upsu strategic plan 2013 - 2016

www.upsu.com/strategy

UPSU has a newplan

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Strategic Plan 2013 - 2016

IntroductIon

We want your Students’ Union to be the very best it can be, delivering services that are of a consistent high quality, which make a positive impact on the lives of students, staff and partners.

To achieve this we have created a strategic plan, which sets out challenging goals to show what we will achieve for Plymouth students and more importantly, it tells you how we intend to do it.

We have been reviewing our strategy for almost a year, with a view to creating a new three year plan for 2013-2016. In this time we have looked at existing information, commissioned new quantitative & qualitative research and consulted with a diverse range of our stakeholders.

The plan responds to the needs of our stakeholders and sets out the path we will take to achieve excellence. The next few pages contextualise the plan and shows you the process, the plan is then split into key themes and enablers which list specific objectives.

We hope you enjoy reading our plan and can join us to help make UPSU even greater.

Jazz Singh-Khaira President 2012-13

Greg WhiteChief Executive

UPSU Strategic Plan 2013 - 2016 1.

The University Plymouth University is a leading modern university, one of the largest Higher Education Institutions in the UK, and the largest in the South West. Roughly two thirds of the 30,000 university students study at the main Plymouth campus, with around 12,000 at twenty partner colleges and smaller sites situated throughout the South West and as far afield as Sri Lanka.

The University and Students’ Union enjoys a city centre location, on the Southwest Peninsula, it plays a part in study choices, with marine courses being particularly popular. Our location also impacts on student demographics; a large number of undergraduates are drawn from the South West, with a significant proportion coming from Widening Participation backgrounds.

Plymouth University also has strong focus on internationalization, including important partnerships with overseas institutions and already has a significant number of non-European Union students.

The Students’ Union University of Plymouth Students’ Union (UPSU) is an independent registered charity that seeks to represent all the students of Plymouth University. We facilitate student representation at all levels, host the sports clubs and societies, manage campus sport facilities and provide volunteering opportunities, independent advice, entertainment, catering and bars.

We employ 75 permanent staff and around 200 casual student staff. Our turnover is around £5million each year, we make a surplus (or profit) of around £400k from our traded services, our principal funding however is an annual grant from the University, of around £1.7million.

UPSU is student led and democratic. The majority of our trustees are elected student officers and all of our major decisions are made by students. We operate with high standards and have received awards for our performance, including the Students’ Union Evaluation Initiative (SUEI) Bronze, Investors in Volunteers and Investors in People – Silver Award

SettIng the Scene

2. UPSU Strategic Plan 2013 - 2016

What, Why & hoW?

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What is a Strategic Plan? Most organisations have some sort of strategic plan which sets out their goals over a three to five year period and more importantly, how they will achieve them. The plan should inform their work and give a general direction of travel.

Why the review?At UPSU we regularly review and refresh our strategy, this is to ensure we are on track and relevant to the needs of our members and can deliver on their needs. We have a more fundamental review once every three to five years, before publishing a new strategic plan.

We have been through the review process this year and worked hard to produce a new plan, based on the actual needs of all our students and other stakeholders, and supported by thorough professional research. How we did it?We commenced our research with a review of the existing data which we had already collected, including our final SUEI Report and our in-house research. We then engaged a research company with experience conducting research in other students’ unions, with a specific brief to sample all of our members including those who have traditionally been difficult to reach.

Both quantitative and qualitative research, in the form of a wide ranging on-line questionnaire supplemented with a number of workshops and focus groups, to establish what the priorities of members and other stakeholders are. We were also able to factor in the results of the National Student Survey (NSS) question, on overall satisfaction with the UPSU, following its publication this October.


In addition the work we did with pupils in Y12 and Y13 of local schools, identified a need for us to connect with school leavers before they arrive at University.

(1) Representation(2) Participation & Engagement(3) Advice & Welfare

As part of the research we asked what our priorities for improvement should be and the top three ranked as follows…

What We found out

Strengths, issues and challenges identified The research process identified a number of positive opinions, including high levels of satisfaction with most services provided by the Students’ Union and relatively high levels of recognition for sabbatical officers. There were also a number of challenges, including some confusion over which services are directly operated by UPSU.


What guIdeS uS

Our research suggests that our members overwhelmingly support the Union’s existing values, although a significant number believe that they would benefit from some updating. We have refreshed them and they now stand as follows.

Our Vision:“To transform lives through experience”

Our Mission: “To make a positive impact on the lives of all our members, through understanding, empowering and delivering on their needs”


vision, mission & values

Our Values:Passionate about student rights. To protect and promote the rights of students, to access the personal and study resources required for them to get the most from their education.

Democratic and student led. Providing a democratic decision making structure, that enables students to develop their citizenship qualities.

Embracing diversity and equality. To provide all our services and employment in an environment that is open and accessible, seeks to develop personal opportunities and is underpinned by an absolute commitment to fairness and equality for all.

Caring and responsible. To educate our members and other stakeholders, in the principles of social responsibility and citizenship. To be open, honest and trustworthy in our business at all times. To be an ethical, considerate and sustainable organisation in all that we do.

Continuous improvement and quality. To identify, adopt and develop best practice in our sector. To constantly improve services to all our members, by responding effectively and efficiently to the evolving and diverse needs of students.

Empowering. Enable our members to take on greater responsibility to deal with issues themselves, whilst also developing our capacity to assist and represent them.

Great Value. To provide excellent value for students in our traded and membership services, as well as through our partnerships with others. Putting our members’ needs first.

Fun! To be an organisation and to provide an environment; one that is fun to be involved with at any level, in any capacity, by anyone.


the BIg Plan


We have structured our plan around six key themes, each of which will inform the objectives across our whole organisation, together with six enablers that will provide the means by which we achieve those objectives.

Each theme and enabler will be by a set of goals that will take us forward.

themeS

theme no. 1 Your voice, your rights

Representation Representing our members is at the core of what we do and we are determined to strengthen our activity and impact in this area. We will engage a wider range of students to represent their peers and ensure that they are appropriately trained and supported.

Although we already have a relatively high number of course representatives, we need to do more to ensure that students on every programme are properly represented. We will also improve the quality of training and on-going support that course and school representatives receive.

Goals:In our 2012 elections, turnout doubled to 24% of eligible students. We will increase this level of voting each year and will also work to widen the range of students who participate in our elections including mature, post-graduate, part-time, home based, international and those who study off campus.

We will increase the research and support resources available to all our elected representatives, so they are informed and effective, by February 2013.

We will develop a comprehensive plan, to ensure that all our elected representatives receive appropriate training, either in-house or in partnership with the University, by September 2013.

We will continue to develop and embed our Student Staff Teaching Awards, increasing the number of nominations submitted by students each year.

We will campaign to improve the quality and consistency of feedback that students receive, as measured by student satisfaction in our own research and the NSS survey.

We will ensure that the University meets or exceeds its obligations to widen access to higher education, as measured by student recruitment and retention. Where appropriate we will assist the University with this work.

We will seek maximum value for students from their fees, lobbying the University to include more (such as core texts) and being vigilant to ensure that there are no additional or hidden charges.


Communication and Engagement We want every student to feel part of the UPSU family and to know that they are a member. Being part of UPSU should be worthwhile and enjoyable experience, which we want every student to feel a part of.

We also want to encourage school leavers to connect with our family, settling their nerves and enabling them to really look forward to starting at university.

Goals:We will work with the University, national bodies and other partners, to ensure that potential students are properly supported when choosing and arriving at a university.

We will promote our organisation to all students, whatever their background, location or type of study, encouraging them to engage with their students’ union. This will include a further drive to reach off campus students.

We will improve the ways that students can feedback to us on their views and experiences of all the students’ union services. We will reply, within one week, to individual comments and will publish a summary of all feedback each year, outlining the action we have taken or plan to take in response.

We will further improve the way we communicate both our work and the positive impact students make in their community, to our members and the wider world. This will include publishing an annual impact report.

Following the change to Plymouth University, we will review our own name and branding in 2013.


theme no. 2 the upsu family

Wellbeing, advice and support

We want students to really enjoy their time with Plymouth University and to give them opportunities and support to enable them to be happy, healthy and safe, throughout their time at University.

Goals:We will develop appropriate evaluation systems for our membership development services by April 2013.

We will raise the profile of our independent Student Advice Centre, to students and staff, through refreshed marketing and communications by September 2013.

We will develop our links to international students, to raise awareness of our services by September 2013.

We will ensure that students’ views are heard in the development and operation of the University’s proposed new Wellbeing Centre, by April 2013.

We will research the provision of wellbeing support for students, with a particular emphasis on mental health provision, with a view to campaigning for improvements, by March 2013.

In accordance with the separate Sports Strategy, we will use our sports facilities and personnel to give students and staff (including University Staff) opportunities to adopt a healthier lifestyle.


theme no. 3 Looking after yourself and others

Skills, Opportunities and Employability We need to ensure that we fully understand the development needs of all our members. We intend to meet these with a wide range of opportunities, to develop their life and leadership skills, provided through a combination of UPSU, University and third party provision.

Goals:We will provide students with practical opportunities to develop, such as participation in sport or running their clubs and societies, as well as quality training.

We will continue to promote and develop the excellent Student Leadership training, which is run in partnership with the University, increasing the number of students able to benefit each year.

We will, whenever practical, employ students as our staff, providing them with part time work experience, relevant training and opportunities to develop.

We will engage with the University, to ensure that their employability service and personal development programmes, including the Plymouth Award, are as good as they can be.

We will continue to support and promote the principal of students as co-creators of their own education, through the Students as Partners initiative.


theme no. 4 Developing people as people

Social Enterprise Our shops and bars are operated for the benefit of our members, both through the provision of excellent services which meet their needs and generation of surpluses which can be reinvested in the Union.

Students are at the heart of the services we offer and primarily reflect the needs of our students to enhance their experience at university, including opportunities for employment. We will focus on these needs when considering what services we offer and how we deliver them.

Goals:We will ensure that our established social enterprises are run efficiently, producing an improved surplus each year, without compromising the quality, diversity or value for money of what we offer.

We will identify opportunities to expand or develop new enterprises, which are relevant to students. We will consider launching an IT Shop in 2013 and will continue to grow our letting agency, entertainment and training business over each of the next three years.

We will maximise the income streams from our sports hall, without compromising delivery of the separate Sports Strategy.

We will continue to seek and develop mutually beneficial partnership arrangements with other businesses.

We will adopt an aspirational culture, where our staff instinctively ‘go the extra inch’ to deliver exceptional customer service, supported by training and recognition.

We will work with the University to introduce a cashless payment and loyalty scheme by 2014. Once established, we will use this scheme to recognise and reward customer loyalty. We will review our policy on card payments, with the aim of charging no more for transactions than our cost, by March 2013.


theme no. 5 Money Matters

Community and partnershipsWe want students to enjoy living in Plymouth and the wider South West. We believe that greater involvement and engagement with the local community will enhance their understanding of the positive impact students make and improve community relations.

Goals:We will continue to promote the volunteering that students do in the local community and will make resources available to further develop opportunities for sports volunteering. We will seek further external funding for these initiatives by July 2013.

We will make resources available to develop the scale and profile of our raising and giving (RAG) activity across the whole of our membership. We will double what we raise in each of the next three years.

We will increase the number of volunteer hours we deliver within Plymouth in each of the next three years and ensure this work is publicised in the local community.

We will regularly engage with the local MP, Police & Crime Commissioner, councillors, community meetings and the local community safety partnership, to ensure that we understand their concerns, represent our members, views and help keep Plymouth a safe place for students to be.


theme no. 6 We love our neighbours

enaBlerS

making it all happen

enaBler no. 1 Our Team Human ResourcesWe can only deliver the best possible services if we can recruit and retain excellent staff who feel empowered and valued. We remain committed to attracting exceptional people, who have the right attitude, relative skills and experience, to work with us.

Goals We will equip our staff with the skills and knowledge they need to reach their potential, by providing appropriate training and development opportunities.

We will have effective management systems, policies and procedures and will benchmark these against recognised best practice.

enaBler no. 2 Our Money FinanceWe need money to function and we will set out to ensure that we have sufficient funds to sustain our services now and in the future.

Goals

We will manage our members’ funds responsibly, avoiding undue risk, planning for predictable future expenditure or variations in income and ensuring we always achieve value for money.

We will develop and implement a capital replacement policy, to ensure that our buildings and other assets can be maintained and replaced on a planned basis.

We will look to develop alternative income streams, in addition to our trading surplus and the block grant we recieve from the University.


enaBler no. 3 Our Property Estate We want our premises, vehicles and other equipment to be clean, fit for purpose, and maintained to the highest possible standard, so our members and staff can be comfortable and safe.

Goals We will ensure that the public areas of our buildings are clean, accessible and welcoming to all of our members at the times they want to use it. This will include the provision of alcohol free and quieter areas. We will lobby the University to both meet its obligation to maintain and repair the Union’s building in the short term and to commit to providing more appropriate space for all our activities in the medium to long term. We will review our transport policy during 2013 to ensure that it delivers what our members need. We will consider acquiring a mobile students’ union, primarily to assist us in our work with off-campus students. We will invest in our buildings to make them more attractive for students to use.


enaBler no. 4 Our Accountability Governance The Students’ Union is run by students for students. We need to ensure that the students’ views, both general and specific, are properly sought, recorded and reported to the Board of Trustees and are always taken into account when decisions are made.

Goals We will develop our Board of Trustees as a coherent team, identify and fill any gaps in competency and expertise and develop a succession plan.

We will comply with all charity law and financial regulations. This will include accounting for our finances and reporting on our activities to the University, as our principal funder, on a regular basis.

We want to ensure that our sabbatical officers and the Union as a whole are genuinely accountable to the student body. We will carry out a full governance review to make this happen by the end of 2013.


enaBler no. 5 Our Gadgets TechnologyTechnology is constantly changing and evolving, for communication, handling information and eliminating repetitive time consuming tasks.

Goals

We will evaluate and, where appropriate adopt, new technology which would help us to meet our charitable objectives more effectively or efficiently.

We will review our website provision, by June 2013, ensuring that it has the functionality required to deliver high quality online services to our members.

We will work with the University, to ensure that the appropriate infrastructure is place on campus and at other locations, to enable us to make full and timely use of technology.


enaBler no. 6 Our Responsibilities Corporate social responsibility We set out to be responsible in what we do, committing to best practice on ethical and environmental issues, whilst still delivering best value for our members.

Goals We will be good neighbours, clean up after ourselves, buy locally where we can and be aware of the impact we have on others.

We will protect the right of our independent student advice centre and elected representatives to hold both the University and the Union to account, on behalf of individual students.

We will seek to operate our buildings and other assets in a sustainable way, wasting less and recycling more. This will include investing in more efficient equipment, encouraging sustainable practices in others and benchmarking what we do against recognised best practice.


upsu strategic plan 2013 - 2016

Documents

university plymouth

university students

lives of students

year plan

leading modern university

main plymouth campus

student demographics

casual student staff