Students’ Union of South Eastern Regional College

Introduction

Aims and Objectives of SU

Review of SU Work – 09/10 SWOT Analysis Activity review:

Health and WelfareEquality and DiversityEventsAchievements

Finances

Contents

Governor Review

Motions / Amendments of Constitution

Acknowledgement of support

AOB

Contents...cont.

IntroductionThe AGM is the highest decision making body of the Union and every student has the right to attend, vote

and submit business to discuss at the meeting.

The AGM gives Students of SERC the opportunity to vote on motions of their choice and motions are only

passed if they receive enough votes.

Student input at the AGM will play a vital role in shaping the Union and its policies. 

Students’ Union and…

Review 2009/10

STUDENTS’ UNION

SERC Students’ Union is a democratic body with the

sole aim to work on behalf of and for the benefit of

students.  All students both full-time and part-time are

members of the Students’ Union.

Objectives 09/10

Have a fully operational Student Executive committee To be a unified Students Union across all campusesEstablish numerous clubs and societiesTo represent the interest of all students regardless of race,

gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion or creed

Bangor

Downpatrick

Lisburn Newtownards

StudentUnion

SU AT THE HEART OF SERC

Students’ Union and…

Swot Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

Strengths

Strengths

Continuous growth from 2009-2010 – student involvement in SU activities from Elections; Campaigns and fundraising has dramatically increased. Awareness has improved. Well represented team – SU executive members on each site with a strong, influential SU Governor in office. Work of SU being recognised – both internally and externally.  Network of support – Strong links with local services e.g. ASCERT; Health Trust; PSNI; DPP. Partnership with Unite against Hate. Innovative and interactive services – students can contact SU staff and interactive across campuses through online social networking sites – using post; blogs; photo tagging; live chat and e-mail. The Students’ Union also has a dedicated e-mail account.

Weaknesses

Weaknesses

Only one Student Affairs officers for 4 campuses since December 09

Lack of facilities – No ‘common’ area for students. No office space as yet on Downpatrick Campus and Lisburn is still to be set up

Clubs and Societies – only small number current and are campus specific

Still in infancy of ‘one’ Students’ Union – not recognised by all students

Communication – not all students are getting information via e-mail.

Opportunities

Opportunities

Still growing – The SU is still in its infancy since the merger but has developed greatly from 09/10 but there is still opportunities for improvement and increased involvement of the student body. Opportunity for increased numbers of clubs and societies; more varied schedule of events. The aim is to make the SU a house-hold name within the college

Additional Funding – Opportunity to research new avenues of funding sources to support clubs, societies and new innovative ideas brought by the students

Greater Links – Opportunities to build on and expand the network of support for the SU

Training – Improvement of expertise of Student Representatives and Student Affair officers to provide a better service.

Threats

Threats

Recession – Students have increasingly less disposable income, difficult to encourage involvement across campus when travel is costly

Misunderstanding of SU and work – Stereotyping of SU

Time – Traditional Clubs and Societies run on Wednesday afternoons. Proven difficult as Staff with expertise are not available to support the Students Union

Students’ Union and…

Achievements

Key achievements for Students Union 09/10:

300% increase in voters for SU representatives

74% increased in voters for Governing Body representative

5 times more people standing for election

5 times more activities, events and campaigns running

Student Voice representative on every course

Improved IT facilities thanks to SU

Best New Delegate 2010 at NUS-USI Conference

Nominated by NUS-USI for Best FE Students Union in NUS Awards 2010

Shortlisted for Equality and Diversity Award in NUS Awards 2010

Students’ Union and…

Student Involvement

Students’ Union Executive Committee

Student Union Executive Committee 2009 / 10

Student Governor 09/10 Adrianne Peltz

Student Union Executive committee Elections / By-Election - Sept / Oct 2009

Student Governor Elections – Oct 2009

NUS-USI Conference – April 2010

Student Governor Elections – April / May 2010

Raise and Give

The Students’ Union has been involved in a number of fundraising activities from 5 a-side football tournaments; loose change campaigns; abseils and a retail events.

Students’ Union Formal

Students’ Union Cross Campus Formal 2010Stormont Hotel

SERC DJ Competition

1st Diploma students went head to head at the Sumo Lounge in Bangor.

All students across campus were invited to attend this event and show support.

Snow Patrol Concert, Ward Park 2010

20 SERC Students and Staff volunteered at last Saturday’s Snow Patrol Concert in Bangor. With a crowd of 40,000 plus in attendance at the concert the SERC Volunteers distributed 25,000 wristbands to help promote the campaign which was backed by Snow Patrol’s front man, Gary Lightbody!

Students’ Union and…

Equality and Diversity

World without Label CampaignPurpose of Campaign:

To raise awareness of the diversity within the student

body, to stimulate discussion about racism

and sectarianism (as well as other forms of prejudice such as homophobia and sexism) and to challenge the negative stereotyping of fellow students and the

wider community

Leaders of Change Residential2 Day Residential Training –

Prejudice awareness and Diversity Training / OCN Level 2 Leaders of Change (22nd / 23rd October)

Aims:To gain better understanding of Equality and DiversityTo know how to handle a situationTo be able to challenge those who discriminate against othersTo learn the correct terminology and how to approach people who are ‘different’.

Unite Against Hate UNITE AGAINST HATE campaign objectives:

To inspire and to unite

To sensitise general public to the problem of hate crime and its real costs

To create a climate of zero tolerance for hate crime and discrimination.

To promote diversity

The 5 A-side football tournament was organised by Downpatrick sports students.

Unite Against Hate provided country bibs for each team for their World Cup theme.

This event brought students from all campuses together. All involved were also provided with Unite Against Hate wristbands. The winning teams were awarded with the ‘Unity Cup’.

Students’ Union and…

Health and Welfare

Freshers’ WeekFreshers’ Week will be an annual event organised by the Students’ Union of SERC – we endeavour for this to become the most important week of the Union calendar. The main purpose of this event is to raise the profile of the Students’ Union and its services within the college.

This is a crucial time to establish awareness and build lasting relationships at the beginning of a new, independent student life.

A timetable of activities was arranged to generate awareness of the Students’ Union at SERC from the incoming (Freshers) and returning students.

Re-Freshers’ WeekThe Students’ Union ran a follow-up event in January to reinforce the messages received at the Freshers’ in September. We found students’ issues such as financial constraints and exam stress overwhelmed a lot of students entering into the new academic year. The information provided to the students in September was an after thought at this stage. To combat this we asked the students to ‘Re-Fresh’ themselves.

The Re-Freshers’ Fair helped to increase awareness on issues and raise the profile of support services (such as Health, welfare and wellbeing; personal safety; road safety; Mental Health; Equality and Diversity; Women’s issues; Drug, Alcohol and substance abuse; Anti-Bullying; Anti-Littering; Accommodation; Student Finance; etc.) within the Student Body.

No Smoking Day - 2010

Looking Good for Life Event

2 Day Welfare event

Funded by North Down Borough Council

Event included:• Carbon Monoxide testing• Free information, advice and help on

stopping smoking• Free patches to help students give up

smoking• Age progression on student smoker photos• Gym passes provided from North Down

Leisure Centre• Nutritious food sample and free lunch in

Birches• SERC Beauty treatments

Welfare projects

Students’ Union and…

Finances

Charity Fundraising

Cancer Research UK £143.04Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice £182.75Children In Need £94.57

Income Expenditure

College funding £4,000 Catering(Freshers / Refreshers / SU meetings)

£250

Freshers’ Fair £150 Printing (Poster; Flyers; etc.)

£375

NUS Cards (84 card rebate) £361.20 NICFAL (Affiliation Fee)

£60

Formal(Ticket Sales)

£2,200 NUS-USI(Affiliation Fees)

£293.75

NUS-USI(President Salary)

£29.38

SU Representative Hoodies £439.45

Expenditure Expenditure

Penguin Pull Up Stands X 2 £277.30 Formal:

NUS-USI Conference £1,100 Deposit £300

Bus Hire £96 Security £394.80

Sundries (sweets; materials; etc) £75 Meals cost (minus deposit) £2125

NUS Awards £350 Entertainment £220

Ticket (Printing) £29.38

Sundries (Bags; signage; etc.) £14.10

Total: £3083.28

Total Income Total Expenditure Balance

£6711.20 £6329.16 £382.04

Students’ Union and…

Governor Review -

Adrianne Peltz

The areas that I will be covering today are:

Scheme of Work

Learning and Resource Centre Facilities

Sexual Health Issues

Future Developments

Scheme of WorkDate Event Discussion Points Outcomes

November 2009 Met with Principal Initial meeting with the Principal and Head of Marketing to discuss role of Student Governor, and future plans. Report on the LRC was compiled for Principal. Other points included onsite childcare, sexual health seminars, equality and diversity and additional finance.

Principal very open to all suggestions, and supports all the suggestions made and aims of the SU. However it was established that onsite childcare was not feasible.

November 2009 Met with Senior Management

Meeting to discuss the operational issues surrounding the removal of the Resource centre in Bangor, and the disruption of Library facilities in other campuses.

Various solutions offered, including funding extra laptops, linking with local Libraries, extra Wi-Fi access and more printers.

December 2009 BOG My inaugural Board of Governors meeting.

I was an observer at this particular meeting.

December 2009 Governors Training Training delivered by NUS-USI, on Governance skills and techniques.

Able to achieve OCN qualification

January 2010 Refreshers Week Assisted with stand in Bangor and Ards. I was able to talk with students, and discuss the SU’s work and collect opinions of students.

January 2010 Unite Against Hate Launch Attended launch at Ards campus Networking opportunity and good media coverage for SU.

January 2010 Site visit Rainbow Project and Brook

Attended a site visit to both projects to discuss proposed partnerships and opportunities to delivery sexual health education to students.

Useful contacts made, and the foundations for a partnership begun. Research commenced into student sexual health.

February 2010 NUS-USI regional Council Meeting

Attended RC meeting, discussed variable fees and disaffiliation with USI and FE Sector engagement.

Disaffiliation with USI ruled out at this stage, and plans to be made to increase FE sector engagement and establishment of a cross sector group.

February 2010 BOG and Audit Committee Meeting

ETI inspection discussed, Governors paper presented

Board satisfied with overall performance of College

February 2010 Met with Principal Discussed the work of the Union to date, the establishment of Facebook pages linking in with local schools and SERC charities.

Emphasis on Facebook communication to increase, and the SERC charity campaign to commence after Easter.

April 2010 STEM Event held by ANIC Attended STEM Event at Odyssey, and took part in Hustings with main Party leaders including Anna Lo, Peter Weir, Sir Reg Empey and the reps from the SDLP.

Focus on the STEM subjects was given unanimous support from all political leaders and ANIC members.

April 2010 BOG and Audit Committee Meeting

Presentation on SU, results of recession impact on students discussed and problems regarding student finance raised.

Student Finance problems were submitted to the Audit committee and a meeting with Customer Services was arranged to address concerns over the funding of students.

April 2010 NUS-USI National Council Unable to attend, however discussed motions concerning FE students and International Students

NUS-USI to apply for extra funding to facilitate a full time FE officer, and motions passed to lobby for more rights for International Students.

May 2010 Met with Senior Management

Discussed the creation of an HE room for students, as a requirement of IQER.

The glass room on the Bangor campus will become a dual purpose room to accommodate the requirements of an HE room.

May 2010 Met with Head of Customer Service

Discussed the rebranded Hardship Fund, and the new implications. We considered ways of promoting the changes to students and best means of communication.

The SU advised that communication needed to be improved, and will arrange an open information day for students in enquire about funding opportunities in June

May 2010 Strategy for Widening Participation in HE

Attended pre public consultation conference to improve participation in HE for target groups. I spoke out on various issues such as student parents and ways of improving engagement.

The matter will now be open to public consultation, with the final report being compiled before the end of the year and a definite strategy to be put into place.

June 2010 CIPFA Good Governance Conference

Attended conference on Governance strategies in public and private sector, and stakeholder engagement.

June 2010 NUS-USI Regional Council National Executive Council member elected, and an Alcohol Policy proposed by member of QUB.

A broad student consultation will take place in the coming months, with NUS-USI drafting an Alcohol policy that will be implemented by all unions by September 2010

Learning and Resource Centre Facilities

Extra Wi-Fi area added to the Bangor canteen area and corridors

Additional printing facilities added to Bangor and Lisburn campus LRC

Additional Laptops and PC’s added to the Bangor LRC during half term

A system of scheduled free rooms to be introduced to enable students to conduct group work etc

This has been a major victory for the Union and myself, and will ultimately create an environment more conducive to learning for

current and future students.

Sexual Health Issues

Research has been undertaken on the effects of Sexual Health problems on students, and the impact of these on

their academic performance. It has been a goal of the Union to develop a sexual health strategy to tackle the issues that

face students, and educate them on making informed choices. With this in mind the union has been in talks with the Brook Project and will take these plans ahead into the

coming academic year.

The future developments will be focused on the strategic development plan of the SU. The main areas I will be focusing on during 2010/11 will be:

Developing and delivering sexual health awareness to all students at each campus in partnership with Brook and Rainbow project

Focusing on SERC charities, and encouraging students involvement with the communities they live in

Encouraging higher participation in the Regional executive council by making students aware of vacant positions both within our SU and the NUS-USI

Running for the position of Further Education Union Development Officer within NUS-USI to promote engagement in more FE unions and create stronger networks for the SERC SU

Future Developments

Students’ Union and…

Motions

Student Union spending TimetablingWednesday afternoons dedicated to clubs / societiesIntroduction of International Student Officer positionIntroduction of HE officer positionIntroduction of FE officer position

Students’ Union and…

Amendments to Constitution

Officer positions:Each of the 4 Main Campuses will have a site committee, Newcastle and Ballinahinch will have a Campus President.  Students from Newcastle and Ballinahinch can run for DPK Positions.

Cheque Signatories:Change this to Student Affairs Officers, Head of Pastoral Care and Guidance, David Smith and a Finance Department Representative.

Petty Cash:Change this amount to £50

Students’ Union and…

Acknowledgement of Support

For 09/10 the Students Union of SERC have received support from a number of individuals; organisations and groups.

We would like to thank the following internal departments and individuals:

Sports department across all campuses with special thanks to Ronan McAnespy and Alan Simpson for their help with the Sports club.SERC Extra with a special thanks to Sian Harvey and Julie SmythMichelle McGillion and her team at Learning SupportSarah McGreevy for the help with the setup of the Drama Society in the Downpatrick campusCatering department for their helpMarketing Department with special thanks to Charlie McCloskeyEstates across all campuses for completely all requests and set upsReprographics with special thanks to Kim Kinder

We would like to thank the following external organisations and individuals:

NUS-USIUnite Against Hate with special thanks to Eva Grossman and Gwyneth Wilkinson for their continuous support in Student Union activities and campaigns.Caroline McGrath from the Health Trust (Lisburn)PSNI, DPP and the Traffic Branch, with special thanks to Ken Butler (Bangor); Helen Black (Traffic Branch); George Ellis (Lisburn) ; John Hanna (Downpatrick) and Ian Young (N’Ards). We would also like thank Gillian McCready for her continued support of the Students’ Union.Mint Condition / Café Ceol with special thanks to Colin Patterson for his help and dedication in SU Events.ASCERT with special thanks to Alison Holdsworth and Susan BatemanEddie Irvine SportsBROOKRainbow ProjectLucozade Sport for their Sponsorship supportNorth Down and Ards Borough CouncilClockwork OrangeHanna and Browne

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