Opps Guide for Students by Undeb Bangor

Water Competency/Swimming Tests

Affiliate Memberships Complaints

05. When? Serendipity Varsity

Socs Fest

Volunteering

INTRODUCTION

WHERE? WHO? HOW? WHEN?

These are probably some of the questions that will pop in to your head when you ’ ve taken on the responsibility of being more than just a member. This guide is designed to help you get the answers to those questions, so sit down, buckle in, and get ready for the ride of your life.

A students’ union can sometimes be a tricky little thing to navigate, but this guide will help you on your way to finding the answers you need!

WHERE?

But, wait, WHAT exactly is a students’ union? Well, in its simplest explanation, the SU acts as a bridge between students and the university. While it is funded by the university, it is NOT a university department, and has its very own set of policies and procedures. It provides so many things including representation through the student voice, democratic elections, and so on and so forth. BUT the reason you ’ re here is for the other side of our function: sports clubs, societies, and volunteering.

Ok, now you know what a students’ union is, you’ll need to know where to find everything you need. The best place to start is here: www.undebbangor.com! On the website you will find a section along the top with some different headings. Hover over these headings to find the one appropriate to you and click on the relevant bit you need.

WHO?

This is a good question. Who do you go to if you need something? Well, the answer is quite simple. The students’ union is made up of elected officers and staff members who support the officers and the students. The elected officers you will deal with in particular are:

VP for Sport VP Societies and Volunteering

These people change each year (unless elected for two terms), and will help facilitate your activities.

On the staff side, there is a dedicated Opportunities Development team who are on hand to do a lot of the admin side of things and help you as much as possible to ensure you ’ re happy, and the legal side of things is adhered to. This can be from making sure your risk assessments satisfy certain criteria, booking minibuses and MiDAS licences, to raising financial claims and booking rooms for your activities.

Please remember though, that no question is ever a strange question! If you ever have a question that you think is strange, it probably isn’t, and the SU probably has the answer ��

PLEASE EMAIL ANY ENQUIRIES TO: opportunities@undebbangor.com AND THESE WILL BE PASSED ON TO THE APPROPRIATE SABBATICAL/STAFF MEMBER.

If it’s volunteer related, please email: volunteering@undebbangor.com

HOW?

So, you want to put on an event? Book a room? Take a MiDAS minibus test? Purchase things for your club/society/voluntary project?

This part of the guide will help you glide smoothly through these questions and more. It can be very difficult to try and organise things on top of an already exhausting academic/employment schedule.

ROOM BOOKINGS

Ok, booking rooms is one of the top 5 things that you will probably encounter. To do this is quite simple. Click here: https://www.cognitoforms.com/BangorUniversityStudentsUnion/activities hubroombooking

If you follow this link, it will take you to a page which you’ll need to fill in, and as if by IT magic, it pops up on the backend of the website where the opps team will fit you in to one of our rooms.

When you ’ re deciding on your event, you must take into consideration a number of factors:

How many people will be attending your event?

How much space you might need

Will you be having food at this event? (you will need a food hygiene certificate if you bring home-cooked food)

You will need a risk assessment form (more of that later)

How long you need the room for (setup, clean down)

What equipment you might need (tables, chairs, screens etc)

When you want to hold the event?

Do I need a stage?

What about sound/lighting/technical? (contact us!!)

Our rooms have different capacities as follows: (turn over)

4TH FLOOR PONTIO

Room of Requirement (60)

ACTIVITIES HUB ROOM

Room 1-(Large Conference Room ideal for music): Capacity 40

Room 2-(Large Conference Room ideal for performance-has a mirrored wall-can be connected to Room 3 via a retractable wall): Capacity 40

Room 3-(Large Conference Room can connect to Room 2 via a retractable wall): Capacity 40

Room 5- Small/Medium Meeting Room: Capacity 6

Room 6-Medium Meeting Room: Capacity 8

Room 7-Small Breakout Room: Capacity 5

Room 8-Games Room (has TVs): Capacity 20

Food hygiene certificates for home made food:

These can be obtained online for a very small cost and can be claimed back from your grant account (see Financial Claims section).

Level 1: https://www.reed.co.uk/courses/? keywords=Food%20hygiene%20level%201

Level 2: https://www.reed.co.uk/courses/? keywords=Food%20hygiene%20level%202

Risk assessments: Each club/society/volunteering project will be contacted about this at the beginning of the year or when you start your club/society/volunteering project ��

EVENTS

This is another thing that you will almost certainly encounter. We have been changing our procedures so we make this as easy as possible for you all. Again, you will have to take certain factors in to consideration:

When would you like to book an event?

How many people will be in attendance?

Where you want to hold the event (some societies/clubs/volunteering projects use external premises such as hotels for Christmas dinners etc. and ask the students’ union to facilitate ticket sales etc.)

Can I sell tickets? If so, how do I do this?

Can I sell food? Where can I do this?

How do I book an event? Will we need transport? Do we have enough money? How does it all work?

Can I advertise?

Can I have an external speaker?

Ok, let’s start with the basics. How does it all work? Well, if you have a corker of an idea for an event, you will need to agree with your committee on several dates (it’s always handy to have a few options open to you), and decide who’s going to do what and with who (don’t allocate things to just one person just in case ��). There’s nothing worse than having to organise an event by yourself so having a good team behind you and allocation of tasks and a feasible timeline is essential to your event working successfully! Involve your members too as some of them may have great organisation and communication skills, or are simply good at getting things done! Rather conveniently, we have created an events planner just for you so you don’t have to, and it can be found here: https://www.undebbangor.com/society-resources

EXTERNAL SPEAKERS

Guidance for external speakers can be found here: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/governance-and-compliance/policyregister/documents/freedom-code-practice.pdf

Bear in mind that Undeb Bangor wishes to encourage free and open debate as this is a cornerstone of both our and the University’s shared culture. This includes sharing ideas, tolerating other people’s views and having constructive argument. Bangor Students’ Union wishes to create and maintain a safe and welcoming environment for our students at all times. This protects individuals against discrimination on the grounds of culture, gender, religion, sexuality, age, disability and political belief. This list is not exhaustive.

VENUE

So, you ’ ve selected a few dates, and now you need a venue.

Look at the ROOM BOOKINGS section of this guide to show you how to do this. If you need a university room to accommodate your booking, again, use the form to ask us if this is feasible: https://www.cognitoforms.com/BangorUniversityStudentsUnio n/activitieshubroombooking

The SU fairies will work as hard as possible to find you a venue, but sometimes this isn’t possible ☹.

CATERING

How do I get catering for my event? Well, you can approach the university if that’s what you’d like: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/commercial-services/index.php.en

If you explore the site, it will give you many options, and contact details. Again, make sure you book in plenty of time as the university holds many events during the year, and some times of the year are busier than others as you can imagine, such as Christmas.

CREATING THE EVENT

So, you have a room, a date, and catering. All you need to do now is create an online event. Now for the less than technical amongst you, this might be terrifying, but I can assure you the process is fairly simple! All you have to do is go here: https://native.stonly.com/kb/en

SOCIAL MEDIA AND EVENT PROMOTION

Can you advertise your event? Well, yes of course you can! The SU can also help you out there too. We can advertise on our social media platforms should you so wish. Contact marketing@undebbangor.com with all the details you’d like us to advertise on your behalf.

EXTERNAL SPEAKERS

Guidance for external speakers can be found here: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/governance-and-compliance/policyregister/documents/freedom-code-practice.pdf

DO WE NEED TRANSPORT?

Want to drive an SU Vehicle?

Driver Competence:

To drive one of the SU MPV's you must be over 18, have completed the SU Driver Competence Assessment and held a clean DVLA Driver's Licence

To drive the SU Van you must be over 21 have completed the SU Driver Competence Assessment, held a clean DVLA Driving Licence and driving experience for a minimum of 2 years

To drive an External Minibus Hire you must be over 21 have completed the SU Driver Competence Assessment, held a clean DVLA Driving Licence and driving experience for a minimum of 2 years

FINANCIAL CLAIMS

Now we get to the numbers bit and there are quite a few forms to fill in (sorry about that). Each year, you will be allocated a grant to spend as you wish on equipment and core activities for your club/society/voluntary project. Any of the outstanding grant money left over at the end of the academic year, is returned to the SU. These are designed to allow you some freedom as to your purchases. However, these are monitored and not to be spent unwisely. Please make sure that your requests are appropriate. For example, ordering a hot tub for a tiddlywinks social is inappropriate as it’s not commensurate to the club! You will need to check first if you have sufficient funds to purchase items:

1) Firstly, log in and hover over the ‘Student Groups’ or ‘Volunteering’ tab at the top, then click on the appropriate one. In this case we are using AU as an example.

2) You should then come to this page and click on ‘Financial Resources’, and then ‘Accounts’.

You will end up on a page that looks like this which will give you details of the fundraising and grant accounts:

Any fundraising monies that you raise can be used on any other purchases outside of your activities including: events, club merchandise (other than club kit), etc. Fundraising monies, unlike the grant, roll over into the next academic year. You can do this in one of two ways:

Raise a financial claim if you ’ ve bought something and wish to claim it against your grant/fundraising account for sundries and emergency purchases. You will require an invoice/receipt for those purchases and the form can be found here: https://www.undebbangor.com/financial-resources/financial-claim-form

IMPORTANT: please ensure that the bottom section of the form is completed using the payee ' s name as it appears on the account, the 6 digit sort code, and the 8 digit account number. If it is an international payment, then you will need to include the IBAN and BIC

If you are ordering equipment/resources etc for your club/society/voluntary project, you can create a purchase order here: https://www.undebbangor.com/financial-resources/purchasing-request-form Remember that for each item, you MUST submit a different purchase request!

If you are working with a company who will issue an invoice, you will need to send it directly to finance@undebbangor.com

& SPONSORSHIP

FUNDRAISING

Sometimes your grant allocation might not be enough for your club/society/voluntary project, so you might want to start raising some cash to help. If you wish to do this, you can do that here: https://www.undebbangor.com/fundraisingrequest

Keep your eyes peeled for our new fundraising tally so you can see how well you ’ re doing!

CARD READERS

You may find you want to use a card reader to help raise money for your club. You can do this using the link above (fundraising request) but please make sure you read the card reader procedure below: https://www.undebbangor.com/financial-resources/cardreaders/card-reader-procedure

SPONSORSHIP

If you have sponsorship for your club/society/voluntary project, or you need to raise an invoice for an external company you must fill in this form here: https://www.undebbangor.com/financialresources/sponsorship-invoice-request

PAYING IN MONEY

For most of you, you will have used a card reader so the money goes directly into your fundraising account. If you have physical cash, just pop into Undeb Bangor (4th Floor Pontio) and pay it in at the Student Centre.

Or you can do it here directly to the SU bank account. PLEASE put in your club reference.

Acc Name:Bangor University Students' Union

Sort Code:51-61-28

Acc No:07019017

We appreciate this is a lot of form filling, but we need to adhere to certain policies and procedures (as you can imagine!!!), so it’s important that we have a mechanism through which to do this.

OTHER STUFF ELECTIONS

You may find that you don’t have a full committee or you want to create additional positions for your team. You will have to undertake an anonymous election online. To do this, you must fill in this form so it can be set up for you: https://www.undebbangor.com/au-resources/generalresources/online-elections-form

Only your members will be able to vote. IF you have any members that haven’t joined your club/society through the website, they won’t be able to vote.

As always, please be mindful of timings. It is better to try and plan these things in advance just in case there are any issues and it gives students an opportunity to think about whether to run or not. Please also use realistic timings. Submitting the form the day before you wish to open nominations isn’t going to be feasible, and allow for a couple of days for nominations. When the election is opened, again give students a couple of days to vote.

Once the election is closed, the captain/chair will be emailed with the results.

DBS

DBS checks are required when working with young people or vulnerable adults, normally in a volunteering setting. When you sign up to be a volunteer, you will be invited to complete a DBS check online (look out for @bangor.ac.uk email address). You absolutely CANNOT volunteer until such time as you receive your DBS certificate. If you are part of the update service or have a current DBS in place, please contact us to see if you need to complete another one.

WATER COMPETENCY/SWIM TESTS

For any water-based activities (with the exception of swimming): paddleboarding, canoeing/kayaking, rowing, sailing, triathlon, sub aqua, surfing, wakeboarding. Basically, any students undertaking water-based activities that don’t have a lifeguard present, will have to take a water competency/swim test.

Step 2: Head to our website www undebbangor com and SIGN IN.

>Open the Dashboard >Content Management

>Here you will find your website list This is where you edit all your information.

Congratulations, you now have a club/society page.

Step 1:

To manage opportunity once set up: Access dashboard > Volunteering > Opportunities > select cog icon & edit icon > amend and save opportunity

> select cog icon & edit icon > amend and save opportunity

Step 2:

To manage volunteering applications by students: Access dashboard > Volunteering > Applications > select cog icon > select tick icon to approve Select the profile icon to view volunteer information

Step 3:

To approve hours volunteers have logged: Access dashboard > Volunteering > Timesheet Requests > select cog icon > select tick icon to approve

Step 4:

To add an additional opportunity under your volunteering project for students to sign up to: Access dashboard > Volunteering > Opportunities > select New Opportunity > complete & save

AFFILIATE MEMBERSHIP

If you have someone who would like to be part of your club/society/voluntary project, they will have to sign up here: https://www.cognitoforms.com/BangorUniversityStudentsUnion/Ffurfl enGaisAelodaethGyswlltAssociateMembershipApplicationForm

The procedure works like this: the proposed member will fill in the form. It will then be sent for signatures from the Opps Team, the appropriate SU officer, and needs to be signed by the chair/captain of the committee for approval, and a link is sent directly into your inbox.

Once this is complete, we will ask the applicant for payment as follows:

£55 for sports clubs

£25 for societies

This price is for the entire year, but they will need to apply again should they wish to join you for another year.

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Sometimes things don’t work out smoothly, and sometimes we have to have difficult discussions in regards to the behaviour of some of our members. We want ALL of you to have the best experience possible when part of our Union, and there are policies and procedures in place to make sure we keep you as happy as possible. IF you do feel the need to launch a complaint about a member, you will need to take the following steps:

Contact the person responsible for the area (Sports and Societies Coordinator or Volunteering and Community Coordinator) for an initial chat. We then ask that you submit your complaint in writing. You will receive a written response within 15 working days from an SU manager.

Please be comforted by the fact that this will be kept completely anonymous, and strictly confidential.

Social media is a great way of maintaining contact with your members and advertising your activities to your members. When creating a page on your chosen platform, please begin with BU or Bangor University followed by your name. You can use any social media you wish but you must be mindful of a few things. Consider your membership and those that will see your posts. Be mindful that others don’t share the same idea of fun as you might. It may be that taking a photo of your friend with alcohol in their hand or other activities is funny, BUT it might not be to someone else who could be offended by your actions. THINK BEFORE YOU POST!!! The SU and its activities cannot be seen to be promoting anything which doesn’t adhere to our ethos, or our Equal Opportunities policy (see below).

Any club/society/volunteering project that displays anything that violates our policies/procedures or embarrasses the SU or the union in any way, will be dealt with appropriately, and may be disciplined either by the SU or the university, or both. (See here: https://www.undebbangor.com/governancedocuments/bye-laws/bye-law-10-student-and-associate-memberdisciplinary-procedure)

INCIDENT REPORTS

What happens if something goes wrong? We have a responsibility and duty to all of our students to prevent these things from happening as far as possible and continue to implement strategies to reduce those risks. If something does happen, it is ESSENTIAL that you report it AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, maintaining integrity and confidentiality, sharing only with those people who need to know. Please use your judgement wisely with this and please ask if you ’ re unsure as to what steps to take next at opportunities@undebbangor.com

You MUST follow this link to report serious injuries and those cases that need to be referred to RIDDOR as this is a legal requirement: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?

id=VUxHxiOpKk2b1OzjcUjbslQvga_WcOxNvIWnKxiY54pUMUdORURESk1FSk01U VIwQk1ROVZVVEtPNyQlQCN0PWcu

WHEN?

Throughout the academic year, the Students’ Union will arrange events which we really encourage all of you to be involved with. Some of the big events are Serendipity, Varsity, Volunteers Week, Soc Fest, Eisteddfod, and many many others. If you are arranging events, it can be helpful to keep these events in mind.

WHAT IS SERENDIPITY?

Held in the first few weeks of September, Serendipity is a multi-group event, attracting societies, clubs, volunteering projects and other outside organisations to demonstrate what they can offer students throughout the year. It is an ideal opportunity to raise awareness and encourage students to join your club/society/volunteering project. When doing so, make your stall engaging, and talk to students. This will give you confidence and increase the number of members! Serendipity is also held in Semester 2 to account for new students. Again, it is designed to encourage students to join clubs/societies/volunteering projects to help develop skills, and make them feel welcome in our community.

WHAT IS VARSITY?

Normally held in March, Varsity is an inter university sports competition versus Aberystwyth University. The main day is on a Saturday either in Bangor or Aberystwyth with other events held beforehand. The teams compete against each other to win Varsity. It’s as simple as that! It’s a great way to support your fellow students and to also have a good day and night out! Oh, and if you didn’t already know, the green and gold army have been victorious for the past 6 years

WHAT IS VOLUNTEERING WEEK?

Volunteering Week is designed to showcase the amazing work that our voluntary work groups do throughout the year. There’s something for everyone if you find yourself with a few hours a week to spare, from volunteering with young people on literacy projects, to wellbeing projects of the local community. Building and developing these skills are incredibly important in terms of improving your employability post university.

WHAT IS THE EISTEDDFOD?

Eisteddfod is a Welsh-medium language festival that happens throughout the year, attracting many Welshspeaking students from UMCB and the wider community who take part in events in Wales such as music, poetry, and performance. It’s a great reason to embrace the culture of all things Welsh, and there’s opportunities for those learning Welsh to participate!

AWARDS SEASON!

Yes, you get awards! Do you really think all your efforts would go unnoticed? From January onwards, we have awards season to celebrate and recognise exceptional achievement by our students. There are a number of events that will take place during this time, such as the Societies and Volunteers Dinner, and the AU Dinner and awards will be presented to students then! You can nominate here: www.undebbangor.com/nominations

Each year, the club/society/voluntary project will (potentially) be handed over to a new committee/project leader. This handover is really important so it can be passed over. You can find this information in the ‘Important Documents’ folder on your Teams account. It’s simply not a case of saying ‘it’s yours now, off you go. ’ Your successor will feel like you will and won’t know what they’re doing! Not a good place to be, eh? So, please use the file on your Teams account.

WHEN DO WE HOLD ELECTIONS FOR OUR NEW COMMITTEE FOR THE NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR?

Normally these are held right at the end of th academic year, just after the Easter break an before the exam period starts. In order to conduct a fair, and unbiased election, please refer to the Elections section earlier in this document.

UNION POLICIES

The main documents you will need to familiarise yourself with are all contained in the ‘Important Documents’ file on your Teams account. However, you might want to also read the Bye-Laws which govern all Undeb Bangor activities.

Bye-laws

This document contains all of the information you might need in regard to health and safety, equal opportunities, finance etc. It’s a big read, but worth it.

https://www.undebbangor.com/governance-documents/bye-laws

GDPR: https://www.undebbangor.com/privacy-and-confidentialitystatement

Again, if you have any opportunities@undeb