2011 saw University Campus Suffolk Union (UCSU) in crisis: we were haemorrhaging funds, many staff left, a Vice President had yet to complete a full term and representative and membership services were allocated less than 20% of staff resource. Morale was low, we lacked infrastructure, commercial viability and our credibility with students and UCS was poor.

Today UCSU is a different place: we deliver a surplus, we allocate over 50% of staff resource to membership, representative and democratic services. We have an Advice Centre, resourced democracy, representation and student activities provisions, our relationship with UCS is good and staff morale has improved.

Most importantly, we actively engage with more students than ever before in ways that we only dreamed of 2 years ago.

And we’ve got plans…

UCSU’s vision is to:

Support, inspire and empower all students by being an

exceptional student-led organisation.

We developed this by canvassing key stakeholder opinions and holding a strategic workshop for all stakeholders. During the workshop we debated stakeholder opinions and after further consultation with them we agreed a vision, a mission statement, values and objectives.

UCSU’s 3-year strategic plan is designed to help us achieve our vision. Our commitment to students is that everything we do between now and 2016 will:

  • enhance the student experience
  • create change
  • develop employability
  • build a healthy organisation

These are our “strategic themes” and all organisational and departmental strategic plans must be underpinned by them. Departmental strategic plans have operational and financial targets against which staff performance and achievement of UCSU’s strategic themes will be measured and reported back to stakeholders to ensure accountability and transparency.

We are proud to have received support from UCS to help us achieve our vision: we agreed a 1-year recovery plan (implemented May 2012) and UCS increased our Block Grant by 30% for 2012-13.

We hold informal weekly and structured monthly meetings where we agree targets, report on progress and share best practice in planning. The meetings encourage collaboration and efficiency. All staff meet regularly with our CEO to discuss departmental planning progress.

Following staff and other union consultation to canvass ideas and best practice, we use an agreed project management template for project work.

UCS Union uses these mechanisms to obtain and react to student feedback:

  • Union Council
  • Meetings with UCS
  • Course Representatives
  • Advice Centre
  • Student Surveys

Our Union Council meetings are open to all students and UCSU staff: they are held at easily accessible times and places and the format encourages participation. There is a pre-published formal agenda and 2 further sections:

Discussion groups:

  • Each Course Representative completes a feedback questionnaire with their cohort, in advance
  • The top 4 feedback trends are identified and each trend is debated by one group comprised of councillors who will form a preliminary motion around it
  • Between meetings a nominated proposer draws up a motion based on the debate and circulates it for everyone to see and amend
  • The motion will be presented at the next Union Council for debate and voting.

Direct dialogue with UCS:

  • UCS middle and senior managers attend and present projects that are in the planning and implementation phases of. They then seek (and act upon) student feedback.
  • Over 1,000 students voted in our Course Representative elections (2012:600). 90% of roles were elected and 85% of candidates received training.

This year we undertook a Governance Review: changing procedures and policies from 2006.

Our Advice Centre has had 150+ cases since August 2012 and feedback is 100% positive. The Advice Centre analyses cases looking for trends which are then discussed with Officers. Officers cascade this feedback to the Executive and Union Council. Work carried out by the Advice Centre has directly contributed to UCS working with UCSU to improve existing policies and create new ones.

This year we:

  • launched an Advice Centre
  • secured extended library opening hours
  • improved access to library e-resources
  • launched “Pound in your Pocket” and successfully campaigned for UCS to publish hidden course costs
  • got UCS to reintroduce the bursary after they replaced it with fee waivers
  • improved study and social spaces
  • enhanced induction activities
  • wrote a new student charter
  • worked with local health partnerships to deliver free Zumba classes and healthy living courses
  • ran an “I Am The Change” campaign challenging students to identify something they wanted to change and work with us to enable that change
  • rented an NUS Extra card printer, maximising student ability to purchase Extra cards
  • used an NUS hardship fund to allow students to travel to Demo2012
  • worked with UCS to create and implement an anti-bulling policy
  • organised the Student and Teaching Awards Ceremony, receiving record nominations
  • secured a £2000 fund from UCS to support students in immediate financial hardship, administered by our Advice Centre
  • launched a community volunteering scheme
  • doubled investment in Student Activities and subsequently increased sport participation by 100%

2013 saw our most successful elections ever. We offered improved candidate engagement processes and targeted marketing: turnout was a record 16.4% (2012: 5.2%), nominations increased from 10 to 24!

Union Council is well attended: the inclusion of UCS staff and guest speakers facilitates student engagement with UCS and students feel it allows them to effect change.

At a regional level our Chief Executive attends regular meetings with other union CEO’s to share best practice.

We have worked to engage with the NUS and NUS Services at a national level: attending the Black Students Campaign Conference, the National Conference and focus groups.

Our Vice President is a non-executive director of NUS Services Ltd, and works to represent the needs of small and specialist students’ unions, participating in working groups/committees to improve membership engagement and NUS Connect migration to NUS Digital.

UCSU is becoming the place we want it to be for our students.

Choose us as Small Union of the Year and let us leverage that recognition