IMPACT REPORT 2015 UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER STUDENTS’ UNION
Presidents word Hey there! UWSU has had a pretty eventful year and I hope you have seen many of the great changes we have been making. We know that you face many challenges during you time at university; whether its stressful studies, competing in sports, or just struggling to find that study-life balance. We understand that you need a place to go to for relief, support, a good time or just a chat! With this in mind, we enforced an open door policy so that you are welcome to visit any of the newly elected Sabbatical Officers and staff for any issues you have. We have also revved up the number of events throughout the year that welcome all demographics of our student body, and we have new members of the team at the SU to ensure you gain as much as possible from our services. This report shows just what can be done with a dedicated team and one core aim: Enhance your student experience. We hope we can continue the amazing progress we’ve made in 2015!
Jim Hirschmann,
President of the Students’ Union 2015-2016
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ďżźďżź Contents Welcome to Westminster
4
Your voice
8
Winning for you
12
We Are Westminster
14
Advice for you
16
You as Union leaders
18
Get involved
20
Expanding for you
26
Our services
28
Jobs for you
29
Keen to be green
30
Keeping in touch
31
Measuring our impact
32
Finance matters
33
Reflecting on a great year
35
Welcome to Westminster Friends of Arriving New Students The FANS programme is a joint project with the University as part of the Great Start Project. It was established to ensure you all get a personal welcome from someone who has been a first year just like you before. UWSU recruits, trains and delivers the FANS who then work with the faculties throughout the first two weeks at university. FANS gives new students the best possible way to create networks early on with other students and get a good start as a fresher! Not only is it great to have a FAN as a first year, but it is also a great opportunity for the volunteers to gain invaluable skills for their CVS increasing their employability when they graduate. 2015 was the most successful year yet, with a record number of you involved in the project.
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4500
20
187
Had FANS
Hours your FAN spent with you!
Number of FANS in 2015
“
What did F.A.N.S say? Fathma Haque, Marylebone:
“I really enjoyed my role as a FAN and it has changed me completely as a person. Last year I wasn’t as lively or confident as I have become after being a FAN. I got to make many new friends! And what made my job a lot more fun was that I had an amazing group of students. I would definitely do the role again”
Abbirhami Ratnarajah, Cavendish:
“Thank you for everything. It was an amazing role; I had a great time as a FAN from the training days until the last day of the second week. It was a good way to meet other FANS and meet and welcome the arriving new students to the university”
“
Selfie loving SABBs! When you start at Westminster you are making a transitional change in your life. The Students’ Union understands this and is there to support you in that transition. We work hard at the start of the year to deliver opportunities for students to get involved. These take the form of fresher’s fairs, events and attending the numerous induction talks. Your Sabbatical Officers welcomed over 6,400 of you at your induction talks this year with more of you then ever before receiving a first hand induction to your SU!
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Freshers in figures :
612 10551
attended our fresher’s events powered by Wicked Student Nights.
pints were served at your student bar, The Undercroft.
11,748 74
societies, sports teams and student media crews welcomed you!
46 45
attended Freshers’ Fairs
externals brought you the best goodies for years
of you worked with the full-time team to deliver freshers.
154 £21,000
back in your pockets
worth of student staff hours
£££££££
Impact: With more of you getting involved in your SU right at the start of your journey
you build your university community from the beginning which helps you settle in from the off, ultimately reducing your likelihood of homesickness and helping you feel secure. Along the way, we have given you opportunities to volunteer and gain hours for your scholarships.
Your voice It is more important than ever that your voice is represented throughout the University. Putting the student experience at the heart of everything we do, your Sabbatical team attend many meetings within the university and support the voices of the students within these meetings. Your Officers take your issues and follow them through the formal university committee processes and engage with the University Senior Managers. It is all about making your Westminster experience the best it can be.
77,400
645
5126
Minutes your officers have spent in University meetings
Meetings attended by your Sabbatical team
Emails sent by the SABB team
Impact: We are committed to ensuring you have the best experience whilst you are at Westminster. That’s why your Sabbatical Officers’ attend senior meetings to ensure your voice is heard.
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Your course and your SABBs For most of you, your course is what brings you to Westminster – the Sabbatical Officers take this very seriously and engage with the University to solve issues and develop your course which is key to your Westminster experience. Our Officers then take those issues and follow them through the formal University committee processes and engage with the University Senior Managers to make sure there is positive change. I
#SABBWINS LAUREN We Are Westminster Liberation Officers Regent St Deep End OTIS Student Switch Off Harrow Cart 24Hr Shop Trial USMAN Cavendish Social Space Career Links
JIM Scrutiny Panel Public Monthly Reports Increased Society Support SALSA P3 Access Unique Society Let’s Go
Your course Reps Course Reps are students that are elected to represent you on your course. Course Reps play an important role in providing valuable feedback to the University and Students’ Union as well as back to you, which can greatly impact your experience of your for the better.
There are
780 course reps 17.2%
50% More course reps trained last year
Course Reps attending workshops
510
Course reps trained!
more than 2014
296
This year we also laid on extra training for our course representatives through a series of 6 workshops, including:
CAMPAIGN TRAINING
NEGOTIATION
PUBLIC SPEAKING
This year we have dramatically increased the support for course reps so that they are better prepared to engage with the University. Attendance at training and communication with the course reps is starting to make a difference.
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Students at our heart Student representation is at the heart of any Students’ Union. We’re committed to ensuring that you get the most out of your university experience by ensuring that the student voice is adequately heard. Students at Westminster are primarily represented within the Union in the following ways:
780 Course representatives | 4 NUS delegates 5 Sabbatical officers | 4 Liberation Officers The elections are an amazing opportunity for UWSU to see what you really care about, your votes and voices really do make a difference.
4 New Liberation Officers
33 Candidates that campaigned for Officer positions
6065 Students voted in UWSU Elections
61% Increase in voting since 2014
You have spoken out about the need for minority representation. We answered, and the role of Liberation Officer was created. With four Officers covering the diverse groups we have at University of Westminster, we have seen an incredible turnout for elections in November.
Impact: A more democratically lead Union, with you having a powerful voice in deciding who your elected leaders should be.
Winning for you The Mind your Mates programme is part of our drive to tackle the important issue of mental health. It gives you an opportunity to take care of each other and provide peer support for complex issues. This campaign covers all aspects of welfare, and gives you a chance to reach out to someone that may need a friend.
Your wellbeing:
Salsabil, VP of Marylebone:
“One of my most important missions as your Vice President for Marylebone is improving disability access and support. I’ve been fighting to accommodate students who have previously had limited access to lectures and support needed to succeed. I’ve also been working hard to improve social space access, and establishing bigger and better events with the Let’s Go! Campaign”
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Getting you employed Employability: Usman, VP of Cavendish:
“I know that often students at university feel like they are in a study bubble, with some not giving much thought to what they will do with their degree once they graduate. I established Career links as an initiative that would essentially inspire you and give you access to the right tools and information that enables you to take the right steps towards landing your dream jobs, “Our most popular event featured Solomun Atkar, a contestant from the Apprentice! We saw an insane amount of you tweeting and facebooking us, with many of you using the tweet wall during the event! Over 82 of you tweeted us!”
4.5% More students employed after graduation “According to the latest figures from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey 74% of leavers from the University were in employment six months after completing a course, a rise of 4.5% on the previous year.”* The University of Westminster *(Source: Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey 2013/14). This data refers to leavers from University of Westminster who completed a course between 1 August 2013 and 31 July 2014
Impact: We have seen what a difference this kind of information has on students’ confidence and openness to explore all opportunities that may enhance their chances in the working world.
We are Westminster Celebrating our diversity Lauren, VP of Regents and LTS:
“Our University is a large institution, with over 20,000 students from more than 150 countries. We pride ourselves on being an incredibly diverse institution, and have strived for inclusivity. That is why I’ve established a month full of events centred on celebrating and learning about our diverse groups. “We are Westminster month is one step we have taken to acknowledge and celebrate our diverse student body, with numerous events across each campus including food festivals, speed faithing and drinks around the world. I hope this month will continue in the years to come, as we saw an unprecedented turn out to support this cause.”
20 societies got involved
751
27
students attended
events
4 videos
Impact: Because of We Are Westminster month we know we have a beautifully diverse and rich culture here at Westminster. This month enabled us to celebrate that together and highlighted all the wonderful things that bring us together.
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How you got involved!
Advice for you Our Research, Representation and Welfare department (RRW) is there to provide you with free one to one confidential advice and support on any issue that you may be facing in your academic or personal life. We are independent of the University and members of Advice UK which means that our advice is impartial.
2,934 visitors to UWSU offices this year
16
141 cases opened
110
100
academic cases taken on
Cases closed
Advice Academic
Housing
78%
7%
Discrimination
4% 3%
Finance
“My parents have told me to speak to the Students’ Union in any complications with tutors, as you will always have my best interest at heart, and they are right, you do. Thank you!”
I have graduated, and I’m waiting to start my Masters in 2016… I’ll be coming to thank you in person for all your hard work.
Thanks very much for your help with the case, your information was very useful and clear, I appreciate your help.
Thank you for helping me deal with this, I didn’t know who else to turn to.
OU as Union YYOU
36 Workshops
Formal leadership roles, such as our society presidents and heads of student media give you the opportunity to reach your potential and gain new skills. We take pride in seeing how immersed you get during campaigns, and the energy your representatives have fighting for issues you care about. This year we took 70 students away to a residential weekend. It was a fantastic opportunity for SU staff and students to get to know each other and bond over various team challenges and adventures.
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25 Activities
nion leaders
25 Activities
9/10 rating by you
Impact: All Student leaders are equipped with the skills to be effective in their roles through the year as well as able to take these experiences and use them on their CV’s post graduation.
Get involved
CENTRE FOR PERFORMING ARTS
Societies and Centre of Performing Arts Societies are the way that our students can explore their interests, share their culture and become part of a community. This year we have worked hard to support our clubs and societies so that they can deliver for you. We have spent more time with our society leaders to train and develop their skills.
520 Society events
OVER
1500
35
94
Members registered You nominated more dedicated societies of your peers for the all with student-led in societies Annual Awards throughout 2015 committees
This year has been amazing for societies with over 25% growth in the number of academic societies, taking us one step closer to fulfilling our strategic plan. We understand the value that societies have in enhancing your time at Westminster. That is why we are focussing on establishing more academic societies as yet another avenue for you to engage with activities directly relevant to your learning experience.
Impact: Joining and taking part gives you a unique opportunity to use the transferable skills you have gained during your studies.
52 20
NEW SOCIETIES!
CPA C A B A R E T MOST SUCCESSFUL SHOW
Check out what societies have been doing...
Sports Societies Sports and recreational activities have been a central feature of being at Westminster throughout its 176 year history. The employability skills you gain from being involved are important, and your achievements create strong bonds within your teams.
4 Varsity wins in a row!
5
2
21%
Individual competition entries
Number of clubs winning a league title
Increase in sports clubs registered
25% Increase in turn out for trials
We have also heard your calls to establish more recreational sports teams, and we have responded by focussing on Give it a Go! giving you the chance to try your hand at activities such as rock climbing, archery and handball; we don’t plan on slowing down! This is just the beginning of what we hope will be many more sports teams to come. We hope to see more of you joining, it’s never too late!
Impact: We know being involved in sport at university is known to build
communities and gives you opportunities to try something you may not have had a chance to try out before, as well as being good for both your mental and physical health which gives you a clear head for your studies.
give it a 22
“I’ve met so many students from different courses and years. It’s really great exercise, and its a really good opportunity to represent the university” Charlotte Longhurst, Equestrian Captain
Student Media YOUR AWARD
WINNING YEAR! n ree c S A t on aST Bes at N le Ma
Student Radio
Station of the year
Smoke TV is one of the leading student TV channels and has provided you year on year with exciting content on a range of subjects, 2015 was no exception. This year’s content has been the most viewed and most shared to date. Not only is our TV output important for offering volunteer oppourtunities in its production but it is an amazing way to celebrate our diverse talented and passionate students.
9,500
LISTENERS LAST YEAR!
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212,649 Views
529,086 minutes of video watched
16.9%
559
Growth in subscribers since 2014
Number of shares
Smoke Radio continues to amaze
us with a dedicated team that doesn’t slow down! You still get the latest and greatest tunes, as well as the latest news directly through the airwaves. Smoke Radio also plays a vital role in covering elections and hearing from candidates and voters alike.
The Smoke Magazine team have had their 1st successive Editorin-Chief for the magazine under a new streamlined system. This has established a loyalty among the students working for Smoke magazine, and a clear trajectory for progression in producing high quality issues.
FRESHERS
Executive board in 2015: Completely student led and was very beneficial
ELECTIONS
7
Editions in 2015
Notable coverage:
120
3
Pages of content
Magazines in 2015
The QH
has grown in popularity significantly this year. We have come to love QH for providing us with first class coverage on the latest news effecting students. This has been possible with a two day print turnaround which allows the QH team to provide you with more current news. Win for all!
LAUNCH OF QH ONLINE
Quintin Hogg THE
Impact: You have so many opportunities to take your student experience to new heights by joining one of our media teams and there’s always a chance for you to explore your creative side! You can also gain some experience in the industry to prepare you after graduating.
Expanding for you
Just Say It!
... You said more t n a w e W ace! p s l a i c o s
700+ Of you told us what you thought of the Union
We deli ver Three ne ed... w spaces for you!
This year you have gained three more spaces dedicated to you. These spaces are bookable only by the Students’ Union for you and your Students Group. The Loft, The Deep End and the Cavendish Social Spaces are all solely for Student use. Mike Williams, President, Drama Society 2015-2016: “Having the Deep End as an accessible performance area is a boom for students that really can’t be understated. Performances will be better planned, more frequent, and more popular, now that our society has regular access to the Deep End with its new stage”
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GENT ST.
THE DEEP END, RE
THE LOFT,
SOCIAL SPACE, CAVENDISH
HARROW
Our Services Our commercial services exist to provide services that enhance the student experience whilst trying to generate a surplus to fund other areas of the SU. The Undercroft is a major hub for those of you looking for a good night out, and with the beer garden and live music events, we love how diverse this space can be. So much so that we invested in a new social space to accompany the beloved Undercroft! The Loft opened in September, and has given us more room to plan bigger and better events for you. This also means we have been able to expand the team of bar staff that make your nights run like clockwork. This means more part time job opportunities that are available to students. Our partner Wicked Student Nights has taken on our events and have been able to give you memorable nights at Fabric, XOYO, CafĂŠ de Paris, Walkabout and many more.
Shops
:
op
m
m
12,394
Items sold in total
d
ol
ts
os
in
ite
sh
1 2 3
he
t
3,
28
CUSTOMERS
UNDERCROFT
4500
231 Hoodies sold in freshers alone! 9,663 customers served in the shops 4257 Jagerbombs sold in Undercroft! Impact: With this new social space and more investments in the undercroft, you can enjoy a work-life balance that’s affordable and important to succeeding at university.
Jobs for you We have a range of part time roles available in our different departments that work around your schedule. We achieved securing national living wage for student staff and are working towards London living wage. Look out for student staff jobs in March and you could be next to join the team! “Being a promotion assistant for the SU has allowed me to meet so many students from different courses, and its really good having a part time job that fits around my timetable.” Rhona McDade “I enjoy being involved with the SU, and its cool that we are the first to know about what events and campaigns happen throughout the year.” Meg Wilford
“Being a promotion assistant is great as it allows me to explore various campuses and meet different people along the way” Tasawar Khurshid
“I like that I can be creative in my role, and we can give our ideas from a student perspective. I enjoy the social aspect and enhancing my people skills when we’re out promoting.” Ollie Green
106
STUDENT STAFF EMPLOYED IN 2015
Keen to be green As a Union we recognise how important it is to ensure you as students have all the tools and information to reduce your carbon footprint and implement sustainable alternatives in your daily lives at university. We know education is vital in creating widespread change and feel it is our responsibility to educate you at Westminster. OTIS KIRBY-DUNKLEY, VP HARROW:
“Sustainability isn’t the most exciting topic to be advertising to you, but is an essential part of everyone’s future and it’s never too late to make small changes that benefit us all. “I intend to make the subject of sustainability more enjoyable, and I started by releasing our first project of the year, the “Student Switch Off” video as part of my KeenToBeGreen initiative.”
39 HOURS
WATCHED
1984 VIEWS
39 LIKES
45 SHARES
30
Keeping in touch This year we have seen an unpresented level of engagement on our social media platforms. Our social media has also become a central hub for you to get in touch and give us your feedback
Total Reach:
Link Clicks: 7,400 Retweets: 1,830 Beme takeover:
2 2,000 people reached
157,133
New followers:
1,342
WEB 208,824 HITS OVER
1,000,000 people saw the hashtag:
#UWSUFreshersWeek Our bi-weekly newsletter has seen an increase in subscriptions, and we enjoy sourcing information from numerous societies to promote events and campaigns that you love. We have also been able to start a team of promotion assistants. Made of fellow students, this new team has become a vital part of delivering key information for events, elections and support.
Impact: You want to know more from us, and we are providing more ways to update you and keep you in the loop.
Measuring our Impact 141 Welfare Cases
Life changing
Major improvement to course and quality of life
510 Course Reps Trained
Positive impact on student life
106 Student Staff employed throughout 2015 Good service to you while you’re at Westminster
35 nominations at UWSU awards
187 Fans 71 of you Gave it a Go in 2015
25%+ incr in course b socieit
832 numb NUS extra sale
Listening and responding to what students really want
Some Students 0-100
A Department 101-500
Entire School 500-3000
Impact: Our core activities really do impact
student here at Westminster and to highlight h activities really go we have plotted ted them
It has been a great year for Westminst
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First years welcomed to UWSU 700+ participants took part in the Just Say It survey 25%+ increase in course based socieites 832 number of NUS extra card sales
Entire School 500-3000
21 increase in sport based activities
6065 of you voted in our Elections
Campus 3001-7000
ally do impact on your experience as a d to highlight how widely reaching our otted ted them on the matrix for you.
r for Westminster, Well Done All!
15 Sabbatical officer campaigns All Students 8000
Finance Matters We have worked with the University closely to invest in your social spaces and events this year with the most notable being the renovated social space at the Cavendish Campus and The Loft at The Undercroft in Harrow. We have already seen so many of you enjoy these spaces, and it makes all the hard work worth it!
How we’ve spent your money... 26.1%
Student Activities
26.1% RRW’s
4.2%
Events & Spaces
13.9% Other engagement
3.7%
National Representation
7.6%
Making sure the union is run well
18.3%
Central Costs of Delivering Services
Continued Support from the university:
We’ve had an increase in funding from the university which has enabled us to increase the quality of our communication and RRW services. With more staff on hand, we have already seen an impact on our availability to represent you more effectively.
Impact: We are building on the progress made last year with further
increases in income and funding. You now have a more efficient and transparent union that is continually focused on communicating with you on what matters to you most.
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Reflecting on a great year
Our mission is to have a Students’ Union that is devoted to you achieving your educational aims, that is looking after your welfare and is positively impacting on your overall university experience.
REPRESENTING STUENDENTS DAY IN DAY OUT SINCE ‘65
I’m proud to say that students at University of Westminster are dedicated and passionate people, they are ready to get stuck in with the Union’s endeavours. The willingness to look out for each other and take part in initiatives that better our community are what makes us great. We want you to feel that you are part of a vibrant and strong community; that your ambitions and goals will be supported and that we not only play a part in your university experience, but you feel we have shaped your experience for the better. We don’t always get it right, but we keep on learning and developing as an organisation. We launched our 50th year in March and branded it as a rebirth as an SU, a chance to reconnect with our members. We feel that this has been an incredibly successful year and we have seen what positive impact we’ve had on you all. I hope this continues as we approach the New Year, and we see even more of you get involved in all the opportunities that the Students’ Union has to offer.
Andy Smith CEO of the Students’ Union
1965
2015
@westminstersu
www.uwsu.com