Equal Opportunities and Welfare Officer Candidate Handout

Written and Compiled by Sophie Fox, January 2017

Contents

Introduction

Knowledge of the Students’ Union

The Students’ Union Officers

Social Media

Current View of the Students’ Union

Perceived impact of the Students’ Union

Student Union services and when they are most needed

Satisfaction with the Students’ Union

How to improve satisfaction

Events

Increase focus in specific areas

Connect the campuses

Wellbeing and welfare support

Union customer service

Feelings

Sense of Belonging

Feeling at Home

Impact of the Students’ Union

Impact on University Of Nottingham experience

Impact on wellbeing

Student Groups and wellbeing

Main challenges experienced by students

Academic concerns

Wellbeing and Welfare concerns

Social life concerns

What relaxes you?

Emotional Difficulty

Support Required

Lack of Services or awareness or accessibility to them

Lack of Financial Support

Lack of welcoming atmosphere in societies and events

Lack of support and awareness for lonely students and those with emotional difficulty

Peer-to-peer support

Events

Other Campuses and study abroad

Academic emotional difficulty

Academics

International Students

Socials

Integration into UK Community

International Students

Local Students

Hall Life

Crime

Theft

Sexual Harassment

Drug Use

Personal Safety

Alcohol

Welcome Feedback

Feedback about mentors from students

Innovation

Event Promotion

Feedback from mentors

Training

Mentor Resources

Mentors

Non-club nights

General improvements for the Welcome Week programme

Days of emotional difficulty

Introduction

The information in this document has come from variety of sources with the most recent being the 2017 all student survey ‘How Can We Help’. Other information has been included where relevant, to help understand issues that affect the student population at different times of year, the time of this collection has been included where relevant.

NB: The ethnicity questions which were posed to students were done so only so that statistics could be gathered for the current BME, Welfare, and Education Officers, and for future candidates. These categories have been compiled based on UK government suggestions on posing these questions.

Knowledge of the Students’ Union

The Students’ Union Officers

The following questions have been posed to all students to assess their understanding and feelings about their Students’ Union Officers.

Social Media

We asked students whether they followed the Students’ Union on a variety of social media platforms. Below shows the most commonly accessed platforms for the Students’ Union, and how the usage differs between students with higher and lower sense of belonging

Form of media / % of students with low sense of belonging that follow it / % of students that follow it with higher sense of belonging
SU Twitter / 22.5% / 33.0%
SU Facebook / 53.2% / 58.9%
SU Instagram / 15.2% / 25.6%
SU Snapchat / 3.8% / 11.8%
SU WeChat / 1.3% / 1.9%
SU Hall Facebook / 24.1% / 39.9%
None / 27.8% / 19.3%

Current View of the Students’ Union

Students were asked to choose which terms they felt best represented and described the Students’ Union, the results are shown in the graph below.

The following terms feature more dominantly amongst these students in comparison to students with higher sense of belonging. These words, upon reflection of the above mentioned personality traits for students with low sense of belonging, would suggest that they feel that the Union is ‘not designed for them’

-Events and activities

-Social

-Vague

-For undergraduates

Perceived impact of the Students’ Union

Perceived impact that the Students’ Union has on student wellbeing and university experience is declining slightly year on year. This perception of impact is lower amongst PG students, UG finalists, Jubilee, Derby and SB based students.

Students with low sense of belonging are more likely to be… (I.e. they rate their sense of belonging with Notts at 4/10 or below – this equates to 9.6% of students)

-Part time students

-International students

-Over 22yrs old

-English not as a first language

-PG

-Studying at campuses other than UP and QMC

-Taking more than 30 mins to travel to University

These students are also 13% less satisfied with their students’ union compared to other students

Personality traits wise, these students with low sense of belonging tend to be:

-More timid

-More likely to shy away from challenging tasks and responsibility

-More grounded rather than impulsive

-Less likely to stand their ground

-Likely to prioritise employability over succeeding on their course (students with higher sense of belonging are the opposite way around)

-Above all, they prioritise high quality teaching – just like students with higher sense of belonging.

-Less likely to feel comfortable in debates

-More likely to struggle to make friends, and as such more likely to report feeling lonely.

-More likely to have a few close friends rather than a large network of acquaintances.

-Less likely to engage with the Union – whether that is visiting Union space, browsing it online, participating in volunteering, or societies and sports.

-Are 13% less aware of the SU’s remit

-More likely to attribute the following words to Union descriptions

Student Union services and when they are most needed

The following question was posed to international students in order to see where we ought to focus our attention in terms of offering these students help throughout the year. This question provides answers in terms of the number of responses that any given answer received as opposed to percentage forms. This information is true as of January 2016.

From this graph, we can see that the first term is when international students want to receive the most help. Additionally, we can see that in order of importance, students want to receive: Academic Advice, Accommodation Advice, Transportation Help, and then Help with Practicing English. However, as many international students may speak English as a first language, these results may be skewed somewhat.

Satisfaction with the Students’ Union

Currently, satisfaction with the SU is sitting at 7/10. The table below shows how the scores have changed over time, which has improved and is now consistent at 7.0 out of 10 (10 = very satisfied).

Jan 15 / May 15 / Oct 15 / Jan 16 / May 16 / Oct 16 / Jan 17
6.7 / 6.1 / 6.9 / 6.9 / 7.0 / 7.0 / 7.0

How to improve satisfaction

Students suggested that the following actions may help to increase their satisfaction with the Students’ Union:

Events

  • Highlight alcohol-free events more
  • More PG events
  • More “Off-campus” events for those living out
  • More events for students to make friends and get involved, but struggle with social anxiety/interactions
  • Provide more support for older students, particularly those with families.
  • Promote Postgraduate-specific events during the holiday periods.
  • ‘Maybe have more things targeted towards people who are less confident. There seems to be a lot of emphasis on taking the lead in something.’

Increase focus in specific areas

  • Focus more on academia support and representation
  • Offer an online society/societies for distance learners
  • More specific Postgraduate societies (‘invest more into the events, not just tea and cake’).Do more for PhD students from the UK, as some feel that efforts to engage Postgraduate students have an international spin on them which is not relevant to everyone.

Connect the campuses

  • Holding events that everyone can go to e.g. nurses- ‘nurses have different term times and working hours. We’re often older, so we’re looking for a different kind of social activity’.
  • Further connections with satellite campuses
  • Hopper buses to Kegworth
  • Have regular Students’ Union representation across all sites and campuses, which may require a staff rota.

Wellbeing and welfare support

  • Awareness of mental health support
  • Support finding housemates

Union customer service

  • Interact more with students (share more opportunities via email, and through face to face talking)
  • Utilise ‘a live chat option, so that if someone needs something specific, they can quickly find where to go’.
  • ‘Be less pushy during elections’, ‘walking to lectures during elections was intimidating – I missed lectures to avoid this’, ‘stop candidates forcing people to vote using their iPads’.
  • Greater flexibility on opening hours, such that more is done on the weekends, and on holidays, when students are back for a short time from their placements, and when Postgraduate students are available. Additionally, by opening later, Derby students living in Nottingham would still be able to make use of Portland. More availability in the holidays

Feelings

Sense of Belonging

When asked to what degree students felt a sense of belonging to the Students’ Union on a scale where 1 = not at all and 10 = very much so, the average score was 4.8/10.

Feeling at Home

When asked to what degree students felt at home at the University Of Nottingham on a scale where 1 = not at all and 10 = very much so, the average score was 7.3/10.

Impact of the Students’ Union

The following questions asked students to comment on the impact that the Students’ Union had had on their overall university experience and wellbeing, on a scale of – 5 (strong negative impact) to +5 (strong positive impact) whereby 0 was no impact at all. The sections below detail the percent of student who fall into each category.

Impact on University Of Nottingham experience

Positive (+1 to +5) = 69.38%

No impact = 27.04%

Negative (-1 to -5) =3.58%

Impact on wellbeing

Positive (+1 to +5) = 51.25%

No impact = 46.4%

Negative (-1 to -5) =2.35%

Students raise the following points regarding the Students’ Union’s impact upon their wellbeing:

Ideas and positive comments
  • ‘Makes study less intense when there’s something fun to get involved in’, ‘I’d like to see more things going on during stressful times – it’s a good distraction, like the puppy room’.
  • ‘Promote welfare services more – particularly in a way that means you can store or easily access the info again when you need it’.
  • ‘Societies have increased my confidence as well as mental health’.
  • ‘Love that we can check house contracts – weight off my mind’.
  • ‘Services like Nightline, and free snacks during exams, as well as de-stress week, makes you feel like you belong and are one big family to an extent being regularly looked after’.
Areas of need
  • Students living in off campus halls (Raleigh, BPG) express feelings of isolation.
  • There is demand for wellbeing services to be provided after 5pm and on weekends to support those required to travel to University Park in order to access these services’.
  • ‘There is perceived to be a lack of support for mature students with families’.
  • ‘People who don’t want to join a society or socialise in halls are let down – they don’t have confidence to get involved’, ‘don't miss the middle people, you focus on those participating heavily and those who struggle (mental awareness etc.) but what about the middle man!’
  • Some students report wanting to seek help without having to physically visit somewhere, but they do not want to be seen to be accessing help.
  • Mental health services are reportedly too busy, particularly around exams, when it is needed the most.

Student Groups and wellbeing

What are student groups doing to promote positive wellbeing across their members? We asked all student committees (excluding sport clubs) to feedback: What steps have you taken to ensure that all aspects of Hall life are nurtured, e.g. welfare and mental health, rather than purely socials?

-Most focus was on alternative events e.g. mental health awareness events, charity events, movie nights, workshops etc

-Many also mentioned they have made sure they are available to the students and promoting support for students

-Collaboration with LGBT+ events

-Stalls on mental health awareness and policy safety info

-Massages

-Sexual consent workshop (but low attendance) – collaboration with FemSoc

-Workshop on lad culture (low attendance)

-Open mic night (collaboration with another hall) relaxed atmosphere

-Healthy U roadshow

-Puppy day

These student groups request more ideas for engaging students in these type of events. Attendance is low. Some associations have organised their own welfare weeks, which prove popular around exams. Many said it was difficult because they didn’t have a welfare officer so engagement with welfare was tricky and mentioned that the students who need the help often don’t seek it.

Main challenges experienced by students

We asked 2,673 students whether they were experiencing challenges or issues around a number of areas. The extent to which concerns were felt is listed below. Below these statistics are the detail of the concerns

-39% of students experience academic pressure or have concerns with academic procedure

-30% of students experience concerns around their finances

-29% of students express worries around their wellbeing and welfare (including physical and mental health, and their perceived safety)

-14% of students worry about their social life

Academic concerns

  • Too much work and clashing deadlines
  • Unable to balance social life
  • Stress during exams, and the pressure to do well
  • Found transition from A-level to university difficult
  • Overcoming procrastination
  • Balancing dissertation and revision
  • Stressful coming back after a year abroad

Wellbeing and Welfare concerns

  • Mental health (including depression and anxiety)
  • Homesickness
  • Physical Disabilities / illness (and the impact on study)
  • Long waiting lists for GP/ Uni Counselling
  • Loneliness
  • Exam Stress
  • Special exam requirements/help
  • Eating disorders
  • Insomnia
  • Coping with bereavement
  • Problems with housemates
  • Feeling less safe in Nottingham e.g. lots of robberies, sexual assault etc
  • Hard to find time to exercise

Social life concerns

  • Work too much / can’t balance social life
  • Peer pressure to go out when not wanting to
  • Feeling lonely. Find it difficult making new friends, there’s lots of cliques. Social anxiety.
  • Halls to highlight SU events more
  • Dislikes clubbing/ drinking culture
  • SB issues - nothing to do, hard to get to SB from Kegworth
  • Struggle to make friends as a Postgraduate
  • Struggle as an international student to make friends with British students
  • Disputes with housemates
  • Isolated halls of residence (BGP was a given example)

What relaxes you?

The Students’ Union asked students to say what they do that relaxes them and to come up with any ideas they had for the Students’ Union to help them relax.

What students find relaxing / Ideas for the Students’ Union to help with relaxation
  • Going to the gym and a simple walk.
  • .I find that surrounding myself with people can reduce my stress level.
  • Things like running, coffee and a laugh with friends and spa days.
  • Listening to music is relaxing.
  • Going to cafes on campus is relaxing.
  • A walk around Wollaton Park is a great way to relax.
  • Spending a day in the Peak District.
  • Relaxing with friends in the Hub after lectures.
  • Sports clubs and societies "make you set aside time each week away from work".
  • For international students, going home at the end of term.
  • Leaving the city for a day and seeing places around Nottingham.
  • Something creative (knitting, colouring, baking etc.).
  • Reading and "avoiding people.
  • Trips to go on with people, where a group meets up beforehand.
  • By exercising.
  • Being outside in the fresh air. "Doing something that entirely takes your attention away from whatever it is that you're stressed about".
  • Visiting different places in town (the theatre, shopping, Sherwood Forrest etc.).
  • Mindfulness.
  • Fun days (bouncy castles, ice cream vans etc., such as the 'Up and Go').
  • Watching a movie, or TV with friends.
  • By listening to music (live and recorded).
  • "If I don't plan to do something, I'll end up doing work!" Making friends with people in different "positions" (not the same course, Uni etc.).
  • Having "a moment of doing nothing, a casual drink and a band show, or a quick trip".
  • "Doing something challenging, but nothing to do with my responsibilities is great too, like puzzles or pub quizzes".
  • "Reading so that there are less chances I’ll stay awake thinking about work…or dream about it. But it also means that I go to sleep later than what would be sensible to do….so it’s like, I almost always find time for some relaxing activity, but to the detriment of sleep…I can’t win either way, basically".
  • Gym or walking.
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  • Running free yoga classes during exam time so that students can have an easy and free chance to relax.
  • "Stress Free Zone" events could be held by the SU; for example, these may include movie nights with pizza, sports events, yoga, games nights, and cake and tea afternoons.
  • Puppy room good idea, nice to have small room that you can just go with your friends.
  • If the SU could offer activities such as meditation and body balance, that would help relax people.
  • Have a "mindfulness" class run by the SU.
  • Maybe the SU could organise events during the exam period where students can come in and have a chat with other people or with psychologists.
  • Another good idea would be to have events around all campuses where we can play with animals more often.
  • Offer support sessions to those who needed it and organise simple events such as film and pizza.
  • Sport sessions, body balance session at the sports centre good for relaxing.
  • Chilled out events are best with societies e.g watching films.

Emotional Difficulty

The following information was taken from the How Did We Do 2016 survey and has been included to gain insight into how those suffering from this would like support from the Students’ Union.

46% of the student population had said that they had experienced some emotional difficulty within the last 12 months.