Flinders University acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which its campuses are located. These are the Traditional Lands of the Arrernte, Dagoman, First Nations of the South East, First Peoples of the River Murray & Mallee region, Jawoyn, Kaurna, Larrakia, Ngadjuri, Ngarrindjeri, Ramindjeri, Warumungu, Wardaman and Yolngu people.
We honour their Elders past, present and emerging.
Contents
01/ About FUSA
02/ FUSA Staff 2023
03/ Student Council
05/ Financials
07/ Student Representation and Development
11/ Academic Advocacy and Financial Counselling
15/ Clubs and Student Communities
21/ Media and Events
About FUSA
Flinders University Student Association (FUSA) represents the rights and interests of Flinders University students. As an independent body, FUSA is governed by an elected Student Council which directs the priorities of FUSA each year with the support of dedicated staff. We provide a welcoming and lively student experience that focuses on campus culture, giving support to students in need, and facilitating opportunities for students to be a part of the wider University community.
SERVICES AT FUSA:
• Student representation, including in central University bodies and across Colleges.
• Academic advocacy, financial counselling and welfare services.
• Administration of student clubs and academic associations.
• Events and activities on campus and online.
• Student led media and communication, including the student magazine, Empire Times.
PURPOSE OF FUSA:
• Promote and advance the rights, interests and welfare of students.
• Represent students within and outside the University.
• Coordinate and support activities for students, including support for affiliated clubs.
• Provide the means for effective communication between students, the Association and the University.
• Oversee the delivery of student services, which are funded from the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF).
FUSA Staff 2023
Manager, Flinders University
Student Association
Ben Smith
Administration Assistants
Sally Duckworth
Ishana Somers
Heidi Monkman
Senior Coordinator, Student Representation and Partnerships
Kate Walsh
Student Representation
Support Coordinator
Fletcher O’Leary
Student Representation
Support Officer
Liwen Seto
Senior Coordinator Programming and Communications
Caleb Osborne
Media and Communications Coordinator
Steph Walker
Media Officer
Jess Nicole
Dee Ghia
Media Assistant
Lavita Dodd
Events Assistant
Alexandra Mibus
Claudia Bradley
Program Coordinator, Clubs and Student Communities
David Hopkins
Clubs Assistant
Catherine Frances
Financial Counsellor
Stacy White
Student Advocacy Officer
Ally Drew
Ryan Colsey
Christine Bennetts Gibson
Student Council
Student President
Billy Greet
General Secretary
Shanii Sparrow
Education Officer
Jess Williams
Women’s Officer
Aishwarya
Welfare Officer
Alivia Vickers
First Nations Students Officer
Nadia Metzger
Postgraduates Students Officer
Sharleen Kabiri
International Students Officer
Sue Ghimire
Queer Officer
RIley Jones
Environment Officer
Lupin Lo
Disabilities Officer
Danielle Rohrlach
Social Activities Officer
Antonio Pupulin
Mature Age Students Officer
Shannon Whitford
People Of Colour Officer
Darlyn Tan-Sik
General Council
Members
Jessica Trezona
Maddy Tapley
Bree Elliot
Kevin Chao
Gwydion Rozitisolds
Jana Logeswaran
Empire Times
Editors
Georgia Nolan
Katie Stedman
Katia Rawlings
Rachelle Summers
NUS Conference Delegates
Darlyn Tan-Sik
Billy Greet
Jana Logeswaran
Molly Turnbull
Maddy Tapley
Jess Williams
Student Council
Summary
It has been productive year for FUSA and the Student Council. Many of the initiatives and campaigns grew on the foundation of work initiated in 2022.
Support for The Voice
Student Council sought to educate themselves on the issues and views around the voice, led by our First Nations Officer, and came to a shared stance with FUSA staff supporting the voice. We will keep learning and building our understanding of how to create culturally safe spaces and how to best support our First Nations Students following the disappointing national outcome.
Supporting Diverse Student Communities
In 2023 Student Council provided drive, support, and funding to a wide range of events and initiatives in support of our diverse communities including:
• Queer Week, IDAHOBIT, Wear It Purple, Lesbian Day of Visibility, and Trans Day of Visibility
• People Of Colour consultation at NatCon
• Holi Festival
• Global Groove
• Keep Australia Beautiful Week
• Representation on University Pride
• Committee and the Deadnaming Working Group
• International Women’s Day
• Sensory spaces
A survey of LGBTQIA+ students was undertaken by our Queer Officer with the support of the FUSA Team, and the Queer Report was produced and shared with the university, including significant recommendations to improve the Experience of our LGBTQIA+ Student Community.
International Student Support
Student Council worked closely with the team at International Student Services to help provide new International Students with a welcoming and supportive start to university life. This included contributions to the International Student Welcome Event, three SA bus tours across the year, the ISS BBQ, as well as providing support to multiple cultural clubs across Flinders.
Improvements to FUSA processes
This council was active in reviewing the Policy framework that guides FUSA, reviewing and improving:
• Student Council Roles and Duties
• Election Regulations
• Development Grant guidelines
• Council Standing Orders
• Representation and Leadership
Representation on University Committees and hearings
• Academic Senate
• Education Quality Committee
• Learning and Teaching Innovation
• Diversity and Inclusion Committee
• Disability and Access Committee
• Respect Now Always Advisory Group
• Sustainability Advisory Group
• Student Appeals
• Boards of Inquiry
• Research Quality Committee
• Pride Committee
• University Library Advisory Committee
• Reconciliation Action Plan
• Infrastructure Committee
• Health and Wellbeing Working Group
• Cleaning Reference Group
• SSAF Committee
Financials
FUSA Budget and Spending 2023
The majority of funding FUSA receives is from the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF). The only exceptions are Student Council Honorariums which are funded by the University, and a small amount of income from events such as the Flinders Uni Ball which goes to offset the costs of the event. The SSAF is a compulsory fee charged by the University which supports non-academic services and amenities for Flinders students. Student consultation takes place when considering how the income will be used to provide or enhance these services and amenities.
Every year, we submit a funding proposal to the SSAF Budget Advisory Committee which provides a recommendation to the Vice-Chancellor regarding how the SSAF income should be allocated across the University.
The funding proposal is prepared in consultation with Student Council and FUSA staff. Student Council then approve the final funding request and budget.
SSAF funds are required to be spent for students in accordance with the Higher Education Support Act 2003, and unspent funds for the year are returned to the University’s SSAF holding account to also be disbursed for students.
FUSA Budget and Spending 2023
Student Engagement
$1,223,229
Salaries, operational costs, and support for initiatives that enhance student experience.
Student Representation
$65,000
Development Grants, support for student academic representation and voice across all colleges and support for the functions of Student Council.
Events and Orientation (combined)
$200,000
A wide range of student focussed events and activities to create a vibrant atmosphere and welcoming experience across Flinders Campuses.
Student Advocacy and Welfare
$486,072
Independent and confidential academic advocacy, financial counselling, emergency financial assistance and welfare support to students.
Communications and Media
$78,000
FUSA and Student Council promotion marketing, including website and social media presence, production of Empire Times, Student Diary, and student focussed campaigns such as Be A Better Human
Empire Times
$58,000
The student magazine, with three elected student editors.
Clubs and Societies (non sporting)
$140,000
Funding for non-sporting student clubs and societies, including social, political and international clubs, and academic Associations.
Student Council $74,000
Funds for individual Office bearers to pursue projects relevant to the platforms they are elected on, and for their professional development.
Notes:
The two most significant variations from the budget for 2023 that we utilised savings across a range of areas to bring forward the FUSA Diary Expense for 2024 and allocate additional resources to student events. This can be seen in the Communications and Media, and Events lines above.
Ben Smith Manager, Flinders University Student Association
Student Representation and Development
Student Representation and Development
The Student Representation Team is Kate Walsh (Senior Coordinator, Student Representation and Partnerships) and Fletcher O’Leary (Student Representation Support Coordinator), with ongoing support from Liwen Seto (Student Representation Support Officer). Together, we manage a range of programs and initiatives to support a strong and embedded culture of student voice and partnership across the University. 2023 proved to be another busy year for our team, with the growth and development of our Student Academic Representative program and an active Student Council representing the needs and interests of students, we are never short of work to do!
Here are a few highlights from our year:
Student Academic Representation
The Student Representation team at FUSA manages the Student Academic Representation (SAR) program for Flinders University. FUSA administers the registration process and oversees the training and support for all Topic and Course Representatives. 2023 was a strong year for SAR. We provided support, including training, to 379 Course and Topic Representatives. In addition, we provided support and inductions to more than 40 student members of University and College Committees.
2023 marked the first year since 2019 in which face-to-face training was not disrupted due to COVID and we had a strong uptake.
An innovation in 2023 was the appointment by colleges of a liaison to ensure support for the Course Representative program. While the Dean (Education) has ultimate responsibility for student representation in each College, the appointment of an additional staff member to champion the program has improved cooperation with the Colleges. This has also seen SAR embraced as part of the University’s Student Success focus.
Elections
FUSA Student Council is a democratic body, with the Student Council elected annually by and from the students. Elections took place in Semester 2, with voting taking place for contested positions in the first week of October. There was a higher turnout than in any year since COVID-19 – with a turnout of 7.52%. The Student Representation Team led a branding refresh for the elections, updating our materials and simplifying language to help engage students in the process. Student Council also worked with the Student Representation team to simplify the Election Regulations. We were very pleased with the results. This was the first year in which we opened booths for a whole day on three campuses simultaneously (Sturt, Tonsley and Bedford Park). We will continue to experiment with ways to engage students across the different campuses, especially with the City Campus opening in 2024. Full Election Results can be found on page 10.
Development Grants
Development Grants received a funding allocation boost in the SSAF budget process, increasing to $40,000 for 2023. Two rounds of applications were called for in the first semester, with an emphasis in the second (supplementary) round being to balance the total pool of recipients across identifiable demographics, for example, College and mode of study. A final round was called for the second semester.
Figure. 2: Development Grants in 2023.
Student-Led Teaching Awards
Student-Led Teaching Awards (SLTAs) provide opportunities for students to recognise and appreciate educators who have made a significant impact on their learning and overall educational experience at Flinders. The difference with this award is that students determine the award categories, nominate the educators and select the winners.
Introduced in 2021, the awards have grown in popularity, with a record number of nominations (225) in 2023. This year, we created two new award categories, Outstanding Wellbeing and Student Support Award, acknowledging academic staff members who prioritise and promote student wellbeing, and the Innovation in Digital Teaching Award (replacing Best in FLO).
In 2023, we opened nominations in June and October to ensure opportunities to nominate staff across the year. Students were invited to nominate academic staff working across the University in six categories. The guidelines for nominations are kept broad for students to express themselves and reflect on aspects of teaching which they deem important. As a result, the written responses were diverse in style and content. Student-submitted nominations for these awards offer unique insights into how students prefer to learn. Praising deserving staff members, students point to ideas that can be leveraged to enhance learning and teaching.
In November, a panel of seven students, chaired by the 2023 Education Officer, Jess Williams, met and spent many hours deliberating against the student-set criteria. It is difficult to choose a winning nomination as there are many worthy recipients.
The 2023 SLTA Report and full list of winners can be found on the FUSA website.
Outstanding Rep Awards
While all our student reps are valued, some go above and beyond in their roles and make a difference in representing their cohort. These awards are an opportunity for staff to nominate a Topic/Course Rep (or a team of Reps) they have worked with during the year who demonstrated excellence in how they approached their role. We received 17 nominations in 2023 and gave out five awards to individual students. It was fantastic to hear of the difference Course and Topic Reps make in improving the student experience in collaboration with dedicated teaching staff.
Student Representation Network
2023 was the first year where we were able to fully launch the Student Representation Network (SRN). A long-standing request from the reps around the University to have a space to talk about broader issues, 2023 was the year when there was an alignment in capacities and interest to deliver. The first SRN meeting took place in May, chaired by the Education Officer, Jess Williams. The meeting reached capacity with over 50 reps, with representation from every College attending in-person. Reps from rural and regional campuses and on placement also attended online.
Jess sought feedback and advice on Artificial Intelligence in the Learning Experience; for the first time, we were able to tap into the substantial opportunity having a university-wide representative program provides for Student Council. A subsequent meeting report was prepared by the Student Representation Team and the Education Officer which was shared and distributed throughout the University.
More SRN meetings occured in the second semester, exploring themes of student engagement and connection. We are looking forward to kick-starting the SRN again in 2024 in collaboration with the Education Officer.
2023 FUSA Election Results
STUDENT PRESIDENT
Janageeth (Jana)
GENERAL SECRETARY
Nathaniel Winter
EDUCATION OFFICER
Ben Grillett
WOMEN’S OFFICER
Harsheen Kaur
WELFARE OFFICER
Maskeen Kaur
POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OFFICER
Harshdeep Mehla
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS OFFICER
Rey Adrien
QUEER OFFICER
Alanna Argudo
FIRST NATIONS STUDENTS OFFICER
Sarahjane Salmon (Filled position through casual vacancy)
ENVIRONMENT OFFICER
Kevin Chao
DISABILITIES OFFICER
Ayisha Fearnside
SOCIAL ACTIVITIES OFFICER
Rubash
MATURE AGE STUDENTS OFFICER
Jileshan Saha (Jacquie)
PEOPLE OF COLOUR OFFICER
Jessica Williams
GENERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS (SIX POSITIONS)
Moses San Juan
Nyssa Sharma
Alex Priest
Jesse Rasheed
Mary Zhang
Denzell Ainsworth
EMPIRE TIMES EDITOR TEAM
Miriam van der Heiden
Lachlan White
Noah Montgomery
NUS CONFERENCE DELEGATES
Ben Grillett
Kevin Chao
Maddy Tapley
Muthu
Janageeth (Jana)
Maskeen Kaur
Academic Advocacy and Financial Counselling
Overview
The Advocacy and Welfare team provides independent, free, and confidential advocacy services to all enrolled students at Flinders University who are experiencing academic, administrative, financial or welfare difficulties. The Advocacy and Welfare team is a service provided by the Flinders University Student Association (FUSA).
The primary role of our Academic Advocates is to provide students with advice and support regarding the University’s policies and procedures and to ensure that students understand their rights and options under policy. Academic Advocates ensure that students are fairly represented by providing relevant information, referrals, and advice.
Our registered Financial Counsellor provides information, support and advocacy to students experiencing financial difficulty, and advises students regarding the University’s financial processes. This includes applying for tuition fee instalments, budgeting, understanding which debts are priorities, negotiating with creditors, accessing grants and/or concessions, and referral to external services in the community.
We also provide welfare support including Emergency Financial Assistance, Interest-Free $500 Loans, Financial Support Grants, and information on Centrelink payments.
Staffing
The Advocacy and Welfare Team is staffed by 3.1 FTE staff members. In 2023 our team was comprised of Acting Team Leader/Advocate Ally Drew, Advocates Ryan Colsey and Christine Bennetts Gibson and Financial Counsellor Stacy White.
Case Management
2023 saw a rise in individual case numbers for academic advocacy and financial counselling (916 cases, up from 789 in 2022). Each case, or student, can present with multiple issues and in 2023 we supported 916 students with 1122 issues. Our team continued to provide services in-person, via phone or Microsoft Teams according to student preference.
We saw an increase in students seeking advice and support for academic integrity issues (from 55 cases in 2022 to 87 cases in 2023). Many of these cases centred around the use of artificial intelligence, an area which is proving to be challenging across tertiary education institutions in general.
We also supported several groups of students who sought advice regarding systemic issues within topics. These groups reported issues related to teaching quality and lack of resources which were negatively affecting their ability to successfully complete their studies.
Academic Advocacy
Of the 611 Academic issues the most common were:
• Remission of Fees
• Academic Integrity
• Review of Grade (Final Topic Grade)
Financial Issues
Of the 500 Financial issues the most common were:
• Emergency Financial Assistance
• Financial Counselling
• Financial Support Grant
Top 3 Colleges By Case Number
College of Nursing & Health Sciences 1 2 3
College of Science and Engineering
College of Education, Psychology and Social Work
Grants and Emergency Financial Assistance
Financial Support Grants: The total amount of funding available for grants this year was $35,890 (a $890 increase from 2022). The maximum grant amount approved according to the University Student Loan and Grant Policy is $500. This amount was awarded to 47 successful applicants (26 domestic and 21 international students).
The total number of applications received this year was 51, this was a decrease from 53 in 2022, and the lowest since 2014 (excluding 2020 when the grant was not offered due to a different format caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and availability of alternative assistance).
Wider social media coverage was provided this year, however, considering the rising cost of living pressures the application numbers were disappointing.
Emergency Financial Assistance: Our EFA program distributed food vouchers, food parcels and transport assistance to the value of $38,363 to 284 students on 399 occasions. We had anticipated an increase in demand for EFA (given the rising cost of living including food prices, rent increases and utility cost increases), therefore we increased the value of our supermarket vouchers from $50 to $75. We also began capturing statistics for the number of students seeking EFA who cited the financial pressures of undertaking compulsory placements as their reason for seeking assistance.
In 2023, IDS provided us with several refurbished University laptops. We were able to allocate these to students demonstrating financial need (and who required a laptop for their studies), giving away a total of 28 laptops across the year. We also managed the Parking Support Subsidy for the University to eligible students and distributed a total of $6,500 worth of parking subsidy to 109 applicants in the form of Cello Park vouchers and reimbursements.
We partnered with Anglicare SA who administered our Emergency Financial Assistance program during the University Christmas Closure period in 2023, as they have for the previous two years
In 2023 we continued our partnership with the Australian Tax Office - volunteers were on campus between July and October to assist eligible students in submitting their 2022/23 tax returns.
CASE DATA 2023
Case Numbers Per Year (2019-2023)
Clubs & Student Communities
Semester 1 & 2 Orientation
Clubs actively participated in Semester 1 Orientation. 50 clubs attended FUSA’s O’Week stall days across Monday 20th, Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd February. Additionally, 10 cultural and spiritual clubs attended the International Student Welcome event on Friday 24th February. These events represented an excellent opportunity for clubs to directly engage with large numbers of commencing students where they could recruit new members, promote their events, and contribute to the festivities. The International Student Welcome event, in particular, was a great success with increased numbers of international students back on campus.
Semester 2 Orientation club stalls were held across Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th July. Semester 2 Orientation traditionally has lower club attendance than Semester 1. This trend continued with 43 clubs in attendance on the Monday and 40 in attendance on the Tuesday. In addition to the activation at Bedford Park, six clubs attended an activation at Tonsley campus specifically geared to science and engineering students.
Clubs Day
This year, including Semester 1 and 2 Orientation activations, the FUSA Clubs team hosted the FUSA Clubs Day from 11am-2pm on Tuesday 2nd May. 22 clubs attended the event in the Student Hub; including, cultural, spiritual, academic, sporting, and special interest/social clubs. Moreover, FUSA staff gave out free hot chocolate, hot cinnamon doughnuts, and Clubs/FUSA merchandise, including pens, notebooks, and tote bags. This event provided clubs with a mid-semester opportunity to promote their activities, build their membership and engage with the broader student community.
Clubs Events
Since 1st January 2023, affiliated clubs and student communities have registered 876 events and activities with FUSA. These range from balls, pub crawls and theatre performances, to academic workshops, study sessions, movie nights and dinners. This figure is a demonstration of growth from the previous 12-month period and represents the most active clubs have been at Flinders since 2020.
Funding and Finances
As of 1st January 2023, affiliated clubs have been approved for $122,255.65 worth of grants. This represents just over 87% of the total Clubs & Student Communities budget, with much of the remaining funds used for 2022 grants, equipment purchases and event costs (e.g., Club Awards and Clubs Day).
Club Grants 2023 Budget
General Funding
Start-up Grants
Pool Funding Round 1
Pool Funding Round 2
$68,460.90
$6,636.90
$13,356.81
$7,496.61
Pool Funding Round 3 $11,303.35
Pool Funding Round 4
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Event Grant
$15,001.08
$285.35 Total $122,225.65
Instagram
A highlight for this year was the launch of the Clubs & Student Communities Instagram page (@fusaclubs). The Instagram page provides us with a platform dedicated to the promotion of clubs and their activities, allowing us to showcase the vibrant and active clubs community on campus; filling a pre-existing gap. Examples of content include: club highlights, volunteer profiles (Faces of Flinders), event promotion, giveaways, new club alerts, start a club ideas, recap videos, etc.
Club events are promoted as stories to ensure we can share a wide variety of individual club content without overloading our followers’ feeds. The reaction to the page thus far has been beyond expectations. Below is an overview of engagement statistics as of 20th November 2023:
Affiliations & Disaffiliations
Since January 2023, 16 new clubs, that represent a wide range of student interests, have affiliated with FUSA.
These include the:
• Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Association
• Arthropod Nerd Group
• Australia Awards Network
• Chess Club
• Creative Industries Club
• Kenyan Students Association
• League of Automation & Mechatronics
Enthusiasts
• Marine Biology Association
• Nepalese Students’ Association
• Pasifika Student Association
• Public Policy Students Association
• Robotics Team
• Social Debating Society
• Student Psychiatry Society
• Women in Science & Engineering
• Workers’ Rights Society
In this same period, 23 inactive clubs have been disaffiliated with FUSA. The disaffiliation of inactive clubs is a sad but necessary action that ensures we to not promote communities to students that essentially don’t exist. It also opens room for interested and passionate students to start new clubs with similar aims and objectives. The following clubs were disaffiliated with FUSA this year:
• Arts Students’ Association
• Biotechnology Student Association
• Book Club
• Car Club
• CDW Sketch Club
• Disabilities Collective
• Field Robotics Club
• Friendship International
• General Practice Students’ Network
• General Practice Student Network NTMP
• Indigenous Student Association
• Japanese Cultural Club
• Labor Club
• League of Legends Club
• Liberal Club
• Lions Campus Club
• Outdoor Club
• Pakistani Students Association
• Persian Club
• Philosophy Club
• Postgraduate Students Association
• Society of Asian Australia
• Vegan Society
Club Awards
The 2023 Club Awards evening was held on Wednesday 25th October. This was an opportunity to appreciate, thank, and recognise the Clubs community and the considerable time and effort student volunteers contribute to their clubs.
The event was held at the Alere Function Centre, with approximately 70 students and staff in attendance. The nominations process and the awards evening was more vastly promoted than previous years to increase the event’s prestige. Being the first year nominations were opened to staff, an unprecedented number of nominations were received – 65 in total.
2023 Club
Award Winners
CLUB OF THE YEAR
Flinders University Queer Collective
ACADEMIC ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR
Flinders Academic Science Club
CLUB MEMBER OF THE YEAR
Faye Marquez (Filipino League of Students in Flinders)
Alex Priest (Flinders Academic Science Club & Flinders University Computer Society)
MOST IMPROVED CLUB
Flinders Indian Student Association
MOST ACTIVE CLUB
Flinders Evangelical Students
BEST CLUB EVENT, ACTIVITY OR PROJECT
Flinders University Performing Arts Society (First Date: A Musical Comedy)
BEST NEW CLUB
Flinders Social Debating Society
BEST PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL
Flinders Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Association (Charity Walk)
BEST FUNDRAISING EVENT/ ACTIVITY
Health & Human Rights Group | Women in Health (Birthing Kit Assembly Day)
PUN OF THE YEAR
Flinders University Optometry Student Association (Pokéyemon Pub Crawl)
Media & Events
Events
FUSA’s program of events aims to enhance student engagement, facilitate connection between students, create a sense of community, and celebrate student life across the University.
FUSA has a diverse program of events and activations that combine fun, information, awareness, and education, and help make the campus feel welcoming and vibrant to students. They also help build FUSA’s profile as a student focused and student led association.
The events team saw a solid return to on-campus events and activations in 2023, with no Covid restrictions. The start of the year was focused on returning to a fullscale Orientation program, followed by regular events and activities throughout the year to create vibrancy on campus.
Our program included student awareness campaigns, music and food orientated events, and events that celebrate the diversity of Flinders student community. Most of these are conceived, developed, run, and evaluated in partnership with Student Council representatives.
Orientation Program
FUSA Orientation program aims to foster a sense of belonging, build campus culture, and improve wellbeing for Flinders students. FUSA is responsible for the social aspects of orientation including campus activation, welcome events, introduction to services and clubs, and developing O’Week graphic design in partnership with students.
Orientation in 2023 saw an expanded Orientation program with a wide range of activities, entertainment, and experiences for new and continuing students. This included clubs, stalls, live music, entertainment, free lunch, games, plus a range of giveaways, and freebies.
Below is a summary of the year’s Orientation program:
• 8000 diaries handed out at O’Week events or through O’Week mail out.
• Fair Days (S1): 800 serves of food per day, approx. 60-70 student clubs each day, live music.
• Mix N Mingle (S1/S2): new social event that was highly successful and popular with students. Feedback showing that students wanted more opportunities to socialise with peers.
• International Student Welcome Event (S1/S2): New collaboration with ISS dedicated to welcoming the large cohort of new international students. Will continue in future years.
• After Party (S2): Trialled a themed ‘Barbie Party’ event approx. 170-200 attendees.
• Sturt Activation (S1): 750 serves of food and 448 FUSA diaries.
• ISS & FUSA Bus Tours (S1/S2): New collaboration with ISS with tours.
• CSE Tonsley Orientation event (S2: trialled a new College level activation and collaboration which was successful for Tonsley campus.
• Clubs Info Session (S2): new trial session with 30-35 attendees, will aim to continue to grow.
2023 Highlights
Highlights from our 2023 program include:
• FUSA events celebrating a diverse range of causes and communities: Wellbeing Week, International Women’s Day, Holi Festival, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Safety & Respect Week, National Reconciliation Week (NRW), NAIDOC, Keep Australia Beautiful Week (KAB), Wellbeing Week, R U OK Day and more.
• LGBTQIA+ Events - Spearheaded by the FUSA Queer Officer and supported by the Queer Collective there was a full calendar of events and campaigns including Lesbian Visibility, Queer Week, Trans Day of Visibility, and Wear it Purple Day.
• Uni Ball - FUSA hosted our largest ever ball with 420 attendees. This year’s Black & White theme was selected by student votes, and the event was thoroughly enjoyed by attendees. We plan to further increase attendees in 2023.
• TOUR2103 - partnered with the Event Design and Management topic through the College of HASS. We partnered with students which culminated in three successful student events - Shrek Film Night, Bric-A-Brac Market, and Indie Night at the Tav.
• Grab ‘n’ Go - hosted our third year of the program, a weekly welfare initiative providing free snacks and stationery to students. It ran twice per week between Monday to Thursday and rotated across Bedford, Sturt, Tonsley and FMC campus locations. We hosted 46 Grab ‘n’ Go events across the year.
2024 Goals
• Welcome new students through a vibrant Orientation and continue to build our program. A positive Orientation experience helps with student retention. If students make connections and feel part of the community, they are more likely to have support networks and feel that they can deal with the challenges that university presents.
• Further growth of events and activations at non-Bedford Park campuses.
• Focus on celebrating the diversity of our student cohorts and continue to grow engagement with underrepresented student cohorts. Celebrating diversity helps promote education and awareness, helps students to feel included in the Flinders community, and have a positive impact on student wellbeing.
• Continue to build student partnerships and collaborations across Flinders such as the TOUR2103 project, Student Creative Advisers, or other new and creative ideas.
• Continue to grow our premiere events for Flinders Student, such as our annual Uni Ball event, with an aim to further expand as demand is still higher than capacity.
• Focus on frequent campus activations making Flinders campuses welcoming and vibrant throughout the year.
Media
FUSA’s media helps to highlight issues that matter to students and provides accessible information that reflects the stories and interests of the student community. It also helps to build campus culture and create a sense of belonging for students at Flinders.
The Media Team plays an integral role in providing media support to FUSA and facilitating various initiatives for Student Council, Empire Times editors, student clubs, staff, and other stakeholders. We assist with projects, events, and initiatives by providing graphic design solutions, communication and marketing strategies, promotional goods, and web and project development.
We have used our media channels and assets to help continue to build a culture of acceptance and celebration of diversity and promote student wellbeing. We also extend our support to other teams at Flinders through cross-departmental projects and collaboration.
In 2023, FUSA continued to fine-tune our branding and marketing materials to ensure that it resonates with students.
We emphasised growing our social media presence, delivering quality content and services through social media platforms, and maintaining a consistent, studentfocused voice. Social media continues to be a key means of communicating important information about FUSA’s services, initiatives, events, and opportunities to students, particular our Instagram page which we continue to grow.
Orientation Program
The media team plays a key role in Orientation and is responsible for the overall branding of the program each year. The branding aims to visually represent Orientation across a variety of mediums, both digital and physical. We worked closely with a group of Student Creative Advisors who were chosen to provide advice on the look and feel of the design. Over five workshops we explored theme, colour, font, logos, messaging, and events.
Student Diary
Each year, FUSA creates a new Student Diary which is distributed for free during the Orientation program, with 8000 diaries handed out at O’Week events or through the Orientation mail-out packs. Collaborating with Screen and Media students, we played a pivotal role in curating artistic submissions for the 2024 Diary Calendar. This initiative allowed students to showcase their creativity and provided them with a chance to earn a High Distinction. The outcome was an authentic and engaging diary calendar that promoted both FUSA and students’ professional development.
Empire Times
Empire Times (ET) is a student magazine produced by elected Flinders student editors in partnership with FUSA. All content is produced by student contributors and the magazine is available both on campus in-print and online. It has a role in campus culture, providing student news and entertainment, reporting on current affairs, and giving a platform to a variety of different voices and talents at Flinders.
ET saw a strong return in the number of editions produced, with a total of eight editions in 2023, the most since 2019.
Social Media
We saw a 10.8% growth in overall social media audience compared to 2022. Although Instagram messages increased by 6.9%, there was a 55.2% decrease in profile engagement, indicating a change in user journey and to an extent, quality control.
Throughout 2023, the team posted 550 times on Instagram, marking a 60-post increase from the previous year. However, post engagements declined by 10%. Notable organic posts included content related to O’Week, Barbie Party, Holi Festival, International Women’s Day, the Diary delivery announcements, Queer Week, and international club events. Impressively, the team saw a 29% increase in Instagram followers, even though engagement was down.
On Facebook, the Media Team shared 236 posts in 2023, an increase of 10 from 2022. Nevertheless, there was a 60% drop in post engagement. This has been an industry issue since Meta altered algorithms to favour humans over businesses and paid posts over organic posts.
Popular organic posts featured O’Week, Uni Ball Album, Empire Times call for contributors, Diary announcements, SLTA, Parking Subsidy, and Development Grants. Facebook followers increased by 5.8% since 2022.
FUSA’s Google Business Profile received 266 calls, 2,488 direction/map-based clicks, and 288 website clicks, demonstrating the effectiveness of their online presence that only needs updating once a year.
2023 Highlights
The Media Team successfully enhanced collaboration and engagement with the Student Council through initiatives such as Co-Lab sessions. These sessions facilitated joint brainstorming and collaboration on projects, fostering a stronger working relationship between the staff and Student Council through a Students as Partners approach.
Student Elections - successfully implemented a complete rebranding initiative which was widely used across Flinders. The new campaign focused on utilising images of current Flinders students to best represent the diversity of our student cohort. The new design and communication strategy are expected to remain effective for an extended period.
LGBTQIA+ Report - Over the course of 2023, the Media Team conducted a comprehensive LGBTQIA+ Survey in partnership with the Queer Officer and President of the Queer Collective, gathering insights and perspectives from the student community. This initiative garnered a record-breaking response, with three times the number of participants compared to the previous Queer Report in 2020. The resulting report, filled with valuable insights, will guide future decision-making and initiatives within the university and FUSA.
2024 Goals
• Renewed focus on the Be a Better Human (BABH) campaign which aims to educate our community about issues around consent, sexual harassment and sexual assault, bystander education, respectful relationships and reporting and support options for University students.
• Finalise the redevelopment of the FUSA website with a bespoke new design and theme, redefining our online identity.
• Continue to build our social media presence which is a primary means of communicating important information about FUSA’s services, initiatives, events, and opportunities.
• Look at options for all student communications from FUSA staggered throughout the year.
• Following the success of 2023, continue to build the profile of Empire Times and further enhance the quality of the magazine. Focus on providing support to editors and increase the number and diversity of contributors. We aim to continue to foster a sense of community within the magazine, ensuring it remains a vibrant and inclusive platform.
FLINDERS UNIVERSITY
STUDENT ASSOCIATION
FUSA@FLINDERS.EDU.AU
FUSA.EDU.AU
LEVEL 1, STUDENT HUB, FLINDERS UNIVERSITY, BEDFORD PARK
