TB102
Union Development Manager’s Report to Board
Purpose: An update on what has been happening at Liverpool Hope SU since the previous meeting
Recommendation:That the Board notes the report
Summary:To keep the Board informed of activity in and by the Union against our objectives
Financial impact:None
Student impact:Impact is discussed under each section of the report
Risk:Discussed within each section if appropriate
Contact:Caroline Bates, Union Development Manager
Our Vision: Ensuring the best student experience; inspiring success and positive change
Impact on students – students are directly feeding back to Senior Academic Staff and shaping academic delivery at Hope, are influencing national agendas and gaining new skills to enhance their CV’s, democratically electing their future leaders and shaping future direction of their union, passing union policies, holding sabbatical officers to account, hearing from external guest speakers about opportunities and initiatives and are democratically allocating union funds enabling clubs and societies to develop and offer further opportunities to students.
Points to Consider – drop in number ofcourse reps due to lack of engagement by academic staff in the nomination & election process. VP Education has addressed this for 2014/15 by holding introductory & induction sessions with Departmental Heads prior to start of term, lecture shout outs to new students to raise awareness of course rep system and encourage students to stand.
Forum Chairs and Sabbatical Officers have held a review of the Forum system which has included systems for capturing data on participation & engagement.
Impacts on students – first year students are welcomed to Hope through an exciting and diverse array of events & activities where they can sign up for student groups, find out a bit more about what Hope and the city of Liverpool has to offer. Clubs & Societies are an extremely important part of student life and various pieces of research (inc. by BUCS and NUS) shows that they impact positively on mental health, drop-out rates and future employability. Students celebrate good teaching at Hope and encourage recognition and sharing of good practice.
Points to Consider – drop in number of paid AA membership directly attributable to departure of staff member responsible for clubs and societies in October 2013, recruitment of staff member for 2014/15 will establish support networks for student groups and encourage greater engagement levels. Whilst we have held data on number of student groups we are aware of gaps in our understanding of individual student engagement levels, our focus for 2014/15 is to increase visibility of SU on all campuses, increase engagement levels of students in SU activities & services and capture evidence of engagement levels and impact of SU on our members.
Advice Centre
The Advice Service within the SU has only been established from July 2014 and thereforehas no baseline figures to provide a useful comparison. From 1st July – 9th October 2014 the Advice Centre has had 49 individual cases.
Impact on students – students have access to free, independent, confidential, professional and impartial advice on their rights and responsibilities. University has reported that since establishment of SU advice centre there have been a decrease in cases going to appeal and those written appeals that have been submitted have been of a higher standard providing clearer facts and evidence to support the appeal.
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