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had 106 part-time students involved in societies. This is double from last year.
developed the Well@Wolves strategy focusing on the important aspects of students health and wellbeing issues that were raised through the annual survey.
contents OUR STUDENTS’ UNION
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STUDENT VOICE & DEMOCRACY
IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS WE...
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9,10 Student Voice Case Study 11
SU Awards
STUDENT SUCCESS
established a new database to better track issues raised from the student voice.
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Societies in Numbers
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Volunteering in Figures
chinese new year!
14,15 Society and Volunteering Case Studies 16 17
Events in Numbers Walsall Campus
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Advice and Support in Figures
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Advice and Support Case Work
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Case Study
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Well@Wolves
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open air cinema!
christmas stocking filler fayre
Student Voice in Figures
STUDENT EXPERIENCE
had Union Council approve the new officer roles allowing us to address more effectively the wider representation needs of our student membership.
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Union Affairs Message CEO Message Our Vision, Mission and Core Aims Our Values
Valuing Your View
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ceo message
Union affairs message
Another year, another report! How time moves fast
here at the Students’ Union. It is a good oppor tunity to reflect on what we have done and achieved over the last 12 months and we can only reflect here in this report on some of the highlights that have occurred but hopefully it gives you an insight to the range and quality of the of the activities and services we deliver here at Wolverhampton.
On behalf of the new officer team for 2017/18 we wish to commend this report to you. As you will read, this has again been a challenging and productive year for the Students’ Union, delivering on key objectives and striving as ever to ensure the needs and voices of the students are central to all we do. We thank our previous officer team, of which I was proud to be part of, for the contributions they have made throughout the year; Habiba Amjad, Nicole Berroa and Racheal Healey.
This year we have welcomed a number of new people to our staff team, seen new initiatives; and under taken refurbishments across our spaces. We continue to focus on our vision of making the student experience at Wolverhampton, for as many as possible, the best it can be. Obvio usly this brings challenges as everyone is an individual and we listen and learn from our studen t body every year. I want to take this oppor tunity to highlight a numb er of activities and oppor tunities we have all been instrumental in delivering.
Our highlights for 2016/17 include:
issic romel The new team are: Majid Akhtar – Community Officer Anisah Khalid – Academic Officer IK Mirembe – Diversity Officer Issic Romel – Union Affairs Officer
officer team 17-18!
We as a Union Council have worked over the last 12 months to review the officer roles and revise them in response to the needs and priorities of our membership, ensuring that we continue to provide quality representation to all our students’. We will be focusing on key objectives such as; making sure we reach as many students’ as possible and enabling more and more to participate in the life and community of the University and at all levels. We are passionate about developing the quality and reach of the student voice, a key factor in shaping the future of the University. We are providing dedicated support through our Diversity Officer who will ensure the profile of our rich and diverse community is raised. We look to develop campaigns and awareness around issues of respect and inclusivity; celebrating community cohesion. Fundamentally our role is to be there for students to advocate, represent and support them this we are dedicated to do. We are really looking forward to working with our students and stakeholders to continue the vision and mission of the SU for 2017/18 Best wishes Issic Romel
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•
A very successful Welcome Week with extraordinar
•
Refurbishment of our social spaces for students
•
Dedicated support and advice service for our studen
•
Great response to the SU survey with a 25% return rate – enabling us to ensure we continue to be relevant to students needs
•
Increasing the quality of training and support to
y numbers attending our Freshers’ Fairs
ts at the Walsall campus
our student reps and officers • Beginning a major review of our democratic structu res enabling more transparency and accountability •
Collaborating very successfully with the University on key events and activities enhancing the student experience
•
Reviewing and improving the volunteering oppor
tunities and to our societies
It has been quite an extraordinar y time in what has been again for the Higher Education sector a challenging one. The beginning of TEF, changes to the NSS survey, nursing bursaries etc., all of this impact’s our studen ts and those who work to support them. Over the next 12 months’ we will continue to place students at the heart of everything we do, the new officer team comes with new roles and remits to improve and enhance the student experience.
Ann Gough 5
OUR VALUES
CORE AIMS + VISION MISSION
VALUES
our Vision and Mission Our Vision University of Wolverhampton Students’ Union - Student Experience at its best!
Be Fair
By being inclusive and offering opportunities for our all students to grow.
Be Responsible
We understand the impact of our actions and actively seek ways to eliminate negative consequences.
Our Mission
Be Honest
Working with students and stakeholders to ensure the Student Voice is heard and the Student Experience is enhanced, leading to Student Success.
We are there to listen and support, but like a true friend tell students what they need to know and be honest by giving the right information.
core aims
Be Respectful
Our approach is to listen, to connect and welcome all individuals into our community.
Be compassionate
We are passionate about our students and we will support them throughout their time at University.
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To enhance
To maximise
the Student
the Student
Voice across the
Experience
University
for all
To promote & support Student Success
Be ambitious We are innovative and visionary; we want to push the boundaries of what is possible. We are not afraid to try and we are not afraid to fail.
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student voicE
elections votobooth!
in figures
student voice
STUDENT VOICE CASE STUDY
498 Course Reps.
505
69%
of Course Reps trained, an increase
cases from Officers on Tour.
of 29% from last year.
Elections saw
3,672 votes cast in the Spring Elections.
ltation FoSS student consu
21
candidates for
13
positions from 7 different countries.
The focus for this academic year was to gather and collate more data than ever before, consecutively establishing a new database that shows the number of issues per case, where they have come from and their outcomes. This has provided us with a better insight into the lives of our students on campus, to help us create more impactful; positive change.
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CASE STUDY Liam Slough was the Part-Time Officer for Telford Campus and will be continuing this role into the next academic year. “My role for has been full of challenges since I undertook this position in November 2016. Thanks to all the support I have received from the staff within the SU I can honestly say that these past 10 months have been some of the most enjoyable moments of my university life so far! They go above and beyond to support you with your role. Due to all the support I have received this year as both a full-time carer
and someone who is very dedicated to their degree, the SU have given me the opportunity to make a positive change to the student experience at Telford campus. Two examples of creating change have been myself negotiating with the University to allow students to be refunded on Personal Protection Equipment as the previous year’s students got PPE provided to them for free. 9
Secondly, one module in my faculty did not have a lecturer for a long period of time. After a joint effort between the SU and University the issue got resolved which enabled the core module to be completed and assessed. Finally with the help of the SU staff, University and Academics, I have pushed through a full-time carer’s survey. This is to highlight the difficulties that carers face in the University environment and support that could be given.
This year we had
530
There are still many challenges and obstacles ahead, but with the help of the friendly, engaging, knowledgeable and supportive staff network that I have found within the SU I know the coming year will be just as fun as the last!”
nominations an increase of 195 nominations from last year.
This year the awards has had a refresh in branding to reflect the range of our services across the SU. We also changed the Lecturer of the Year Award so there was a winner in each faculty.
the winners Dr Nicholas Musgrove Award for Academic Support - Gracie Peddie Dr Nicholas Musgrove Award for Campus Support - Simon Rose The Award for Outstanding Feedback - Karin Dannehl Supervisor of the Year - Professor Mike Haynes Personal Tutor of the Year - Lynda Birch Lecturer of the Year – Faculty of Arts - Marc Austin Lecturer of the Year – Faculty of Social Sciences - Chris Umfreville Lecturer of the Year – Faculty of Science and Engineering - Dr Hana Morrissey Lecturer of the Year – Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing - Karen Roscoe
next 12 months In the next 12 months we will increase our insight into student lives on campus, empowering our Officers and Course Representatives to make influence and enhance the student experience. We will also expand the Course Rep provision to better support reps with balancing their academic workload and other commitments.
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Faculty of the Year - Faculty of Arts Course Rep of the Year - Anita Ballard Faculty Rep of the Year - Gemma Gessey Society of the Year - Islamic Society Society Member of the Year - Jaspreet Kaur Contribution to Students’ Union Volunteering Projects - Phoebe Hinton-Sheley Fundraiser of the Year - Majid Akhtar Student Staff Member of the Year - Sasha Wood Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Year Award for Staff Excellence - Sara Smith
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student experience
volunteering in figures
Societies in numbers
27
new society applications.
gospel choir society
544 opportunities.
£2831.79 for charities.
wolves islamic society This year has seen over
40
successful society events.
1,911
volunteers worked throughout 2016-17 academic year.
Societies have raised
We have granted societies a total of
£5024.29 from the Societies Development Fund.
200
Total of
providers of volunteering opportunities.
last 12 months
It has been a year of exciting developments and a change in direction for the volunteering programme run by Wolves SU. Interest in student volunteering across the University has grown over the year; with a 37% increase in the numbers of students who have registered with the community volunteering website. In response to student feedback, including our first ever Participation in Volunteering Survey, Wolves SU are moving towards a greater focus on short-term project volunteering and micro-volunteering. Our students are passionate about giving back to their local communities as well as enhancing their personal development but want opportunities that will fit around their current commitments. As a result, we have delivered 11 short-term projects, 5 of which have been devised and delivered solely by students using the Build Your Own Project guide.
next 12 months for students Dance society
last 12 months
Over the last 12 months our focus has been on increasing the quality of societies. Committees have been given comprehensive training to support them in their roles, helping societies to become more independent. To recognise society achievements ‘Society of the Month’ was launched to celebrate societies that have gone above and beyond. Finally, societies completed an end of year survey outlining what they wanted from the provision next year.
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In 2017-18, we are planning to increase the number of short-term opportunities, including micro-volunteering opportunities which can be undertaken in as little as one hour whilst at home, at the University or out in the community. Under our new “UWSU Opportunities” provision, student volunteers will receive greater support through training workshops and develop essential employability-related skills. We are also excited to be launching our Connect Peer Mentoring project which will give students the opportunity to support their fellow students to make the very most of their University experience.
welcome squad!
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case studY
Wolves sikh society It has been a busy year for the Sikh Society! After restarting the society this academic year, they have been involved in numerous activities. From talks delivered by various guest speakers, teaching Santheya and Punjabi classes to holding Langar, an on campus an event where over 400 university staff and students were fed; taught about Sikhism and it’s core value of Vand ke Chakna (share your food). The society said: “Throughout the year we learnt a lot! Restarting a society was NOT easy but, it was worth it. We got the opportunity to meet loads of amazing people and we could arrange various successful and exciting events. Being in a society helped us develop as individuals and enabled us to develop our organisation, team work and management skills.”
PHOEBE’S CASE STUDY Phoebe Hinton-Sheley is a first year student studying Microbiology at the University of Wolverhampton and designed and delivered a weeklong volunteering project through the Build Your Own project guide. Phoebe is passionate about supporting the National Autistic Society due to having a family member with autism and came to Wolves Students’ Union with an idea for a volunteering project during National Autism Awareness Week. The Students’ Union provided logistical and administrative support for Phoebe’s enthusiasm and ideas and we worked in partnership to deliver four fundraising events, including a karaoke night at Walsall campus.
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NEXT 12 MONTHS for students Over the next year there will be a continuing focus on making societies independent and enhancing quality. This will be achieved by providing comprehensive training on areas such as; finances, committee roles, events, marketing and society elections. In addition, a reward scheme to recognise the achievements of active high quality societies will be launched.
Phoebe said, “I gained quite a few skills during planning and running the week, including leadership based skills”. Phoebe also noted the other qualities that she developed through volunteering: “Confidence: I feel like, after doing this, I can do almost anything!” and “A sense of purpose: Doing something so big, for a cause I care so deeply about, made me feel so empowered, and I felt like I was making a real difference”.
Phoebe’s new-found confidence in developing a volunteering project encouraged her to run for a part-time officer role and in April 2017, she was duly elected as the Students’ Union’s Volunteering Officer for 2017-18. Part of her new role will be supporting other students to build their own projects and gaining the invaluable skills available through volunteering. 15
walsall campus
events in numbers to our events This year, we have seen many changes a new and activities programme, supported by for the year dedicated events team. A key objective data at was to capture as much information and spaces, what both campuses regarding the use of the nt led activities events work and actively promote stude mation and engagement in our events. This infor events, of g timin has led to changes, such as the ing with partnerships with the university and work support more iding prov external venues/facilities and nt volunteers. and guidance to our societies and stude
Langar event which was hosted by Sikh Society was the most attended society run event with over
Facebook likes are currently at
Freshers Fair :)
Our most attended events were the Freshers Fairs, with
400 attending.
4,988 1,970 attending City and
432
Langar event!
12,540 students attended
66 events this year.
attending at Walsall.
next 12 months
for students
Moving forward into the next year, we have expanded the Welcome and Orientation programme to over 80 events which is more events than the whole of last year combined! We are working closely with our partners in the community, as well as the University. We will be introducing a weekly quiz night at Walsall SU. We will be concentrating on building stronger links with local businesses and the community to increase our overall events and activities offered and provide discounts and loyalty benefits for our students.
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an increase of 386 likes in 9 months.
3,949
students attended 27 events at Walsall Campus
We have continued to grow and develop the provision and profile of the SU at Walsall. Access to volunteering and societies has increased and enabled students in Walsall to participate in such activities. The ‘voice’ of our students from Walsall has improved; enabling them to have a say in University discussions and developments. Our advice and support service has been established this year with expansion planned for the coming 12 months. Improvements to the look and provision at the SU has been made, the SU bar and cafĂŠ has been improved with more weekly and monthly activities and events taking place and more planned for the coming 12 months, very much welcomed by resident students in the campus!
next 12 months for students - Provision of a health and wellbeing programme of support for students - Increase in the advice and support outreach at Walsall, increasing the drop in programme - Weekly quiz nights - Programme of activities and events for the coming calendar year 17
advice & SUPPORT in FIGURES
1,701
individual issues recorded.
ADVICE & SUPPORT
95%
CASE WORK
of cases successfully closed due to no further action required/ the student being satisfied with the advice given. An increase of 7%.
1of only 21
£71,790.11
Students’ Union advice centres in the
through advice, appeals and hardship
country to currently hold the Advice
additional funds gained for students
fund referral. An increase of £4454.11
Quality Standard (AQS).
from last year.
next 12 months for students - P rovide skilled and trained staff to advocate and support students at University meetings/panels - Expand our Well@Wolves provision to include training on: budgeting, academic misconduct, financial management - Continue to deliver advice and support at Walsall with a full programme of drop in support - Continue to deliver high quality, independent advice and support for our students across the University
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Academic issues comprised the majority of all advice work in ASC during 201617, particularly during the summer period where it is the main focus of our work. Top concerns and issues raised this year by students include queries about progression, appeals, complaints and extenuating circumstances. An increase in students from non-traditional backgrounds, with previous study behind them has led to more complex student funding casework, and advisers being involved with not only appealing SFE decisions but negotiating with the University Finance department as cases have taken months to be resolved. ASC has worked with the
Admissions Team to improve the communication to prospective students about potential student finance eligibility issues. We are hopeful that over time this will embed into all pre-admission and pre-induction activity so that fewer students discover their ineligibility for student finance after starting their course. CONTINUED COLLABORATIVE WORKING WITH UNIVERSITY...
The continued collaboration is showing real benefits to students as it allows us to facilitate workshops to all those offered a place at UoW each year. These have expanded beyond the original remit of covering finance and budgeting; now including introductions to
e:vision, module registration, Canvas, SAMS etc. Further sessions will also take place for those coming through Clearing, during September.
OUTREACH ADVISER
We have listened to feedback from previous years to ensure advice is easily accessible by employing an outreach advisor based largely at Walsall campus but also providing advice services at Telford and Burton. We have seen a growth in enquiries from Walsall campus in particular, and due to more students being seen in person than previously, a wider range of issues being disclosed.
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400
students attended drop ins by external organisations in
ayisha’s case study Ayisha Bennett studied BA (Hons) Deaf Studies and Linguistics from 2012 to 2017 and faced many personal challenges during her time here. She first approached the Advice and Support Centre before she began her course, consulting with us about student funding and welfare benefits. We continued to support Ayisha during her entire time at University, with financial as well as academic matters, ensuring that ill health and difficulties in her personal life did not prevent her from achieving her degree.
“My time at university was plagued with many personal difficulties which impacted upon my academic studies and my health. On numerous occasions I felt that I would not be able to complete my degree for a variety of reasons... Overall I don’t think the SU team are aware what an invaluable support system they have been to me, they provided me with invaluable honest practical support that I couldn’t find or receive anywhere else.”
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2016/17. StudyWell-StudyFair targeted
As part of the Well@Wolves initiative
workshops on avoiding academic
during exam periods, Officers
750
misconduct resulted in
provided refreshments to over
Well@Wolves Week long
of plagarism in dissertation cases
students studying in the Harrison
this year for these students.
Learning Centre.
For Mental Health Awareness Week in May, over
students attended the programme of activities.
50%
We have responded to feedback from students and the sector wide concern about the health and wellbeing as well as psychological resilience of students, with the employment of a dedicated member of staff to lead on activities to support the Well@Wolves agenda. There is now a section of the website which will hold a whole calendar of events and a wealth of information so students can get the support they need.
1,300
when the animal man came!
next 12 months
for students
- #GiveItaGo wellbeing activity workshops to be launched - Range of wellbeing events for students programmed and delivered - Full programme of weekly drop in provision provided by qualified and recognised external providers 21
24%
50%
of all students responded
of respondents have some form
in the survey.
of employment in addition to their studies.
23%
of students surveyed reported that they have caring responsibilities for a child or children. Due to this the University is now collecting data on the parental status of students as part of their enrolment.
Enhance the impact of the student voice across the wider University ensuring participation is as wide as possible.
25%
Enhance and expand the provision of
of students surveyed are worried
student services and
about their mental health.
25%
of students surveyed are worried
support provided by
IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS WE WILL...
the SU for our students.
about their physical health. Review and revise our democratic structures adding to the accountability and transparency of our representative system.
Deliver high quality, independent advice and support for all our students.
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BACK
City Campus Ambika Paul Builidng Wulfruna Street Wolverhampton WV1 1LY
Walsall Campus WS Building Gorway Road Walsall WS1 3BD
Telford Campus SA Building Shifnal Road Priorslee Telford TF2 9NT
Tel: 01902 322021 Fax: 01902 322020
ED BY sasha wo N G o SI
d
DE
E-mail: info.wolvesunion@wlv.ac.uk Website: www.wolvesunion.org
student staff designer @ U WS U 24