City of Glasgow College Students’ Association
Annual Report 2014 - 15 “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller
May 2015
Section 1 - Introduction 3
1.1 Foreword by Student President, Sanjay Lago
3
1.2 Mission, Vision and Values 4 1.3 Highlights of 2014/15 6 Section 2 - Structure 8 2.1 CitySA Constitution 8
2.2 Staffing Overview
8
2.3 Student Executive
10
2.4 Strategic Planning Model 14 Section 3 - Balance Scorecard 15 Theme 1: Students 15 S.1 Student Representation 16
S.2 Social Activites
21
S.3 International Students 27
S.4 Diversity and Equality
Theme 2: Growth and Development
29
30
GD.1 Dynamic Learning 30 GD.2 College Partnership 36
GD.3 Student Executive Training
Theme 3: Processes
38
39
P.1 Communication
39
P.2 Class and Faculty Representatives
43
P.3 Students’ Association Facilities
49
Theme 4 - Finance 50 F.1 Budget Management 51 F.2 Income 51 Section 5 - Acknowledgements 53
1 - Introduction
Section 1 – Introduction 1.1
Foreword by Student President, Sanjay Lago
Hello and welcome to the CitySA Annual Report 2014/15. This has been a rollercoaster of an academic year, with more events and work taking place by the City SA Team than ever before and this report will detail all the incredible work put in by the BIGGEST team we have ever had. We have been working hard to make sure that our work continues to give students the right balance between the academic and social aspects of college life. This year, City of Glasgow College Students Association have achieved more than ever, growing as each day arrives and making our SA prominent in the Students Experience. With more events, more liberation activities, bigger representation ON and OFF Campus, students have been firmly in the foreground of all we do. We’ve have had more engagement that previous years and we’re proud that the team of 2014/15 will be leaving behind a legacy filled with many memories and are ready to pass the baton of work on to the new team! Wishing them all the best for next year but congratulating this year’s team on all our incredible work. So let’s look over our past year but also prepare for the next year. Peace and Harmony Sanjay Lago Student President 2014-15
3
1.2 Mission, Vision and Values All Students’ Association work is carried out in line with the Mission, Vision and Values developed by the Student Executive last year with support from college staff and the National Union of Students (NUS). The CitySA Mission, Vision and Values have remained unchanged as the Students’ Association is committed to consistency in realising the aspirations they have set. 1.3 Mission:
CitySA will:
• Work in partnership with City of Glasgow College to create a culture for our students that recognises the needs of the individual, promoting an environment that is inclusive and accessible to all.
• Champion international, national and local campaigns of interest to the student body. Provide opportunity for students to express their views and contribute to the development and growth of the Students’ Association and the wider college.
• Create opportunities for students to participate in fun and rewarding events, activities and gatherings, promoting an open door policy and encouraging the creation of clubs and societies that meet the needs of the students.
• Provide opportunity for growth and progression, encouraging participation in training, volunteering, leadership skills development, employability and engagement in the learning journey.
4
1.4 Vision: CitySA believe:
• City of Glasgow College Students’ Association (City SA) is a powerful campaigning organisation representing student views, whilst supporting educational and social experiences, enabling students to realise their potential.
• Our goal is to be the best Association for our students, encouraging student engagement in their own learning and fostering an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and promotes equality of opportunity.
1.5 CitySA Values
CitySA aim to encourage our students to embrace the following values:
• To empower • To inspire
• To promote inclusion
• To have fun!
5
1.3 Highlights of 2014/2015 CitySA have continued to develop and grow this year, expanding their reach further than before and continuing to make a significant impact across the college. It’s been another successful year for the Students’ Association and some of our highlights are listed below:
Freshers’ Week CitySA welcomed new and returning students alike this year with a hotly anticipated twoday Freshers’ fair. Freshers’ this year had a carnival theme. The two-day event featured a fair with stalls inside the Townhead games hall, and a ‘run away with the circus’ workshop outside in the car park.
Black History Month This year, City of Glasgow College Students’ Association celebrated Black History Month with help from the Design department who designed fantastic posters and plasma materials, and the Diversity Team, who helped publicise the event throughout the college.
Inspire 2014 To help fully prepare class reps for their roles, CitySA organised the college’s second Inspire class rep event, held this year at the Glasgow Film Theatre. Inspire2014 brought together class reps from across the college to listen to inspirational speakers. This class rep extravaganza thanked class reps for their commitment and helped encourage a spirit of activism amongst students across the college.
Women in the Spotlight ‘Women in the Spotlight’ was a ground-breaking and innovative event which was interactive and educational. It was aimed at celebrating and supporting women.
6
National Representation Throughout the year, the elected officers of City of Glasgow College have travelled across the United Kingdom representing the views of students at various events including National Conferences, demonstrations and liberation events. Supporting Students CitySA has supported various students to enhance their student experience by taking part in national and international events and competitions – including helping Christopher Murphy to attend the Special Olympics in Los Angeles in summer 2015, where he will be competing in the judo competition. Class Representation System CitySA has overseen a comprehensive review of the class representative system which has seen the development of the ‘Finger on the Pulse’ feedback sheet and consistent access to Faculty Directors to provide constructive comments and feedback from students. The system has drawn praise across the sector and has been presented to the Quality Development Network as an example of best practice. Graduation This year, CitySA had a greater involvement in the college graduation ceremonies. From helping with the set up and preparation of the hall for the ceremony to the Student President handing out certificates to graduates and delivering a well-received speech to students. 97% of students providing feedback rated graduation as either ‘good’ or ‘very good’
7
2.1 CitySA Constitution The CitySA constitution was composed by the College Board in partnership with the Student Executive in June 2012. This constitution sets out the rules and regulations which govern the Students’ Association. In order to promote accountability and transparency the constitution is made readily available to all students via the Students’ Association website. The constitution is reviewed every three years and amendments can be proposed at the Students’ Association’s Annual General Meeting and through the Student Executive. A constitutional review is currently scheduled to be undertaken, commencing in June 2015.
2.2 Staffing Overview City of Glasgow College has demonstrated clear commitment to building a strong Students’ Association through its allocation of staffing support. There are a number of staff members who have responsibility for supporting the Students’ Association as illustrated below:
8
As well as management support from the Principal, Vice-Principal, Head of Student Development and Student Engagement Manager the Students’ Association has two dedicated full-time members of staff. Their responsibilities are as follows:
• Students’ Association Liaison Officer: Organises student elections, mentors student officers, monitors budgeting and assists with strategic planning
• Students’ Association Administrator: Processes financial transactions, ensures an accurate minute of important meetings, distributes information and covers administrative duties
The agency Student Participation in Quality Scotland (SPARQS) states that valuing students as partners is one of the key features of effective Student Engagement (Student Engagement Framework for Scotland). City of Glasgow College Students’ Association actively seeks partnership opportunities with college staff to work on joint initiatives with the aim of improving the student experience. Special mention has to be given to the Student Engagement team who work alongside the Student Executive throughout the year to empower and support a stronger student voice. The Students’ Association and Student Engagement team work very closely on a number of projects and thanks to this partnership the staff support available to the Students’ Association increases with three Student Engagement Officers.
Dougie Smith, Students’ Association Liaison Officer “The relationship between staff and students is the key to an effective college and a positive student experience. It helps to ensure that innovative ideas, learner experience and expert knowledge all combine to keep standards high. The Student’s Association promotes student ownership and active participation. It empowers students to believe they can affect change both inside and outside of college.”
9
2.3 Student Executive Presidential Team President – Sanjay Lago “I feel honoured to have been given the chance to represent students at a college, regional, national and International level. Speaking at high profile event such as the City Chambers and Trade Union Conferences, the experience and knowledge I have gained from this job I will keep with me forever. I have had a diverse team and it has been good to go through a journey with passionate people and I am so proud of all the achievements we have made this year. It has also been great to be the first president from the college who also was an Officer for NUS as the Black Students Officer, representing not only our students but students of BAEM background across Scotland.” Vice President Learning & Teaching – Mark McCafferty “As Vice President Learning & Teaching I can say the skills which are learned and the opportunities which you are given are absolutely priceless. There have been opportunities to sit on the Board of Management and committees which sit under it. I have had opportunities through the class rep system to gather student feedback through the ‘finger on the pulse’ sheets. I have sat in meetings with Faculty Directors with our elected Faculty Reps, feeding back on the key issues and challenges which our students have faced with the view to seeing positive changes being implemented to enhance the student experience whilst studying at the college. I have also received feedback on the positive experience students have had over the course of the year. Overall, the student voice continues to grow stronger and stronger each year - this is only possible through our students engaging in the class rep system and participating in SA events, for which we can only thank you!” Vice President Social & Activities – Hannah Morley “Being elected as VP Social and Activities has been both a large learning curve and a unique experience which I will take with me in all of my future work. The students association has helped me shape my skills in many areas of work such as public speaking, administration, effectively starting up and running societies such as the Women’s Group and the MyTime society, and engaging students with the activities of the students association. The experience has also allowed me to identify areas of improvement in my work activity and how best to work to improve this.”
10
Executive Team Campus Officer – Stuart Proudfoot
Charities and Ethics Officer – Kirsten Richardson
Clubs and Societies Officer – Sandra Sheridan “I have been working as part of the exec team as clubs and societies officer and have been involved with various successful events such as ‘women in the spotlight’ working alongside Hannah and also the Inspire event. I have also taken part in various training such as diversity and equalities and public speaking. I found the training very informative and useful. The public speaking training was great, I really struggle when talking in front of a group and even though the training was delivered in the space of 1 hour I found I benefited from it. I have enjoyed being part of the students association this year and helping with decision-making to provide a better life for students at City of Glasgow College.”
11
Communications Officer – Shaun Patrick Murphy
This year I was elected into the position of the Communications Officer for City SA and I have had a really interesting and life changing experience in this role. I have changed the way we communicate with our students and put procedures in place to ensure those that come after me have a good process to follow to ensure we can build a greater communication network with our students. I have written and taken motions to NUS conferences to ensure that colleges are at the forefront of the work they will carry out in the future and have been at these conferences and represented the students of our college in a positive and engaged light. Equalities Officer – Scott Gorman “My year in the SA has been busy and extremely successful. I came into post in July last year with an eagerness to make a difference in the college and this year I can say I have! I’ve run the LGBTQ+ society since the start of the year and it has been incredible seeing it flourish and empowering it to work with various college departments. I have two big achievements this year: my first is my most heartfelt and means the most to me. I worked with other departments in the college to assist in the prevention of the deportation of one of our students back to his home country where he would face a life of imprisonment or death just for being who he is. Secondly, working with a brilliant group of students who have truly inspired me to keep fighting the cause in the LGBTQ+ community and proving that things can be achieved if you put your mind to it.” Environmental and Wellbeing Officer – Thomas Sloan “My time as Environmental and wellbeing officer has been a fantastic opportunity and one that I am grateful that I stepped up to and put myself out of my comfort zone to fulfil. I`ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the exec team in an uplifting and fun environment. I`ve had the opportunity to organise a food drive collection for The Wayside Centre homeless shelter and food bank which I ran across several campuses. I have learned that balancing studies, work and other projects such as this is more than worthwhile if you push yourself and see it through”
12
International Officer – Ian Gilmour “My time as International Officer has been very rewarding. I’ve gained a lot of confidence in my time working with students and staff and I’ve been able to meet lots of great people from other parts of the world learning about their different cultures. It can be hard for people to leave home and come to study abroad, but knowing that you’ve been able to help people settle in to life in this country is a great feeling!”
International Officer – Ruta Simonyte
Sports Captain – Craig Mains
Haaris Ahmed – Welfare Officer “The SA has shown me how important and influential a simple voluntary role can be and has helped instilled that I continue to help students across all levels. Students are at the heart of the organisation and without them we would have nothing.”
13
2.4 Strategic Planning Model In order to ensure that the Students’ Association operates as effectively as possible CitySA decided this year to realign its strategic planning around the four strategic priorities set out by the college:
• Students
• Growth and Development
• Processes
• Finance
This system offered a robust model for the Students’ Association to operate within and encouraged a more consistent approach with the wider college to enable alongside the college towards better outcomes. Balanced Scorecard and Operational Plan The Students’ Association’s Balanced Scorecard was updated for 2014-15 and it was used to form the basis of the 2014-15 City SA Operational Plan, which has been the guiding document for the Students’ Association activity throughout the year. Details of the Balanced Scorecard shown below:
14
Section 3 - Balanced Scorecard Theme 1: Students S.1 Student Representation This year, CitySA has maintained a high quality of student representation at local, regional and national level, striving to ensure that students at City of Glasgow College have their voice heard in a number of decision making forums. Student Representation in College Boards, Committees and Working Groups The Students’ Association endeavours to help shape college planning by having student representatives on college boards, committees and working groups offering the perspective of their fellow learners. Current student representatives are listed in the table below:
Academic and Disciplinary Support The Students’ Association, in particular the Vice President Learning and Teaching, works closely with the college in supporting students through academic appeals and college disciplinary procedures. This year, CitySA has supported more than 20 students in disciplinary and appeals procedures.
15
The Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Board offers an excellent chance for CitySA to work with Students Associations from Glasgow Kelvin and Glasgow Clyde to form a wider student voice for college students from across the city.
Through working with Student Participation in Quality Scotland (SPARQS) a framework for partnership between the three Students’ Associations has been agreed. Students from across the city will be represented by a regional student executive made up of four elected student officers from each institution including the three student presidents. While there have been challenges at regional level this year, both with the board and with the regional executive, CitySA remains committed to ensuring that the students of City of Glasgow College play an active part in regional planning and developments going forward.
National Representation To ensure that City of Glasgow College students are fully represented, the Students’ Association has continued to be an active part of the National Union of Students (NUS). This year student representatives from City of Glasgow College have been sent to a number of NUS conferences and events. There have been representatives sent to UK wide conferences, liberation conferences and workshop events to share ideas with students and staff from other institutions. City of Glasgow College continues to engage strongly with student representation at Scottish and UK levels. We currently have an elected representative on the UK national LGBT committee and our current Student President was elected as NUS Black Officer for all colleges and universities in Scotland in 2014-15 and re-elected for a second term to be served 2015-16. CitySA’s Welfare Officer was elected to NUS’ National Executive Council ‘block of 15’ in April 2015. .
16
The table below illustrates the NUS events attended this year in full: “Students at City of Glasgow College have been at the frontline of shaping NUS policy for their students and bringing local issues to attention nationally. City of Glasgow College students have sat on the committees that shape our work, have been some of the most vocal at our conference, and have been some of the most active in our campaigns. In this way City SA has been a strong partner of NUS Scotland over the last year. I’m proud that we’ve worked with City SA to deliver for their students on everything from housing to ensuring that students are registered to vote.” Gordon Maloney, NUS Scotland President
CitySA’s increased engagement has also lead them to engage with a range of figures from NUS, including: •
Toni Pearce – President NUS UK
•
Gordon Maloney – President NUS Scotland
•
Robert Foster – Vice President Learning & Teaching NUS Scotland
•
Vonnie Sandlan – Women’s Officer NUS Scotland
•
Robbie Young –LGBT Officer NUS UK
•
Kirsty Haigh –Vice President Communities NUS Scotland
•
Malia Bouattia – Black Students Officer NUS UK
17
Student Elections 2015
This year City of Glasgow College Students’ Association’s annual Presidential Election took place between the 11th and 13th May. The campaign was exciting and engaging, with candidates campaigning across all campuses and buildings. This was, without a doubt, our most successful election campaign ever. Turnout increased 70% from 2014-15, despite a reduction in the voting period from five days to three. There were 11 candidates in total across the 3 positions – equalling our highest number ever and our 6 candidates for Student President was the highest number of any educational institution in Scotland for 2015-16.
18
The new Presidential Team has received a significant mandate from the student body through this strong turnout. The CitySA Presidential Team for 2015-16 will take up post on the 29th June, 2015. Below is a breakdown of the winners and the votes cast for each candidate for the 3 presidential positions, using the Alternative Voting System:
19
Ruta Simonyte was elected as Vice President Social and Activities
Annual General Meeting This year CitySA successfully held the Students’ Association’s second AGM on Thursday 30th April at Vertigo, Strathclyde University Union. The meeting meant that motions were discussed and voted upon and that the democratic nature of the Students’ Association was strengthened in the process. The following motions were discussed: • Motion to look into full-time Vice-Presidents - PASSED • Motion to explore disaffiliation from NUS – AMENDED to ‘Getting the Most out of NUS’ and then PASSED
20
S.2 Social Activities
CitySA welcomed new and returning students alike this year with a hotly anticipated two-day Freshers’ Fair. The theme of Freshers’ this year was ‘the carnival’. The event featured a fair with stalls inside the Townhead games hall, and a ‘run away with the circus’ workshop outside in the car park. The stalls inside featured stalls from My Crew Edinburgh, an organisation sharing awareness of safe consumption of drugs and alcohol, Yes Scotland & Better Together also came to promote their campaigns. We also had stalls from Paperchase, Ketchup, Roshni, NUS and Scottcampus. We also had free popcorn and sold Krispy Kremes donuts to the students. The Games Hall featured DJs from Glasgow based club nights, founded by various students across Glasgow - such as Frogbeats Collective, Octaves & Handpicked Outside in the car park, Edinburgh based Circus group PyroCeltica facilitated a ‘run away with the circus’ workshop. Students were given their circus name, and then sent to circus training with Hula Hoops, juggling balls, poi, unicycles and much more. Students found this incredibly engaging and fun. Some photographs from the event have been included on the next page.
21
22
Sports This has been a very busy year for the City of Glasgow students competing in sport. Following on from last year, we now have some strong foundations in place as we establish ourselves in the college sporting arena and we have seen some good progression from last year. The national outdoor athletics and track & field event took place on 25th March and we had 3 students competing in various events. We also participated in the Women’s Football National College Finals on the 29th April 2015. We have continued from last term offering our sports clubs free to students and have clubs and events in: Basketball, Rugby, Volleyball, Badminton, Netball and both men’s and women’s Football and Cricket. We have also had great success in Inter college events where all Campuses have been in competition with each other. Some of the successes this year have included:
•
Over 350 sports sessions offered free of charge to students
• City of Glasgow sports teams playing in competitive leagues and tournaments for college in events including: SSS Indoor Athletics, Men’s Football League, Men’s Basketball Programme, SSS Rugby League and SSS College Finals
•
Women’s Football finished 3rd in the Country at National Finals
•
Rugby Men’s 7s team made it to the National Finals
•
Athletes competing at the track and field national outdoor championships
•
Men’s Basketball regional final runners-up
•
Badminton players reaching latter stages of regional tournament
•
Over 450 students competing in Inter College competitions
City of Glasgow College have built on the start made last year and we will be looking to consolidate our clubs and teams next year. We have witnessed some real progress in terms of retention and being able to build squads that can return for the next year to make a mark in the sporting environment. We have a strong network of coaches and volunteers who have enhanced our teams and we are in a position of strength to build on this for future success.
23
Clubs and Societies This year, CitySA put an emphasis on creating sustainable societies and raising attendance. The table below shows the societies’ timetable for 2014-15:
LGBTQ+ Society The City of Glasgow College LGBTQ+ Society won the Society of Year award at the NUS Scotland LGBT Conference in April 2015.
22 24
Women’s Society
The Women’s Society was set up in January following the successful ‘Women in the Spotlight’ Event in December. It consists of a group of 5 women who look to promote women’s rights with a creative and alternative twist. The women meet every Thursday at 5pm in the SA space, and use the time to socialise and mind map ideas surrounding campaigns and creative projects. The women’s society continues to strengthen and has ignited passion and activism in students across the college. “The women society and the events related to it has been successful, I think we can say that everyone involved are more than happy to see that together we made it work. All I can wish now is that we become bigger and stronger to keep people motivated to do more projects and keep working for equality.” Aell Bois, Women’s Society member and co-founder
MyTime The MyTime society is a staff led group aimed at students who identify on the autism spectrum. When we started the MyTime society in October, we really weren’t expecting the result that we have now. When students first came along they were quiet and hesitant to contribute, but as time went on they continued to break down social barriers and come out of their shell. We now have a group of students which return every week, and are passionate about working together to create an art piece representing equality and diversity in the college. The same members come each week, with more members joining.
25
“The My Time society has benefited me by allowing me to meet other people in a similar position to myself through our work on the college’s embracing diversity competition by allowing us to use each other’s skills through creating a fish tank. We chose this theme as this is such a wide variety of fish found around the world and all different shapes and colours which we thought reflected everyone at the college well. We used different sizes of sticks to show how some people are treated better than others and how this is wrong.
Ihave really enjoyed being part of the group as it has allowed me to meet students in a similar position to myself.”
Andrew, My Time Society Member Drama Society The Drama society was set up by our Student President, Sanjay Lago, who is a HND Drama Graduate Student and started the society that is a creative society but also a confidence building society that aims to: help with public speaking, build confidence in tricky situations, help students deal with spontaneous situations with improvisational techniques and provide a chance for non-drama students to meet up with like-minded students. International Society
The International society was established by CitySA’s International Officers and is supported by the Student Engagement Staff. It is based mainly within our Riverside Campus. This society gives a space for international students from around the world a chance to learn more about Glasgow, what is happening and what they can take part in, as well as ensuring international students feel safe when out and about.
24 26
S.3 International Students The Students Association is proud of its support for International students. Along with the college, CitySA have been awarded the NUS UK Excellence in International Student Support FE award for the many steps undertaken to ensure that international students are enabled to have the best learning experience possible. International Events This year the Students’ Association worked in partnership with the Student Engagement Team, Diversity and Equality staff, Organisational Development staff and the International Team to help facilitate a number of welcome and orientation events for international students:
Cream Tea
This event encouraged informal chat between International students, Board of Management & College Senior Management. Students were welcomed into the event to the sound of the bagpipes, they participated in games, enjoyed a lavish lunch and the highlight of the event was the International quiz that was hosted by our very own comedian Martin Taylor (Organisational Development Manager).
Diwali Party Students were able to celebrate this important date in the Hindu calendar and meet and mix with other International students from a partner University.
27
Edinburgh Trip
This year staff and students enjoyed cultural visits to our capital city which involved a historical and educational visit to Edinburgh Castle and the Scottish Parliament.
Students were also able to spend some free time soaking up the atmosphere in Edinburgh’s Old Town, and the Big Red Bus Tour introduced the beauty of the city. A visit to the National Gallery introduced the students to some of the history and the tour of the Edinburgh Dungeon offered a fun but scary experience. These opportunities (financially supported by Corporate Development) are a great way for students to get to know the support staff and the student officers.
Glasgow Derby In April the International students attended Celtic Park to see Celtic v Partick Thistle. Our International Officer Ian Gilmour, arrange a fantastic evening for the students who were given the opportunity to participate in an educational tour and learn the history of Celtic Football Club. We were given sweets and drinks and had a great fun evening.
2628
S.4 Diversity and Equality Diversity and Equality is an integral part of the City of Glasgow College Students’ Association. Throughout this report there are numerous examples of the Students’ Association celebrating diversity and promoting equality. The list that follows is a round-up of some of our greatest achievements this year:
•
Black History Month celebration
• City of Glasgow College’s first Student President to be elected from a BME background
•
Regular engagement activities for both International and ESOL students
•
An active LGBT Society and representation at national LGBT conferences
•
Representation at both Black Student’s and Women’s conferences
•
CitySA’s Student President being reelected as NUS Black Student’s Officer for Scotland for 2015-16
•
Special provision within all of our class rep training to promote Diversity and Equality at the college
•
Diversity and equality training for all elected Student Executive officers
•
Extensive promotion of diversity and equalities based initiative through CitySA Social Media
City of Glasgow College LGBTQ+ Society won College Society of Year at the NUS Scotland LGBT Awards in April 2015
•
Finally, the Students’ Association has continued its role as a key supporter of the college Diversity and Equality competition. For the third year running CitySA have offered the use of their Students’ Association space to host the competition and the Association had an active presence on the competition’s judging panel.
29
Theme 2: Growth and Development GD.1 Dynamic Learning The Students’ Association works to facilitate wider learning at the college in alignment with the aspirations of the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. As well as classroom based learning, CitySA endeavour to offer activities that develop transferrable skills and encourage students to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors. This is delivered through a combination of campaigns, awareness events and opportunities for dynamic learning. Below are some of the largest initiatives in this respect that the Association has facilitated this year. Women in the Spotlight
‘Women in the Spotlight’ was an interactive, educational event aimed at celebrating and supporting women. The event featured 4 display boards with different themes which were as follows:
1. Abolishing the stereotype: Infographics on gender based stereotypes, highlighting classic stereotypes often faced by women that potentially hinder prospects for women.
2. The history of the Women’s Movement: Timeline showing key moments in history for the women’s movement.
3. Support and Campaigns for Women in Glasgow: Display showing regional, national and international campaigns and support networks including The Glasgow Women’s Bridges and the ‘HeForShe’ campaign.
4. Liberation Sisterhood: Information and campaigns surrounding BME Women, Disabled Women and LGBT Women
2830
The event featured an interactive quiz where students viewed the display boards to find the answers to the questions. There were 3 winners of the quiz, who all got a £50 amazon voucher each. The event also featured 2 female DJs, catering and tea and coffee. Students found the event to be engaging and enjoyed participating in the quiz. We also had food, tea and coffee available throughout the day for students to help themselves to which the students enjoyed. The lecturing staff also commented positively on the event and found the interactive elements beneficial for students.
“I came along to the women’s event at City of Glasgow College SA and was amazed at the level of thought, consideration and organisation which had gone into making such an incredible event. It was clear that this had been planned in partnership with the college, and with external organisations. The result was an event with impact, an event to be proud of.”
Vonnie Sandlan, NUS Scotland Women’s Officer and NUS Scotland President-Elect
Black History Month
31
This year, City of Glasgow College Students’ Association celebrated Black History Month. The main event took place at the end of October, which was a panel discussion on “What it means to be Black in Scotland”. Those speaking were actor Atta Yaqub, presenter Jean Johansson, Campaigns Officer at CRER (Coalition Racial Equality and Rights) Zandra Yeaman and Graham Campbell from the African Caribbean Centre. The compere for the event was Scotland’s first black professor, Sir Geoffrey Palmer OBE. The event was a great success with more than 80 students attending after college hours.
Sir Geoffrey Palmer OBE
“It was a great honour to receive and accept your President’s invitation to speak at the City of Glasgow College’s Black History Month event in 2014. I would like to thank, the students, staff and Sanjay for the kindness shown to me and for the great discussion and debate that followed my lecture.”
“Being guest on the panel for the Black History Month event at City of Glasgow College was a huge honour. The event was well organised and attracted a good turnout. It was great to see the diversity of the students attending. Sanjay was super organised, friendly and clear on his objectives. The event was a huge success thanks to the enthusiasm and thorough planning and communication from Sanjay and the quality of the panellists.”
Jean Johansson
3032
Apprenticeship Rights A new project was undertaken at Rogart Street campus to deliver information on student services and rights for apprentices starting with the college. This was facilitated by CitySA and NUS and saw 24 apprentices attend. This year NUS has supported the launch of the National Society of Apprentices, a new national body which represents the views and interests of apprentices. By working together with NUS Scotland and the National Society of Apprentices, City SA and Student Engagement Staff have engaged apprentices in the Students’ Association structures and have met with apprentices on campus to hear their views.
Campaigns: Stop Student Poverty Campaign
NUS Scotland ran a campaign called Stop Student Poverty, which asked for more money to be put into student support through the Scottish Government’s budget process. As part of this campaign, City SA managed to collect 613 signatures, the third highest signature count out of all colleges in Scotland. The signatures from City of Glasgow College students made up 15% of the total number of signatures on the petition by the day of the budget. NUS Scotland also supported student representatives across Glasgow, including representatives from City of Glasgow College to meet with John Mason MSP to discuss the funding concerns of students at the college. Although the campaign was not able to secure further student support for students in further and higher education, student support has become a key area for discussion ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary elections in 2016. By campaigning together as part of one national union, the student voice is stronger.
33
Living Rent Campaign Housing and accommodation is an issue that comes up time and time again for students in Glasgow. City SA has worked closely with NUS Scotland and the Living Rent Campaign to ensure that students’ voices were represented in a national consultation about housing in Scotland, and have been a powerful voice in calling for provisions for rent controls. If this campaign is successful, City SA will have played a central role in putting more money into the hands of students across Scotland.
Voter Registration Campaign
This year has been an exciting year for students all over Scotland, with the opportunity to make a once in a lifetime decision, to decide whether Scotland should become an independent country. The independence referendum also marked the first time that 16 and 17 year olds were able to vote in a national election. NUS Scotland worked with City SA to host a huge voter registration drive to ensure that students would be able to take part in the independence referendum. CitySA also encouraged as many students as possible to register to vote in the lead up to the 2015 General Election and were out and about on campus with laptops to allow students to register immediately through the government website.
3234
Charitable Endeavours As well as raising awareness through campaigning, CitySA worked hard to educate through charitable fundraising. Hundreds of pounds were raised in charity collections for British Heart Foundation, The Moira Anderson Foundation and Children in Need. CitySA has been selling FairTrade rice across the college’s campuses with all the money collected going to FairTrade to help fund African children to go to school.
World Skills To further promote learning out with the classroom the Students’ Association also undertook a supporting role in the college’s World Skills programme. The Student President and a Student Engagement Officer supported the elite students competing in the Word Skills event in Birmingham in October 2014. The Student President also attended the awards ceremony in Edinburgh in November 2014. Support was also provided at the Food Show at the SECC in March 2015.
35
GD.2 College Partnership
The Students’ Association are committed to working in partnership with the college to improve the learner experience at City of Glasgow College. This includes working together with college staff on joint projects as well as pairing specific student officers with staff members where remits are shared. There are a number of departments in the college that work very closely with the Students’ Association over the course of the year, including:
•
Vice-Principal New Campus and Student Development
•
Diversity and Equalities
•
Student Sport Co-ordinator
• Design
•
International Student Support
• World Skills
•
Student Information and Funding
• Learning Support • Learning Technologies • College Secretary
•
Bridge to Business
• Student Engagement
•
Organisational Development
• Procurement As a result of these collaborations, the Students’ Association have been better able to accomplish their objectives, staff have benefitted from student input and the college has reaped the benefits. One of the Students’ Association’s most notable examples of college partnership this year has been the continued promotion of New Campus information amongst students.
3436
New Campus Promotion City of Glasgow College Students’ Association have supported the college in raising awareness around the New Campus in many ways, including:
•
Featuring New Campus links and information on the CitySA website
•
Showing an updated video about New Campus at the CitySA Inspire 2014 event for all class reps
•
•
Featuring drawings and descriptions of the New Campus on the walls of the Students’ Association common room New Campus Countdown has been made available to all students in the SA Spaces at Townhead and Riverside
The Students’ Association has also helped students adapt to the challenges of the New Campus rebuild through the following: •
Acting as a liaison for students’ feedback on proposed changes arising from campus migration at the college
•
Promoting a more welcoming college environment by encouraging students to only smoke in designated areas
Additionally, CitySA’s Campus Officer and Student President attended a community forum to discuss the impact of the new Riverside Campus on local residents and business.
37
GD.3 Student Executive Training The Student Executive have taken part in a wide range of training this year including in-house sessions on: • Safeguarding • Executive Induction • Work Planning • Student Statistic Breakdown • Conflict Resolution • Public Speaking • Mindfulness • Next Steps The college have also made available to student officers all Essential Online training modules offered to college staff including:
• • •
Legislation and Compliance Diversity and Equality Health and Safety
Internal and external trainers have worked with the officers throughout the year, forming a comprehensive and effective training schedule. CitySA is grateful to all those who contributed to this year’s training including:
• • • • • • •
Thomas Crawford (Students’ Association) Martin Taylor (Organisational Development) Graeme Brewster (Diversity and Equalities) Charlotte Lawley (National Union of Students) Russell McEwan (Communications Lecturer) Lyndsay Lunan (Essential Skills Lecturer) Brian Pearson (Admissions and Student Support)
The Student Engagement team and the Students’ Association worked closely in the development of an executive mentoring scheme whereby elected students formed work plans around pieces of work arising from their manifestos and were supported throughout the year by a designated member of staff to deliver their work. This involved monthly update meetings and progress reports, as well as practical support in the devising and delivering of projects – many of which are highlighted throughout this report.
3638
Theme 3: Processes P.1 Communication CitySA Website CitySA’s digital presence continues to develop through the Students’ Association website: www.citysa.co.uk
39
Mailchimp CitySA continues to make use of the online emailing resource Mailchimp to enhance class rep communication. The professionalism of correspondence with class reps has improved through this service with more colourful, flexible and personalised e-mails composed. Mailchimp has also proved invaluable in offering reports about group e-mails sent, providing statistics on how many students have opened the e-mail, breakdown of the open rate over time and what e-mail headings are most successful at grabbing student attention. Social Media The reach of CitySA on social media has grown again this year with 374 new followers on the CitySA Facebook page, bringing the total number of ‘Likes’ up to 1,723.
CitySA has the highest number of ‘likes’ of any college Students’ Association in Scotland:
3840
There are slightly more female than male followers and the majority of students who follow CitySA are aged between 18 - 24 years of age:
CitySA has continued to develop its Twitter presence this year, significantly increasing the number of Tweets sent and increasing the number of people following the account to 448. MyCity CitySA have embraced the push for innovation set out by New Campus New Learning by increasing support for the college Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The Students’ Associaton see student engagement with MyCity as an integral part of the college’s future and so have endeavoured this year to promote engagement with the VLE in a number of ways, including:
•
Holding student elections through MyCity
•
Hosting class rep training sign-ups through MyCity
•
Creating Faculty Forums on MyCity
•
Creating a class rep forum on MyCity
•
Hosting a Students’ Associaton information page on MyCity
The Students’ Associaton are proud of the strong partnership they have with the MyCity team and believe that MyCity is an incredible asset for facilitating a close relationship with students across the college.
41
Campus Based Promotion In addition to digital communication, the Students’ Association make active efforts to engage with students on campus. The Students’ Association have student executive officers studying across sites at the college including the east end, Riverside and city centre campuses. During elections and campaigns there have been student officers on the ground across all college buildings. We have also been able to promote widely on poster boards and plasma screens across the college thanks to support from the college Design Studio. This working partnership with the college has enabled the Students’ Association to promote elections, opportunities and events with real clarity and creative flair. Through student executive officers enthusiastically canvassing on the ground, and the Design studio helping promote activities in a professional and eye-catching way, CitySA endeavour to build a strong on-campus presence across the college.
4042
P.2 Class and Faculty Representatives CitySA has overseen a comprehensive review of the class representative system which has seen the development of the ‘Finger on the Pulse’ feedback sheet and consistent access to Faculty Directors to provide constructive comments and feedback from students. The system has drawn praise across the sector and has been presented to the Quality Development Network as an example of best practice. The Feedback Flow and Feedback Loop The class rep structure is set up to ensure that student views flow effectively to the college for improvement. Students take the lead in relaying this information both at class rep and faculty rep level. The illustrations below highlight how the student voice is relayed to senior academic staff to ensure that high standards are maintained and how students lie at the heart of the process
CitySA, along with the Student Engagement Team, has developed the ‘Finger on the Pulse’ feedback system for class reps and built upon its success by arranging meetings with Faculty Directors and performance to ensure students’ opinions are valued and acted upon.
43
The Curriculum for Excellence values have been imbedded in the class rep feedback system, as has the Student Engagement Framework. The most important part of a strong Students’ Association is an active student base. Class Reps are CitySA’s leaders on the ground. This year the Students’ Association has continued to invest in building the numbers and enhancing the capacity of class reps. With 812 class reps, and 260 fully trained, CitySA had a fantastic foundation this year to build on its many successes.
A particularly encouraging finding from the class rep feedback exercise was the number of first-time class reps, meaning that the building blocks of future success are being laid:
4244
Inspire 2014 Inspire 2014 took place in the Glasgow Film Theatre in December, building upon the success of the inaugural event the previous year. Class Reps were encouraged to reach their potential by promoting leadership, encouraging an entrepreneurial attitude and opportunities for change. The purpose of the Inspire event was to bring together City of Glasgow College class reps from across all faculties to: • Empower students •
Encourage students to believe that change can happen and identify their role in the change process
•
Support students to engage with their learning experience
•
Raise awareness of the power of collective action
The main themes of Inspire 2014 were: Education: Offer opportunities for students to develop their leadership skills Networking: Encourage students to develop positive relationships with each other and college staff Focus: Support students to identify what they can achieve and how to achieve it Setting an example: Be a positive example to the students by sharing inspiring stories and show them what is possible Inspire: Encourage students to want to be the best they can
45
Class Rep Training
This year, the Students’ Association continued to build upon the successful approach to training class reps established in 2013-14, by empowering former class reps to lead on delivering training. Student Engagement Officers and Associate Trainers facilitated fun and interactive class rep training.
The system allows for a more tailored, bespoke training experience by facilitators who understood the college. All class rep trainers were still fully briefed and prepared by SPARQS and the standard of training remained extremely high. The success of the class rep training is shown in the information gathered from evaluation forms as illustrated below:
44 46
Student Representative Council CitySA successfully elected twelve Faculty Reps this year to deliver class rep feedback on behalf of class reps across all campuses. Class reps were able to report back issues at the beginning of class rep meetings through specialised Finger on the Pulse sheets. This offered an efficient channel to relay information at class rep meetings while still allowing time for updates and wider discussions.
47
As a group, the twelve Faculty Reps at the college formed the Student Representative Council. The Student Representative Council played an important role in reviewing the current structure of the student executive this year. After consultation with the current student executive and members of college staff, the student Representative Council suggested some changes to student officer roles on next year’s student executive. The table below details these changes in full:
46 48
P.3 Students’ Association Facilities Students’ Association Townhead and Thistle Suite, Riverside Campus
This year has seen a major review in the use of Students’ Association Space as a result of extensive consultation with students, particularly through targeted focus groups. A ‘common room committee’ was also established to ensure the continued appropriate use of the space.
The Students’ Association spaces at Townhead and Riverside now operate a weekly timetable, allowing for a maximum number of students to make use of the space and to ensure the space is utilised in a productive and diverse way.
The removal of the pool tables at the Thistle Suite space in preparation for the migration to the new campus has contributed to an increased use of the space for other activities, including board games, international welcome events and the international society.
49
F.1 Budget Summary 2014 – 2015
*It should be noted in this section that like-for-like comparisons are not being made due to the college’s alternation to the financial year. ‘Financial Year 2013-14’ refers to all spending and income between 1st August 2013 and 31st July 2014; ‘Financial Year 2014-15’ refers to all spending between 1st August 2014 and 31st March 2015.
4850
Summary of Spend
As can be seen in the Top Ten Items of Spend table, by far the largest spend of from the Students’ Association budget remains NUS Affiliation fees. The other significant spends this year have reflected several ambitious initiatives and activities, including:
•
Investing in a well-funded and student-focused Freshers’ Fair with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and circus performers for our Carnival theme
•
Hire of the Glasgow Film Theatre and resources for the ambitious Inspire 2014 Class Rep Event
• Enhancement of the Student Executive’s office hub with a new ProBook laptop.
•
A large student presence at National Union of Students conferences, representing the views of City of Glasgow College students
Method of Spend Great progress has been made in promoting payments through invoices, cheques and credit cards rather than through petty cash this year. This can be seen in the significant increases in the proportion of spend in each of those categories and the reduction in the proportion of the budget spent through petty cash:
48 51
F.2 Income
Income for the Students’ Association has decreased slightly this year, although it should again be noted that this reflects the change in the financial year structure and the figures compared are not strictly like-for-like. The decrease in income from pool tables reflects a choice made by the Student Executive to remove two pool tables from the space and instead introduce a new study space with tables and chairs. It was decided that the addition of an additional area for students to study was worth the decrease in revenue. Income from the Students’ Association Freshers’ Fair has risen sharply this year due to the decision to charge exhibitors for space at the fair for the first time – a successful practice that is intended to be continued going forward. Income was also generated from the selling of the Krispy Kreme donuts that were purchased for the event. The third source of income this year has come through our continued partnership with NUS. This income has been predominantly generated through the sale of NUS Extra cards to students and has generated slightly more than last year at £1,462.71.
5052
Section 4 – Closing Words Acknowledgements The Students’ Association owes all its successes to the proactivity and passion of students and the excellent support offered by college staff. CitySA would like to offer high thanks to the Students’ Association staff support team throughout the year (Janice, Thomas and latterly Dougie) for the effort they have put into helping the Students’ Association and its officers grow. Thank you also to Sandra Cook and the student engagement team who, throughout the year have mentored, guided and assisted the Student Executive and helped extend the reach of the Students’ Association. A sincere thank you to the Principal, Paul Little, for his genuine interest in student opinion and to all of the Board of Management for the advice and support they have offered throughout the year. For helping to arrange this report in such a presentable format acknowledgement must be given to Ian Thomson of Learning Technologies. Finally, a massive thank you to all the unnamed students who have cared enough to improve their courses, who have organised social activites for the enjoyment of others and who have campaigned to shape a more inclusive and fair college and society. Students are the lifeblood of CitySA and it is through them that the Association finds its strength and its will to reach greater heights of student achievement.
53