Annual Report 2016-17
warwicksu.com
Sabbatical Officer Team 2016-17
02
Luke Pilot
Hope Worsdale
Nat Panda
Becky Gittins
PRESIDENT
EDUCATION OFFICER
POSTGRADUATE OFFICER
DEMOCRACY & DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Ted Crowson
Marissa Beatty
Chloe Wynne
SPORTS OFFICER
SOCIETIES OFFICER
WELFARE & CAMPAIGNS OFFICER
Introduction
Contents
The SU’s 2016 Strategic Plan outlined five key strategic themes for the next five years, setting out the things we will work towards along with major projects we need to deliver on to help us achieve our vision.
Introduction 03
In the following Annual Report, we will outline how the SU’s work during the 2016-17 academic year contributed to the development and delivery of these strategic themes.
Headline achievements Week Zero confirmed NSS Boycott Creative Warwick campaign Liberate/Discover My Module Fix the Fees Stopped an institutional tuition fee rise Are You OK? welfare campaign Sexual violence: Intervention Initiative What’s Next? careers campaign Stagecoach campaign
Chief Executive’s Review of the Year
04
Your President’s Statement 05 Theme One 06 Students shaping their education and the world around them Theme Two 12 Students navigating the challenges of student life Theme Three 18 Students shaping the future they want for themselves Theme Four 22 Students meeting new people, sharing new experiences and building communities Theme Five 26 Delivering an effective & sustainable membership organisation Our year in numbers
32
Our year in figures
34
Warwick SU: who we are
36
03
Our Chief Executive’s Statement It never fails to amaze me just how much goes on every year that is driven by the passion students have for creativity, innovation and debate, for liberation and fighting oppression, for having fun and building communities, and for supporting and helping others.
Here is our Annual Impact Report for 2016-17. This is our opportunity to share what we’ve been up to this year with our members and showcase what students have been doing themselves. We hope that this report will give you a sense of just how impressive Warwick students’ achievements are. As your SU, we do our best to deliver on our mission to positively impact on students’ lives at Warwick and beyond; how well we do this is always a matter for our members to determine. What I do know is that every staff member, every officer or committee member, every volunteer, every Trustee, every Course Rep, and every Club or Society Exec member gives their best every day to empower and support students, as well as providing opportunities and helping to shape communities. We are inordinately proud of the work students do and the impacts they have, and are equally proud to play our part in making this happen. This is your SU. If you want to get involved, if you need our help, if you want to make friends or you just want somewhere to feel at home, we’re here for you. Without your energy, passion and enthusiasm, we cannot make a difference to Warwick students, and we cannot continue to help you change the world you live in.
Jacqui Clements SU CHIEF EXECUTIVE
04
Your President’s Statement This year, Warwick joined forces with Students’ Unions nationwide to take part in a boycott of the National Student Survey (NSS). This action was instrumental in focusing national attention back onto the issue of tuition fees and helping to shift the debate in students’ favour, ultimately culminating in a decoupling of the government’s proposed “Teaching Excellence Framework” from fees. Closer to home, we were delighted to finally see the realisation of a long-held campaign for a lecture-free Welcome Week at Warwick. This is a long-overdue initiative with huge welfare implications for students, and one that we look forward to putting into action from the start of the 2018-19 academic year. We also had great success with several new flagship initiatives, including our Creative Warwick showcase and the SU’s Are You OK? campaign. It is student-led initiatives such as these which continue to show just how much of a central role the SU plays in students’ here time at Warwick, and what a vital role we play in supporting them.
Luke Pilot SU PRESIDENT, 2016-17
With the shock of the EU Referendum result and the rise of populism worldwide, this year saw some seismic changes to the political landscape. Now more than ever, it is so important that students band together and create strong unions to represent their interests.
Theme One Students shaping their education and the world around them
06
The SU had another successful year campaigning on issues designed to enhance the academic experience and give students the best chance to succeed.
HE Bill response In the wake of the government’s proposed changes to Higher Education in the UK, Sabbatical Officers submitted a full written response to Parliament outlining a number of areas of concern in the HE Bill. Information from this report was later cited in a House of Lords debate on the issues. Following a number of blog posts outlining the HE Bill’s implications for students and in line with SU policy on free education, Sabbatical Officers then led a group of over 100 students at the National Demonstration in London on 19th November.
Stopped a tuition fee rise The Students’ Union reacted swiftly when, at the start of September, the University signalled its intention to raise 2016-17 tuition fees for both incoming and returning undergraduates. Following immediate pressure from the Sabbatical Officer team, we were able to stop the proposed increase for 2016 Freshers and returning students, saving millions of pounds in total for Warwick undergraduates.
NSS Boycott As voted for in Term 2’s All Student Meeting, the SU led a boycott of this year’s National Student Survey in a bid to stop the data being fed into the government’s proposed ‘Teaching Excellence Framework’ (TEF) and used to raise fees. Hundreds of students pledged their support for the boycott, helping to drive the debate. The TEF was ultimately uncoupled from tuition fees.
Course Costs During 2016-17, SU Education Officer HOPE WORSDALE researched and presented a paper on additional course costs to the University’s Academic Quality & Standards Committee, which was ultimately passed – meaning that the University has now adopted several key principles around lifting course costs from students and commissioned further work to make these principles a reality. These included the notion that departments should cover the cost of all mandatory assignment/ essay/dissertation/thesis printing and/or binding, that all students should receive an allocation of free printer credits at the start of each academic year, and that all departments should strive for core texts to be available to students free of charge. We also lobbied senior academics on additional course costs, securing a commitment to further investigate their impact on students.
07
Pioneered by Chloe Wynne and Hope Worsdale, the ‘Intervention Initiative’ is the SU’s first-ever academic module and will inform an integral part of the University’s strategy for tackling sexual violence and Lad Culture.
Combatting Sexual Violence This year, the SU joined forces with the University and local support services to combat sexual violence at Warwick. An Independent Sexual Violence Advisor was assigned to campus, while the Sexual Violence Policy and Prevention Group worked on disseminating information to incoming students about consent, reviewing how best to include international students in our prevention strategies, and sharing good practice from other institutions to inform how we can best prevent sexual abuse in our community and support survivors when it does happen. Welfare & Campaigns Officer CHLOE WYNNE also lobbied successfully for the Vice-Chancellor to take a stand against the outdated Zellick guidelines, instead favouring national reform around approaches to sexual violence in Higher Education. SU Women’s Officer EMMA-MARIE OKOROAFOR compiled resources for students detailing specialist support services in the local area, while Chloe Wynne and Education Officer HOPE WORSDALE were instrumental in pioneering the ‘Intervention Initiative’, a module about sexual violence and domestic abuse aimed at empowering individuals to be active, not passive, bystanders. Taught by the SU in collaboration with two academic departments and subsidised by the HEFCE Catalyst Fund, this is the SU’s first-ever academic module and will inform an integral part of the University’s strategy for tackling sexual violence and Lad Culture in the future.
08
Liberated Curriculum This year saw the launch of the Liberate My Module campaign, a way for students to record how well their modules have embedded issues of equality, diversity and liberation within the curriculum and learning environment. Following a successful first survey, the SU will continue to pursue this work, exploring the concept of a liberated curriculum and what it means for pedagogy with academic departments and our Liberation societies and officers. In addition, we also revamped last year’s academic support survey as Discover My Module, enabling students to share insight on modules they’ve taken to help their peers make more informed choices about what they study.
Defending Civil Liberties The SU continued its involvement in the Prevent Monitoring Group this year, seeking input from academics, students and staff from professional services to criticise the University’s compliance with the Prevent duty. Postgraduate Officer NAT PANDA also helped students to amend the Campus Security Code of Conduct. In addition, Sabbatical Officers acted as mediators during a student occupation of the Warwick Conferences facility ‘The Slate’ in December 2016, ensuring the protestors’ continued welfare while facilitating dialogue with Senior Management. With protestors’ demands being backed by existing SU policy, we were pleased to see the following outcomes: 1 Greater transparency of the University’s decision to submit itself to the TEF; 2 A renewed commitment to reforming the way hourly-paid staff are remunerated, including taking the significant step of proposing official Trade Union recognition for postgraduate students who teach; 3 The Vice-Chancellor’s admission that the University broke neutrality in their response to the events of December 2014, together with a commitment to removing the legal injunction banning occupation-style protest on campus. Following on from last year’s pilot events, we oversaw the continuation of the ‘Any Questions’ panel sessions, which gave members of the student body the chance to air concerns and debate the key issues facing Higher Education with senior members of the University including the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar.
Institutional Teaching and Learning Review We helped recruit students to take part in Warwick’s Institutional Teaching and Learning Review (ITLR), which looked at teaching and learning provision across all academic and professional services. This internal education audit will provide assurance of the quality and standards of courses of study, together with reflection and advice on how best to enhance the quality of the University’s teaching and learning provision.
Women’s Campaigns Held during Term 2, International Women’s Week celebrated the vast achievements of women and non-binary people with the theme #BeBoldForChange. With a programme examining education, work, disability, sexual health and gendered violence through talks, resources, policy and a march, we were delighted when Women’s Officer EMMAMARIE OKOROAFOR, Warwick Anti Sexism Society (WASS) and other student organisers were recognised as Women’s Campaign of the Year by the National Union of Students!
International Women’s Week was celebrated with #BeBoldForChange
09
Course Rep wins Our 700+ Course Reps play an essential role in Academic Representation at Warwick, supported by the work of the elected Faculty Reps, Education Officer and PG Officer as well as the SU’s Student Voice team. The Reps’ achievements during the 2016-17 academic included the following: Successfully lobbying for greater provision of written lectures Securing lecture capture in certain modules Contributing to reform of the personal tutoring system Creating an alternative marking system based on student consultations Moving submission deadlines for assessed work Organising additional revision rooms on campus in Term 3 Convincing a department to provide printer credits for all undergraduates Successfully lobbying for free hot chocolate in a common room Organising social gatherings for students from postgraduate courses Creating and running several social and academic events, including a dissertation cafÊ Assisting students with formal complaints procedures Creating a new module within the curriculum Running exam workshops Organising a module fair for students to enhance module choice processes
To recognise these achievements, we honoured their outstanding contribution to student life at the Course Rep & Exec Awards in Term 3.
10
11
Theme Two Students navigating the challenges of student life
12
The SU is committed to making sure that students have access to the support they need when they need it, as well as making sure that life as a student is as affordable as possible. Our work in this area encompassed the following:
Fix the Fees campaign For too long now, non-EU international students have been paying considerably higher fees than their Home/EU counterparts, and these levels have continued to increase year on year. Our Fix the Fees campaign demanded a fee system which is consistent, fair and transparent, kicking off with a petition which was presented to the University outlining students’ concerns. SU Education Officer HOPE WORSDALE also published a blog post in response to the government’s plans to sell off the Student Loan Book, outlining its relevance for students and directing them to an NUS petition opposing the sale.
Are You OK? In October, Welfare & Campaigns Officer CHLOE WYNNE launched the ongoing Are You OK? campaign, designed to get students talking about mental health and help to reduce stigma around this issue. Originally addressing student anxieties around the start of Term 1, we held several theme days throughout the year, providing events, activities and support for students on a range of different topics. Particularly successful was a video about male mental health, which featured prominent University sports team members discussing the importance of breaking down stereotypes around this issue.
Bus service campaign In response to numerous complaints about the inadequate service provided by local bus companies, an ASM motion in Term 3 entitled Stagecoach: Stop Taking Students For a Ride! passed with the highest margin in any SU referendum to date. Following an open letter to the company from SU president LUKE PILOT, this policy was then used to lobby Stagecoach to provide cheaper replacement passes, more outof-term services and up-to-date payment methods. During 2015-16, the SU also asked National Express to introduce monthly direct debit for student bus passes, which we were pleased to see come to fruition this year – thus making the spreading of payments for essential services easier for students.
Stagecoach: Stop Taking Students for a ride!
13
The weekly welfare stand staffed by Sabbatical Officers and SU staff members at POP! was a great way to engage with student welfare, and was a huge help to me on nights out during the year - I look forward to its continuation!
Welfare Stand This year saw the establishment of a weekly Welfare Stand at our flagship Wednesday night event, POP!, where students could come and chat to Officers and staff members about anything that’s bothering them. It also provided free contraception, food and signposting to additional support services for anyone who may need them.
Wasted campaign CHLOE WYNNE revamped the SU’s responsible drinking campaign this year, producing a range of resources for students and Clubs & Society execs, including a guide on running alcohol-free socials and myth-busting posters.
Wednesday Afternoons Free In Term 3, the Students’ Union submitted a paper to the relevant academic committee and secured University commitment to investigating the potential of a Wednesday afternoon schedule free of academic commitments after 12pm. We will continue to campaign for this to recognise the benefits to student wellbeing and personal development by protecting Wednesday afternoons as a time for extracurricular activities.
14
Health and Wellbeing SU Women’s Officer EMMA-MARIE OKOROAFOR conducted a survey to find out about students’ experiences accessing sexual health services, together with their general knowledge about contraception, testing and free safer sex material. The responses suggested that students wanted more information about where and how to access sexual health services, leading to a resource being produced with Warwick Pride which outlined these in more detail – a service later enshrined in the Warwick SU for Reproductive Rights policy passed at Term 2’s ASM. In Term 2, Mental Health Awareness Week once again raised the importance of wellbeing and maintaining good mental health with an active programme of events, activities and support services for students.
Housing The SU ran another successful Housing Day in Term 1, providing thousands of students with detailed information about the househunting process while debunking the various myths which accompany this area of student life. To provide additional information, we also installed an information stand featuring Housing Ambassadors in the SU Atrium in the weeks leading up to and following the event, while our ‘Explore Your Home’ resource set students 16 challenges to remind them of the importance of their right and responsibilities while living in off-campus accommodation. In response to another round of overrecruitment by the University, the SU organised a series of drop-in sessions during the first few weeks of Term 1, providing advice and support to incoming postgraduates without accommodation and helping to house hundreds of students during what is often the busiest and most stressful time of year. Postgraduate Officer NAT PANDA also collected testimony from those students affected to present to the University, while advice was given on mitigating circumstances for those students whose studies were affected by the disruption caused.
Study Space SU Education Officer HOPE WORSDALE lobbied the University on students’ behalf to create more study spaces within existing social areas. As a result of this, we were pleased to announce the addition of work areas in the Physics Concourse, Social Science corridor, Rootes Social Building and the Humanities building, with more developments planned for the coming academic year. Within our own building, we also adapted the Central Meeting Area in SUHQ into a dedicated SU Work Zone for students and staff.
In the wider community, Democracy & Development Officer BECKY GITTINS carried out research on off-campus housing and presented it to the Town Council and various residents groups in Leamington Spa as part of an ongoing housing campaign, as well as securing off-campus housing as a key remit of the University Estates Committee.
Over 1000 students visited Housing Day 2017, with 400+ students attending the Housing Information talks delivered by the SU Housing Ambassadors.
15
Postgraduate teaching rights To support postgraduate students who teach in their campaign for fairer remuneration, the Sabbatical Officer team supported and publicised Warwick Anti-Casualisation’s ‘6 Demands’ campaign for better working conditions, as well as disseminating information about the new Sessional Teaching Project for hourly-paid teachers. Postgraduate Officer NAT PANDA also helped co-ordinate a fair-pay campaign alongside hourly-paid teachers that: Achieved a 33% increase in pay for essay marking. Secured payment for more advice and feedback hours. Removed compulsory teaching duties for postgrads. Abolished teaching as a condition of receiving a bursary.
Support & Pastoral Care Nat pushed to provide all postgrads with pastoral care information and made the case for a more consistent approach to research mentoring as part of the personal tutoring review, as well as securing a University-wide review of English language support provision.
Hate Crime Reporting This year, the SU became certified as a third party Hate Crime reporting centre, meaning that staff from Advice Centre have been trained and are now able to make a report to the police on a student’s behalf.
16
Theme Three Students shaping the future they want for themselves
18
The SU prides itself on providing a range of activities and schemes through which students can develop their transferrable skills, develop cultural awareness and maximise their potential. We work closely with the University to compile students’ HEAR Transcripts, which detail their extracurricular activities for prospective employers.
Democracy In a bid to increase the number of students running for election from underrepresented demographic groups, our ‘Be The Candidate’ Sessions in Term 2 acted as an introduction to SU democracy and the elections process. Separate sessions were arranged for students with disabilities, black, Asian and minority ethnic students, Women, LGBTUA+, International and Postgraduate students, providing an informal and non-committal setting for engagement. The SU actively campaigned to get students registered to vote ahead of the EU Referendum and the 2017 General Election, as well as advising them of their various rights and options – as a result of renewed student engagement, the constituency for Warwick and Leamington ultimately changed seats in the General Election. Going forward, we are pleased to announce that SU Democracy & Development Officer BECKY GITTINS’ campaign to have students registered automatically to vote when living on campus was successful, and will be in place for the 2018-19 academic year.
Course Rep training This year, the Student Activities team revamped its Course Rep training system, delivering it to over 200 student reps alongside the Postgrad Officer. During the summer, we also recruited new members of staff to facilitate delivery of this vital service in the future.
What’s Next? In response to student concerns about their future career prospects, SU Welfare & Campaigns Officer CHLOE WYNNE established the What’s Next? campaign, with two days dedicated to providing students with a range of options for non-traditional career paths including third-sector opportunities, volunteering, travel and further study.
Intervention initiative As mentioned previously, the SU pioneered a high quality, research-based, professional academic module created with the aim of embedding a positive and proactive culture of consent throughout the curriculum. This course was piloted in the PAIS department and, following evaluation, a report was submitted to the University before receiving HEFCE Catalyst Funding and being rolled out across campus.
65 first year UG students took part in the eight 60-minute pilot sessions.
19
Equality & Diversity Training Following last year’s revamp in this area, we delivered a training programme to 425 clubs, societies and officers during 2016-17.
First Aid training Six half-day accredited basic First Aid session for sports and society execs were delivered this year by St. Johns Ambulance.
Leadership Training Over 600 student leaders including Sabbatical Officers, Democracy Execs, SSLCs, Faculty Reps, Club & Society Execs, Student Trustees and Freshers Helpers received leadership training through the SU this year. Sessions included:
‘Making Change’ Campaign Training Programme 30 student campaigners took part in this new training series which included: Know Your Rights workshop Influencing Parliament Mental health first aid Facilitating safer spaces & promoting a culture of consent Disclosure referral training Welfare for campaigners Spotlight: social media & viral campaigning Engaging liberation communities Running accessible events
Roles & responsibilities
Legal observing
Equality & Diversity
Spotlight: non-violent direct action
Democratic Structures Duty of Care Effective Campaigning Maximising Social Media Chairing skills
In addition, 461 club and society execs attended handover training in Term 2, which focused on Exec Roles & Responsibilities, Event Planning finance, trips, tours & balls and sponsorship.
20
PTO Role Review In addition to the SU training 60 Exec, PartTime Officers and Faculty Reps in the Autumn term, BECKY GITTINS carried out a Part-Time Officer Review which influenced the training this year’s officers received.
Students with Disabilities SU Disabled Students’ Officer JENNY WHEELER had a successful year continuing to improve the accessibility of campus. Her achievements included securing two Official Changing Places facilities on campus in the new Sports Hub Development, holding a Para-Badminton Day on campus, and opening a consultation with the Vice Chancellor regarding the supply of key support contact information on the back of University ID cards. Sports Officer TED CROWSON also oversaw the purchase of four sports wheelchairs to improve accessibility to sport.
Migrant Solidarity Following on from last year’s landmark Warwick scholarships for refugees, Ethnic Minorities Officer IRANGA TCHEKO co-hosted a migrant solidarity workshop alongside Warwick Pride, Warwick Anti-Sexism Society, Warwick Anti-Racism Society, and Warwick For Free Education.
Warwick Inspire Warwick Inspire is a hybrid society & voluntary scheme whose main aim is to address educational inequality by providing workshops to disadvantaged secondary school pupils around the local area.
This year, student volunteers who took part in Warwick Inspire delivered workshops to 92 local pupils.
Theme Four Students meeting new people, sharing new experiences and building communities
22
The SU continues to provide excellent opportunities for students to participate in club, society and social activities, as well as providing valuable support, guidance and training for student activity leaders. Some of our flagship initiatives this year included:
Lecture-Free Welcome Week Following a decade of campaigning, we were delighted to announce that the University will finally host a Welcome Week free from academic commitments from the start of the 2018-19 year. This long-overdue initiative will be vital in helping students adjust to the upheaval and stress of moving to University, as well as enabling better orientation around campus. A diverse programme of events will be in place to ensure the widest possible student participation during Welcome Week, while new and current students will no longer be forced to juggle academic commitments with club and society activities during the first week of term.
Creative Warwick + Fringe Festival A flagship policy of SU Societies Officer MARISSA BEATTY, #CreativeWarwick was a brand new campaign designed to showcase the innovation, creativity and activity of student societies. In addition to themed weeks throughout Terms 2 & 3, the campaign culminated in the first-ever Warwick Fringe Festival in June: a one-day celebration of student performance taking place in and around various locations on campus. Two outdoor stages played host to a diverse range of 30+ society performances throughout the day, from hip-hop to opera and salsa to Shakespeare! Inside the Warwick Arts Centre Studio, a total of 7 student groups previewed the full-length productions that they took to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. More than 400+ students were involved on the day, with RaW live-streaming many events via their social media pages.
Society Rehearsal Spaces During the proposed Arts Centre redevelopment, Marissa lobbied the university to commit to funding for a new temporary arts venue, The Goose Nest, ultimately named via student vote. In addition to securing a brand new rehearsal studio within the SU for student use, she worked closely with the Arts Centre and Central Timetabling teams to ensure there is a comprehensive list of available rehearsal space throughout the redevelopment period.
Varsity 2017 Warwick University once again beat our sporting counterparts at Coventry this year, making it our 27th consecutive victory in the annual tournament – another great win for #TeamWarwick!
23
Sports SU Sports Officer TED CROWSON ushered in the new academic year with the introduction of pre-season access to selected sports clubs for new undergraduates, thus providing a major boost for incoming students looking to get involved in sporting activity. In addition, he prevented an increase in Warwick Sport Silver membership fees for 16/17 and created the Sports Speaker series of free lectures. Following student concerns about the existing kit supplier, Ted Crowson helped tender and secure a new kit supplier for sports clubs with a new written agreement, as well as reviewing the Warwick Sport and SU sports partnership to make it more efficient and increase student representation. In association with Warwick Sport, we also hosted 8 Open Day sports talks on Sport and Performance Sport at Warwick.
Postgraduate Events In Term 2, we ran a questionnaire to understand what kinds of events would appeal to the postgraduate community. This will help inform a wider piece of work about postgraduate engagement, and led to the first-ever Postgraduate Summer Ball in June – this event sold out and was well-received, ultimately hosting 250 PG students and their guests!
Holocaust Memorial Day SU Education Officer HOPE WORSDALE worked with the Modern Records Centre to put on an educational exhibition marking Holocaust Memorial Day. This topical exhibition covered key themes of the Holocaust itself, other modern genocides and how refugee crises link in with such atrocities, together with the way in which both fascism and anti-fascist resistance have manifested since the Holocaust.
24
Kick Homophobia Out of Sport Running throughout Term 1, the Kick Homophobia Out of Sport campaign provided another opportunity for Sports Clubs to demonstrate the importance of equality for LGBTUA+ students and celebrate their contributions to Warwick’s sporting community. Rainbow Laces were on sale at Reception and worn en masse to commemorate Pride Week 2016.
SU-supported Events SU Societies, Clubs, Officers and staff hosted and supported the following events this year: Black History Month (October 2016) Pride Month (November 2016) LGBTUA+ History Month speaker series Lunar New Year celebrations on campus Real Ale Festival Battle of the Bands Go Global Fair Warwick Blackout US Election Night coverage Super Bowl coverage
Student Achievements Some of the many student successes in 2016-17 include: LAW SOCIETY won the award for Best UK Law Society of the year, plus Best UK law Society for social media. WARWICK TAP raised £2510.55 for CRASAC in Term 2 as part of their charity week and ‘Pizazz’ event. LEWIS SMITH, a PGR History student, won a Kenilworth award for his work reinventing and directing the Kenilworth Arts Festival, as sponsored by the University.
Other notable fundraisers this year included:
ASIAN SOCIETY:
£2,146
UNICEF ON CAMPUS:
£3,268
SWIMMING & WATER POLO:
£3,431
CLASSIC & MODERN DANCE:
£4,106
EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM:
£7,995
JAILBREAK:
£17,241
RAG fundraised a massive £224,781.77 whilst 46 individual societies & clubs raised a further £52,143 for charity this year – a total of £276,924.77!
Theme Five Delivering an effective & sustainable membership organisation
26
The SU remains committed to providing the best value for money possible to our members, while providing opportunities for involvement in sustainability projects and improving our own carbon footprint.
Green League We were pleased to see that Warwick rose 95 places in this year’s Green League to the position of #34. Run by the student society People and Planet, the Green League provides a ranking system for the sustainabilityrelated performance of universities, taking into account a range of issues including reduction in carbon emissions, environmental policy and efforts to encourage positive behaviour in staff and students.
Eco Centre Now likely to be called ‘The Nest’, this project, pioneered by students, received significant support from the University Sustainability Team, who met with an architect early in the year to produce early potential models for the straw-bale building.
Dietary Requirements SU Democracy & Development Officer BECKY GITTINS created a Dietary Requirements Survey in a bid to make our outlets as accessible as possible for people with food allergies and intolerances, as well as making them more welcoming to vegetarians, vegans or those who eat kosher and halal. To celebrate ‘Veganuary’, vegan options were available in all food outlets during January.
Societies Transformation Project Societies Officer MARISSA BEATTY secured a Transformation Project Manager at the Board of Trustees to overhaul and review all processes within the Student Activities team. As part of this, she created a comprehensive ‘How To’ guide for event planning which will be available to societies next year, and helped to develop an online web chat with Societies Coordinators and the Finance Office so that students can get real-time advice from our staff. An online money request form system will also be available next year, meaning that no more Money Request Forms get lost and students will be able to track the progress of their request at every stage of approval. In addition to her wins for students on rehearsal spaces, Marissa lobbied Warwick Conferences to get a better deal for societies using their services, including a commitment to charge societies the internal room hire fee.
Warwick rose 95 places in this year’s Green League to the position of #34.
27
Tech Equipment The SU committed to spending £10,000 on regularly-used equipment which societies can hire for free such as microphones and speakers – thus saving societies hundreds of thousands in hire fees from private companies.
Student Driver Cards Our Central Admin team supported a new process for the issuing and collection of Student Driver Cards for those who require them.
Girls Against campaign Warwick SU and our venue, The Copper Rooms, were proud to pledge our support to the ‘Girls Against’ campaign, aiming to reduce sexual harassment at gigs and nights out.
Marketing Focus Groups Our Marketing and Communications team held focus groups with PGs and UGs to find out their perceptions of the SU prior to arriving at uni, with a view to tailoring future pre-arrival communications to better suit their needs.
Ticketing We were pleased to note that last year’s server upgrade largely eradicated the problems students experienced by students when tickets for popular events go on sale. In association with our web provider, we are currently developing an online mechanism for transferring tickets to sold-out events.
Visual Identity Refresh A full revamp of the SU’s visual Identity was launched this year to bring our existing elements up to date and create suitable designs for future use. Sabbatical Officers and Student Trustees fed into the process throughout the development phase, leading to a successful roll-out of the new visual Identity at the start of the summer vacation period.
Member Survey 2017 Run in Term 3, our biannual Member Survey once again offered students the chance to tell us what they think of our services and offer suggestions for future improvements.
28
Societies Council and Handover In response to student feedback, Societies Officer MARISSA BEATTY revamped our Societies Council to make the content more relevant and ensure that students had a proper ‘welcome back’ at the start of the new academic year. This resulted in a record attendance at Handover, with just under 400 exec members present.
Go Green Week
Attitude is Everything
This year, Warwick teamed up with Coventry University and Coventry City Council to run the biggest Go Green Week our region has ever seen, providing students with a range of opportunities for involvement with sustainability initiatives including the NUS Snap It Off and Student Switch-Off campaigns.
Warwick SU was proud to receive a Silverlevel award from Attitude is Everything, which improves deaf and disabled people’s access to live music by working in partnership with audiences, artists and the music industry to implement a Charter of Best Practice across the UK.
Gender-Neutral Toilets
Bread Oven Term 3 Opening
Following consultations with our LGBTUA+ community, all new buildings will now include gender-neutral toilets, with all current single occupancy toilets to be adapted to becoming gender-neutral across 2017. We also ran a consultation this year on converting two of the facilities in the main library into gender-neutral toilets, resulting in positive national media coverage.
In response to student demand, The Bread Oven opened on Saturday during Weeks 3-6 of Term 3 to provide students with a better range of food options during the busiest revision period on campus.
29
Entertainments Programme We offered a range of entertainment events this year, including: Team-ups with Leamington Assembly for Propaganda on Friday nights during term-time Team-ups with International Love for international-themed events Offering free tickets for classical concerts at Warwick Arts Centre Hosting a Christmas event and Summer FĂŞte for Postgraduate students Hosting live gigs in association with VMS Super Bowl screening Bierkeller Real Ale Festival Musical Bingo in The Dirty Duck
30
Our year in numbers
5
new awards introduced at this year’s Society Awards
15
student conferences planned
20%
increase in international student engagement in SU elections
22%
of student population voter turnout in Officer Elections
24
hours per day the Library was open during term-time as a result of SU campaigning
37
student balls hosted
40+
societies organised events to support the #CreativeWarwick theme weeks
83
student tours organised
32
92
1000
11,077
300
1387
23,684
380
5073
40,699
400
5673
attendees at this year’s Sports Fair
raised by 46 individual societies & clubs
425
8994
£100,000
school pupils visited as part of the Warwick Inspire scheme
students employed at Warwick SU
visiting speakers welcomed by societies
student performers and technicians involved in the Warwick Fringe Festival
Club & Society exec members who took part in Equality & Diversity training
more rooms available on campus and in the local area following SU lobbying
individual students’ enquiries handled by the SU Advice Centre (total of 1675 cases)
individual students involved in one or more sports club
individual students involved in one or more society
votes cast in All Student Meetings this year
baguettes sold (on average) each term in The Bread Oven
votes cast in the Spring Officer Elections
£52,143
of funding secured via HEFCE Catalyst Fund to subsidise anti-sexual violence initiatives
£160,432
quanitifiable amount saved for students through SU Advice Centre casework
£224,781
total fundraising amount processed through RAG
£4,000,000 collective amount saved for students by halting a tuition fee increase
33
Our year in figures
Income
(in thousands) Commercial
£5,304 General
£2,816
Membership Services
£ 530
34
Expenditure (in thousands) Food & Drink Outlets
£2,807
Venues & Ents
£ 891
Marketing, Media and Sponsorship
£ 230
Other
£1,376
University Grant
£2,748
Premises Rental
£
21
Marketing, Media and Sponsorship
£
30
Other
£
17
Commercial
Food & Drink Outlets
£2,748
£4,072
Venues & Ents
£ 722
Marketing, Media and Sponsorship
£ 104
Other
£1,060
Overheads/ staff
SUHQ (rent & running costs)
£ 988
Advice & Welfare
£ 176
Democracy, Representation and Student Voice
£ 411
NUS Affiliation
£
Marketing
£ 459
£3,381
51
Other Central Services £1,296
Socsfed Membership Fees
£ 134
Other Society Contributions
£
9
Other Sports Club Contributions
£
10
Warwick Sport Grant
£ 377
Membership Services
£ 578
Student Activities: Clubs and Societies
£ 265
Socs Fed Grants & Awards to Societies
£
Warwick Sport & Grants to Clubs
£ 263
50
WSU Surplus
Pensions Valuation Adjustment
£0 619
– £ 1,405 thousand
From operations – reserves for future investment
thousand
For more information on the pensions valuation adjustment please see our 2016-17 Financial Statements.
WSU Reported Deficit
After taking into account the pensions valuation adjustment.
– £0 786 thousand
35
Warwick SU: who we are
Warwick Students’ Union is a registered charity which exists to benefit students at the University of Warwick through: Promoting the interests and welfare of students during their course of study and representing, supporting and advising students; Being the recognised representative channel between students, the University of Warwick and any other external bodies; Providing social, cultural, sporting and recreational activities and forums for discussions and debate for the personal development of its students. We do this primarily through the provision of support for clubs and societies, representation on academic issues and issues affecting students’ lives (e.g. housing, transport, wellbeing, welfare & advice services and campaigning support), as well as food & drink facilities and social activity. All the income generated by our commercial services (The Copper Rooms, The Bread Oven, The Dirty Duck, Curiositea, The Terrace Bar and Xananas) is directly reinvested back into services which benefit students, such as the support for our 65 sports clubs and 250+ societies, the Advice Centre and academic representation.
36
Our Mission Positively impacting students’ lives at Warwick and beyond.
Our Vision Every Warwick student unlocking their potential.
Our Values Student Focussed We put students at the heart of everything we do.
Democratic We are representative, ethical, transparent and accountable.
Welcoming
The SU is a great place to work as a student; the flexibility in when and what you work is great and they understand your degree is of a high priority. There is a great atmosphere within the SU building and amongst the team. Working in Reception has given me experience within the workplace alongside my degree and I have enjoyed every second of it!
We are supportive, helpful, inclusive and value diversity.
Enriching We nurture students’ aspirations and help them develop.
Independent We are the independent voice of Warwick students.
Olivia Gillard
SU RECEPTION ASSISTANT
38
Charity and Company Details can be found on our website: warwicksu.com/companydetails PUBLISHED APRIL 2018