Kabira Suleman Applied Software Engineering BSc
CONTENTS. 4 / VISION AND VALUES
26 / ACTIVITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES
6 / WINS FOR STUDENTS
30 / THE RIGHT ADVICE
8 / CHIEF EXECUTIVE
32 / VENUES
10 / STUDENTS’ UNION PRESIDENT
34 / SHOPS AND SERVICES
12 / ENGAGEMENT AND SATISFACTION
38 / HEATH PARK
16 / BALANCED SCORECARD 16/17
40 / CYMRAEG
18 / REPRESENTATION
42 / FINANCES
20 / DEMOCRACY
44 / BALANCED SCORECARD 17/18
22 / DEVELOPING OUR STUDENTS FOR THE FUTURE
46 / TRUSTEES AND SENIOR STAFF
Lamorna Hooker French and German BA
VISION AND VALUES. Cardiff University Students’ Union (CUSU) has a vision of working with every Cardiff student to enhance their university experience. As a studentled, independent part of the University, CUSU represents students and provides a diverse and inclusive range of activities and services that enrich student life. These include advice, training, skills development, volunteering opportunities, employment and other services that promote inclusion, friendship and personal development. CUSU supports over 200 student societies and 60 sports clubs that boast more than 10,000 members. CUSU is also the recognised voice of students at Cardiff University, joining students in campaigning about the issues important to them.
cafes, shops, bars and events that help fund CUSU’s charitable activities. The organisation is ranked in the top 100 of the Sunday Times Best Not-for-profit Companies to Work For, as well as holding Gold status through Investors in People and Excellent accreditation under the NUS Quality Students’ Unions quality mark. CUSU aspires to have a positive impact on the wider community in Cardiff, and is consistently graded the number one Students’ Union in Wales and in the top five in the UK for student satisfaction.
CUSU is based on Park Place and at the Heath Park campus, employing over 100 permanent staff and 300 student staff. The trading subsidiary of CUSU, Cardiff Union Services Limited, manages a purpose built facility in the centre of Cardiff and operates
OUR VALUES
OUR VISION Working with every Cardiff student to enhance their university experience.
We will: • Provide opportunities and empower;
Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
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• Be excellent at what we do by being totally inclusive; • Champion student leadership; • Facilitate positive change; • Listen, communicate and engage.
OUR PURPOSE The advancement of education of students at Cardiff University for the public benefit by: • Promoting the interests and welfare of students at Cardiff University during their course of study and representing, supporting and advising students; • Being the recognised representative channel between students and Cardiff University and any other external bodies; • Providing social, cultural, sporting and recreational activities and forums for discussions and debate for the personal development of its students.
Jake Smith Politics and Public Policy MSc Econ
WINS FOR STUDENTS.
Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
HEATH PARK
WELSH LANGUAGE
EDUCATION
• Student Family Days
• Creation of the UMCC • The launch of our Welsh Language Policy
• Fairer library fines system
• Return of Heath RAG • Won Medics Varsity
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• Library Headcount system • Development of the ground floor of the ASSL
WELFARE
DEMOCRACY
• Nightbus pilot
CAMPAIGNS
• Local Councillor elections & General Elections: Ice Cream drive
• Wellbeing booklets
• Speak Week
• Free Tampon dispensers in the Students’ Union
• Self-positivity campaign for Valentine’s Day
• Officer Elections – more voters than ever before
• Guarantor System for students
• Mind Your Head Week
• Periods in Poverty
SPORT
• #Social7
• The Welsh Varsity
POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS
• Clean Up Cathays
• Hockey pitch refurbishment
• New PGR Payment Scheme
• Housing Advice Fortnight
• Ensuring the return of the Strength & Conditioning to Park Place
• Record Turnout at PGR Forums
• RevisionAid – gave out a record number of tea & coffee
• Recognising Research
• This Cardiff Girl Can
• #LoveSUs • Rainbow Laces campaign
Daniel Palmer Chief Executive Cardiff University Students’ Union
CHIEF EXECUTIVE. I have the pleasure of introducing this report and showing you some of the great things that Cardiff University Students’ Union does. The impact the Union has on students, and the impact that our students have on improving the experience of fellow students, makes me proud to work for the Union and inspires me to do my best. It seems that in every annual impact report we celebrate engaging with more students and getting higher-than-ever student satisfaction. Its regularity could undermine the achievement, but we don’t take it for granted as it doesn’t happen by accident. Satisfaction and engagement are our measures of organisational success and we have prioritised their increases so that the Union becomes more inclusive and more representative. However, we’re now reaching levels of satisfaction and engagement unmatched elsewhere and we can’t expect them to go on forever.
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Our next phase of development will see the Union develop its role in better representing students on course level, deepening our connection with alreadyengaged students and reaching out to those not studying at the Cathays campus. Our strategy for 2018-2021 shows how we will meet the challenges. Daniel Palmer
“ SATISFACTION AND ENGAGEMENT ARE OUR MEASURES OF ORGANISATIONAL SUCCESS. ”
Hollie Cooke Students’ Union President 2017/18 LLB Law
STUDENTS’ UNION PRESIDENT. I am very excited to introduce Cardiff University Students’ Union’s Annual Impact Report. Last year was a particularly exciting year for the organisation as student engagement continued to grow. It was a year full of wins as we ran new events and projects. We are extremely proud to say we had a year full of celebrating the diversity of our student membership, which resulted in the Students’ Union winning the NUS Wales Diversity Award of the year!
To further increase our diversity, we also developed our very own Welsh Language Policy. This sees the organisation embrace its Welsh heritage by celebrating and embodying the Welsh Language. Alongside this we have supported the development of UMCC, the new Welsh language Union within the Union. We have also introduced a Mental Health Officer to provide better representation, and now guarantee a 50% gender split on our Student Senate.
During the year, one of our great achievements was seeing our Give it a Go scheme flourish, offering students a range of non-alcoholic events. Last year we saw nearly 5,500 students take part, more than a third of which came from outside of the UK. We are extremely proud to say that we now run more nonalcoholic events than alcoholic events, making us more appealing to a diverse range of students.
We have been able to run a number of successful campaigns, including our annual Mind Your Head Week campaign, this year the theme being ‘Let’s talk about the elephant in the room’. We have also introduced new events such as our Student Family Days to offer student parents a way of meeting each other, and Recognising Research to celebrate and showcase the research of our talented PhD students.
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This is just a small snippet of the things we managed to achieve last year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the amazing staff and the Elected Officer team of 2016/17 for their hard work in making it such a successful year. I hope you enjoy reading about the work we have done and how we have contributed to making the Cardiff student experience amazing. Hollie Cooke
Hanin Abou Salem International Law PhD
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT. For the 6th consecutive year we have increased either the depth or reach of our student engagement. We have a relationship with 72% of our students and on average they each engage with three activities and services that we provide. In the past year we’ve seen particular growth in sports club and society memberships, Jobshop users (and hours worked) and attendance at night-time activities and events in the Union building. We have also seen a sharp increase in footfall in the Union building since the expansion and overhaul of our shopping mall space, completed in September 2016. Welsh Varsity attendance grew by a third in the year and although the event is expanding every year, the increase in Cardiff student attendance is linked to 2017 being a ‘home’ year. Our student engagement journey has been remarkable: when we started measuring our usage we engaged with about half the students and they
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used us for two things. We’re now at three quarters of students using three things. The next stage of our development will see us prioritise students who we know are less likely to engage with us so that we understand their needs and at least make them feel included as a student member.
“ WE HAVE ALSO SEEN A SHARP INCREASE IN FOOTFALL IN THE UNION BUILDING SINCE THE EXPANSION AND OVERHAUL OF OUR SHOPPING MALL SPACE, COMPLETED IN SEPTEMBER 2016. ”
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Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT 2016-2017 VERIFIED UNIQUE STUDENTS Student Advice | 2295 Welsh Varsity | 7239
Academic Rep | 940 Annual Members Meeting | 625 Associations | 180
Voters | 6995
Athletic Union | 5441 Cardiff Student Letting | 1398
Cardiff Volunteering | 1109
Driver | 195 Election Candidate | 97
Venues | 11701
Give it a Go | 4482 Student Led Services | 131 Guild of Societies | 8852
Student Media | 355 Student Senate | 32 Skills Development Service | 2147
Jobshop | 2867 NUS Extra Card Sales | 1977
STUDENT SATISFACTION. We are proud to be ranked highly by our students and in the last year we have continued to see satisfaction growth in both our internal survey and within the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey. In addition, we were ranked as one of the top 4 students’ unions in the UK by the Which? University Guide. Due to changes in the National Student Survey, the question about students’ union satisfaction has been replaced by one about representation of the student voice. Although we have plans to enhance our role in representing the student voice – and being recognised by students as doing so – it’s not relevant to include the new question within our general students’ union satisfaction measuring.
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SATISFACTION IN THE STUDENTS’ UNION 95.0% 93.0% 91.0%
4th 4th
89.0%
4th
5th 87.0%
4th
5th 5th
4th 5th
85.0%
5th
6th
83.0%
4th 81.0%
7th
79.0% 77.0% 75.0% 2010/11
2011/12
THE SES
2012/13
2013/14
NSS
2014/15
2015/16
2016/17
Welcome to Cardiff (undergrads)
2017/18
BALANCED SCORECARD 16/17. 1. To work with Trustees, staff, students and the University to develop a new strategy for the Union, to be launched before 31st July 2017. ACHIEVED 2. To increase participation in the Union’s annual elections, evidenced by a minimum a voter turnout in excess of 7,000 votes and an average of 7 sabbatical candidates for each post by 31st March 2017. NOT ACHIEVED 3. To achieve a rating of over 90% satisfaction within the Welcome to Cardiff Survey and the THE Student Experience Survey, whilst ensuring that questions about Students’ Union satisfaction are included within the Study at Cardiff Survey and / or the NSS optional bank of questions by 30th June 2017. PARTIALLY ACHIEVED
4. To further integrate student staff with career staff, evidenced by the development of a student staff inclusion plan, representation of student staff on the JCC and with at least 60% of all student staff recommending the Union as a great place to work by 30th June 2017. ACHIEVED
7. To work with the University to understand if engagement in Students’ Union activities has a positive impact on academic performance and to agree a plan to further develop understanding of student development in co-curricular activities by 30th June 2017. NOT ACHIEVED
5. To agree an updated lease of the Union building with the University, safeguarding the Union’s branding and visibility on Park Place and ensuring effective control of ingress and egress to the Union building by 28th February 2017. NOT ACHIEVED
8. To increase the number Heath Park students engaged in the Students’ Union and to develop a peer-support scheme for Healthcare students by 31st July 2017. PARTIALLY ACHIEVED
6. To increase the Union’s overall engagement with individual members to at least 25,000 students, to increase the percentage of students using more than one Union service and to increase engagement with post graduate students by 31st July 2017. NOT ACHIEVED
9. To improve oversight of Union operations and performance, evidenced by the development of a new management reporting structure and senior management team responsibilities by 28th February 2017. ACHIEVED
Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
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10. To ensure that at least 15 Managers / Heads of Departments complete a 360 degree appraisal that form action plans within their VIP process by 30th June 2017. PARTIALLY ACHIEVED
14. To find efficiency savings or increases in commercial contribution of at least £200k for 2017/18, compared to 2016/17 by 30th June 2017. ACHIEVED
18. To review the progress made agonist the plan set out within the ‘It’s no Joke’ policy and to publish the progress made and next steps by 30th June 2017. ACHIEVED
11. To achieve the overall budgeted surplus and cash position for the Union’s group of companies for 2016/2017, by 31st July 2017 ACHIEVED
15. To develop a 10-year capital projects plan for the Union, including plans for an upgraded reception by 31st July 2017. NOT ACHIEVED
19. To implement the Welsh Language Policy and review progress made in a report to the Board of Trustees by 30th June 2017 ACHIEVED
12. To achieve the overall budgeted income position for CUSL, including a £70K year-on-year increase (compared to 2015/16) in rental income by 31st July 2017 ACHIEVED
16. To complete a comprehensive review of the Union’s existing financial procedures, agree a new financial procedures manual and train relevant staff in those procedures by 31st March 2017. NOT ACHIEVED
20. To review the Union’s Governance and democracy arrangements, focusing on making the Union’s structures more accessible to more students by 31st March 2017. ACHIEVED
13. To successfully complete the redevelopment of the ground floor of the building by 30th September 2016. ACHIEVED
17. To develop an action plan against the areas identified for review through the internal audit process and to ensure progress within all areas by 31st March 2017. ACHIEVED
Fadhila Al Dhahouri Genetics BSc
Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
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REPRESENTATION. Another record-breaking year for Representation and Democracy for the Sabbatical Trustees, academic reps, campaigns officers, and the Student Voice team. The Union has a long and proud history of representing Cardiff students and shaping the learner experience at Cardiff University. Every year the student leadership of the Union is elected by students with College and School Representatives (Reps) being elected by students from those areas.
REPRESENTATION Student Academic Reps play a vital role in the partnership between students and the University and ensure that the student voice is taken seriously at every level. Reps attend student-staff panels within their School to bring feedback from their cohort and suggest improvements to the academic experience.
2016/2017 was another year of success for Student Voice. We held 38 sessions where 370 attendees took part in training. In total 85 induction talks were conducted in all schools, which is an increase from 83 talks in the previous year.
SPEAK WEEK In February 2017 we organised Speak Week in conjunction with the University; a week offering students the chance to give feedback on their university experience through feedback points across both campuses. Speak Week has gone from strength-to-strength each year, and 2017 saw another record broken with a total of 2,910 Speak Week cards completed. From those 2,910 cards we received over 6,885 individual comments about the University and Students’ Union.
6,885
INDIVIDUAL SPEAK WEEK COMMENTS
2,910
COMPLETED FEEDBACK CARDS
2016: 2,200 CARDS 5,013 INDIVIDUAL COMMENTS.
George Watkins English Literature and Philosophy
DEMOCRACY. All students are given the opportunity to participate in the Union’s democracy and influence the direction and policy of the organisation. This is done in a number of ways, but includes electing the Sabbatical Trustees in February every year, and through participation in policy making bodies like the Student Members’ Annual General Meeting and the Student Senate. There were 43 candidates who ran in the February 2017 elections, and a record breaking 6,851 students cast their vote! Last year’s AGM passed policy on harassment, freedom of speech, and providing sanitary products for the homeless in Cardiff.
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STUDENT SENATE Motions that were passed included running a voter registration drive ahead of the Snap General Election, mandating NUS Wales to fight against rising tuition fees, providing additional support to our Campaign Officers, and to campaign against the University advertising in certain news outlets.
“ THERE WERE
43 CANDIDATES WHO RAN IN THE FEBRUARY 2017 ELECTIONS... ”
Jessica Warren Human Geography BA
DEVELOPING OUR STUDENTS FOR THE FUTURE.
Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
Through the work of Cardiff Volunteering, Jobshop, the Skills Development Service, and in partnership with Student Volunteering Cardiff (SVC) and the University’s Enterprise Team, we aimed to get at least 25% of students volunteering, undertaking student development or being engaged in enterprise by 2017. In total during the year, the Centre for Skills, Enterprise and Volunteering (CSEV) teams namely Cardiff Volunteering, Jobshop, SDS and Enterprise engaged with 14,300 students between them, which represented approx. 45% of the student body.
DEVELOPING SKILLS This Union was one of the first in the UK to develop student development programmes to enhance student skills and employability. In recognition for the growing importance of employability, the Union partnered with the University to develop the Centre
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for Skills, Enterprise and Volunteering within the Union building, completed in 2012. The Centre offers an excellent space to deliver the Union’s skills programmes in areas such as leadership, personal effectiveness and communication. Students can gain certification for completing five units in these courses and during 2016/17 113 students attained Communication, 152 Personal Effectiveness and 169 Leadership. In total 2,561 individual students took part in skills development sessions. In total 8,625 contacts were made as a result of repeated attendance and working closely with individual schools. In addition, 144 students became Emergency First Aiders, 24 gained Level 2 Health and Safety, 13 successfully completed Level 1 British Sign Language and 13 were awarded the The Pacific Institute® STEPS® to Excellence for Personal Success.
“ IN TOTAL
2,561
INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS TOOK PART IN SKILLS DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS. ”
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Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
GAINING WORK EXPERIENCE Our Jobshop was opened in 2001 as a partnership project between the Students’ Union and the University, offering an employment agency for all Cardiff students. Jobshop places students in part-time and temporary work both within the University and the wider community. Jobshop has recently moved into the 2nd floor Centre for Skills, Enterprise and Volunteering to complete our student development offering all in one place for students. This academic year has seen a 17% increase in registrations with 4,412 students registering for work. Jobshop provided students with a huge 138,096 hours of work, an 11% increase on the previous year. Jobshop paid £1.36m into students’ bank accounts during 2016-2017.
“JOBSHOP PROVIDED STUDENTS WITH A HUGE
138,096
HOURS OF WORK, AN 11% INCREASE ON THE PREVIOUS YEAR. ”
Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY Cardiff Volunteering is the Students’ Union’s own volunteering charity. The charity supports a programme of community volunteering opportunities for students in Cardiff and the wider community in South Wales in partnership with many other local charities and community groups. . This work has both a huge positive impact on the local community whilst also offering challenging and exciting development opportunity for our students. We are aware that students become involved in volunteering for many different reasons. During the 2016-17 academic year, Cardiff Volunteering worked to expand the variety of volunteering opportunities available to students in order to reflect this. These are built on six pillars of voluntary activity; Children, Young People Education, Young People Social, Environment & the Wider Community, Sports & Recreation, and Welfare. Under these categories, the
Cardiff Volunteering team are able to deliver more than 40 regular weekly projects. Cardiff Volunteering has worked with over 1,300 students who, between them, have volunteered almost 12,000 hours on various on-going and oneoff projects. This is an amazing achievement that has contributed directly to the delivery of some life-changing projects across Cardiff. Our student volunteers are not only incredible ambassadors for Cardiff Volunteering, but also for the Students’ Union, Cardiff University and the student community as a whole. As well as running weekly volunteering projects, Cardiff Volunteering have delivered a number of one off events during Student Volunteering Week such as playground make-overs and blind bowling with Cardiff Institute for the Blind.
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In 2016-17, Cardiff Volunteering assisted a number of student-led initiatives which have gone on to become established volunteering projects. The Safety Walk Scheme officially launched during Freshers’ Week 2016 and has since helped over 250 students get home safely. The Waste Not Want Not food redistribution project has gone from strength to strength, piloting a food collection scheme at University outlets and redistributing this to local homeless shelters. The Cardiff Volunteering team also helped to develop the new Periods In Poverty scheme which is a student-led initiative, setting up sanitary product donation points across the University and Students’ Union buildings and then re-distributing these donations to local women’s refugee and homeless centres.
Tom Kelly Chemistry BSc
ACTIVITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES. ALL ABILITIES ARE WELCOME Sport is a great way to bring people together, whether it’s elite athletes competing for a longawaited trophy, or just a study group forming a team for a weekly kick-about. Our Athletic Union provides opportunities to Cardiff University students, whatever their skill level, giving them a chance to continue competing in a favourite sport or to try something completely new. 2016-17 saw more than 5,500 students joining the Athletic Union, a record number of memberships. We maintained our BUCS ranking of 11th out of 150 universities, and saw some great achievements from our teams. Men’s Futsal beat Loughborough to become our first BUCS team championship winners since 2011. We also had our highest number of individual gold medals with 9 BUCS Champions this year spanning across a number of sports from boxing, surfing, cycling, athletics, rifle and sailing.
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Whilst the above information is based around the performance sport element of the Athletic Union, it is also important to highlight the activity that takes place at more of a participation/recreational level. Intra Mural leagues are run in the form of weekly fixtures in football, netball and 7-a-side football. The leagues are made up of 28 football teams, 40 netball teams and 12 7-a-side football teams. This programme provides over 1,000 students with the opportunity to be active and play sport in a safe and structured environment on a weekly basis.
“ WE MAINTAINED OUR BUCS RANKING OF 11TH OUT OF 150 UNIVERSITIES.”
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Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
A DIVERSE MIX
NO COMMITMENT NEEDED
HOT OFF THE PRESS
The Guild of Societies is a diverse collection of groups broadly broken down into political, recreational, cultural and course based groups.
Give it a Go is an alternative, non-membership based programme of events, activities and trips, allowing students to engage in many of the Union’s activities and services without any commitment.
The Union supports a range of student led media outlets – Gair Rhydd newspaper, Quench magazine, Xpress Radio and CUTV. These media groups are run like societies and produce media content for all Cardiff students.
Over 25% of the student population at Cardiff University is a member of the Guild of Societies. 207 Societies were in operation in 2016-17, a new record number. Members of the Guild of Societies were shortlisted for two awards at the National Societies Awards for the first time including Individual Award for Outstanding Contribution and Best Society Event. The annual Cardiff Fringe Festival is hosted by the Guild of Societies and is a celebration of the diversity that can be found amongst these groups. Events took place in March 2017 and were a resounding success, with over 30 Societies performing across the Festival and the showcase event, Go Global, which sold 250 tickets.
Now in its third year of operation, nearly 5,000 individual students engaged with activities, and over 150 Sports Clubs and Societies offered taster sessions giving students a chance to try new things and meet people. Day trips were run to Stonehenge, The Gower, Oxford, Bristol, Jurassic Coast, Brighton, Cambridge, Bath and Birmingham, while residential trips were run to give students a chance to experience places further afield such as Rome and Budapest. These trips were facilitated using an enthusiastic group of student volunteers who gave up their time and learned new skills.
The students who gave up their time to gain valuable experience in the media world had a successful year in 2016-17. Xpress Radio were nominated for Best Branding and won Bronze for Best Speech Programming at the Student Radio Awards 2017. In the Wales Regional Student Publication Awards 2017, Gair Rhydd won Best Impact Journalism and Quench won Best Publication and Best Journalist.
Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
IT’S THE JOURNEY THAT COUNTS The transport provision we provide for our student groups is a key element of enabling them to undertake such a wide range of activity. Our current fleet is made up of 12 vehicles – 4 x 15 seater minibuses, three 17 seater minibuses, three 9 seaters, one 7 seater and one van. Our Transport Coordinator put over 200 students through the theory and practical elements of the MIDAS testing procedure. This not only saves the Clubs and Societies money but also allows them to run trips across the country (and Europe) themselves. Over the summer alone, groups travelled as far afield as the Czech Republic and the French Alps. In 2016-17, student drivers drove over 127,000 miles in our fleet of vehicles which equates to more than five times around the world in total.
25%
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“ OVER OF THE STUDENT POPULATION AT CARDIFF UNIVERSITY IS A MEMBER OF THE GUILD OF SOCIETIES.”
Nick Fox Maths and Physics BSc
THE RIGHT ADVICE. The Students’ Union runs a dedicated advice service to students on the third floor of the Students’ Union building and from the Heath Campus. Our team of Student Advisors will either directly support students or refer them on to specialist help. Advice is given on a range of issues including academic, consumer, housing, employment, student finance, money matters and personal matters. During 2016-17, the service was approached by 3,024 students in total, which is a 20% increase on the previous academic year. 1,471 of these were academic cases, with extenuating circumstances (582) and academic appeals (486) forming the main bulk of the academic queries. 1,243 of the cases seen related to housing, with 750 landlord-tenant disputes and disrepair and 280 tenancy contract checks. Advice was given for tenancy deposit disputes covering £250,000.
With students increasingly seeking information online, the Advisors at the Student Advice service spent 700 hours updating the advice pages on our website, allowing students to access information 24 hours a day, from anywhere in the world. The staff in the Student Advice team also put in the ground work for recruiting a team of 400 student volunteers to support students’ transition into university life during Freshers’ Week. Students were recruited during the third term of the year and trained during September with plans in place to roll this volunteer initiative out further in 2017-18. The difference that the Student Advice service makes to students in need cannot be underestimated. Whether representing students during an appeal, or helping them fight against unfair deposit charges at the end of a tenancy, Student Advice can impact on a student ultimately gaining the qualification they came to University for, can
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change the mind of a student who is considering dropping out, and can help students fight for their rights and retain money they can little afford to lose.
“ DURING 2016/17, THE SERVICE WAS APPROACHED BY 3,024 STUDENTS IN TOTAL, WHICH IS A 20% INCREASE ON THE PREVIOUS ACADEMIC YEAR.”
Jo Tan LLB Law
VENUES. Within our Park Place building we have a three room night club space, a pub, a large live music venue and a smaller, intimate party space. Our Venues team work around the clock to provide plenty of opportunities for our student members to have fun and meet new friends. In 2016-17, 42,192 music fans attended our live music shows and 120,262 students filled the dance floor at our club nights. Every year we increase and diversify the range of ways students can make the most of their social time. This means we are constantly looking at new ways to help students socialise, meet new friends and enjoy their time living in Cardiff. We know that it’s hard to concentrate with an empty stomach, so we take our mission to keep our students well fed at an affordable price seriously. In 2016-17, we sold 9,737 salads and 7,462 lattes to students in our Food Court. Also consumed were 23,968 burgers across our catering outlets,
Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
alongside 405,000 bottles of VKs and 10,000 gallons of Fosters – that’s 200 bathtubs full of beer!
“ ALSO CONSUMED WERE
23,968 BURGERS ACROSS OUR CATERING OUTLETS...”
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Taz Jones Genetics BSc
SHOPS AND SERVICES. BREAKING NEW GROUND
CARDIFF STUDENT LETTING
2016-2017 welcomed our updated ground floor space, expanding the retail provision to incorporate 18 retail units. A number of national brands were attracted to rent retail space, namely Blackwells, Santander and Co-op who have strong links with the NUS allowing them to offer a student-centric convenience store. In refining services and shops on the ground floor we were mindful of meeting student needs and delivering a variety of provisions. The new space hosts a range of national and local retailers all with the student needs and wants at the forefront of their operations. At the end of 2016/2017 we had successfully let 90% of the newly developed ground floor space.
Cardiff Student Letting, the Students’ Union’s very own letting agency, has been working hard to house our students since 2006. For over a decade, they have consistently saved students money through not charging agency fees. In 2016-17 they housed 1,228 students, and saved them £122,800 (based on an average agency fee of £100 per person). They also travel on average around 500 miles a month, transporting students to and from viewings.
Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
“ IN 2016/17 THEY HOUSED
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1,228 STUDENTS,
AND SAVED THEM £122,800. ”
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Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
LOVE CARDIFF Our clothing and merchandise store, Love Cardiff opened its doors in September 2015. 2016/17 was a fantastic year as we increased sales by over 150%. For the first time we launched a Freshers’ specific merchandise range, and also ran our very successful pop up stall at City Hall for the second year in a row, effectively doubling our graduation sales year on year. Products have been chosen with students in mind, ensuring there is a range of both English and Welsh merchandise and ensuring their affordability and quality.
INC 2016-2017 saw the re-launch of the IT Shop as INC, with an increased focus on competitively priced stationery essentials. INC also operated a Toshiba accredited computer and laptop repair shop, and the new street facing location ensured the successfully
application for a Post Office Local facility. At the end of the 2016-17 academic year, the decision was taken to close INC and redevelop the space into a second Love Cardiff merchandise store, to open in September 2017.
POST OFFICE When redeveloping the ground floor space we sought input from our student members to find what services they would like to see introduced into the building. Having access to Post Office services was a common choice, resulting in a Post Office Local branch being introduced into INC. In its first year of trading the Post Office has been hugely popular and a well-used service by our student members.
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SALON In 2016-2017 we launched our expanded hair and beauty service called Salon (previously Cutting Edge). Salon operated within a new 60m2 unit with a purpose built space allocated for beauty services and private haircuts. Between October and June, Salon registered over 2,000 new clients offering excellent value to our student members. In July 2017, Salon ceased trading as we sought to streamline our internal retail provision and worked to attract an established hair and beauty company to occupy the space.
“ BETWEEN OCTOBER AND JUNE, SALON REGISTERED
OVER 2,000 NEW CLIENTS. ”
Kirsty Hepburn Medicine
HEATH PARK. Students studying at Cardiff University are split across two main campus sites; Cathays and the Heath Park. Traditionally, we have struggled to engage with students at the Heath Park due to the location of the Students’ Union building at the Cathays campus and the different academic commitments of this group. 2016-17 saw our provision of services at the Heath Park expand as we work to increase engagement with our students based there. Visits to our smaller Students’ Union at the Heath have increased, with students taking advantage of the opportunity to access our services here, such as registering for temporary work through our Jobshop. We hosted our biggest ever Heath Park Freshers’ Fair featuring 75 stalls including Heath and nonheath based clubs and societies, South Wales Police, wellbeing societies and external companies.
A group of nursing students enrol in March each year, rather than the usual September intake. We have increased engagement with this group, offering free welcome drinks and biscuits, as well as a fair that introduced them to Students’ Union services. Student groups have been encouraged to engage with students at the Heath which has resulted in at least one student stall occurring at the Heath Park Students’ Union each week. Stalls range from bake sales by Cardiff University Rowing Club, to a membership drive from Act One, as well as talks and interactive competitions by the Healthcare Christian Society, and awareness raising from the Tamil Society. We have worked on acquiring extra spaces across the Heath campus as we know that study space is at a premium. We now have six rooms that students and Students’ Union staff can use. Three common rooms across the campus were also updated with
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full kitchen facilities in response to student feedback. There are a higher percentage of mature students with children at the Heath. To cater for this group, the Vice President Heath Park introduced ‘Family Days’ in which parents could bring their children along to the Students’ Union on a number of Saturdays and enjoy a free coffee and a chat while their children could play with the games provided. These events also provided great networking opportunities and allowed us to showcase our services to this group. Medics Varsity is a sports tournament organised by Cardiff University Students’ Union and Bristol University. More teams took part than ever before and attendance was at a record high in 2016.
Osian Morgan Welsh BA
CYMRAEG. EMBRACING OUR CULTURE As an organisation based in the capital city of Wales, we are extremely proud of our Welsh culture and heritage. In 2016-17, we relished the opportunity to showcase this through celebrating Shwmae Sumae day in October, a Welsh language coffee morning to engage with existing Welsh speakers and to inspire non-Welsh speakers to find out more about the language and culture. There are now more Welsh societies than ever before and we believe that it’s a truly exciting time to be a Welsh speaking student at Cardiff University.
BILINGUAL BRILLIANCE The Welsh Language Policy has now been in place for over a year. The policy was launched publicly to students and stakeholders in November 2016. A launch event was held in The Lodge, featuring a performance from Waun Ddyfal student choir and
presentations from the Welsh Language Officer, President of Y Gym Gym and a representative from the Welsh for All programme at Cardiff University. The first 16 months of the policy has seen a positive change across the organisation and we will continue to work towards development of the Welsh Language Policy over the next year.
EXCITING TIMES AHEAD The UMCC and Social Integration Forum was established by students to discuss plans to set up UMCC. UMCC (Undeb Myfyrwyr Cymraeg Caerdydd) is a new Union within the Union that represents Welsh speakers and learners. The forum met three times in total to discuss important arrangements for the running of UMCC, which is now set up ready for the 2016/2017 academic year.
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“ THERE ARE NOW MORE WELSH SOCIETIES THAN EVER BEFORE... ”
FINANCES. The Union’s financial performance in 2016/17 was excellent and represents a significant improvement on the prior year. The Union saw growth in both its commercial and charitable activities and we completed the redevelopment of the ground floor of the building. Overall, the Group made an operating surplus of £684,317 (before depreciation and pension deficit contributions) and we reduced our net current liabilities from £559,733 to £121,321. Direct comparisons to previous years are difficult to establish from the financial statements due to changes in operating activities and the restatement of the 2015/16 accounts, principally caused by the application of the Union Building as a fixed asset. The Union’s trading company made an operating deficit of £123,574 due to annual depreciation charges of £685,467 of which £601,960 is attributable to the depreciation of the Union Building. The application of the Union Building on the Union’s
balance sheet means that similar charges should be expected in future years and should be discounted when considering operating performance and contribution to the Group. The Union’s future obligations to its former pension scheme, the Students’ Union Superannuation Scheme (SUSS), were re-evaluated during the year and rose from £2,663,371 to £4,427,963. The scheme was closed to future accrual in 2011 and the Union is satisfied that it has funds to meet its obligations over the life of the scheduled deficit recovery plan up to 2033.
“ THE UNION SAW GROWTH IN BOTH ITS COMMERCIAL AND CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES AND WE COMPLETED THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE GROUND FLOOR OF THE BUILDING. ”
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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
BALANCE SHEET AS AT THE 31ST JULY 2017
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Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
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“ STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION INCOME ROSE BY £252,234 IN THE YEAR. ” CUSU SUMMARY
CUSL SUMMARY
Student engagement and participation income rose by £252,234 in the year, created by increased activity within Jobshop, Give it a Go and the Athletic Union. This income growth reflects the increased overall engagement in these student activities, which provide further non-financial benefits. As a result the Union invested an additional £145,746 into direct charitable activities for student members with £105,640 being carried forward in reserves.
The Union’s trading activities grew in 2016/17 due to the increasing popularity of our night time businesses and from increased rent from shopping mall tenants, following redevelopment of the ground floor. These improvements saw income rise from £3,663,405 to £3,975,803 while cost of sales and administrative expenses reduced.
The Union received a significant increase in block grant from Cardiff University (£140,000) compared to the previous year, which was vital to ensure that the Union could meet its rising pension costs without reducing funds available for student activities and representation. The Union is grateful for the additional support from the University and acknowledges the University’s current income and expenditure constraints.
The Union is grateful for the University’s financial support in redeveloping the ground floor of the Union Building, which was completed in September 2016. The project saw the creation of 18 retail units from existing retail space and unutilised storage areas. The impact of the redevelopment has been transformational: the rear of the building is significantly more attractive and contributes to the regeneration of Cathays; The Union was successful in attracting a supermarket and Post Office – two of the top three requests from students and; the units
have been 100% let and are contributing a significant new and diversified income to the Union.
BUILDING REDEVELOPMENT The Union has received over £7M in financial support from the University to redevelop the Union Building between 2012 and 2017. Together, these developments have transformed the Union Building from a predominantly night time space into an important co-curricular student facility that is heavily used by students and plays an important role in attracting new ones. These improvements have played a major part in the broader organisational successes of the Union, resulting in sector-leading engagement and student satisfaction. The only part of the Union Building that remains in need of development is the Great Hall and the Union intends on presenting a business case to the University later this year to update and expand the Great Hall to meet the Union’s and University’s future needs.
BALANCED SCORECARD 17/18. SATISFACTION & ENGAGEMENT Maintaining excellent satisfaction ratings with students, staff and the University, whilst maximising levels of engagement across all sections of the student community. 1. To launch the Union’s new strategy - including a Heath Park strategy - to students, staff and University stakeholders before 31st Oct 2017. 2. To implement the outcomes of the democracy review by 31st Dec 2017. 3. To achieve 90% satisfaction from undergraduates, 75% with PG taught and 85% with PG research students in the Welcome to Cardiff Survey by 28th Feb 2018. 4. To maintain 75% of both student and career staff recommending the Union as a great place to work whilst also achieving stage 2 Investors in Diversity status by 30th June 2018.
5. To develop a Centre for Student life communications plan by 31st Dec 2017.
LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT Continually improve what the Union does whilst equipping students & staff with the skills and knowledge they need to achieve the Union’s Vision. 1. To establish development plans for all student facing services in response to the Union’s equality impact data, focusing on developing higher engagement from underrepresented groups by 31st Dec 2017 2. To establish an insight and research function, within the Union’s new Communications Directorate, evidenced with the strategic plan for the Directorate, by 31st Jan 2018 3. To agree an updated Partnership Agreement with the University regarding Jobshop that
meets the University’s regulatory requirements and expectations for Centre for Student Life partnership working, by 30th June 2018 4. To achieve Best Companies 1-star status and to be placed within the Sunday Times top-100 organisations to work for by 31st Jan 2018 5. To ensure that at least 50% of all career and student supervisor staff undertake personal development training during 2017/18 by 31st July 2018.
Cardiff University Students’ Union Annual Impact Report 2016/17
SUSTAINABILITY Achieving financial stability in the short term whilst also ensuring the long term, financial, strategic and reputational sustainability of the Union and having a least possible negative impact on the local community and the environment.
5. To achieve funding for a comprehensive maintenance package for the Union building and to achieve the year one targets by 31st July 2018.
QUALITY & ASSURANCE
1. To achieve the overall budgeted surplus and cash position for the Union’s group of companies for 2017/2018, by 31st July 2018.
Ensuring that the Union’s activities are underpinned by quality systems, with easily understandable procedures which are well followed and regularly audited.
2. To achieve the overall budgeted income position for CUSL by increasing profit and / or maximizing the benefits of the Union’s CSL mitigation agreement by 31st July 2018.
1. To agree a renewed partnership agreement with the University, including a shared vision for the Centre for Student Life by 28th Feb 2018.
3. To develop and present a business case for the redevelopment of the Great Hall, Reception and the former Graduate Centre by 28th Feb 2018. 4. To complete the final year of Operation 200 and establish an ongoing efficiency review programme by 31st March 2018.
2. To complete a governance audit and enact the proposed changes by 31st March 2018. 3. To establish a new Tendering Policy and to tend at least 5 of the top 10 (out of contract) Union suppliers by 31st July 2018.
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4. To review and update the Health and Safety Management System, including an updated audit programme by 28th Feb 2018. 5. To ensure that the Union has prominent bilingual signage and branding on Park Place, priority use of the CSL terrace and an extended lease for the Union building by 28th Feb 2018.
Janet Williams LLM Canon Law
TRUSTEES AND SENIOR STAFF. SABBATICAL TRUSTEES
STUDENT TRUSTEES
President: Hollie Cooke (from 1 July 2017)
Emma Mattin (from 1 July 2017)
President: Sophie Timbers (to 30 June 2017)
Lilly Ryan Harper (from 13 September 2016)
VP Societies: Lamorna Hooker (from 1 July 2017)
Alex Williams
VP Societies: Milly Dyer (to 30 June 2017)
Sarah Hopkins-Weaver (to 30 June 2017)
VP Sports & AU President: Tom Kelly (from 1 July 2017)
Matthew Williams (to 12 September 2016)
VP Sports & AU President: Elin Harding (to 30 June 2017)
UNIVERSITY NOMINATED TRUSTEES
VP Education: Fadhila Al Dhahouri (from 1 July 2017) VP Education: Mo Hanafy (to 30 June 2017) VP Heath Park: Kirsty Hepburn (from 1 July 2017)
Gethin Lewis Mark Leighfield
VP Heath Park: Niko Ciecierski-Holmes (to 30 June 2017)
EXTERNAL TRUSTEES
VP Postgraduate: Jake Smith (from 1 July 2017)
Richard Roberts CBE
VP Postgraduate: Alex Kuklenko (to 30 June 2017)
Rakesh Aggarwal
VP Welfare: Nick Fox (from 1 July 2017)
Bethan Walsh
VP Welfare: Hollie Cooke (to 30 June 2017)
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Registered Office: Park Place, Cardiff, Wales. CF10 3QN Registered Company Number: 07328777 Registered Charity Number: 1137163
SENIOR STAFF Chief Executive: Daniel Palmer Deputy Chief Executive: Ben Eagle Director of Engagement and Participation: Steve Wilford Head of Finance: Christine Akers