Putting You First
Annual Report 2010-11
Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union >> Annual Report 2010-11
Introduction. This year has been like no other at Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union. This year’s annual report provides a summary of our whirlwind ride through national campaigning, big wins for students across Anglia Ruskin; massive changes within your Students’ Union, sporting and student successes, increased representation and much more.
The 2010-11 Executive
Matt East SU President 2009-11
As your full time executive we have worked tirelessly to ensure your voice is heard by the University, and have lobbied for a student focus in all areas. Between us, we have spent over 3100 hours in meetings making your voice heard, 500 hours talking to you, 10 hours with Parliamentary leaders lobbying nationally, over 50 hours planning campaigns, 100 hours re-writing the representative structures and constitution, over 100 interviews with the local and national media, and over 500 hours travelling between our 5 campuses. Because of this, we’ve achieved more than ever before both locally and nationally. Throughout this report, you will see the huge impact we have had in more detail. We hope you find this an interesting read, and can see the impact we have had in all areas of your life at Anglia Ruskin.
Simon Ruggles Communications Officer 2010-11
Liz Dobson-McKittrick Academic Affairs Officer 2010-11
From the bottom of all of our hearts, we would like to thank all of you. It has been a pleasure representing you, fighting for you, and working tirelessly to ensure your Anglia Ruskin experience is the best it can be. Kelly Sweeney Student Experience Officer 2009-11 Cambridgeshire
Matt East
Simon Ruggles
Chair of the Trustee Board SU President
Vice President Communications Officer
Liz Dobson-McKittrick
Academic Affairs Officer
Maiken Andreasen Student Experience Officer 2009-11 Kelly Sweeney
Student Experience Officer (Cambridgeshire)
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Maiken Andreasen Student Experience Officer (Essex)
Essex
36%
Rise in academic appeals supported by the Advice Service. Officers increased the number of students having their say in the Opinion Poll 2010 by
124%
200 Anglia Ruskin students marched alongside 50,000 others to fight fee increases and budget cuts.
34%
of our Student Reps have been trained by SU Student Rep Coordinators.
700
Students voted in our Pilot referenda
968 New advice service cases were dealt with this year.
Increase in Student Reps trained by our Rep Coordinators An extra
9000
students joined the SU Byte email list.
We gathered over
2000
2976
comments by Going Out And Talking to students.
Members joined our new interactive website.
1184
1715
Students and Staff joined the Cambridge Gym.
The SU Executive collectively spent over
The Advice Service supported a
in University meetings representing you.
rise in general casework.
3100 hours
34%
1977
18,000
members voted in this years SU Elections.
9%
Wristbands were sold for Revolutions in Cambridge.
individual comments as part of our Election campaign.
239%
Rise in website page impressions.
Clubs and Socities had
3774
members join in 2010/11.
Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union >> Annual Report 2010-11
Representation. In 2010-11 we’ve represented you in more University meetings and forums than ever before. The executive team spent over 3100 hours in meetings representing your voice, amounting to a total of approximately 330 hours in University meetings and 295 hours in SU meetings per officer! This year’s team also spent over 500 hours out on campuses talking to students, and used a number of joint SU/University surveys and forums to gather your opinion including: » » » » » » » » »
The Typed Assessment and Feedback Survey University Communications and Technology Survey My.Anglia Usage Survey Personal Tutoring System Staff Research Survey Meet the Dean events Meet the Vice Chancellor Student Charter Forums Student Assemblies Officer Drop In Sessions
SU Staff and officers have used our Quality monitoring process to write a number of well researched and student focused reports which were put forward to the university including: » » » » » » » » » » »
Annual Quality Monitoring Assessment and Feedback Community on Campus Future of the ASPIRE Scheme Joint ARU/SU Communications working group proposal NSS 2010 Opinion Poll 2010 Speech Bubble Report 2010 Student Barometer Analysis SU Employability Strategy University Accommodation
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Student Reps The Student Rep system at Anglia Ruskin continues to grow from strength-to-strength, with more innovative ideas increasing representation within the University and SU. 560 Student reps were elected to represent cohorts across the university in 2010-11. 501 of these reps represented undergraduate cohorts, with a further 59 representing
postgraduates.
176 of our reps have attended training with Student Rep Coordinators, a 9% rise on the total percentage of reps trained in 2009-10. Our ground breaking rep accreditation scheme (in partnership with the faculty of education) began its pilot in September 2010. 25 Student reps began the training process for extra university credit. As of June 2011, 4 reps were ready to submit final assessments. The scheme will be offered to all reps from September 2011. Student Rep training materials and online access to reps is now being made available via the VLE. The Cambridge campus Student Rep Society launched in 2010 which has increased attendance to meetings
Meeting Representation SU Officers and reps ensure your voice is heard in over 40 meetings and working groups including: » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » »
Rep society committee members
» » » » » » »
Francesca Rust and Emily Short were jointly short-listed by the NUS for the
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and held our inaugural Student Rep Conference. We also played host to the NUS Regional Rep Conference.
» » » » »
by 23%.
Student Rep of the Year Award,
Academic Regulations Access Agreement Anglia Ruskin Student Experience Initiative (ARISE) Attendance Montioring Board of Governers Campus development Campus fit-out Campus Management Chaplaincy Council Community Liason Customer Service Excellence Employability Equality and Diversity Faculty Boards Faculty Learning Teaching and Assement Committees Governers Students Matters Grademark (e-submission) Health and Saftey Key Service Areas Learning Teaching & Assement Strategy Learning Teaching and Assesment Mulitmedia & Lecture Capture My.Anglia PMI Chelmsford Artwork Quality Standards Committee Retention Senate SITS Sports Strategy Student Charter Student Email Student Experience Committee Student Satisfaction Imrpovement Group Sustainability Timetabling TurnItIn University & Students Union VLE
Anglia Ruskin Reps were finalists for
NUS Course Rep of The Year
176 reps attended training with our Student Rep coordinators
we support
560
Student Reps
“
There are huge benefits to being a student rep, mostly a great feeling of pride and satisfaction at being able to help others and make a difference.
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Student Representatives Annual Questionnaire 2011
You said. We Did. This year we have achieved more wins for students than ever before.
You said: You were concerned about fee rises, budget cuts and the quality of university education.
2,500 students completed our Annual Opinion Poll, choosing to
We: Used our campaigns budget to support the NUS National demo against cuts and fee rises. 200 Anglia Ruskin students joined the 50,000 strong crowd at Demo 2010 to demonstrate against the coalition government.
focus on improving employability and reducing the impact of budget and course cuts. As a result we wrote our
employability strategy, and the University implemented its Employability working group.
ÂŁ40,000 was invested by ALSS
and FST into equipment for the SU academy to allow students to
experience working in a live music environment as part of their course.
We worked closely with the National Union of Students (NUS) to lobby MPs nationally to vote against the fee increase. This involved a large number of meetings with members of parliament both in London and local constituencies. We were successful in Cambridge in this task, with Julian Huppert re-signing the NUS Pledge to vote AGAINST the increase in fees on the 10th November.
Have your say in the
Opinion Poll
Putting You First
2010
You said: you would like better access to specialist software on campus and at home. The Student Union Executive 2010-11: Liz, Matt, Maiken, Simon & Kelly (From Left to Right) Postcard2.indd 1
03/09/2010 16:29:59
We: lobbied the University and worked with Anglia Ruskin Learning and Teaching/ISMS to find solutions. As of September 2011 you will be able to access your University desktop from anywhere in the world, including access to specialist photo and audio editing software, applications.
You said: Feedback on your assessments was often difficult to read and understand. We: teamed up with Anglia Ruskin Learning and Teaching to find out how we could improve feedback. Using your views, we lobbied the University who agreed that 90% of feedback must be typed and follow a consistent format by 2012.
e-submission is being piloted to be rolled out where applicable in
2012-13.
We lobbied Anglia Ruskin University to invest in Sports.
ÂŁ40,000
has been invested to date, into the University Sports Strategy
improvements were made to the price and quality of
University Catering. You said: social space on all campuses was poor and there were too few water fountains.
You said: IT at Anglia Ruskin was poor and needed huge investment.
We: Lobbied the Estates and Facilities department and won investment in open access spaces like the Tindal Café (Chelmsford) and the Common Room at Guild House (Peterborough).
We: Lobbied for an additional £20,000 investment into the VLE and online quiz tools. We have also started to form focus groups to gather your voice, to feed
More seating and outside furniture
has been placed around all campuses and water fountains were installed around all University buildings.
directly to the VLE project. Investment is being made into My.Anglia to improve communication and make
timetables/tasks easier to access after we asked for your opinion.
£220,000+
was invested by Anglia Ruskin University to refurbish and create social spaces after we lobbied for change.
More open access IT has been
made available on all campuses and for much longer including some specialist labs.
“
You have all made remarkable impacts on the university over the past two years; thank you for that. Your whole team has been the most impressive of all the SU teams I have known in my six years. Well done!
”
Nigel Cooper, University Chaplain (Cambridge) You said: The Cambridge library was a difficult environment to study in and improvements needed to be made.
You said: Uni Accommodation was poor value for money and improvements needed to be made to quality and customer service.
We: Lobbied and won more investment for air conditioning, better lighting and clear signage for silent/group working zones in Cambridge and Chelmsford.
We: Presented your feedback to the University alongside research of comparative universities and other feedback. The University has identified Accommodation as a key area for improvement and we will continue to lobby and support you in this area.
The Library has invested £100,000 in more books and resources. An additional £50,000 was spent on new computers and printers to increase access. Opening hours for learning labs have increased and we continue to work with Peterborough students to discuss and lobby on opening times.
We employed additional permanent staff members at Fulbourn and Peterborough Guild House to support Health and Social Care students.
You said: There was a lack of community on campus. We: took control of Volunteering to offer you more opportunities. We hosted cultural celebrations like Chinese New Year, and started Fair Trade Football for all on campus.
Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union >> Annual Report 2010-11
Advice Service. The Advice Service has had its most successful year yet with demand for advice service appointments continuing to rise beyond all expectations. In order to meet the growing needs of students we have
increased the number of adviser hours in Cambridge
and Chelmsford and found a number of new and inventive ways to guide our members through academic appeals. In the 10 month period August to May 2011, the Advice Service had assisted in 968 new cases, a rise of 24% on the same period last year. Advisers on the Cambridge campus dealt with 451 advice cases, whilst Chelmsford dealt with 517. The number of contacts (appointments, emails, telephone calls, letters and administrative functions etc.) made by advisers increased 8% as a result of the higher demand from our membership. A total of 18,975 individual contacts were recorded in the 10 month period. The advice service continue to assist students with a number of issues, 877 of cases related to academic matters. Advisers also assisted with a number of financial problems, health concerns, personal issues, accommodation problems, employment rights and more.
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Our advisers experienced a 36% rise in the number of academic appeals supported by the service. A total of 507 appeals were supported in the 10 months after August 2010.
One way of coping with the increasing demand for advice about appeals has been to hold appeals workshops: these have been run in Chelmsford for some time but were successfully introduced this year in Cambridge too.
Number of Cases by Faculty Health and Social Care
431
Science and Technology
207
Arts, Law & Social Sciences
141
I was helped through a situation which was extremely stressful for me. Without my Students’ Union Adviser I don’t know what I would have done (Student feedback from the Advice Service Feedback Sheets)
You told us in the Big 10 2010 survey that it should be easier to identify and use all of our services. We have invested in new shop front graphics on the
Lord Ashcroft Int. Bus. School
Cambridge campus for the Advice Service and larger signage in Chelmsford.
Education
Our appeals workshop slides and materials are now available online.
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Annual Report 2010-11 << Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union
Going for Gold. Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union was awarded a silver standard by the Students’ Union Evaluation Initiative at the end of the two year SUEI 1 project in June 2010. We were the first multi-site million+ Union to achieve a silver award, placing us amongst the best unions in the country.
Our New Values
SUEI is a continuous improvement model and in 2010-11, we embarked on SUEI 2, a three year project.
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At the beginning of the year, we revisited the Union’s core objectives. Our Mission, Values and Strategic Priorities were re-defined.
We are: »
»
Year 1 concentrates on any areas for improvement raised in the SUEI 1 final report. The
Union had four key areas to address: » »
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Long term financial security of the Union Further development of the Union’s relationship with
the University
Finding more ways to connect with non-
“ »
traditional students Further research into potential services and facilities for students across
Putting you first to make your Anglia Ruskin experience the best it can be.
» »
»
Representative. We listen, and
are responsive, to the wants and needs of all Anglia Ruskin students. Democratic. We are student led through our democratic structures including elections, referenda and councils. Independent. We are a separate organisation from the University, led by elected officers and supported by Union permanent and student staff. Campaigning. We campaign for change on issues that students tell us are important to them. Accessible. We are transparent and honest, easy to get involved with and inclusive of all students at Anglia Ruskin. Innovative. We are national leaders in providing relevant services in new and creative ways.
Early in the year, the Strategic Planning Group, comprised of all Officers and Managers, produced a three year strategic plan based on feedback from members and the four areas for improvement from SUEI 1. Building on the project management of SUEI 1, at the Staff & Officer Away day in January 2010, we brainstormed the strategic plan and departmental action plans have been drawn up in response to the four key areas. From those, we will be linking to Union-wide action plans for discussion and signing off with our SUEI mentor. In Year 2 of the project, 201112, we will be benchmarking against the standards of the SUEI 2 matrix to ensure that we are continually striving to
make a positive impact on the experience of Anglia Ruskin students in keeping with our mission statement.
the University
The representation of its members is central to the thinking and the work of Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union. (Comment from the SUEI Final Audit Report June 2010) Page 9
DR AF
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The Students’ Union is approachable and understanding of individuals needs, and proactive in changing issues surrounding students.
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Annual Report 2010-11 << Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union
Democracy. This year more of you have had your say in how the Union is run than ever before. Engagement with student democracy continues to diversify away from the traditional democratic structure, towards electronic methods and simpler, open forums. This year the focus has been on increasing membership engagement by making the SU Executive more approachable. We’ve also developed more polls, surveys and referenda than ever before, both on and offline.
New Constitution Last year, you told us via the Annual Student Survey that you wanted more say in what
your Students’ Union does.
The SU Executive Team spent over 100 hours researching diverse democratic structures and forms of engagement, to allow involvement from all areas of our student body. Our new SU constitution and supporting structures will allow us to represent all students more effectively, regardless of faculty or campus. University Governors and The Students’ Union Council has agreed to adopt this new model, which will be implemented from the start of the academic year (beginning September 2011). The new model will remove barriers to engagement and involvement, scrapping “red
tape” and complicated processes. New interactive forums will focus on key areas of member interest and allow students and student reps to voice their opinion on targeted topics. Union members can now submit their “idea” directly to the SU Executive which can be discussed and voted on by Academic or Experience Councils. We will be integrating our democratic processes into the University Structures to allow the University and Union to “close the feedback loop” much quicker than at present and instigate real student focused change at Anglia Ruskin. We have identified that we need to find new ways to engage with our growing membership, and will be holding online meetings and implementing processes that allow students to have their say from anywhere in the world. Our new website (launching in September 2011) will make us one of the first Students’ Unions in the country to digitise traditional democratic processes, showing we are leading the way yet again! Thanks to the work of the Executive team and staff, we can now legally register as a charity, governed by the new document. Charitable status will make it easier for members to scrutinise and have their say in the way the Union spends its money, as well as opening new grant funding opportunities to invest in services.
Referenda and Polls We held our first ever Referenda at Anglia Ruskin as a pilot for the new constitution. During semester 2 we asked our membership to vote on the Unions stance towards University and Colleges Union (UCU) industrial action.
700 Students voted with a 68% majority to support lecturers and academics.
We had over 2500 Students vote for their Priority Campaign in the Opinion Poll, a rise by over 1000 votes from the previous year.
Elections We had another record turn out in the SU elections. This year due to the changes in democratic structures, we only held elections for Full Time Officers. Regardless of this, we still had 1977 members vote in the elections, hitting the SUEI benchmark target of 10% of
campus based members voting in the election.
Last year, we launched the
Speech Bubble Campaign, which highlighted the real issues students were having on campus. This resulted in significant investment from the University to resolve the majority of the issues highlighted. This year, we ran the same campaign prior to the elections. We had over
1715 comments submitted, an increase of over 25% on
the previous year’s result. This report will again be presented to the University to highlight key areas of student dissatisfaction. We have proved yet again that the traditional methods of democratic involvement are not always the best, and we can increase student engagement by diversifying what we do and how we do it. This is a continuous growth area that will evolve with Anglia Ruskin and the Students’ Union. Page 11
Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union >> Annual Report 2010-11
Reaching further. This year we have reached more of our members than ever before, with more students joining our website, taking part in Union activities, having their say, or simply using our offices to ask for help, advice or guidance. We continue to follow our three year Communications Strategy to increase membership engagement. In March 2011 our Communications team merged with Student Representation. The new team is managed by our Representation and Communications manager, acknowledging the close link between effective
representation and communication.
Website Our website is now more interactive and functional than ever before. We recognise that angliastudent.com is a
valuable communication tool which is increasingly popular with our members. As
the University digital learning provision grows both on and off campus, we continue to research and develop innovative ways of engaging electronically. In September 2010 we launched a new version of our website including online clubs and society membership and payment, ticket sales and shop, which has been extremely successful with our members. During the 10 month period Page 12
August 2010 - May 2011 a total of 2976 members registered on the site. 1120 (37.6%) of these members used the service to join a club or society. 669 also used the website to purchase a Sports Federation insurance card. Clubs pages were the most popular on the site and have increased participation in Clubs and Societies.
78,260 unique visits were made to
the site during the August-May period, amounting to 598,578 page views. This is a 239% rise on the same period in 2009-10, illustrating the popularity and growth of the service.
£28,987 of sales were generated
innovative way. The Students’ Union now has its own space within the VLE which holds a selection of Student Rep training material. Helpful videos and other resources will be made available to download. In 2011-12 we will be working closely with the VLE Project Board to integrate the Student Rep system within all pathway pages for students studying on and off campus.
Noticeboards
Like other digital communications within the Union, our regular email newsletter the SU Byte continues to grow in popularity.
As Anglia Ruskin continues to invest in capital building and campus projects, the number of touchdown points for student information has also increased. Working with faculties and Estates & Facilities, we have introduced 8 new student focused noticeboards, including targeted boards for Student
The Union continues to deepen its understanding of our membership and used additional data in 2010-11 to target the SU Byte further, providing timely and relevant information.
We are committed to working directly with University senior management to increase these spaces into 2011-12.
via the website, including Clubs and Societies memberships, shop and event tickets.
SU Byte
An additional 9,000+ students joined the SU Byte this year, increasing the subscription to over 22,000 members. In 2010-11 we edited 36 issues of the SU Byte, creating a staggering 396,381 email deliveries. The Byte was read 33,798 times, an open rate of 8.5%. This is an increase of 10,458 on last year.
VLE With large numbers of Anglia Ruskin students enrolling on distance and blended learning pathways, our representation and communication team identified the need to approach membership engagement in an
Representation.
Branding You told us during the Big 10 2010 Survey that you would like to be more aware of the services offered and managed by the Union. We have invested in new branding and signage to make our facilities easier to identify.
GOATing Going Out And Talking to students is core to increasing engagement, accessibility and accountability within the Union. This year we gathered over 2,000 comments face-to-face alone, over 1,400
â&#x20AC;&#x153;
...In two years I have been here I feel that the
communications
between the Union and students has been so much better and I feel the union is always trying to better student life for us...
78,260
unique web visits
Comment from the Big 10 Survey 2011
1500+
Comments from Going Out And Talking to our members
This year we launched Executive Officer twitter accounts to make your represenatives more accountable. The team sent over
3000 tweets and gained
634 followers
Building community.
“
Our Student Activities team successfully captured the demands of our colourful and dynamic community, strengthening links with the International Student Advice Service and increasing participation in clubs, societies and give it a go sessions both on and off campus.
Being part of clubs and societies has made me feel so much more involved in University life getting to know such a variety of people is awesome. The clubs and societies give a great support network which really helps when the pressure is on! I couldn’t be without them!
During 2010-11, clubs and societies had 3774 members across Cambridge and Chelmsford campuses. 543 more members joined a club or society this year, a 17% increase on 2009-10, The Student Activities team supported a total number of 87 clubs and societies, an increase of 8 on the previous year, including our first society at the Faculty of Health and Social care
Rep Society President
Peterborough campus.
Club and Society Membership 2010-11 Cambridge No. of Clubs: 25 No. of Members: 1494 No. of Societies: 43 No. of Members: 1459
Chelmsford No. of Clubs: 8 No. of Members: 410 No. of Societies: 11 No. of Members: 411
Sporting Successes We have had a number of successes on and off the sporting fields in 201011, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our members, and support and coaching from our staff. Our number of BUCS entries increased for the 7th year in a row including a growth in entries for individuals. We celebrated individual successes in Judo, Boxing, and Athletics. Cambridge Men’s Football 1st won their division whilst Men’s Badminton, Football 2nd and Volleyball were all 2nd in their leagues. Women’s Volleyball were also runners up. 18 Teams were entered into BUCS in total. Anglia Ruskin scored a total of 161 BUCS points, finishing 92nd out of 146 Universities. A total of £45,000 was spent to support teams and individuals entered into BUCS.
Cambridge Ultimate Frisbee came third in the winter and spring collegiate league and hosted their
own tournament. Cambridge Cheerleaders finished 4th in their annual BCA competition.
In other leagues the Chelmsford Rugby 7’s team won their Sports Tour tournament, whilst the Chelmsford Cheerleaders finished 5th in their BCA competition.
2010-11 was our
most succesful
sporting year in the BUCS Championships.
497
Students attended Give It A Go trips and activities Society Successes
Societies continue to broaden their activities with the support of the Union, which has contributed to a
Chelmsford Awards Fresher of The Year
Adam Crabb (Men’s Football)
rise in society members.
Most Organised Team
In Cambridge, the Literary society hosted a guest poetry performance from Sophia Blackwell, whilst Theatre Arts put on various performances including The Producers.
Team of The Year
Forensic Science enjoyed a visit to a riot training centre. The Reps society continues to grow and has been recognised by the NUS as best practice in Students’ Unions. LGBT held their own “freshers week”,
Men’s Rugby
Men’s Rugby & Men’s Football
Society of The Year Education
Captain of The Year
Phil Nicholson (Adventure Sports)
President of The Year Rachel Dunnett (RAG)
Community Award RAG
Most Sociable
to welcome new members.
Men’s Rugby
Chelmsford societies have
Give It A Go
had another successful year, with Archifunk hosting a guest lecture by the director of Dunster Architects (Bill Dunster), and visiting Manchester. The Education society organised sign language workshops for trainee teachers over the course of 4 weeks.
Cambridge Awards Fresher of The Year
Benedicte Danielsen (Dance)
Most Organised Team Ultimate Frisbee
Team of The Year
Womens Volleyball
Society of The Year Reps Society
Captain of The Year
Louis Rose (Men’s Football 1st)
Community Award Christian Union
Super Star Award
Francesca Rust (Reps Society)
Doug Cosnett Award
Nicola Hodge (Cheerleading) Luke JC Smith (Dance)
Give It A Go activities were once again well received in 2010/2011, particularly amongst the international student community. We have strengthened our relationship with the International Student Support Office to gain greater understanding of the demographic, widen our offering and increase participation.
Cambridge
Over the academic year over 263 students participated in GIAG’s. We held a total of 9 for the campus. The most popular trip was the traditional tour of London at the start of each semester. Over 130 students took part and experienced the sights and sounds of the city via amphibious Duck vehicle. The Sushi GIAG session was extremely popular with the event selling out with over 70 students attending the session, which made it the most popular GIAG activity ever.
Our Halloween trip to “Fright Night” at Thorpe Park was also a sell out. Our Cadbury’s World trip also experienced particularly high demand. Extra coaches had to
be booked for both events.
In semester 2 the cocktail masterclass sold out in only a couple of days with over 30 students attending. Trips to Colchester Zoo and Brighton were also fully booked.
Chelmsford We continue to assess the needs of our Chelmsford students to improve the impact of GIAG events. We recognise that given the complex demographic of our members on the campus, our team must continue to diversify our services in 2011/12. In semester 1 the Sushi GIAG session was extremely popular with the event selling out, the netball session also proved popular,
encouraging students to form a netball committee, which in turn formed a club and increased the numbers that competed in the matches in the SESSA league.
Fright Night at Thorpe Park was also sold out, Colchester Zoo and the cocktail masterclass were also well attended. In Semester two afternoon tea went very well, and was particularly popular with international arrivals. The trips to London, Ikea / Lakeside, Greenwich, Cambridge, Windsor Castle and Brighton all
sold out very quickly.
Over the year over 234 students participated in GIAGs in Chelmsford.
Building community contined. Gym
This year has been the most successful year to date for the Cambridge SU Gym, following its move to refurbished facilities in 2009. In June 2011 we had 1184 Gym members, close to our target of 1200. This is a rise of 176 members on last year. A large number of our members are international students. This year the gym teamed up with Student Support Services to run the GOALS Gym Group pilot scheme that was aimed at students who have been diagnosed with depression or anxiety. Research suggests that exercise is a good form of therapy to increase the chemicals in the brain that encourage happiness. The 8 week scheme includes 8 students and at the time of publishing was an ongoing success. We will gather feedback at the end of the period to determine how we continue to grow this service. The students have an individual gym program given to them and a qualified member of staff supervising their progress throughout the 8 sessions so that they are on hand to offer any help or advice that is needed. The Gym has continued to offer additional services due to demand from students and staff. We continue to offer additional personal training and fitness testing, alongside our standard personal gym development programme.
38.2%
of Gym users are international students Studio
Apple Regional Training Centre Our Apple Regional Training Centre (RTC) focuses on improving students’ creativity and computer skills by using Apple technology. We are the first Students’ Union in the country to collaborate with the computing giant.
In September we launched our new Cambridge Dance Studio which has experienced a very high demand from a wide variety of students, clubs/ societies, university departments and external organisations.
The RTC provides students with a welcoming environment where they can enhance their learning using top of the range technology and help them to progress further in their studies.
Throughout the academic year the studio was fully booked from 5pm – 9pm every day during the week (Monday – Friday). Our members have been eager to utilise the space on campus due to its central location.
During 2010/11 we held 5 training sessions to help encourage students in becoming more advanced in video making and podcasting, as well as Apples’ equivalent to excel, word and power point. The sessions have benefited all students who have attended the sessions.
A large number of clubs and societies use the space, including: Cheerleading, Dance, Rugby, Netball, Kickboxing, Judo and Wing Chun. Students studying in the Drama department have also used the space regularly for performance rehearsals. Students on the MSc Physiotherapy course are able to use the space to learn exercises that can be used as part of patients’ rehabilitation from illness or injury. We have also had some non student run classes in the studio and this includes Pole Fitness, Boxercise, Tai Chi, Self Defence and Zumba, which have been successful with both students and university staff.
The computers will be available to use during the day and will be based in our Student Activities Centres on both core campuses.
Volunteering In March we took over management of The Anglia Ruskin Volunteering Service. The move has provided the opportunity to review what the service offers and reshape it in new innovative ways. The main focus of activity so far has been to ensure that the basic structure of the service is up and running; to establish collaborative relationships within the University; and to build a database of volunteering opportunities within the community that meets the needs of our students. Since March, 75 students have registered with the service, and this number is expected to increase greatly in the next academic year. Formation of an accreditation process for all volunteers and the searching out and targeting of volunteering opportunities to specific pathways are both projects currently under development for next year.
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;
18,000
The SU helped us as International Students smoothly transition into a new place and culture. The first few weeks are the most important!
wristbands were sold for Revolutions in 2010/11 Entertainments
This year has been a difficult year for Bars and Entertainments due to the continued cost of running both venues.
Comment from the Big 10 Survey 2011
SUpermaket Bus
Fresherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s events were sold out in
International Activities
The SUpermarket bus has provided an invaluable service for students again this year. Asda funded the scheme in Cambridge, whilst the Chelmsford service took students to Tesco (although this did not receive any corporate funding).
We continue to support our large international community and work closely with International Student Support to offer additional services and events to increase participation and encourage multiculturalism on campus.
The service ran on a Tuesday and a Thursday on both campuses
In 2010/11 we offered a wide range of support to help new students integrate into the university community.
collecting alternately from Halls of residence around the cities.
A total of 2348 students took the bus on the Cambridge campus, a decrease of 8.5% on last year following the opening of the Tesco Express convenience store opposite the campus. 710 students used the
Chelmsford service.
During semester one our staff and officers ran a Salsa night, welcome quiz and tours of Cambridge and Chelmsford in addition to the Give It A Go Programme. We also put on a special SUpermarket Bus service for students who could not travel with groceries. We also provided an international student shuttle from campus to university and private accommodation. A similar programme was provided for the semester two intake. Throughout the year we worked with International Support Services to mark religious festivals. During Chinese New Year, we held Lion Dances, local Chinese shops visited campus and Chinese food was served in the refectory. We also put on events to celebrate Diwalli in Cambridge and Chelmsford including Indian food, music and dance. Both were extremely well
attended.
Cambridge and Chelmsford which saw an increase in the uptake of events. The strong sense of community between clubs and societies contributed to Wednesday night being our only profitable evening in both Cambridge and Chelmsford. 18000 wristbands were sold for Wednesday at Revolutions and links were made with Chicagoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in Chelmsford including a free shuttle bus service. Halloween and Christmas were sell outs on both primary campuses, and faculty events throughout the year were well attended, however did not balance out losses incurred by our Friday night Flirt event. The 2011 summer balls were great successes with Cambridge moving to Abington Hall with an outside festival feel. Chelmsford was held on campus and was the most succesful yet, selling over 450 tickets. Live music in Cambridge was well attended with bands like Everything Everything playing. Both bars had success with the Best Bar None scheme, Cambridge achieved a gold award and Chelmsford received a silver recognising our commitment to the safety of our members.
Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union >> Annual Report 2010-11
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Finance. 44%
It was another challenging year for the Union, resulting in a loss of £65k after depreciation of £127k and exceptional items of £70k. We made a loss on our trading areas, after depreciation, of £60k. In summer 2009, the decision was taken to close the main Cambridge bar and replace it with a bigger and better Gym and Activities Centre and to reduce the catering and bar provision in Chelmsford and establish a separate Advice Service and Activities Centre. It was another difficult trading year for our venues and Untitled 1 Affiliations retail outlets and 2the Union is Communicati 3 reviewing the 2010-11 figures to ons Student future planning. 20 inform Without Activities doubt, Advice & strategic25decisions Representatio will have to be made to n Offices, 44 ensure that the Union is viable Staffing and and able to deliver core Administratio n services going forward. Finance Travel & Vehicles
3 3
25%
We spent just under half of the Union’s budget on providing advice and representation, student activities and clubs and societies.
(Gill Thompson, General Manager, Anglia Ruskin SU)
Affiliations Communications Student Activities Advice & Representation Offices, Staffing and Administration Finance Travel & Vehicles
>
3% 3% 2% 3%
20%
Expenditure for the year to 31 July 2010 is shown in the pie chart diagram.
We operate over four campuses at Chelmsford, Cambridge, Fulbourn and Peterborough. Our Officers and Managers are ‘cross campus’ employees and a considerable amount of time and money is spent travelling between campuses to meet students’ needs, attend meetings, support staff and carry out day to day activities. This is reflected in the cost of travel and vehicles. We spent just under half of the Union’s budget on providing advice and representation, student activities and clubs and societies.
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44%
25%
Affiliations Communications Student Activities Advicethe & Representation At time of writing, audited accounts to 31 July 2010 are Offices, Staffing and Administration nearing completion and the information on this page therefore Finance Travel & Vehicles comprises final draft data, which is subject to VAT review.
Annual Report 2010-11 << Anglia Ruskin Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union
Awards. Once again our venues were awarded Best Bar None standard as part of the National scheme to provide safe licenced venues. Cambridge won a Gold award, whilst Chelmsford gained Silver.
We continue to commit to lowering our carbon footprint and operate according to the principles of Green Impact. This year we were awarded Green Impact Silver for our efforts across all four core campuses.
Anglia Ruskin Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union contiues to operate under the principles of our current chartermarks including; SUEI Silver, Community Legal Service, Investors in People, and the Fitness Industry Association.
Building the future. Over the last six years, our trading areas, with the exception of our Cambridge shop, have operated at a loss. Now approaching the end of the 2010/11 trading year, this trend has unfortunately continued. As a result of this decline, we have made radical changes to our commercial structure to ensure that the Union is financially secure so that we are able to meet our strategic objectives and deliver our mission: Putting you first to make your Anglia Ruskin experience the best it can be
These changes will allow the Union to deliver its core function of
representation and engagement
whilst retaining an events programme. In Chelmsford, the campus has a number of retail and catering outlets and it has been impossible for the Union shop to compete in this market. The shop will therefore cease trading and we plan to use the space to launch our volunteering initiative, bringing new opportunities to students and enhancing employability. The Union bar will cease daytime trade and the space will be available to students as a social meeting place and for group study. The bar will be open for a full freshers programme and on Wednesday nights throughout teaching weeks.
In Cambridge, the Academy will no longer host the Flirt Friday nights as it has become impossible to run these without making a substantial loss. We will offer a full freshers programme and we will be
building on the success
of the Wednesday nights at Vodka Revolutions by working with other venues in town offering a greater variety of events. The very popular Summer Balls will continue to be organised on both the Cambridge and Chelmsford campuses and we look forward to welcoming students to all our events.
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