City of Glasgow College Students’ Association
Annual Report 2015-16 {Orange strip down left hand side} Quote to read: “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” Pele
May 2016
Section 1 - Introduction..................................................................................... 1.1 Foreword by Student President, Ian Gilmour..................................................... 1.2 Mission, Vision and Values........................................................................... 1.3 Highlights of 2015/2016............................................................................. Section 2 - Structure......................................................................................... 2.1 CitySA Constitution................................................................................... 2.2 Staffing Overview..................................................................................... 2.3 Student Executive.................................................................................... 2.4 Strategic Planning Model...........................................................................11 Section 3 - Balance Scorecard............................................................................12 Theme 1: Students.......................................................................................13 S.1 Student Representation..........................................................................13 S.2 Social Activites....................................................................................18 S.3 International Students...........................................................................25 S.4 Diversity and Equality............................................................................27 Theme 2: Growth and Development..................................................................28 GD.1 Dynamic Learning...............................................................................28 GD.2 College Partnership............................................................................33 GD.3 Student Executive Training...................................................................34 Theme 3: Processes......................................................................................35 P.1 Communication...................................................................................35 P.2 Class and Faculty Representatives.............................................................39 P.3 Students’ Association Facilities................................................................43 Theme 4 - Finance.......................................................................................44 F.1 Budget Summary..................................................................................44 F.2 Income..............................................................................................46 Section 5 - Acknowledgements...........................................................................47
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Section 1 - Introduction 1.1 Foreword by Student President, Ian Gilmour
Hello and welcome to the 2015/16 CitySA Annual Report. I can’t believe it’s time already to write the report and highlight all the fantastic things that CitySA has achieved this year. I have had the best team around me this year and I’m so proud of what each and every member of the Student Executive has achieved. I’m also incredibly proud of this year’s team of Faculty Reps who have been the most engaged, hardworking and passionate we have ever had. I am especially proud of the CitySA staff, who support the work of our Students’ Association. This year we have improved our Class Rep system, offered more clubs and societies than ever before, had more representation on college management & regional boards and committees than previously and we have worked with the National Union of Students on a national level to ensure that students across Scotland and the rest of the UK have their voices heard. It’s been an absolute honour to work with my Vice Presidents Ruta and Shane this year - but unfortunately they won’t be joining me next year on the Presidential team - so let’s celebrate their work and look forward to an exciting and even better year next year!
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Ian Gilmour Student President 2015-16 (re-elected for 2016-17) 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 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 are committed to consistency in realising the aspirations they have set. 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. 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. 4
• 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. CitySA Values
CitySA aim to encourage our students to embrace the following values: •
To empower
•
To inspire
•
To promote inclusion
•
To have fun!
1.3 Highlights of 2015/2016 CitySA have continued to develop and grow this year, expanding our 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 Brazilian theme. The two-day event featured a fair with stalls inside the Townhead games hall and a selection of sporting activities, food and drink and entertainment outside in the car park. 5
Liberation Months This year, City of Glasgow College Students’ Association celebrated Black History Month, LGBT History Month and Gender Equality Month with a series of initiatives, events and projects. These have included film screenings, panel events, workshops and interactive displays. CitySA has worked closely with the college’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion department in the planning and execution of these events. Inspire 2015 To recognise the outstanding contribution that class reps make to the student experience in their role, CitySA organised the third annual class rep conference - Inspire, held this year at Cineworld, Renfrew Street. Inspire2015 brought together class reps from across the college’s six faculties to listen to inspirational speakers from Tree of Knowledge, iKick Martial Arts and successful college Alumni. 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. Members of the Student Executive, Faculty Reps, Class Reps and ordinary members have engaged with NUS more than ever before.
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Finger on the Pulse Digitalisation CitySA has continued to review the class representative system which has seen the development of a digital version of the ‘Finger on the Pulse’, in line with the Association’s commitment to moving towards paperless operating. The system has drawn praise across the sector and has been presented at Student Partnerships in Quality Scotland (sparqs) and College Development Network as an example of good practice.
Education Scotland This year, CitySA played an important role in the College’s successful Education Scotland Review. The Student President complied the Learner Engagement Questionaire and submitted his report to Education Scotland in the lead up to the review, as well as participating in various meetings and briefings throughout the week. The SA worked particlarly closely with the Education Scotland Student Team Members during the review process.
Section 2 - Structure 2.1 CitySA Constitution The CitySA constitution was composed by the College Board in partnership with the Student Executive in Academic Year 2012-13. 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. CitySA has undertaken a constitutional review in Academic Year 201516. The review is ongoing, with changes to be discussed at the AGM. The process has 7
involved senior college staff, the National Union of Students, the Student Executive, clubs and societies and Class Reps alongside the general student population. 2.2 Staffing Overview City of Glasgow College has demonstrated a 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:
College Principal Director of Student Experience Head of Student Development Student Engagement Manager Students' Association Liasion Officer
Students' Association Administrator
As well as management support from the Principal, Director of Student Experience, 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. 8
Students’ Association Administrator: Processes financial transactions, ensures an accurate minute of important meetings, distributes information and covers administrative duties.
The agency ‘Student Partnerships 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 five Student Engagement Officers.
Dougie Smith, Students’ Association Liaison Officer and NUS Scotland Staff Member of the Year 2016:
“Having a strong staff team to support the work of the Students’ Association is essential – and we’re lucky at CitySA to have the support of excellent staff throughout the college. As SA Staff, we try to ensure that the vision of the elected students is realised and that the strategic and operational; activity of the association enhances the student experience at City. Continuity is important for capacity-building and SA staff provide that. It’s always exciting and refreshing to work every day with enthusiastic students who are committed to making their college and SA the best”
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2.3 Student Executive Presidential Team President – Ian Gilmour
To have been elected as Student President has been an absolute honour. I feel I've really changed as a person this year, I've become more confident generally and my communication skills are better than they ever have been. I've met new people and seen new places and I'm now more politically aware and engaged. This work changes your life and I feel we've achieved a lot this year, next year we're going to take it to the next level!
Vice President Learning & Teaching – Shane Thomas I was elected VP Learning & Teaching in October and I wanted to offer my skills as a mature student to help the SA Executive develop and improve student representation which was already in a positive position. As VP Learning & Teaching my first task was to host Inspire 2015 for our Class Reps. During the course of my term my main role was to represent student issues on any learning and teaching aspects of the college. SA on Campus has strengthened our representation of the students. What gave me personally job satisfaction was to assist students with any disciplinary issues which could have had a direct impact on them attaining a college qualification.
Vice President Social & Activities – Ruta Simonyte Being VP Social and Activities has been an interesting and life changing experience. I had the pleasure of serving as a member on the Board of Management and getting involved with various committees. This experience gave me great strategic planning and governance skills. I am most proud of the successful Fresher’s event that I was leading on as well as developing a strong partnership 10 with our Sports Department regarding stronger sports club. I am extremely pleased to have developed strong societies, student recruitment and communication strategies.
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Executive Team 2015/16
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2.4 Strategic Planning Model In order to ensure that the Students’ Association operates as effectively as possible, CitySA has continued to align its strategic plan with the four strategic priorities set by the college:
Students Growth and Development Processes Finance
This offers both a robust model to work within and the chance to consistently work alongside the college towards better outcomes. Balanced Scorecard and Operational Plan The Students’ Association’s Balanced Scorecard was updated for 2015-16 and it was used to form the basis of the 2015-16 CitySA operational plan, which has been the guiding document for the Students’ Association activity throughout the year. Details of the Balanced Scorecard are shown below:
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Section 3 - Balanced Scorecard Theme 1: Students S.1 Student Representation In 2015/16 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 various decision making forums. Student Representation on College Boards, Committees and Working Groups The Students’ Association endeavours to be involved in the decision making process and college planning and is involved in the college decision making process 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: 15
College Board, Committee or Group Board of Management Staff, Students and Equalities SubCommittee Academic Board Sub-Committee Learning and Teaching SubCommittee Performance, Remuneration and Nominations Committee Diversity and Equality Working Group Fair Trade Working Group
Student Representative(s) Student President and Student Vice President Social and Activities Student President and Student Vice President Social and Activities Student President Student Vice President Learning and Teaching Vice President Social and Activities Student Equalities Officers and Student President Student Charities and Fundraising Officer
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 over 20 students in disciplinary and appeals procedures.
Regional Representation 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. CitySA President, Ian Gilmour, was elected to the Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Board for 2015/16. In 2015/16, for the first time, the Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Student Executive was successfully established. With the support of the Regional Board, the National Union of 16
Students and Students’ Associations staff, there have been regular meetings between the presidential teams of CitySA, Glasgow Kelvin College SA and Glasgow Clyde College SA. CitySA remains committed to ensuring that the students of City of Glasgow College play an active part in regional planning and developments going forward, and updates from regional level are given by the Student President to the Student Executive Committee and the Student Representative Council. National Representation To ensure that City of Glasgow College are fully represented, the Students’ Association has continued to be an active of the National Union of Students (NUS).
students member
CitySA were nominated for three NUS Scotland Awards in 2016 – Students’ Association of the Year, Officer Team of the Year and Staff Member of Year. We were exceptionally proud of this recognition; by making the shortlist of 3 in each category it demonstrated the excellent work undertaken this year. The results were announced at the NUS Scotland Conference in Dundee with our SALO, Dougie Smith, winning Staff Member of the Year 2016. City of Glasgow College continues to engage strongly with student representation at Scottish and UK levels. Shaun Patrick Murphy, a student at City of Glasgow College, is the current LGBT Officer for NUS Scotland and our former Student President, Sanjay Lago is the serving Black Students Officer for NUS Scotland. Matthew Mackenzie of the college’s LGBTQ+ Society has been elected to serve as a committee member for NUS LGBT Scotland 2016-17 and our International Officer, Dolly Sunilkumar, was elected to the NUS Scotland Black Students Committee. The table below illustrates the NUS events attended this year: NUS Events 2015-2016 NUS Gathering Conference NUS Scotland Zone Conference NUS Scotland Conference 17
NUS LGBT Scotland Conference NUS LGBT UK Conference NUS Black Scotland Conference NUS Black UK Conference NUS Woman’s UK Conference NUS Student Unions 2015 NUS Scotland Lead and Change NUS UK Conference
CitySA’s increased engagement has also led to networking opportunities with a range of officers from NUS, including:
Megan Dunn – President NUS UK
Vonnie Sandlan – President NUS Scotland
Rob Henthorn – Vice President Learning & Teaching NUS Scotland
Emily Beaver – Women’s Officer NUS Scotland
Richard Brooks – Vice President Learning & Teaching NUS UK
Gary Paterson –Vice President Communities NUS Scotland
The Big Student Elections 2016/17
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CitySA returned to the ‘Big Student Elections’ for 2016/17, teaming up with the Students’ Associations from Glasgow Caledonian University, University of the West of Scotland and Strathclyde University to form the West of Scotland Region. There were also institutions participating in Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee. The Big Elections meant pooled resources and national publicity for student elections across Scotland. Voting took place across the country in the week beginning 7th March 2016, with the results being announced at the University of the West of Scotland on 11th March. The campaign was exciting and engaging, with candidates campaigning across all campuses and buildings. Once again, we broke the record for turnout in a college election in Scotland with 1,491 votes cast. Turnout increased 43% from 2015-16. There were 10 candidates in total across the 3 positions.
Voter Turnout 1600 1491
1400 1200 1046
1000 800 612
600 400
471
200 0 2013
2014
2015
2016
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The new Presidential Team has received a significant mandate from the student body through this strong turnout. The CitySA Presidential Team for 2016-17 will take up post on the 4th July, 2016. Below is a breakdown of the winners and the votes cast for each candidate for the 3 presidential positions, using the Alternative Voting System: 900 800 700 600 500 Round 1
400 300 200 100 0 Joshua Jolly
Ian Gilmour
Ian Gilmour was elected as Student President
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800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
Jatinder Singh was elected as Vice President Learning and Teaching 900 800 700 600 500 Round 1
400 300 200 100 0 Alyson Burns
Shaunagh Cooke
Jamie-lee Gooding
Jamie-lee Gooding was elected as Vice President Social and Activities
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Annual General Meeting
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S.2 Social Activities Freshers’ Fair
CitySA welcomed new and returning students alike this year with a hotly anticipated twoday Freshers’ fair. Freshers’ this year had a Brazilian theme and featured a fair with stalls inside the Townhead games hall, and a series of sporting themed stalls outside in the car park along with Brazilian food and drink, Capital Radio and local gyms. The stalls inside featured a huge variety for students including Bridge to Business, Community Safety Glasgow, Domino’s Pizza, Glasgow Taxis, G1 Dental, El Bario, the Art Store, Sugar Cube, GCU Connect, The Ark, Peppermint and many others. There was also a DJ in the games hall ensuring students were entertained as they spoke to stall holders and collected their freebies! Outside in the car park students were able to take part in a number of sporting competitions with basketball hoops, a punch bag, a bungee run and sumo suits providing hours of entertainment. There was free Brazilian food on offer from Glasgow restaurant Tropeiro and ‘bubble tea’ from Tempo Tea Bar. Capital Radio was present too, running competitions for students and providing a soundtrack to the event. The Brazilian theme came into its own each lunchtime with specially designed performances of Brazilian dancing and capoeira from ‘Brazamba’ and live music from Scotland’s premier Brazilian band ‘MacUmba’. 23
Some photographs from the event have been included on the next page.
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Sports Our sports clubs have never been busier, with five clubs featuring prominently throughout the academic year – Rugby, Basketball, Badminton, Football and more recently, Netball. Each of these clubs has been led by a qualified coach or a staff member. Next term we hope to have all clubs led by at least one qualified coach and these will potentially be paid positions alongside some volunteers wanting to get more experience working in a coaching environment.
Sporting Competition Success We have had a number of successes this year both on and off the field. We have had a number of individual students competing in athletics events, including the SUCA indoor (February 2016) and outdoor athletics events (April 2016) and cross country running.
Our sport teams have competed in various regional and national events in basketball and badminton. Our badminton and basketball teams have had great success, qualifying for the SSS national events.
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Our women’s football team have achieved great success and have been nominated as team of the year as part of the SSS awards on the 14th of June. Our men’s Rugby team have already made it to the final of the College national finals on the 18th of May, with David McCrae (College Rugby Coach) being integral to the development of this team. Our men’s Football team competed in the BUCS league this year and avoided relegation in a competitive league by finishing fourth out of five teams. They also reached the quarter final of the Scottish Student Sport Cup, but were beaten in a close match. Next year the team will be more competitive as trials and weekly training sessions will be planned to ensure the football team build on what they have achieved over the past couple of years.
Future Expansion
Next year we will look to offer sport sessions on both a recreational and competitive basis. We will look to keep committed coaches and volunteers, as well as recruiting new ones. The opportunity for expansion is clear with the College now attracting more students than any other in Scotland. The establishment of a an executive structure in student sport will be put in place to ensure that students’ needs are catered for, regardless of the course they are studying or the campus they attend.
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Clubs and Societies This year, CitySA put an emphasis on responding to student demand and helping to create new societies for and by our students.
LGBTQ+ Society
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City of Glasgow College LGBTQ+ Society has been as active as always this year. The students have helped to organise a debate on Transgender issues, facilitated a Pride event and contributed to the Student Engagement workshops on Lad Culture. All this was done alongside their weekly meetings and social activities.
Women's Society
The women’s society was started in 2014-15 and has been continued this year, aiming to promote women’s rights and campaign for gender equality.
English Speaking Society
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The English Speaking Society has one of the real success stories of 2015-16 Clubs and Societies agenda. Started by an ESOL student and open to all students, group aims to improve the language skills of members by promoting conversation, watching in English, playing board games undertaking interactive activities promote English speaking skills.
been the
the
films and to
Tourism Club
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 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. 30
Star Wars Movie Marathon In the lead up to the release of the new Wars film in December 2015, CitySA a ‘movie marathon’ – showing all 6 of previous films in the franchise back-toin the Students’ Association space. The marathon ran from 7pm – 7am – a huge has to go to the janitorial staff for their support in making this event happen. It to be one of our most successful events year and it was fully subscribed and talked about!
Star hosted the back thanks proved of the much
Re:Fresh In 2015/16, for the first time, CitySA hosted a Re:Fresh event in February for those starting courses in January to catch up with the Freshers’ fun! There were goodies, food and music alongside information stalls about student services, Scottish Student Sport and Clubs and Societies. Re:Fresh was hosted at both Riverside and Townhead campuses. S.3 International Students This year the Students’ Association worked in Partnership with the Student Engagement Team and the International Team to help facilitate a number of welcome, orientation and social events for international students:
Winter Welcome
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The objective for this event was to give international students a friendly event to socialise at the beginning of winter and to hear helpful advice from the invited police officers. With a DJ keeping the tempo up high and offering DJ workshops to the students while a team of photography students set up a photo booth – the students were kept engaged throughout. There was also catering provided to incentivise the event and make the whole thing a bit more enjoyable.
Climbing Wall We arranged for 2 groups of international students to tackle the climbing wall at Glasgow's Climbing Centre. Each group containing 10 students from our international student cohort and different nationalities represented, students were thrown together to offer each other support and overcome fears to challenge themselves both mentally and physically. By the end of the taster session, the group had gained in confidence and had met new people; a real success
Edinburgh Trip
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Over 40 students enjoyed the winter sights in Edinburgh from the Castle to the festive markets in Princes Street gardens. By combining the historic intrigue of the Castle, the Scottish Crown Jewels with the excitement of the festive stalls of the Christmas market and fairground, the international students were spoiled for choice for things to do in Scotland's capital city. Millport Trip
On a cold and blustery February Saturday, the international students were treated to some beautiful scenery around the Island of Cumbrae. The trip included a visit to Millport before embarking on the 11 mile cycle around the island. Due to the gale force winds and low temperatures, this was no mean feat which required all the students to pull together and encourage each other on to make it round the island. A lively and excitable coach trip out was contrasted by the sleepy and tired journey home as everyone cosied up for a well-deserved nap.
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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 achievements this year:
Black History Month – Black Sporting Heroes Event LGBT History Month – Transgender Panel Event Workshops on ‘Lad Culture’ and Feminism Women in the Spotlight 2016 Regular engagement activities for both International and ESOL students An active LGBT Society Representation at both Black Students’ and LGBT conferences CitySA’s International Officer Dolly Sunilkumar elected to NUS Scotland Black Students Steering Committee for 2016/17 Special provision within 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 LGBTQ+ Society member Matthew Mackenzie elected to NUS Scotland LGBT Steering Committee for 2016/17
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Finally, the Students’ Association has continued its role as a key supporter of the college Diversity and Equality competition. For the fourth year running CitySA has offered the use of their Students’ Association space in Townhead to host the competition and the Association have an active presence on the competition’s judging panel.
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
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‘Women in the Spotlight’ was an awareness raising event as part of the Gender Equality month celebrations within the college. Students were able to drop in to the Students’ Association to meet representatives from women’s organisations in Glasgow. The organisations that facilitated stalls were as follows:
Emily Beever, Women’s Officer for NUS Scottish Women in Business YWCA, The Young Women’s Movement Amina, The Muslim Women’s Resource Glasgow Women’s Library
The students who attended were able to get involved in a variety of different formats with information stalls, workshops and competitions in place to raise some interesting questions and encourage thoughts on how we can further strengthen gender equality. The event also featured interactive display boards with different themes around gender equality which included: 1. What is a Feminist? Students depicted what they thought a Feminist looks like, challenging the classic stereotypes often faced by women. 2. What are the Benefits of Gender Equality? Exploring how people would benefit from improvements in Gender Equality within Education/Employment, Media Representation, Family Roles and Safety/Violence 3. International Gender Equality Map: A map with various international students’ perspectives on gender equality in their home country. There were also ‘taster’ sessions running throughout the day with a selection of activities that were delivered in classes as part of the Gender Equality workshops. 36
“It’s been really encouraging to see the executive team’s commitment to liberation throughout the year. Ian and Ruta identified the need for development in this area and have dedicated much of their time to having more of a focus on activities for women and LGBT+ students.”
Emily Beever, NUS Scotland Women’s Officer 2015-16 Liberation Months CitySA continued their strong commitment to the Liberation Months in 2015-16, with a ‘Black Sporting Heroes’ event during October’s Black History Month; a ‘Pride’ event and Transgender panel discussion during LGBT History Month in February and specially designed workshops on Lad Culture and Feminism delivered in classes during Gender Equality Month in March. These workshops were a great success, with 81% of participants having an increase in knowledge around the benefits of feminism to wider society. Additionally, 89% of participants reported having an increase in knowledge about how Lad Culture could be made more positive. CitySA has also played a key role in helping the College’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team work toward achieving LGBT Youth Scotland’s Charter Mark. Scottish Parliament Debate
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On 27th April, CitySA hosted a Scottish Parliament and EU-themed debate to help promote student engagement in the upcoming Election and Referendum. Representatives included Patrick Harvie from the Scottish Green Party; Johann Lamont of Scottish Labour; Annie Wells of the Scottish Conservatives; Robert Brown for the Scottish Liberal Democrats and Sandra White of the Scottish National Party. Access All Areas In February, Ian Gilmour – Student President – led tours for students around the colleges campuses to allow students to see parts of the college they hadn’t seen before, ahead of the move to the new City Campus. Highlights featured the view from the roof of North Hanover Street, the college boardroom, the television and radio studios, the training aeroplane cabin, the Riverside ship simulator and the workshops of Rogart and Dornoch Strret campuses. Ask the First Minister On 21st March, 20 City of Glasgow College students were given a unique opportunity to meet and pose questions to Nicola Sturgeon at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange, as part of her ‘Ask the First Minister’ event.
Campaigns 38
Cut the Costs As well as promoting the ‘Cut the Costs’ campaign on campus and online, a number of CitySA members travelled alongside representatives from various universities and colleges throughout Scotland to Westminster to put their views to Members of Parliament. In London they discussed the challenges to students around the cost of living and talked about solutions with Chris Stevens MP (Glasgow South West), Tasmina Ahmed-Sheik (Ochil and South Perthshire) and Hannah Bardell MP (Livingston). Shaping Scotland’s Future In March, students from the college joined hundreds from across Scotland in a national demonstration at the Scottish Parliament to promote NUS’s priorities for the next Scottish Parliament. At Holyrood, they spoke to a number of leading figures including Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale and Willie Rennie of the Liberal Democrats. The students were calling for:
A right to improved bursary support for FE students
Year-round support for HE students, with increased grant support and reduced debt
Better support for students with mental health issues
In addition to the demonstration, a debate was held at Strathclyde University featuring leading figures from Scotland’s main political parties.
Voter Registration 39
As in previous years, CitySA actively encouraged City of Glasgow College students to register to vote. We promoted the deadline for registration and let students know how they could register to vote in both the Scottish Parliament Election and European Union Referendum through speaking to students during SA on Campus and via social media and email communications.
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Charitable Endeavours CitySA has taken part in numerous charitable endeavours in 2015/16 and helped to raise a significant amount of money for a number of charities. Highlights have included:
Tough Mudder – a physical challenge undertaken by students and staff to raise money for Fair Trade. Children in Need 2015 – the BBC’s annual charity fundraising event. There were various activities contributing to Children in Need at City, and our Charities and Fundraising Officer David-Rhys Dunn got to go along on the night and meet Jackie Bird! Impressions Questionnaire – CitySA helped to promote Performance’s Impression Questionnaire, where each completed questionnaire resulted in a donation to the Teenage Cancer Trust. Shane Thomas, Vice President Learning and Teaching, was alongside our Charities and Fundraising Officer in presenting the cheque for the money raised to the charity. Rice Challenge – The Students’ Association worked alongside the Student Engagement Team to sell Fair Trade Rice, as well as working with students to create an advertising campaign and recipe book for the initiative. It proved hugely popular and the rice sold out in no time! Fair Trade Festival – On 28th April at Glasgow Green, the Fair Trade Festival took place. This was an expansion of the previous ‘Fair Trade Football’ event. While still featuring the popular 5-a-side football tournament, there was Zumba, tug-of-war, face-painting, a live DJ and a ‘smoothie bike’. It, once again, proved exceptionally popular with students from across all faculties and campuses.
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 teaming 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 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion 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 Student Advisors – particularly this year on our partnership with Nightline
As a result of these collaborations, the Students’ Association have been better able to accomplish their objectives, staffs 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.
GD.3 Student Executive Training The Student Executive has taken part in a wide range of training this year including in-house sessions on:
Executive Induction Youth Work Practice Operational Planning Team Building Resilience Preparing for the Future
The college have also made available to student officers all Essential Online training modules offered to college staff including:
Legislation and Compliance Equality, Diversity and Inclusion 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:
Charlotte Britton (NUS Scotland) LGBT Youth Scotland Sinead Wylie (SAAS) Simon Jones (sparqs) Ali Jarvis (GCRB) Paul Clark (College Secretary) The Student Engagement Team
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.
Theme 3: Processes P.1 Communication CitySA Website CitySA’s digital presence continues to develop through the Students’ Association website: www.citysa.co.uk
Mailchimp CitySA continues to make use of the online e-mailing 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 368 new followers on the CitySA Facebook page, bringing the total numer of ‘Likes’ up to 2,083.
Facebook Following 2200 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 42125
42461
CitySA has the highest number of ‘likes’ of any college students’ association in Scotland: Top 5 Institutions City of Glasgow College Edinburgh College New College Lanarkshire Fife College Ayrshire College
Facebook ‘Likes’ 2,083 1,470 977 723 571
Comparative Distance 613 1,106 1,360 1,512
There are slightly more female than male followers and the majority of students who follow CitySA are aged between 18 - 24 years of age:
Followers by Gender
Followers by Age 35+; 11% Under 18; 2%
Women; 52% Men; 48%
25-34; 21% 18-24; 66%
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 by 25% to 562. 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’ Association 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 voting 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’ Association information page on MyCity
The Students’ Association 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.
SA on Campus
The Students’ Association recognise that we have students studying across many sites at the college including the East End, Riverside and City Centre campuses. In 2015-16, the CitySA Student Executive and Presidential Team undertook an extensive series of ‘SA on Campus’ events, going out and speaking to students, asking their opinions and giving out information about the Executive’s events, activities and achievements.
Your City: SA Magazine To further communicate the work and vision of the Students’ Association, we developed a new SA magazine titled ‘Your City’ this year. Working with the Student Engagement Team and the Creative Industries Faculty, CitySA has offered work experience opportunities for journalism and photography students in helping us create a professional standard and wellresearched newsletter to inform students and staff about our activities. The newsletter was distributed to all students and college staff via email and MyCity.
SA Communication Strategy and Promotional Material In 2015-16, CitySA undertook an extensive review of our communications strategy. In addition to the methods outlined above, we aim to increase awareness of the SA brand through various promotional materials, including: t-shirts, hoodies, pens, USBs, banners, information wallets, floor stickers and a brand new mascot – CitySAurus Rex! P.2 Class and Faculty Representatives
A comprehensive review of the Class Representative system in 2014/15 saw a move from paper to a digital version of the ‘Finger on the Pulse’ feedback sheet for 2015/16 and continued to ensure access to Faculty Directors to provide constructive comments and feedback from students. CitySA has worked with Performance in the development of the digital Finger on the Pulse form and also in developing Action Plans from the Faculty Director meetings to record agreed actions and monitor progress. We have also worked with the MyCity team to establish Class Rep Forums, where Class and Faculty Reps can receive and discussion information – including Faculty Reports, Action Plans and information about meetings and training. The system has drawn praise across the sector and has been presented to the sparqs Course Rep Network as an example of best practice. Feedback Flow 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 illustration below highlights how the student voice is relayed to senior academic staff to ensure that high standards are
Student
Class Rep
Faculty Rep
Faculty Director
maintained and how students lie at the heart of the process.
Improved Learning and Teaching
The Curriculum for Excellence values have been imbedded in the Class Rep feedback system, as has the Student Engagement Framework.
One of the most important parts 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 924 (up 14% from 2014/15) Class Reps and Deputy Class Reps, and 350 (up 35%) fully trained, CitySA has continued to build on previous success. We have high ambitions to further increase the proportion of Class Reps trained in 2016/17.
Class Reps 2015/16 Number of Class Reps Trained
289
Total Number of Class Reps
766
This year, for the first time, there was a display on the college dashboard displaying the number and percentage of Class Reps elected for full time course in each faculty:
Class Rep Review Feedback:
93.75% of Class Reps enjoyed supporting the students in their class The top 3 skills Class Reps gained were: Listening, Confidence and Leadership “I was able to find my voice and was able to help support other classmates with being heard, any problems that arose with lecturers the class mates would tell me and I would speak up for them. I learned that just one person is
all it takes to show leadership can vastly change the communication between each other and is professional.” Class Rep, April 2016 Inspire 2015 Inspire 2015 took place in the Cineworld, Renfrew Street on 2nd December. The main objective was to build on the previous two years and encourage as many Class Reps to attend. The focus of the event was to theme it as a Class Rep conference and to thank the Class Reps for volunteering for the position as well as motivate them to champion the role and develop leadership skills. The conference was well attended with over 250 attendees as well as support from the events students to assist in staging the event. There was representation from each faculty as well as a representative from the Board of Management of the College. The conference was two hours in duration with four key note speakers: •The first presentation was focused on the power of believing and achieving which was presented by Christine Penman •The second presentation was the main event conducted by Gavin Oates from Tree of Knowledge, which was an inspirational and motivational presentation on a positive life •The third presentation was from past student Don Lennox whom has rowed across oceans as well as undertaking other extreme events around the world •The final presentation was done by the Penman brothers showing the power of teamwork The Class Reps were given feedback forms after the event of which the majority rated the event highly and wanted it to be a longer duration. The conference achieved its objective of all the attendees leaving the event feeling Inspired.
Class Rep Training City SA continues to embrace sparqs Institutional Associate Trainer (IAT) scheme which empowers former class reps to lead on delivering training. CitySA recruited and employed 3 former Class Reps and worked with them to create an extensive timetable for Class Rep training, taking in all campuses at a variety of times. The IAT system allows for a more tailored, bespoke training experience by facilitators who understood the college. All Class Rep trainers were fully briefed and prepared by sparqs, attending a residential training weekend in Dundee in August 2015. The success of the Class Rep training is shown in the information gathered from evaluation forms as illustrated below:
Did you find the training useful or very useful
13%
Yes No 87%
How did you rate your trainer
3% 44%
53%
Outstanding Very Good Good
P.3 Students’ Association Facilities Students’ Association Riverside and City Campuses The Students' Association spaces at Townhead and Riverside 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 Students’ Association space at the new Riverside Campus has seen us able to offer longer opening hours and an increased use of the space for activities including board games, international welcome events and the International Society. CitySA worked hard to ensure appropriate signage was installed at the new campus and provided gaming stations and table football to complement the existing activities in the space.
At our Townhead space, as part of our communications strategy, we increased the signage to make students aware of the space. Alongside the gaming machines and pool tables, our table tennis table proved a particular hit with students. Both our Riverside and Townhead space have been used extensively throughout the year for a wide variety of activities including clubs and societies, Class Rep meetings, training and numerous student-led events:
Theme 4 – Finance* F.1 Budget Summary 2015 – 2016 College Budget Allocation £ 28,110.00
CitySA Income £3,911.53
Total Budget £ 32,021.53
Total Net Spend £ 25,575.14
*Budget from 1st August 2015 – 31st July 2016. These figures were taken on 25th April 2016 for use in this report
Spend Area Breakdown Spend Type by Item Code
Net Price
Top Ten Items of Spend Number Item Description #1 NUS Affiliation fees
Price £6,405.69
#2
Hire of Performers, Band and Inflatables for Freshers’ 2015
£3,300.00
#3
300 Branded Memory Sticks
#4
Exec. Teambuilding Event – 11 rooms at Crianlarich Hotel
#5
MPLC Umbrella Licence covering 15/12/15 -15/12/16
£668.56
#6
Hire of Cineworld for Inspire 2015
£656.40
Student Association
£9,620.69
Membership Fees & Subscriptions
£5,203.25
Printing & Stationary
£3,303.90
Support Staff - Staff Dev. Travel
£1,366.35
Hire of facilities
£1,351.20
Transport - Hire Charges
£1,210.00
Other Equipment & Material Costs
£702.90
Food Provisions - General
£489.85
Miscellaneous
£468.04
Office Stationary & Materials
£365.17
Internal Hospitality
£354.40
#7
1000 Branded Ponchos
£588.00
Events and Activities
£300.00
#8
£588.00
Equipment/Materials (Purchase)
£296.20
Branded CitySA ‘Oyster Card’ Wallets
#9 £278.31
Hire of Buses for Freshers’ 2015
£580.00
Food Provisions - Soft Drinks Student Travel Expenses
£139.50
# 10
Support Staff - Staff Dev. Subsistence
£121.58
3x LA63 Poster Display Boards
Support Staff Fares
£3.80
Grand Total
£25,575.14
£775.20 £699.96
£564.90
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 which was accessible for students from all campuses, with buses provided.
Hire of Cineworld, Renfrew Street and resources for the ambitious Inspire 2015 Class Rep Event.
Increasing awareness of the Students’ Association and our activities amongst the student population to promote our work and the opportunities to get involved.
Developing a strong and effective Student Executive team with operational and strategic goals to enhance the experience of all students
Method of Spend Progress continues to be made in promoting payments through invoices and cheques rather than through petty cash. This can be seen in the increases in the proportion of spend in each of those categories and the further reduction in the proportion of the budget spent through petty cash:
F.2 Income
Income Comparison 5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 Income in GBP £
2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0
Total
Pool Tables
Freshers/misc.
NUS Partnerships
Income for the Students’ Association has decreased slightly this year, although it should again be noted that this reflects only the income until 25th April 2016 and the figures compared are not strictly like-for-like – further income is expected from NUS Extra Cards before the end of the financial year. The decrease in income from Freshers’ Fair is due to the fact that Krispy Kreme donuts were sold at the 2014 event, but were not at the 2015 event, in an attempt to decrease the amount of unhealthy food distributed at the event. Prices charged to organisations for stalls at Freshers’ remained constant for the second year running and will be reviewed for 2016/17.
Section 4 – Closing Words Acknowledgements CitySA can only succeed with passionate and engaged students working alongside supportive and committed staff members throughout the college. CitySA would like to offer thanks to the Students’ Association staff support team throughout the year – Dougie Smith and Janice Kennedy - for the effort they have put into helping the Students’ Association and its officers grow. Thanks must also go 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 thanks 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 George Howie 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.