guides 2009/10
edinburgh university students’ association
SRC guide
contents Welcome ...........................................................5 Who are We? ....................................................6 Sub-Committees................................................12 SRC Meetings....................................................14 SRC and Beyond... ............................................16 How to Take Ideas Forward ..............................18 Resources & Facilities .......................................23 Achievements....................................................24 Ongoing Issues..................................................25 Useful Dates.......................................................26 Jargon Buster.....................................................27
Edinburgh University Students’ Association Potterrow 5/2 Bristo Square Edinburgh, EH8 9AL Tel: 0131 650 2656 Fax: 0131 668 4177 Email: eusa.enquiry@ed.ac.uk Web: www.eusa.ed.ac.uk EUSA is a Registered Scottish Charity (No. SCO15800)
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Welcome Hello and welcome to your SRC Handbook which we hope will be a useful introduction to the workings of the Students’ Representative Council.
We hope you thoroughly enjoy your year as a SRC rep and will be proud of the contribution you make in improving the lives of students.
So, what is the Students’ Representative Council? Well, in a word, it’s you. You, as a member of the SRC have been elected to represent the students of Edinburgh University. So, whether you are a sabbatical, a first year rep, an ordinary rep, a School rep, postgraduate rep, an officer or convenor, your involvement and commitment is imperative to an effective SRC.
This is an introduction to get you started and we hope that you feel able to get in touch with any of the Sabbaticals or staff members with any questions or ideas you have about the SRC. Please do not hesitate to get in touch at any point throughout the year. Thomas, Camilla, Evan and James.
The SRC, when working well, should be greater than the sum of its parts. So, to ensure we continue to be one of the most respected student bodies in the country, all reps need to commit to being actively involved throughout the year. Being a member of the SRC should also be lots of fun! We have a social secretary, Gabi, who will encourage you to meet before and/or after meetings to have a bit of social natter. A new SRC ‘family’ scheme has also been put into place - Camilla will be in touch with more information about this.
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who are we? Sabbaticals (Sabbs) Together the sabbaticals, who sit at the top table during SRC meetings, make up the Association Executive and are responsible for Students’ Association General Meetings, and for all Association communications. They manage the Chief Executive and are collectively responsible for running the Students’ Association. Below is a brief introduction to them and their roles – they do an awful lot more than there is space here to describe. President - Thomas Graham president@eusa.ed.ac.uk Thomas has ultimate responsibility for all Students’ Association activities. He chairs SRC meetings, attends External subcommittee and a host of other committees both within the University and outside it. He represents Edinburgh students to the University, the widercommunity and Government. Thomas is often out and about meeting with students, University staff and MSPs, but when he isn’t, you can find him in the EUSA office where his door is always open. 6
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Vice President Academic Affairs Evan Beswick vpaa@eusa.ed.ac.uk Evan provides support and leadership to the SRC. Evan chairs the weekly SRC executive meetings and attends Teaching and Learning and Academic Services sub-committees and will be working closely with their conveners – Andrew and James and all the School Reps. He is also heavily involved with postgraduate representation. He attends numerous university committee meetings regarding the quality of teaching, learning and academic facilities and resources. Vice President Societies and Activities – Camilla Pierry vpsa@eusa.ed.ac.uk Camilla’s remit includes Societies business and SRC and student activities including Freshers’ week, working closely with Societies Convener and Freshers’ Week Coordinator.
She also has ultimate responsibility for The Advice Place, and attends the Welfare sub-committee. She provides support to the Schools and Induction Officer, the Accommodation Officer, Equal Opportunities Officer and the Environment and Ethics Officer Vice President Services – James Wallace vps@eusa.ed.ac.uk James has responsibility for commercial activity and the finances of the Association and presents the SRC and Freshers’ Week budgets to SRC, keeping you up to date with the SRC finances. He ensures that our services are run directly for the benefit of students and takes an active role in development projects throughout the association. James will report any relevant business that arises from the Committee of Management and welcomes your ideas on how to improve your facilities.
Conveners
where SRC reps can discuss opinions and plan campaigns. The conveners (except Societies) attend the weekly SRC executive meetings. Please have a look at the section about subcommittees, and to get in touch with the conveners about how best to get involved: External: external@eusa.ed.ac.uk Katherine McMahon Welfare: welfare@eusa.ed.ac.uk Gabi Jones Postgraduate postgraduate@eusa.ed.ac.uk vacant Academic Service: Academic.services@eusa.ed.ac.uk Andrew Burnie Teaching and Learning: tandl@eusa.ed.ac.uk James Holloway Societies: societies@eusa.ed.ac.uk Laura Jayne Baker
Each SRC Convenor will chair regular meetings on a particular aspect of student life. These are the places
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who are we? School Reps
Staff
School Reps have, in the past, been described as the ‘bread and butter’ of the SRC. They represent the concerns of students within their School to staff in their School and to the SRC. They also provide support and advice for Class Reps in their School, helping them tackle issues and concerns. The School Reps will work closely with Evan, James the Teaching and Learning convener and Andrew the Academic Services convener throughout the year. It’s likely that Evan will invite them to meet with him before some SRC meetings to provide an opportunity to share information on academic issues and exchange ideas on how best to engage with your School.
There are a number of members of staff who can provide support and advice to SRC reps.
Ordinary Reps and Officers Ordinary Reps and Officers represent students on university-wide, welfare and external issues. It is important that Ordinary Reps and Officers go out and speak to students to find out what issues are affecting them, and bring these issues to the relevant SRC subcommittee (often External and Welfare) so that campaigns can be launched and action taken.
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Sarah Purves: Representation Manager sarah.purves@eusa.ed.ac.uk Sarah provides the staff lead in relation to developmental projects within SRC support and The Advice Place (TAP). She co-ordinates staff support for SRC and provides information and advice on SRC policy. Sarah provides ongoing support and advice for the SRC Executive and EUSA sabbaticals and manages the sabbatical summer training programme and other key training activity. Extremely friendly and a wealth of knowledge, Sarah is on-hand to chat to you about all things SRC! Lynn Allan, Craig Stewart, Rachael King: Academic Advisers lynn.allan@eusa.ed.ac.uk craig.stewart@eusa.ed.ac.uk rachael.king@eusa.ed.ac.uk You will almost certainly see Lynn, Craig and Rachael throughout your time as a rep as they take it in turns to minute SRC meetings. Minutes aside, they each support an SRC sub-committee;
• Lynn provides staff support for Academic Services Sub-Committee, • Craig provides staff support for the Postgraduate Sub-Committee • Rachael provides staff support for the Teaching and Learning SubCommittee. • They all provide briefings to SRC representatives on University and College level committees • Craig provides staff support for the Teaching Awards and Course Reviewer. • Rachael provides support for School Reps • All three work with elected class reps and SRC reps, giving ongoing advice and training. • All three are involved in ensuring continuity by developing appropriate links with university staff at School and college level.
casework, providing advice to individual students on academic issues and procedures. Lynn coordinates the academic advice they provide and liaises with the University about academic processes.
In addition to working with the SRC, each of them takes on individual
Mark Wild: Welfare and Research Coordinator mark.wild@eusa.ed.ac.uk Mark advises elected student representatives on welfare campaigns and attends welfare committee. He also liaises with the VPSA and Societies administrator, helping to resolve societybased problems and to advise on good practice and relevant legislative developments. Mark also does a lot of research for the SRC, so that reps can be as well-informed as possible when planning campaigns. He also devises and helps analyse various surveys including The Advice Place survey and last year’s parent Survey. When Mark is not monitoring, researching and co-ordinating
Lynn Allan, Sheona Lawson
Craig Stewart, Sarah Purves, Mark Wild
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who are we? up to date information on university and local/national government policy, he also advises students at The Advice Place. Sheona Lawson: Campaigns & External Affairs Co-ordinator sheona.lawson@eusa.ed.ac.uk Sheona provides ongoing support to External committee and to the President, researching and co-ordinating up to date information on relevant local and national policy. She also advises and trains SRC members on campaigning methods. Sheona advises Office Bearers on press and public relations strategy related to key SRC campaigns so if you want your campaign to be featured in national or local press, do ask her for her expertise! Sheona compiles a great weekly news brief – drop her an email if you’d like to receive it. Morgan Murray: SRC Admin Assistant morgan.murray@eusa.ed.ac.uk You will probably get quite a few friendly emails from Morgan as she co-ordinates and circulates a twice-weekly email to SRC members. She also co-ordinates the SRC mailing which you receive prior to each SRC meeting and the production of SRC and sub-committee minutes. She also coordinates administration of the class rep system and communication with class reps. Morgan maintains contact details for SRC members, so 10
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it is important that you notify her if any of your contact details change during the year. There are a number of other administrative staff in the office you may also come across but Morgan should be your first point of contact. Alice Cummings: Advice Place Manager (based in TAP Potterrow) alice.cummings@eusa.ed.ac.uk Alice supervises and manages The Advice Place and welfare staff and is responsible for maintaining professional standards in the advisory services. She liaises with reps to ensure that the SRC are made aware of current issues affecting students as identified from The Advice Place, and works closely with Camilla and Gabi. Tony Foster: Communications and Marketing Manager tony.foster@eusa.ed.ac.uk Tony offers advice to office bearers, the unions and SRC on communication and marketing. He coordinates a team of account managers in securing sponsorship deals for association publications including the annual publications, and events like the Student Festival or the Graduation ball. Tony sources suppliers for campaign materials, e.g. posters, beer mats etc. and leads the team of designers, Karen, Mark and Lee, in their work on producing publicity, including the website, for campaigns and events.
School Councils
School Reps Academic Services Conveners
Class Reps (these reps are entitled to attend any subcommittee)
Teaching & Learning Conveners
Postgraduate Conveners
External Conveners
Welfare Conveners
SRC Executive
including 4 Sabbs & SRC Editor
SRC
Societies Council Advice Place
SRC Structure Map
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Sub-committees Subcommittee meetings are far more informal than SRC itself so it’s easy to get involved in discussion and debate and put forward your point of view. SRC reps set the agenda for these committees, and it is at sub-committee level that most of the real debate on issues takes place, and where new SRC policies begin being formulated. Don’t worry about how much of an expert you are on an issue – just come along at the start of the year prepared to talk about your opinions and experiences as a student, and take it from there! All SRC reps should be involved regularly in at least one sub-committee. Academic Services The Academic Services subcommittee deals with the University’s learning infrastructure. Covering physical things like libraries, computing labs, tutorial rooms and other learning and study spaces, the committee also addresses things like MyEd, WebCT and Resnet. Convenor: Andrew Burnie Sabbatical responsible: VPAA Staff support: Lynn Allan External The External subcommittee deals with issues that affect students in the community and wider world. So, for example, you could be discussing issues as diverse as cycle paths 12
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from George Square to KB, to the government’s legislation on managed migration, to quotas on HMO housing. Convenor: Kath McMahon Sabbatical responsible: Thomas Staff support: Sheona Lawson Postgraduate This is the forum for dealing with all manner of postgraduate issues – so it’s also potentially the most diverse. There is often scope for work with other subcommittees. Issues under discussion in the past have included: postgraduate spaces and facilities, support for tutoring and demonstrating, and reward and recognition for postgraduate tutors and demonstrators. Convenor: vacant Sabbatical responsible: Evan Staff support: Craig Stewart Teaching and Learning We all have experience of teaching and learning at this University. The Teaching and Learning committee is about making the academic experience better, from campaigning on feedback, to calling for more careers guidance and employability skills embedment, as well as concentrating on recognition and reward for teaching innovation and excellence. Convenor: James Holloway Sabbatical responsible: Evan Staff support: Rachael King
Welfare The Welfare committee is not just about giving out free condoms and sweets – it has scope to cover very diverse topics within the realm of student welfare. Accommodation, student physical and mental health, food quality at Pollock and international student integration are all issues on which the Welfare Committee has campaigned in the past. Convener: Gabi Jones Sabbatical responsible: Camilla Staff support: Mark Wild
Which sub-committee should I attend?
convener to keep up to date with issues affecting postgraduates. They should attend the PG committee and make sure it represents the issues they think important for postgraduates. Officers: The Ethics and Environment Officer and Community Officer are expected to attend and report to External Committee; the Accommodation Officer is expected to attend and report to Welfare Committee; and the Equal Opportunities, and Ethics and Environment Officer should attend the subcommittee best related to the issues in question.
School Reps should attend at least one (if not both) of Academic Services and Teaching and Learning sub-committees. They may also, in addition, attend other subcommittees as they wish. If there are two elected School reps for a given School, it might be useful to agree that one will go along to Teaching and Learning and the other to Academic Services. Ordinary Reps and First Year Reps should attend at least one subcommittee. They often choose to attend Welfare or External but are welcome to attend any. Postgraduate Reps should be in close contact with Evan and the Postgraduate
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SRC Meetings Mailing Before each SRC meeting, you will be sent (by post) a copy of the minutes of the last SRC meeting and also the minutes of the previous two weeks’ SRC Executive meetings. The mailing can be a bit confusing but will come with a cover sheet, explaining what it is you have been sent. Amendments If, as you read through the minutes sent to you in the mailing, you feel that you would like to amend anything, there will be instructions on how to do this. Your amendment will then be raised for approval at the SRC meeting. Any member of SRC can challenge decisions made by the SRC Executive – so if, for example, SRC Executive have rejected a motion discussed by a subcommittee, you could challenge that decision and for it to be discussed by SRC. The minutes of the SRC Executive meeting from the Monday immediately prior to the Tuesday’s SRC meeting, will be available for you at the SRC meeting. During the meeting, you will be given opportunity to read these and make any comments you wish. Apologies If you cannot attend a meeting for any reason, it is important that you let us 14
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know. The cover sheet of the mailing will explain who to send your apologies to (usually Morgan). SRC email You will also be contacted by email twice a week by Morgan, on behalf of the sabbaticals. This email will include any messages from the sabbs and staff regarding sub-committees that week, ongoing campaigns and any help which may be needed from reps. If you are involved in SRC campaigns or activities and want to publicise this, you can also ask Morgan to include this in the SRC email. On the night… As well as the minutes of the previous evening’s SRC Executive meeting, you will also be provided an ‘Order Paper’ which is basically a running order of the meeting. Thomas will take you through this at the beginning of the meeting. When you arrive you’ll notice a table full of piles of paper. These papers, along with those you have been sent in the mailing, contain information which will be discussed during the meeting – just pick up a copy of each document and sign the name sheet to record your attendance before taking a seat. There will also be a name card for you to pick up and sit on the table in front of you.
Don’t worry… If, at the SRC meeting things seem a bit confusing, please don’t worry. Feel free to ask any of the sabbs or staff if there is anything you are unsure about. Although the meeting itself may seem formal, every effort will be made to ensure you know what is happening, and that you are welcome to stop the proceedings at any point for clarification. Remember… Your involvement in campaigns and sub-committees and your efforts to speak to students in your classes and School is the real work of the SRC. The meetings, although important, are really just a starting point to formalise policy and an opportunity to recognise and account for the work reps are doing.
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SRC and beyond... Your attendance at sub-committees is probably the most effective way of maximising the SRC’s potential for achievement. By being involved at this level, you can really help steer the direction the SRC moves in over the year, and can be at the heart of campaigns from conception onwards.
You will get these dates at the start of the year so you can plan your work around them. We also ask that reps commit to visiting the EUSA office for a short briefing before each committee to discuss what’s coming up with their fellow rep and one of the Academic Advisers.
As well as attending subcommittees, you may also be interested in:
If you disagree with a decision made by academic staff on your committee, or if you have new ideas that you’d like to put up for discussion/decision, you can ask for an issue to be added to the agenda or just ask some relatively informal questions. Some committees have a regular ‘Student Issues and Concerns’ slot while for others you should get in touch in advance to get SRC issues on the agenda.
University College Level committees Being a member of a College-level committee is a great way of broadening your experience as a rep and getting brilliant CV material… Important decisions are made at College-level committees and we have the opportunity to feed into these decisions directly by having student representatives sitting on them. The Vice President Academic Affairs sits on lots of committees, but needs help in order to cover all the college committees too! What Will I Need To Do? Firstly, you’ll need to commit to around 3 or 4 meetings per academic year. These normally last a couple of hours and there is likely to be a bundle of papers to look through before that. 16
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The VPAA might also approach you during the year to ask if you can present a specific paper to your committee for discussion/decision. One of the main reasons to sit on a college committee as a student rep is to make sure that big decisions aren’t getting made in the middle rungs of the university without taking in the viewpoints of students. If decisions are getting pushed through that you don’t like, you can voice your opinions (and have them minuted!) and then come along to the relevant sub-committee
to report on your experiences at the committee and to find out whether there’s an appetite for taking the issue further within the SRC. What Committee Places are Available? Places are available on a number of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Engineering committees. (n.b. Student representation on equivalent Medicine and Veterinary Medicine committees is coordinated by the Medical and Vet Students’ Councils). How Do I Stand? These places are usually filled (through self-nomination) during the 1st SRC in May with any gaps being filled in the September SRC. If you would like to have a chat about College-level committees before the SRC meeting, or have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Lynn Allan lynn.allan@eusa.ed.ac.uk or Rachael King rachael.king@eusa.ed.ac.uk.
gets reviewed every four or five years or so and EUSA has recently secured positions for students to sit on every review panel. If you think you would be interested in this please contact rachael. king@eusa.ed.ac.uk.
Student Affairs Forum The Student Affairs Forum provides an opportunity for discussion of matters of common concern between the University administration and the Students’ Association. Through discussion, appropriate comment, advice and action, the Forum aims to enhance the quality of the student experience at The University of Edinburgh. Its agenda is determined by its members, but is normally principally determined by the Students’ Association so if you feel there is a particular issue which should be discussed in this forum, please let the relevant sabbatical or convener know, or contact a member of staff.
Teaching Programme Review You may also be interested in becoming a student member of the University’s internal subject review panels (teaching programme reviews). Each subject
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How to take ideas forward Why we take ideas forward You’ve been elected by students to represent their views on issues that they have something to say about. Often this means taking action to change something. Your ideas for change should aim to have a positive impact on students’ lives. So you might want more computer labs, longer library opening hours, more choice in EUSA cafes or cheaper bus travel. Whilst it can’t always achieve everything it wants to, SRC can help make the changes happen by providing resources, knowledge and support. Do you need to make new policy? You will not always need to make new policy. For example, if you want to run a campaign you might just need to take your idea to the relevant sub-committee for discussion. Sub-committees are the best place to start and the best place to get people on board with your idea. However, if you want SRC to take a political stance on an issue and for that stance to stick in future years then it may be best to get policy passed. To do this you’ll need to write a motion and take it to a sub-committee. However, check with a sabbatical or a member of staff that policy does not already exist on the issue.
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Ask staff, sabbaticals or conveners if you are unsure whether new policy needs to be made or not.
How policy is made Writing motions If you decide to make new policy you will need to write a motion. A motion always follows the same structure but they vary in length depending on what and how much you want to say. It sets out key background information (notes), sets out a stance (believes), and resolves what action will be taken next and by whom (resolves). Example motion: Hidden Course Costs Motion 17 March 2009 SRC Notes 1. That many students have to pay for essential course material which is over and above standard course costs (eg tuition fees) 2. The current economic climate is having a detrimental effect on people’s finances 3. Many students are forced to use the University Hardship Fund due to the current financial climate and course cost burdens 4. Scottish University Hardship funds are drying up all over the Country SRC Believes 1. Higher Education should not be on an ability to pay basis 2. That essential material and activity costs should not prohibit someone from studying their chosen course 3. Students should not be expected to shoulder the burden of printing essential course handouts
SRC Resolves 1. To mandate the Vice President Academic Affairs, the Teaching and Learning Convener, the Academic Services Convener and all School Reps to lobby to set up a means tested course cost bursary system 2. To mandate the Vice President Academic Affairs, the Teaching and Learning Convener, the Academic Services Convener and all School Reps to encourage the University to update its policy on essential course costs with a view to producing a more specific Edinburgh definition and publicising this across the University
If you want help or advice on writing a motion then ask a staff member, sabbatical or convener. When you have written your motion you will need to follow SRC procedures to get it passed as SRC policy. These are outlined below.
Getting ideas or motions through SRC Whether you decide to write a motion or just write a proposal for a campaign you will need to follow SRC procedures. Don’t be put off by these – they are there to help you. Use the different stages in the process to speak to people to get them onside and attend the different stages of debate to explain your idea and to vote. The process usually starts at subcommittee level. If you don’t have a motion you might want to fill in a project initiation form outlining your idea for a
campaign or project and the benefits it will have for students, but you’ll still need to take this to sub-committee for starters. A staff member or sabbatical will be able to give you a form. Step 1: sub-committee If you’re not sure which sub-committee to take your idea to just ask a sabbatical or staff member. Tell the convener before the sub-committee meeting that you plan to bring your idea to the meeting. If you have a paper, ask Morgan in the EUSA office to make copies for everyone at the meeting or send it to the convener to do this. At the meeting people will vote to pass your idea or not, or to amend it. There might be a lot of discussion and questions about your idea, but don’t be put off by this. This stage is useful and can often generate additional ideas for action and campaigning and is all part of being in a democratic organisation. Step 2: SRC Executive If your motion or project is passed at sub-committee it will then go to SRC Executive for discussion, where they will recommend that SRC approve, amend or reject it. You can attend SRC Executive and input to this discussion but you can’t vote unless you are a member of SRC Executive. If your project needs money from the SRC
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How to take ideas forward budget to make it happen then this is where that can be discussed.
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Step 3: SRC If SRC Executive recommends approval of your motion or project then it will go to a full SRC meeting for discussion, where it may be approved as it is, amended or rejected. You should go to the meeting and be ready to explain and argue your case and to vote. SRC can challenge recommendations made by SRC Executive but the recommendations will be automatically passed if no-one brings them up at SRC.
However, think about the arguments against your idea. Remember that your idea is a SRC project, not a one person project. SRC is a democratic body that has been elected to represent students’ views and you might just have to accept their decision. Maybe not enough people feel strongly about your idea. If you think that students do feel strongly about it but haven’t had the opportunity to voice their views, think whether you could gather more information to strengthen your case. Remember, you can come and chat to sabbaticals and SRC support staff at any stage for advice.
What if SRC doesn’t support my idea?
Taking things forward checklist
At each stage of the process there are steps you can take to bring your idea back if it has been rejected at subcommittee, at SRC Executive or at SRC. SRC Executive members can challenge decisions made at sub-committee and SRC members can challenge decisions made at SRC Executive. If SRC Executive rejects a motion then you should try to rally support before the next SRC meeting so that the recommendation from SRC Executive can be challenged. You could also pursue the issue at a later date, or at one of two General Meetings held each year.
Do you need new policy? Check whether there is already existing policy on the issue and think about whether you need new policy. You might just need to amend existing policy or fill in a project initiation form to get your activity or campaign started.
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What other information do you have? Back up your ideas with evidence such as statistics, reports, previous policy, surveys, press cuttings, or university papers. If you are writing a motion these could be useful for putting together the notes section.
Do people feel the same as you? SRC is there to represent students’ views and you need to make sure you are representing those views and not just your own personal beliefs. How do you generate support? Be clear about the implications of not taking action. Speak to people to get them interested and involved. Play an active role throughout the SRC processes. Who might you want to speak to? Talk to staff and the relevant sabbaticals from an early stage. Check what support staff can provide. Speak to conveners, other SRC members, other students and university staff if appropriate. You might want to speak to local councillors or MSPs if it is an external issue. Call NUS and find out if they’ve done any work on it already. If SRC supports your idea, what next? Ask questions at SRC to find out what action is taking place and to make sure that what SRC agreed to do is happening. Get other SRC members involved. Update SRC and the wider student body on what action is taking place.
Training/development All new reps elected in March can attend an introductory training conference at the Students’ Association which takes place over a weekend
in March or April. There are sessions specifically designed for conveners, School reps, and ordinary reps. If you are a convener then training on a variety of topics will also be provided in conveners’ week; the week before freshers’ week. If throughout the year you identify areas where you think it would be useful to receive training then speak to Sarah Purves (Representation Manager) to find out if it could be provided. It may also be possible to attend training provided by external organisations such as NUS or SPARQS throughout the year. We will make you aware if these opportunities arise.
Links to resources online EUSA class rep and School rep resources and information www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/voice/ representation/classreps EUSA briefings for all reps – information briefings on issues relevant to students. www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/voice/ representation/resources NUS officer online – campaign resources and information briefings. www.officeronline.co.uk/
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How to take ideas forward If you are looking for information on specific issues then speak to a staff member who can point you in the right direction.
Campaigning If you want to run a campaign you should firstly be clear about what you want to achieve and how you are going to achieve it. You should also be sure that other people feel strongly about the issue you want to campaign on. Secondly, regardless of what your aims and objectives are you should be sure that your actions are going to generate change that will improve the lives of students. Effective campaigning is about impact, results and outcomes. It is useful to ask yourself what change will result from your actions. What will the impact be? When planning a campaign, you might want to fill in a project initiation form. The form is there to make you think about things like what timescales there are for your campaign, what resources you will need, what the benefits are of taking action, the impact your activity will have on students and what the implications of not taking action might be. The Campaigns and External Affairs Coordinator will be able to give you this
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form as well as give you other advice and tips which are not included here.
Examples of past EUSA campaigns Right to rent During spring 2008 EUSA organised a campaign to stop the Scottish Government putting in place limits on the number of shared flats in an area. Over 6000 students signed the online petition in one week, and thousands of emails were sent to MSPs calling for the proposals to be scrapped. Language teaching Following announcements about cuts to language teaching and possible job losses EUSA organised a mass demonstration in Old College which received widespread press coverage and MSP support. The campaign resulted in the University giving language departments additional time to identify where cuts could be made and make time to plan for these.
Resources and facilities The EUSA office is there for you to use. Come in, say hello and ask us any questions or use the facilities. You have access to: • Staff support such as admin, research, policy and campaign advice • Photocopier • PCs • Fax machine • Meeting space – if you want to book a room speak to Morgan. • Phones • Pigeon holes for conveners’ mail • Kettle for a cup of tea! If you are not sure which staff member to speak to then just ask anyone and they will show you the appropriate person.
Budget There is an SRC budget available and you have access to those funds for carrying out SRC projects. You might want to pay for posters to be printed or a large mailing to be sent to MSPs and you’ll need to get SRC to agree to you using the SRC budget to pay for it. Take any request for money to subcommittee in the first instance. SRC Executive must give the final approval for money to be spent.
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achievements Better lighting for the Meadows In December 2006 EUSA lobbied the council to improve lighting on the Meadows for the hundreds of students who cross it everyday. Eventually the council agreed to a ÂŁ12,200 refit and improvement of the Meadows lighting. Student funding During 2008-09 EUSA helped to convince opposition MSPs to support our calls for a minimum student income of ÂŁ7000 via a mix of loans and grants. This campaign was complemented by work also underway in NUS Scotland. The Scottish Government are now under considerable pressure to listen to the calls from EUSA, NUS Scotland and opposition MSPs. Anonymous marking Although it has now been a few years since the SRC campaigned for anonymous marking, it is worth reminding ourselves of this achievement. We perhaps take it for granted that our work, wherever possible, will be marked anonymously but it has only been recently that the University adopted this policy, and this was because of a substantial SRC campaign.
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Ongoing issues Feedback: Yet again Edinburgh University has scored low in the feedback rankings in the National Student Survey. EUSA will continue to work with the university on this issue. School Reps will be especially involved in working with James and Evan on this matter. Funding: We are waiting for the Scottish Government to announce how they plan to spend an extra ÂŁ30 million for student support. With a review of higher education funding in England currently taking place, discussions will also continue about how to fund higher education in Scotland. Post grad: The VPAA is working to improve postgraduate representation within EUSA and to make sure that EUSA can meet the needs of postgraduate students. This will include wide consultation with postgraduate students across the university.
aware of the good things that students do locally. Governance reform: EUSA is currently undergoing a review of its governance and is consulting with its members. Proposals will be discussed at the November 2009 General Meeting. Library opening hours: SRC is in favour of 24 hour libraries in the long-term, and smaller significant changes to opening hours in the shorter term (e.g. provision for students wanting to visit the library before classes to drop off books or photocopy notes). The Vice President Academic Affairs is lobbying for 24 hour library opening to be put in place sooner rather than later. In addition to this, EUSA recently argued successfully for the extension of summer weekend opening hours in 2009 in the Main Library (enhanced weekend opening being of benefit to the thousands of postgraduate students writing dissertations over the summer).
Community: Following research in the community with students and non-students EUSA has produced a guide for students moving into shared accommodation in the community. We will continue to work with the local community to improve relations and make people
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useful Dates SRC Meetings: 29th September 2009 20th October 2009 10th November 2009 1st December 2009 12th January 2010 2nd February 2010 23rd February 2010 16th March 2010 11th May 2010 Bye-Elections: 14th September- nominations open 1st October - nominations close (12 noon) Elections: 7-8th October Annual General Meeting: 17th November 09 General Meeting: 11th February 2010
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SRC HANDBOOK
Jargon buster Amendment
A change to the wording of a motion which can be made at sub-committee, SRC Executive or SRC meetings.
Campaign
A series of actions designed to achieve an aim.
Expenditure request
This is when you ask SRC for money to spend on a project. SRC has a budget which it can use for SRC projects and campaigns. If you want to use some of the budget you will need to get official permission which you can do by taking your request to sub-committee and the convener will then take the request to SRC Executive.
EUSA Governance
The way that EUSA is run and all of its committees and management structures e.g. Association Executive, SRC Executive, Finance Committee
Motion
An SRC political stance or belief laid out in text and calling on action to be taken on the issue creating a formal note of SRC policy.
Order paper
Running order of a SRC meeting.
Project initiation form
A form that outlines exactly why and how .
Sabbatical Officer
A student who has been elected to take up position as president or vicepresident for a year in the EUSA office.
SRC Executive
All four sabbaticals sit on SRC Executive as well as each of the conveners and SRC editor. SRC Executive deals with business coming from each of the fours sub-committees and can reject or recommend policy for SRC. It is sometimes called just SRC Exec.
Sub-committee
A sub-group of SRC that looks at issues relating to a specific area. There are five sub-committees in SRC. These are Academic Services, External, Postgraduate, Teaching and Learning, and Welfare.
MSP
A Member of the Scottish Parliament.
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EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
THE POTTERROW, 5/2 BRISTO SQUARE, EDINBURGH, EH8 9Al TEL: 0131 650 2656
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