare.

The Education group was integral to the ‘Shape Your Education’ survey which will form the backbone of our Education Policy.

The Welfare group successfully lobbied for the installation of extra lighting on a particular dark area of the campus.

The student-led Teaching Awards are a joint initiative with the University Teaching and Learning Institute which enabled the SU to secure funding from the NUS to further develop opportunities for students to recognise and say ‘thank-you’ to members of the University community who have supported them. The ‘Thank You’ Awards were launched this year with 672 students nominating 316 different University staff members, a record number of nominations for the NUS pilot and a great success to build on next year.

Case Study:Becky Hirst, ‘Oustanding Contribution to the Students’ Union’ winner 2011/2012

“I arrived at University with very little idea about what a Students’ Union was, with no plans to get involved. However, a presentation delivered by a Students’ Union officer at my induction inspired me to become a Course Representative, a decision which opened up my eyes to every-thing the Students’ Union can offer. For example, I found out how easy it was to set up a club or society, and decided I wanted to make sure as many students as possible knew this too.

As my involvement with the Union increased, I was able to speak to a greater range of students about what they wanted from their Union and the issues they were facing at University. One of my proudest moments was delivering a speech at the NUS National Conference on behalf of students with dependents, as I knew I was supporting a cause that really mattered to the students I was representing”

Associated values

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Our ImpactAdvice and Support

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How we inform and educate our membership:The Students’ Union plays a vital role in ensuring that members are well informed about issues that may affect them during their time at University. We do this by equipping them with the knowledge and tools to guarantee they can achieve their personal best. Our Advice Centre deals with a range of enquiries including accommodation, finance, and academic, and educates our membership through face-to-face appointments and awareness campaigns.

Students’ Union Advice this year changed its way of working to make it more accessible to students, whether they need straightforward advice, have a more complex issue, or just need a friendly ear. Having an advisor on hand at all times to make initial contact with students has allowed us to increase the amount of students we are able to help.

This year we conducted a comprehensive Housing Survey- with over 1500 students providing us with comprehensive feedback about their accommodation. Students’ Union team members have met with agencies and housing providers to present findings and agree action plans to improve their service to students.

The results and action plans have been published and disseminated to students via the website to ensure students have the best information available to make their choices.

www.huddersfield.su/files/overall-report.pdf

Case Study: ANON*

Mark approached us in the summer of 2011 asking for help as he had failed to achieve the required amount of credits to progress to his final year of study. Mark had suffered throughout his second year with various health issues as well as a long term illness which had affected his studies.

The Advice Centre helped Mark to put together an academic appeal which was considered by the course assessment board and as a result Mark was able to progress to his final year but with additional work to do. During the discussions with the Advice Centre the advisor identified some help for Mark with his illness, signposting him to various agencies and this enabled him to get extra tuition, teaching aids and extra time to complete work.

In July 2012 we received a call from Mark’s father to thank us for helping Mark to complete his degree, who despite his illnesses and a particularly difficult 2nd year of study had achieved a 2:1.

*‘Mark’ is a pseudonym used to protect our member’s privacy

Associated values

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Our ImpactActivities and Opportunities

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We provide opportunities for our members to develop: The University of Huddersfield experience is about so much more than academic study. A key area of our work is the provision of opportunities that enable students to get involved with their community, both on and off campus. We do this through a range of activities such as sport, fundraising and volunteering. This is crucial for both the self-development and the future employability of our members.

Be a Champion:The ‘Be a Champion’ scheme saw the NUS working in partnership with Coca-Cola on an Olympic Torch pre-Olympic Tour. Huddersfield Students Union was one of a select group of Unions who successfully bid for a day long celebratory visit. The day provided hundreds of students, staff and local residents with a unique opportunity to have their photos taken with the Torch as a memento whilst being entertained by Radio Hud on an open top double decker bus.

All-In-Pics:Another student-led project that engaged hundreds of students and our staff and local business was the ‘All-In-Pics’. This week-long list of activities saw partnerships and link-ups with the ‘Be a Champion’ campaign, the International Office, the Events Management course, the Sports Hall, the Fashion Course, sports clubs, societies, Asda and the Cotton Factory bar. Amongst other events: a fashion show; sports tournaments; a cultural festival and a culture swap night out made up the week.

Varsity 2011:The partnership with the University of Bradford to organise a successful sports showcase is growing ever stronger. This has led to a different way of working to deliver the event for the future wherever it is, and includes a mutually agreed, strict planning timeline and a 3 year event branding life-cycle. This should lead to Varsity being bigger and better each year no matter where it takes place, which is a huge plus for everyone involved.

Thank You Awards- Student Led Teaching Awards:A joint initiative with the University Teaching and Learning Institute enabled the Students’ Union to secure funding from the NUS to further develop opportunities for students to recognise and say thank-you to members of the University community who have supported them. Over 672 students nominated 316 different University staff members, a record number of nominations for the NUS pilot.

Case Study:Amy Fox, ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ 2011/2012

“I joined the Netball team four years ago as a social member, where I met some of the people who have now become my best friends. I soon adopted the passion that others showed for the sport and began to play competitively, as well as joining the commit-tee for the last 2 years. I have seen the club go from strength to strength and over these years the support provided from the iZone and the Students’ Union has improved so much.

Playing and being a part of something so big and special at University has given me the courage to apply for jobs in the sport sector and inspired me to take my coaching badges. I couldn’t have done this without the passion and dedication shown from my team-mates and from the Students’ Union”

Associated values

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Our ImpactServices to Members

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We provide a range of affordable and ethical services:For many students, their day-to-day involvement with the Students’ Union consists of them using our facilities to eat, drink, shop, or just to socialise. Adding Value:A new menu was introduced to the Students’ Union Bar and Cafe for September 2011, which has resulted in a 20% increase in food sales, including a ‘Buy One Get One Free’ offer on pizzas at the weekend which provides excellent value for our members. The introduction of ink cartridge sales has turned over £4,358 and has saved students approximately 20% on high street prices.

Being Responsive:After listening to some of our members who use our building outside traditional trading hours, we have installed vending machines in our social spaces, allowing our active members to stay refreshed during their activities.

We work in partnership to achieve more for our members:Our close working relationship with the National Union of Students (NUS) means we ensure a national student voice is heard. It also means we are able to access a full range of training and support services and help to save the SU money via their bulk purchasing scheme through their commercial arm, NUS Services Limited.

NUS Extra:Our partnership with NUS also gives our members access to a wide range of money saving offers via their NUS Extra discount scheme. We support the scheme and promote the benefits to our students so that they can access great deals both online and in the high street. This scheme provides an average saving of £550 per card-holding student.

Case Study:Student Event Funding

£2,000 was allocated this year to help our students run their own events. This funding was made available up-front to assist members with initial over-heads, or to provide refreshments for free events. Five events were successfully delivered this year, including fashion shows and band nights.

Associated values

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Our ImpactThe Union and the Environment

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Green Impact Award:We work hard to ensure we have a minimal environmental impact, focussing closely on our energy consumption and wastage. Our reduced carbon emissions contribute to the University carbon reduction targets and we have been able to not only reduce the amount of rubbish we produce, but also reduce our operating costs.

Examples of our improved environmental impact include: None of our waste goes to landfill. This year 38 tonnes of waste from the Students’ Union was recycled within 50 miles of Huddersfield. Our used plastic could be turned into a drainpipe or a piece of garden furniture.

Serving our hot drinks in branded porcelain cups for customers who are using our facilities instead of cardboard cups.

We have used 6879Kw (1.45%) less gas this year, which would power the average 1 bedroom home for 7 months (average data from Energywatch) In March 2012 we received a Silver Award as part of the NUS Green Impact accreditation scheme reflecting our hard work and success in improving our environmental impact and movement towards sustainability. Green Impact is an environmental accreditation and awards scheme, bringing staff and students together with their wider communities.

Case Study:Cycle to Work Scheme

The staff at Huddersfield Students’ Union are also encouraged to minimise their own impact on the environment. The majority of our staff use public transport or walk to get to work and a couple of hardier members of the staff team have committed to regularly braving the traffic and weather and cycle to the office.

The Student’s Union have signed up to the Cycle to Work Scheme which is part of the Government’s Green Transport Plan. Through the scheme there’s a tax exemption allowing employers to provide cycles and safety equipment to employees as a tax free benefit. So they save on CO2 emissions and get fit at the same time.

Photograph by: Richard Mullany

Associated values

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OVER 500 STUDEN

TS ATTENDED AT LEAST ONE STARS WORKSHOP

Our ImpactEmployability and Self-Development

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We offer employment opportunities to our students:As well as the dedicated team of permanent staff employed by the Students’ Union, we are proud to offer a wealth of opportunities for students to earn money during their time at University, in a fun, vibrant and supportive environment.

STARS:The Student Training and Recognition Scheme (STARS) `encourages students to get involved outside their studies, through taking part in activities, attending training, and allowing them to record and reflect on their achievements, leading to an accreditation at the end of each academic year. This provides our members with a ready-made addition to their CVs, and makes us aware of some of the fantastic things they are achieving.

Stephen Boyd, Head of Careers Service at Huddersfield University says “The Students’ Union wants to provide recognition for students’ involvement and the STARS initiative supports our work from an employability perspective,” said Stephen Boyd.

“We worked together this year to collaborate and found out about each other’s thoughts and decided that our two aims were close enough to explore the possibility of working more closely together on STARS.”

He added. “We have ended up with something that draws upon the best aspects of what Careers Service has to offer and what the SU offers. It is a wonderful collaboration that we are really proud of.”

Case Study:Laura McIntyre, Union Chair

Laura first got involved with the SU when she arrived in Huddersfield from Navan in the Republic of Ireland. At the Induction on her Occupational Therapy Course the SU presented a session on the SU and asked for volunteers to stand for School Rep. Laura volunteered and as she says;

“My course was great from the start but I felt that my introduction to Huddersfield and West Yorkshire could have been more welcoming. For example a simple map of the Town Centre could have been provided and the Taxi number advertised on campus didn’t give the local dialling code – fairly basic things that I felt I could improve on if I became my School Rep. One of my main achievements in my first year role was to change my School’s Resource Centre to a more comprehensive One-Stop-Shop for my fellow students.”

“From this work in my first year I got more involved with the SU and in year two 2011 I became Union Councillor. This year I was really proud to have been voted in as Union Chair. As part of my involvement I attended various STARS training sessions including: Negotiation Skills and How to be an effective Course Rep. This training and my experience have built my confidence, helped enourmously with my commu-nication skills and juggling my SU duties with my academic studies and a busy social life have meant I have had to learn to manage my time really well!”

Associated values

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Our ImpactCommunicating with our members

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How do we get our messages out to our members?The Marketing Department is integral to ensuring maximum engagement with our broad membership base. Their focus is to work strategically, analysing the different demographic profiles of our students, segmenting them into clearly defined groups who can be then communicated to with effective messages regarding relevant services, in the right tone and through the appropriate channels. It’s also this Department’s job to gather feedback informally, face-to-face and via structured market research. This ensures that the Executive Officers, the SU staff team and our University Partners have vital intelligence which can then be factored in for future developments affecting their academic and social life whilst at Huddersfield University. It’s also impor-tant that the Marketing Department follow our past students as alumni.

The Executive Team work closely with the Marketing Department to ensure that our students are kept up-to-date with the full range of diverse support services we provide.

Social Media is changing how our members choose to receive information and interact with us, creating a much more dynamic, powerful form of communica-tion and taking personalisation to a new level. This year the SU have worked with our University partners and their Social Media Team to ensure maximum reach and ‘joined-up’ communication.

Of course our digital presence is focused around our website and an increasing use of Customer Relationship Management software in helping us to keep everyone informed.

Case Study:The Ten Reasons Election Marketing Campaign

The turnout at elections provides a proxy for how well we are engaging with our membership. The turnout provides an indication of how much they care about the Students’ Union and who is elected to run it in the year ahead. Since 2007 we have progressively increased the number of candidates and the number of students voting in our elections.

This year the marketing campaign was extremely effective – helping to provide us with the highest number of candidates ever to stand (44 as opposed to 37 in 2011). A target had been set to get 20% of our total membership base to vote by the 2014 elections but through coordinated activity across the SU team and Executive Officers, supported by this effective marketing campaign we had already reached an impressive 21.3% by 2012, two years ahead of the target year.

The Marketing Team focused initially on motivating students to stand in the elections, encouraging as broad a representation as possible. Initially the key message was “10 Reason to Stand” which highlighted the positive benefits that individuals would gain through the process. This was then translated into “Ten Reasons to Vote!”

The campaign was rolled out through as many student facing channels as possible, with banners, posters, flyers, Social Media messages and online content driving interest and providing vital ‘call to action’ messages.

Associated values

Huddersfield Students’ UnionImpact Report

2011/12

Thank you for your interest in our Impact Report. If you’d like to get in touch or give us some feedback

we’d love to hear from you:students.union@hud.ac.uk

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