Overview
This strategy covers the next three academic years from 1st August 2011. It focuses on the areas our members told us were important to them. In order to deliver these aspirations, we shall work within the framework set out below at all times striving to meet our objects as a registered charity. The timescales to meet our aspirations may have to be amended depending on the resources available to us given the current economic climate and the funding from the University. Our quantified annual Operational Plans are laid out in a separate document. We shall test these Operational Plans each year against this Strategy.
Our Objects The purpose of Hull University Union is the advancement of Education of students at the University of Hull. We will achieve this by: 1. Promoting the interests and welfare of students at the University of Hull during their course of study and representing, supporting and advising Members. 2. Being the recognised representative channel between students and the University and any other external bodies.
3. Providing cultural, social, sporting and recreational activities, opportunities to volunteer in the community and forums for discussion and debate for the personal development of its Members.
Our Vision Our vision is that we aspire to be one of the leading Student Unions in the country which we shall measure by having been accredited with and retained a Gold Award in the Student Union Evaluation Initiative (SUEI) by the end of 2014.
Our Mission
“In everything we do, HUU will be our members 1st choice every time�. We have a wide range of services and a diverse student membership. We seek to have our members choose to use our services before others.
Our Values Supporting We are here to support our members whenever they need help and advice
Democracy Our members will have ownership of the organisation.
Quality We shall aim to do the best we can in everything we are involved in.
Fun When our members are socialising, we shall help you have fun.
Diversity and equality We shall welcome all members and treat them all equally as a member.
Representing We shall ensure our members views are known to the University and others.
Safety Our services will be open to all without fear or favour
Key Success Themes
Our charity staff will align their individual objectives against the key themes of this plan:
1. Supporting the Education of our members. 2. Offering impartial advice in producing effective, balanced Campaigns. 3. Ensuring everything we undertake or provide is the best Value for Money. 4. Supporting our members to enable them to have a positive experience at the University of Hull. 5. Providing opportunities for our members to enhance their Employability and Life Skills. 6. Making the Union a Fun place to be. 7. Improving the quality of student Housing and Accommodation. 8. Consulting with members on our plans and actions. 9. Treating our students as Members of their organisation. 10. Improving Students’ Services in Scarborough
The Seven Principles of Life at HUU (after the Nolan Report)
(Relating to members of the Union Executive Committee – Student Officers, Trustees and Heads of Department)
2. Integrity We should not place ourselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might influence us in the performance of our official duties.
3. Objectivity In carrying out HUU business, including making appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, we should make choices on merit.
4. Accountability We are accountable for our decisions and actions to HUU members and must submit ourselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to our office.
5. Openness We should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that we take. We should give reasons for our decisions and restrict information only when the wider membership interest clearly demands.
6. Honesty We have a duty to declare any private interests relating to our HUU duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the interests of HUU.
7. Leadership We should promote and support these principles by leadership and example. Following extensive research using focus groups and quantitative surveys amongst a representative group of our members, we have chosen to focus on the following themes for the duration of the Plan. We have set ourselves benchmarks for measurable success which we aim to meet and surpass by the end of the 2013-14 academic year.
1. Selflessness We should take decisions solely for the benefit of HUU. We should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for ourselves, our family, or our friends.
The content of this document will be communicated to our members in innovative ways to ensure it is understood and allows them to scrutinise what we do.
Theme 1. Education
We intend to focus on improving:
• The student experience and the quality of academic provision students receive. This includes: ºº ºº ºº ºº
Teaching quality Levels and quality of feedback. Your learning environment. Our support to you.
We shall accomplish this by:
• Improving the effectiveness of our student representation system. • Consulting and prioritising our campaigns to meet your academic needs. • Adequately resourcing our support services.
We shall measure our success by having:
• Improved scores in the NSS for feedback and the learning environment (facilities) benchmarked against the 2011 scores • 80% answer “somewhat effective” or “very effective” to the question “the course rep system is effective” benchmarked against March 2010 score of 36%. • Achieved Level 5 on the HUU Course Rep benchmark and NUS Student Engagement toolkit benchmark • Improved ratings of our support services year on year
Ideas to deliver the plan
• We shall explore the provision of additional support within the Education Zone by employing additional staff. Their role will be to offer assistance in all administrative and research based duties. They will coordinate the minutes of staff/student committees, track attendance of Course Reps, assist the VP Education with any projects as well as help to organise events such as Academic Conference. They may also be responsible for the input of data relating to the University’s HEAR project. A detailed role description will be drawn up and applicants will be selected using our normal talent recruitment procedures. • We shall explore the provision of additional help for Course Representatives using student Faculty Coordinators. These students will identify faculty issues and report in to VP Education and the Zone. They will be responsible for ensuring there is preparation for staff/student meetings and Faculty Boards and communicating outcomes to Faculty Reps through social media and Department and Faculty notice boards. A detailed role description will be drawn up and applicants will be selected using our normal talent recruitment procedures. • We shall look at the best way to implement the above at the Scarborough Campus and how best HUU can help the University development the Cross Campus faculty approach • We shall promote and incentivise the role of course representatives so that others aspire to volunteer. We shall reward good work and wins for students. We shall make it easier for students to know who is their representative is and how to contact them through departmental notice Boards, the education site on hullstudent.com and ebridge. • We shall organise regular training for course reps so they know what is expected of them. Regular Academic Council meetings will be held to consult on policy and plans and feedback on our impact. We shall investigate alternative ways of consultation. • We shall lobby for improved teaching and learning facilities using fact based research and campaigning. We shall use NSS results to focus our efforts by department to improve feedback and your learning environment. The priority in the period of this plan will be to have an improved Library on the Hull Campus. • We shall continue to lobby the University for an improved Brynmor Jones library and work collaboratively to create a redevelopment that best serves students needs. We will also work to improve the newly redeveloped Keith Donaldson library in Scarborough.
Theme 2. Campaigning
• Giving you the opportunity to rank them using online resources • Publishing our campaign plans and reporting on their effectiveness
We shall measure our success if 80% answer positively to the question:
• “HUU campaigns and lobbies effectively on our behalf”
Ideas to deliver the plan
• We will ask you what you wish us to campaign about and if your campaign is chosen ask you to help us.
We intend to:
• Identify issues that affect our members • Inform you of these • Let you prioritise what is important to you
We shall accomplish this by:
• Holding annual surveys to identify important issues for you
• We intend to carry out less but more effective campaigns. We shall identify campaigns that we feel will affect you and ask you to help prioritise their importance through electronic surveys. We shall also ask you how you will judge the campaign to have been successful. • Our campaigns will be planned in Semester 1 following consultation with you and delivered in Semester 2. • We shall use innovative ways to campaign not always based around our buildings. • We shall review our effectiveness and let you know how well we have done.
Theme 3. Value for Money
We shall measure our success if we have a mean score of over 4 on a scale of 1-5 on the statement:
• “HUU provides Value For Money in our commercial services”
Ideas to deliver the plan
• We shall take part in the promotions organised by NUS Services Limited (NUSSL) to give you great offers. They will be well advertised to allow you to take advantage of them. • On the Scarborough Campus will we offer you similar or better promotions organised by NUSSL in our shop • We plan to reorganise the ground floor area of University House in the Mall to enhance our quick service, hot, hand held food range.
We intend to:
• Focus our services on value for money • Identify ways of rewarding your use of our services • Cater for a wide range of budgets
We shall accomplish this by:
• Informing you how our prices compare with other local outlets. • Introducing loyalty rewards. • Providing a wide range of food and drink at various price points.
• We shall benchmark against local pubs and shops and let you know how we perform against individual products. • As part of our promotion of membership benefits, we shall promote how surpluses made in our commercial services are used to improve our buildings, equipment and membership services. • We shall use Mystery Shoppers to check on our operations and use their reports to improve service standards. • We shall engage with the University management at Scarborough to allow us to sell products at the same price as in Hull.
Theme 4. Membership Support
• Holding an annual survey to find out what you want and where you want it • Attending all University meetings and influencing decisions to your benefit
We shall measure our success if you agree with the following statements (80% agree): • It is easy to access support from HUU
• We trust the impartiality and quality of the advice we receive • HUU holds the University to account • I choose to use HUU support services
Ideas to deliver the plan
• We shall continue with rigorous selection and training of our staff to ensure they have the skills, empathy and aptitude to provide you with excellent support and guidance. • We shall undertake a review of our branding to ensure you know what services we manage on your behalf • We shall review our service opening times to make it easier for everyone to access our services and wherever possible take the service to the membership • At a time of increasing financial hardship, we shall focus on providing the most appropriate financial advice and gaining access to alternative funding for those in need.
We intend to:
• Make our independent support to you more visible so that you choose us to help you • Improve your access to our impartial support and advice • Find out what you need help with and do something about it • Demonstrate that we can hold the University to account for its actions • Support you through problems with your academic work (see Theme 1.Education)
We shall accomplish this by:
• Branding our services consistently so that you can differentiate our services from others • Establishing when our services need to be open and where we need to come to you
• We will make the Advice Centre drop-in sessions in Scarborough more visible buy running them from the Union area. • We shall target hard to reach members in Scarborough to find out when they wish and need to access our support services • We shall organise events that relate to impartial advice and guidance such as Free Your Money Days, Housing Advice etc
Theme 5. Employability and Lifeskills
Ideas to deliver the plan
• We shall continue to run the Hi-Lights HUU Award for HUU volunteers which will enhance their understanding of skills developed whilst volunteering at HUU growing each year in numbers on the scheme. We shall work with the careers service using their expertise in CV writing/interviews inviting external companies to run sessions. • We shall aim to develop the HUU Award to become an accredited module • The Hi-Lights HUU Award will reward those volunteers who complete with a team building day and a award at the Volunteers awards evening • The Job Exchange and Volunteering Hub will work together to run CV workshops initially once a semester. • The Job Exchange will promote Careers Service events – such as Recent Graduate workshops. • The Job Exchange will aim to advertise an increasing number of local job vacancies, internships and jobs tailored to specific degree courses. • We shall help the Careers Service to promote graduate jobs vacancies using our websites and other media. • We shall continue to work with the Careers Service and Academic departments to offer students short term work placements in the Union in areas related to their degree eg Human Resource Management.
To help you we intend to:
• Reward and recognise you for the skills acquired whilst working or volunteering with us • Work in partnership with the Careers service to promote employability and employment opportunities
We shall accomplish this by:
• Using a recognised accreditation scheme to record skills and experience gained in voluntary work • Promoting and publicising internships, career skills events and modules
We shall measure our success by the number of members enrolled on the accreditation scheme and an increasing employability of Hull graduates.
Theme 6. Having Fun
We shall measure our success if you agree with the statement (80% agree) • I have fun and enjoy myself when I visit the Union socially
We intend to make the Union: • A fun place to be
• A place to meet friends and enjoy yourself
We shall accomplish this by:
• Providing you with a wide variety of social events, clubs and societies • Having friendly staff to help you have fun and operating with relaxed rules • Having entertainment and events programmes catering for a variety of music tastes • Supporting individuals and groups in performing arts productions • Providing the opportunity to volunteer in the community
Ideas to deliver the plan:
• We shall continue to encourage the formation of Societies and provide staff support to help and advise • We shall continue to have a vibrant Athletic Union with a wide variety of sports and lots of social events to build teams and friendship • We shall campaign for the improvement of sporting and social facilities on the Scarborough Campus (see Theme 10) • By the end of the planning period we will provide more meeting space on the 1st floor of University House to complement those on others floors to enable more of you to meet at your convenience • We shall ensure Welcome Week and the End of Year Ball are memorable events in the social calendar
Theme 7. Quality of Student Housing and Accommodation
We intend to:
• Ensure that all student accommodation meets an accepted standard
We shall accomplish this by:
• Putting in place a student led housing accreditation service • Monitoring through surveys the quality of student accommodation • Ensuring that there is effective and independent advice in HUU to deal with your housing queries and problems
We shall measure our success if we have an effective housing accreditation scheme as judged by you and you tell us that the quality of accommodation is improving year on year.
Ideas to deliver the plan
• Our first priority will be deciding the type of accreditation system which will suit Hull and Scarborough accommodation. We shall take advice and visit other Student unions. We will then review how we are involved with the Scheme. • We shall include housing quality in our annual Satisfaction Surveys in order that we can understand where we need to focus our attention • Our Advice Centre web pages will contain up to date information and advice to help you make informed choices on where you live and your rights as tenants • We shall continue to give Housing benefit advice for those in need of help.
Theme 8. Consultation with our Members.
We will inform you of: • The results of our consultation • Our actions • Our impact on and off campus
We shall measure our performance if we score 80% answering positively, the question “Do you feel my opinions count in the decision making process at HUU?”
Ideas to deliver the plan We intend to:
• Identify important issues through membership consultations and surveys • Allow you to tell us what is most important to you
We will accomplish this through: • Online surveys
• Ideas cafes where you can give instant feedback • Feedback from our representative structure • External market research • Suggestion schemes
• We will ask you what you wish us to campaign about and if your campaign is chosen ask you to help us. • We shall use referenda for important issues so you feel you have a say. • Your Student Officers will consult with you regularly on a one to one basis and give you the opportunity to question • We shall use student media (JAM, Hullfire, Tide, Bassment Radio, hullstudent.com)to inform you of our plans and achievements • We shall use results and comments obtained from surveys to build our action plans
Theme 9. Knowledge of Membership of HUU
We shall accomplish this by:
• Branding our services consistently so you know the value of being a member • Rewarding membership • Informing you of the benefits of membership
We will measure our success by having at least 95% of you saying you know you are members by the end of 2013.
Ideas to deliver the plan
• We shall review the best way to provide you with a huu membership card
We intend to change this by:
• We shall make you feel special and welcome by personalising your relationship with us. We shall investigate ways of rewarding you individually for being a member or involved as a volunteer, as a customer or playing sport
• Giving membership prominence in everything we do
• We shall look at ways of rewarding your loyalty in our commercial services.
• Demonstrate the benefits of membership to all students in our diverse population
• We shall continue to offer you a fun environment in our club and bars • We shall promote the benefits of membership using a membership handbook
Theme 10. Improving Students’ Services in Scarborough.
• Maintaining an open dialogue with the University and through lobbying, to help the University deliver the services you need • Informing you of the changes that have been made in services that the Union has influenced
We will measure our success by having at least 80% of students responding positively to how HUU has impacted on the University Services at the Scarborough Campus by the end of 2013.
Ideas to deliver the plan
• We will continue to work with the University to improve the current catering facilities that the campus offers • We shall work in partnership with the University to deliver a cost effective plan that allows the campus to have a social events calendar that is sustainable throughout the academic year. • We shall lobby the University to offer more social space on campus.
We intend to change this by:
• Focusing our efforts to deliver on themes 1 to 9 in this strategy
We shall accomplish this by:
• Continuing to work in partnership with the University
• We shall work with the University to increase what is offered from the University’s bar Calvino’s • We shall continue to work with the University to provide sports facilities on and off campus that are of a similar standard to the ones provided at the Hull Campus