SUBU Impact Report 2011/12

SUBU Impact Report

=  x 60 students

18,000 BU Students represented in colour by SUBU involvement.

2011 2012

R eg ist ered Ch a r it y Number : 1144886

Key

1x

Advice

Clubs & Socs

Commercial

the hub

Clients

Members

Student staff

Registered volunteers

Nerve

Rag

Student Reps

Green

Student media contributors

Fundraising volunteers

Representing academic issues

SUBU's Green Initiatives

Lansdowne

Partnership Colleges

Officer Campaigns

BU campus in Bournemouth town centre

BU Partner Colleges

Campaigns organised by SUBU throughout the year

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" By 2016, SUBU will make a positive impact upon every BU student's journey. "

Contents

Foreword

by Alan James, General Manager & Toby Horner, SU President

2011/12 was an outstanding year for the Students’ Union at Bournemouth University, its staff, elected officers and trustees.

Governance Our charity status explained.

Our strategic themes How we have achieved each part of our vision this year.

Accreditations Awards we have achieved this year.

Full-time Officer reports The Full-time Officers reflect on the year.

Finance

SUBU has formally registered as a charity and has a brand new vision ‘To have a positive impact upon every BU student’s journey by 2016.’

SUBU has taken great steps towards reaching this target.

Records have been broken, awards have been won, and, thanks to the leadership of the Full-Time Officers and Executive Committee, SUBU recently achieved a very creditable Bronze award in the national Students’ Union Evaluation Initiative (SUEI).

Strong representation remains at the core of what we do, shown by the record numbers of Student Reps trained and engaged with BU, and by students seen by the SUBU Advice service.

Our achievements this year at Lansdowne campus have opened our eyes to the needs of the students studying there, and we are particularly proud of the improvements to the physical environment at Lansdowne that we have been able to influence.

This Impact Report details some of the highlights from the last year, categorised by our five Strategic Themes.

A breakdown of SUBU’s financial health.

SUBU as a major collective force for all students.

The Future 2012/13 An overview of SUBU’s values & next year's Full-time Officers introduced.

Contacts How to get in touch.

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SUBU understood and recognised as well as more accessible and approachable for ALL students.

SUBU as creating friendships.

SUBU as helping people to realise their potential.

SUBU will be ethical and environmental in its activities.

Both SUBU and BU are committed to creating the best student experience we can for students at Bournemouth University and we value the partnership approach to making this happen.

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Governance of the Students’ Union

An introduction to our new governing structure and how it has changed to reflect our charity status.

In December 2011, SUBU became a registered charity in compliance with the Charities Act 2006.

It had taken the Union over three years to discuss, debate and finally agree on a structure that enabled compliance at the same time as supporting influence from persons other than the student members themselves.

Our trustee board has been in operation for a year (prior to registration as a ‘shadow’ board) and features four external trustees, bringing varying skillsets, Graham Briscoe brings enormous trustee experience from the many not for profit and college boards that he sits on, as well as significant previous experience in the commercial sector.

Chris Buckley (SUBU President 1996-97) brings senior level marketing and social media experience and experience as a FE college trustee.

Pat Oakley brings the local community dimension as well as years of experience in senior positions within retail.

Will Page (SUBU Vice and then President 2003-05) brings significant experience on student representation and democracy matters from Students’ Unions.

The connection to students is maintained through: The President (in 11/12) Toby Horner acted as the Chair of the Trustee Board.

There are also six students recruited onto the Board: Courtenay Bayley; Esta Berry; Garry Hendry; Roseanne Blaze; Lisa Marshall; Josh Denness.

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Other members of the trustee board include a staff member (elected from the SUBU staff) Richard Gerrard and a member elected from the Executive Committee (this post is waiting to be filled for 12/13 but was in 11/12 Sonia Travaglini and then Mark James Lowe).

The Executive Committee and student members are still influential, particularly on day to day matters, via their committee meetings and termly ‘Student Shout’ open meetings.

SUBU thanks each of the trustees for the significant help and guidance that they gave and continue to give to the governance of the Students’ Union.

Strategic theme achievements

SUBU as a major collective force for all students.

the hub - Volunteering linked with Clubs and Societies for ‘Student Volunteer Week – BUnique’ to deliver a programme of 12 volunteering-based activities and speakers.

2011 – 12 saw the rep system expand like never before. There are now:

This led onto more links with the community, such as the Riding Club now volunteering with Riding for the Disabled.

Commercial - The Old Fire Station’s partnership with the Academy Music Group (operators of O2 Academy venue chain) has led to it becoming a significant venue in Bournemouth for touring live music.

Partner Colleges - Student reps have been supported with training both at the satellite campuses and by being able to engage with the main rep training at Bournemouth. Reps in Bournemouth and Poole have nominated members of staff for ‘You’re Brilliant' awards.

Nerve - Nerve Magazine published 7 issues this year, with more than 80 students contributing.

Lansdowne - Huge improvements were made to Bournemouth House as a direct result of student feedback, including the new social space, The Boho Lounge.

Over 300 students were given a sexual health screening and over 2000 condoms were given away to students during Sexual Health & Guidance Week.

Student Reps - are elected by their fellow students to voice the opinion of their school or course by working with the SUBU Representation team.

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‘You’re Brilliant’ is an award system where students nominate BU staff that have demonstrated excellence in the student experience.

• 124 staff received 'You’re Brilliant' nominations.

• 89 Student Reps received 'You’re Brilliant' nominations Two ‘Speak Weeks’ were held designed to promote and facilitate the student voice across BU. Supported strongly by the Student Reps, the weeks included interactive polls, opinion boards, and games. This culminated in an open ‘talk-out’ between the VC John Vinney, staff and students.

Rag – Has had an incredible year, with several large scale events which raised lots of money for charity.

The four core charities voted for by students were: Teenage Cancer Trust, Margaret Green Animal Rescue, Round Table Children’s Wish, The Royal British Legion.

Strategic theme achievements

SUBU understood & recognised as well as more accessible & approachable to all students.

thehub - Eight five-minute volunteering events were put on. These events aim to include as many people as possible to take part in volunteer taster sessions that take no more than 5 minutes, for example bird-feeder and card-making.

Chinese Student and School Association transformed Dylan's Bar to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Advice - £3126.69 was spent on publicity (up by 133% on the previous academic year.) We’ve also employed a student part time - to help, amongst other things, manage our social media.

400+ HSC students attended the HSC freshers' fair at the beginning of the year.

Relocated the Bournemouth House office to a more visible spot!

Based on a sample of 293 students: • 95% rate our quality of service as good or better; • 98% rate the time we devoted to their case as good or better; • 96% rate the quality of information we provided as good or better; • 85% were happy with the speed of our response.

SUBU Advice have worked with BU to plug gaps in the information they provide students – for example on issues such as self-plagiarism.

Nerve - Have introduced new outside broadcast kit, using it to raise awareness of student issues all over Bournemouth, including at Art of Sport Festival as part of the 2012 Olympic Build Up. Clubs and Societies - Bournemouth University Desi Network Association put on a spectacular Diwali event.

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Lansdowne - For the first year ever HSC students were nominated in both Part-Time and Full-Time elections.

Officer Campaigns - Student Shout is a termly meeting for all students which deals with issues, concerns and concepts put forward by students for further investigation.

• The first Student Shout of the year was held at Lansdowne Campus for the first time ever, which drew together representation from both campuses.

Strategic theme achievements

Creating Friendships

Clubs and Societies -

attending the Summer Ball, as are students from Kingston Maurward College and Weymouth.

The first ever Club and Society based at Bridgwater - The Academic Society ran a trip to Lundy Island to explore and understand the conservation of the unique environment in the Bristol Channel.

Rag - 373 students broke a world record by participating in the largest international hitchhike, Leggit!

Participants had 36 hours in small teams to get as far away from Bournemouth as possible without spending a penny, all in the name of charity. The winners got as far as Tenerife.

80 rag reps have worked together to promote and co-ordinate rag involvement and fundraising.

BU Baking Society (new for this year) was packed out every week with 126 members.

BU Freefall Society has seen 30 students trying out skydiving for the first time.

Commercial - Summer Ball has become the largest of any UK University.

Freshers’ Fair 2011 was hugely popular, and the busiest day of the year on Talbot Campus.

Partner Colleges - Students at Wiltshire College have organised a 'Refreshers Week' with events to welcome in the summer and are looking forward to

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The Santa Fun Run in December saw students, lecturers, and members of the community come together to dress as Santa and run across Bournemouth beach!

Officer Campaigns - BUnique / Student Volunteer week saw over 35 clubs and societies involved. This lead to high numbers of sign ups and more students than ever meeting each other and getting involved with all aspects of SUBU. One World Week saw last year’s diversity day develop into a celebration of Bournemouth University’s culture, with Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, and African foods and entertainment designed to educate and celebrate the cultural diversity at BU. The SUBU Roadshows during Freshers' worked to combat the lack of friendship opportunities for students in unilets.

Strategic theme achievements

SUBU helping people to realise their potential

thehub -

students at UCY are participating in the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for charities chosen by the students.

Nerve - Nerve Radio staged two FM broadcasts this year for the first time, with a team of 50 students opening the year with Freshers’ FM. This has lead to Nerve Radio’s best year for involvement yet. Over 150 students took part throughout the year and more than 100 have worked together to produce daily broadcasts.

Clubs and Societies - Ballroom and Latin Dance Society: Competitions in Blackpool and Bath BU Cheerleaders: 1st place at regional competition

• 251 organisations are registered on thehub website.

• 333 active volunteers (317 last year) taking up 673 individual volunteering opportunities.

Student-Lead volunteering; thehub initiated and encouraged student lead activities this year, including: • Training 5 leaders for the Meyrick Park Conservation Project; • The team have been nominated for the Mayor of Bournemouth’s Volunteer Team of the Year.

18 people volunteered for the Volunteer Committee and initiated and delivered 4 excellent student lead projects: • Memory café, Swanage Railway Santa Express, 360 film project, New Forest Pony protection project.

4 students participated as leaders for the food collection for the homeless.

Partnership Colleges - For the second year running BU

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BU Horse Riders: Volunteer with riding for the disabled BU Sailing Club: Won bronze in Brunel competition BU Writers Society: Performed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival BU Turbo Pandas Tchoukball Club: Competed in various competitions.

Advice - Three advice staff have carried out over 70 hours of continuing professional development between them this academic year.

Lansdowne - SUBU helped 87 Midwives helped BU to become part of the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI), one of only 10 in the whole country and the only one in the South.

Rag - 8 student committee members have worked together to run the most successful year of Rag events and involvement numbers ever.

Strategic theme achievements

SUBU will be ethical & environmental in its activities

thehub - Supported 6 students to volunteer in our overseas trip to Rousse in Bulgaria, working with 2 orphanages.

to act as environmental monitors/champions around campus and to hold termly environmental events.

Events held in 2011-12:

24 Make A Difference (MAD) days and afternoons – 16 of which were the Meyrick Park conservation project. These are our 'one-off' volunteering activities which last an afternoon or a day.

Organised the most successful volunteer fair to date where 16 charities and organisations attended.

‘I’m dreaming of a greener Christmas’ – top tips on how to be green, from how to wrap presents; buying and making green presents and decorations; renting a tree; and recycling after the event.

‘Spring Greening’ – how to clean your home naturally.

• A new SUBU Green page was created on the Students’ Union website.

• Regular articles appeared in the Little SUBU Update throughout the year.

SUBU's community work in Winton was shortlisted for NUS's National Community impact award 2011.

We were awarded 'Silver' in the 2011/12 NUS Green Impact awards, narrowly missing Gold.

Officer Campaigns - The SSHH! campaign worked to ensure harmony between students and the community by highlighting the importance of safe and measured behaviour at night. 30 students litter-picked in Winton.

Rag - 32 students fundraised and travelled to Tanzania to rebuild two schools in Moshi.

16 travelled to Ghana to rebuild a school.

Green - This year we established the ‘SUBU Green’ brand, encompassing the environmental activities of the Union. The SUBU Green team was formed - an informal voluntary group made up of SUBU staff, student staff and students with a remit

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24 climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in aid of Childreach International.

4 completed the Morrocan High Atlas trek for Wateraid.

10 cycled from London to Paris in aid of Hope for Children, Breast Cancer Campaign, Practical Action.

Accreditations NUS Best Bar None

SUEI (Students’ Union Evaluation Initiative) This National Initiative is a scheme that audits Students’ Unions around five themes. It takes around two years to gather evidence and ensure that the Union can meet its criteria. There are 60 key indicators to be met.

SUBU was very pleased to be audited in November 2011 and awarded a Bronze accreditation.

NUS Best Bar None is an accreditation scheme facilitated by NUS Services that rewards Students’ Unions for best practice in licensed trade standards.

The Old Fire Station came second out of 81 Unions that participated nationally with a combined rating of 97.3%, achieving Gold standard accreditation.

Congratulations to all involved at The Old Fire Station, we look forward to an even more succesfull year in 2013.

This was a great achievement for a medium sized students’ union.

NUS Green Impact Award

We are pleased to have achieved the award at the same time as maintaining our empowered, high trust, student orientated culture.

This scheme is an environmental accreditation programme designed specifically for Students’ Unions.

Around 60 Unions now have SUEI accreditation. The participation fee of £12k was supported on a 50:50 basis by the University.

SUBU Advice SUBU Advice successfully retained their accreditation by the Community Legal Service, after a rigorous audit.

They are also members of AdviceUK – the UK’s largest network of independent advice services.

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To achieve Bronze, Silver or Gold standard a union must consistently meet a range of environmental criteria and show evidence of this both in documentation and physical practice.

SUBU first registered for this programme in 2008-9 when we achieved Bronze status. In 2009-10 we progressed to Silver, then took a break from the programme in 2010-11.

In 2011-12 we re-entered the programme and retained our goal of Silver status. We were required to gain 430 points in our criteria and achieved 514 points. We were only 16 points from achieving Gold status.

SSHH! Campaign: Winton Litter Pick.

BUnique Week: The Dance Soc showcase their society in Poole House Atrium.

The Old Fire Station: SUBU's award  winning town centre venue.

Student Reps: Working together to capture the student voice in Speak Week.

thehub Meyrick Park project: Volunteers show MP Conor Burns their work

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Vietnamese society teach students about their culture in One World Week.

Rag Leggit: Students break the world record for a charity hitchhike.

Full - Time Officer Reports Toby Horner President

I have always been incredibly proud to be an elected officer in SUBU. SUBU as an organisation allows us the freedom and flexibility to run campaigns and initiatives that really make a difference, so I look back at the year with great affection. With this being my second year in office I was ready to hit the ground running and fill some of the gaps that had been identified in 2010/11.

Most notably, a yearly campaigns calendar allowed SUBU to reach thousands of students throughout the year, across all departments of the Union. A series of roadshows enabled us to touch base with first-year students living away from halls of residences, and a research paper presented to BU senior management secured a better deal for the 2012 arrivals period.

Kate Jones

Vice President Education This year has been a very exciting one for the Representation Services Department.

The team comprises of 5 staff members, including myself as Vice President Education, who works collectively on developing the representation arm of the Union. This year has seen a huge increase in Student Representative (Reps) engagement, with more Reps receiving training and being more influential than ever before.

Speak Weeks have increased the Rep System awareness, with the second week culminating in a Rep Conference and Rep Awards evening. Speak Week was an amazing experience and one of the many opportunities available to Reps.” (Business School Rep).

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Not one, but two record-breaking elections reaffirmed that democracy is at the heart of what we do, and SUBU’s work in the community continued to evidence that positive relations between residents and students are of prime importance.

There was also time to watch an excellent RAG committee reach fundraising targets that surpassed all expectations.

SUBU’s relationship with the University has remained extremely positive and the Union has welcomed opportunities to present to colleagues and Board members on matters such as fair access and BU student charters. As key players in achieving the BU vision 2018, it has been a pleasure to be so heavily involved on a day-to-day basis in strengthening the student experience at BU. I wish the new team of officers all of the success that a year in SUBU can bring, and I give my sincerest thanks to all of the staff and students who have been part of my journey.

This year the Representation Services team has received recognition for its contribution to the NUS/QAA project on Student Engagement and through the numerous conferences we have been selected to present at, notably the National Union of Students (NUS) Awards 2012 and the NUS Engagement Conference.

The future of Representation at SUBU and BU is bright. This year we have made significant developments to our partnership with the University.

Our ultimate aim is to be the best at Student Representation in the world by 2016, by increasing our evidence collected and presented by Reps. There will be many challenges around course fees and teaching quality, which our Rep team and incoming Officers will have to effectively manage.

Jesse Banovic

Vice President Communications It has been an honour to work within such an energising organisation, where your voice is  heard and change is embraced.

I have been fortunate enough to work as Vice President Communications for my placement year of a marketing degree, and can confidently say the position has allowed me to make great connections for years to come.

There has been a transition from the role being communications - based to campaigns based this year with more emphasis on face-to-face communications through effective campaigning and guerrilla marketing methods. We have had some great evidence of this through the record-breaking rebranded elections and the National Student Survey (NSS) rebrand.

Philli Hodgson

Vice President Lansdowne So this year has been very exciting, with lots happening at the Lansdowne Campus.

I was aware with this being the first year of the role, that I would be laying the foundations for years to come, and this is what has been achieved so far: It began with the introduction of lockers at the back of Bournemouth House, as the students wanted somewhere to put their stuff, especially if they rode in by bike.

We also updated the showering / changing facilities to accommodate this. A general refurbishment of Bournemouth House was put into action with the help of Martin Handford and members of the BU Estates team.

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Most notably this year there has been a collaborative approach between BU and SUBU, this connection has been a strengthening asset to the team in enhancing the student experience at Bournemouth University.

SUBU has allowed me to grow and develop my ongoing passion for volunteering and community relations; the Meyrick Park Volunteering project has been a great example of this, with positive recognition from many of our local stakeholders and I truly hope it continues in the following years to make impact in our local community. It also has been incredible to make links with the 'Peace One Day' Campaign, which I hope will continue next year.

We have nominated ourselves for 6 NUS awards which we hope will recognise the great work we have done this year – the best conservation project being one of them. Fingers crossed! Good luck to next year’s team.

SUBU Lansdowne has also had much more of a presence for the wider student community with regular trips over to Portsmouth to see our lovely midwives!

To round off what I believe has been a truly refreshing year for the Lansdowne campus, we had some independent market research done on our HSC Undergraduate students to see how we could better communicate with them both out in placement and also at University. 267 students gave us their feedback. We were acutely aware of how much of a diverse group they are, so that next year we know when we send out information whether it be via e mail, Facebook or Twitter, hopefully they will be engaging with us!

Thank you everyone for supporting this new role and enabling me to do the things I have wanted to do, I couldn't have done it without you and for that I am truly grateful.

Financial Report

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The new Full-Time Officers & SUBU values for the next academic year

The Future 2012/13

Louise Bryant Student Union President I’m hugely looking forward to working as President, and can’t wait to get started.

SUBU’s community work is already commendable, but I want to raise awareness of the time and effort students put in to do good, and build a stronger, positive relationship between students and locals.

SUBU’s 2016 vision is that SUBU will make a positive impact on every BU student's journey. 2012/13 is an opportunity to take big steps towards making that vision a reality.

Murray Simpson Vice President Education With the new representation system being so successfully implemented over the past two years I look forward to enhancing the student experience even further.

By developing the representation brand, increasing the quality and quantity of feedback, and devoting more efforts to campaigns such as Speak Week. I am so excited to begin working towards SUBU's 2016 vision and hope to truly make an impact on each and every student.

NB : Elections for VP Lansdowne will take place June 2012

SUBU's values for 2012/13 -

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Ruby Limbrick Vice President Campaigns VP Campaigns has replaced the title VP Communications, as the role lends itself to a more practical approach. I’m looking forward to boosting the profile of SUBU and hope to increase awareness of what the Students’ Union has to offer by way of enhancing the student experience and working to the values of SUBU’s 2016 vision.

I hope to encourage a diverse range of students to get involved with campaigns and help develop their sense of belonging within BU .

Get in touch...

SUBU Reception 01202 965765

Our vision:

"BY 2016, SUBU WILL MAKE A

POSITIVE IMPACT UPON EVERY BU STUDENT'S JOURNEY."

SUBU website www.subu.org.uk General Enquiries subu@ bournemouth.ac.uk SUBU Twitter @SUBUBournemouth SUBU Pinterest /sububournemouth SUBU Facebook /sububournemouth SUBU Youtube Channel /thesububournemouth Write or Pop by Students' Union at Bournemouth University, (above Dylan’s Bar) Poole House, Talbot Campus, Poole, BH12 5BB Students' Union at Bournemouth University, Ground floor, Studland House, Lansdowne, Bournemouth, BH1 3NA

We look forward to seeing you in 2012/13