Last year we were delighted to report on our new strategy and strategic plan for 2011-2014, which outlined the direction of the Students’ Union to being an organisation serious about representation, and effective in practice. This year, we feel we have progressed rapidly towards our targets and have made big steps in terms of membership engagement.

This year we have seen 43% of students voting in our elections and referendum – a big increase on past numbers and placing us amongst the top nationally; and we have being working hard on our strategies in relation to membership engagement, community engagement, widening participation and cross-cultural exchange.

It has been incredibly exciting for us – a year of significant development in what we offer and how we relate to our membership. We have recognised that in order for the Union to be more fully representative we have to better engage with the whole Sussex student body, in particular those who are postgraduate, international and mature students. To this end we have refocused our resources and changed our staffing structure to develop a strong membership engagement strategy, which is shaped by a deeply held set of principles.

In its recently draft report, the QAA commented that “The value of student opinion is strongly embedded in the University’s culture, primarily being enacted through an active, informed and campaigning Students’ Union”

Students’ Union vision

The University of Sussex Students’ Union vision states that:

“As a Union we aim to be more than a purely representative body providing services. A students’ union should be integral to all students’ social lives, personal development and their educational experiences. Students should not be passive consumers but active participants providing services, experiences and complementary education for themselves. Together we will help to set the social agenda, ensuring that students are equipped and inspired to make a positive difference to their university experience and society.”

This vision was developed in conjunction with a new strategy and strategic plan for 2011 -2014. It was developed over an extensive period of consultation with relevant stakeholders including students, staff, volunteers and elected officers. Buy-in from relevant stakeholders was not just achieved by including everyone in consultations over the plans but also by making the strategy and vision core to everything we do. The vision of being more than purely a representative body providing services and that of students as active participants and not passive consumers runs through the entire organisation and is now influencing the planning and implementation of the strategic objectives. Staff, officers and volunteers who are involved in setting out our communications, widening participation and volunteering strategies are all working from this common basis. Being able to provide a focal point where the work and interest of every stakeholder meet radically improved communications and hence very easily created buy in from everyone.

The Union made a deliberate effort to improve its participation in elections this year and has been very successful in delivering on that, seeing 43% of students in total voting in elections and referenda.

We elected our first Postgraduate Association Chair, who will act as a representative for PG students and assist in developing the Postgraduate Association.

A new structure has been implemented focusing on student engagement and improved social policy campaigning. With dedicated staff support Officers in their campaigns and ring fenced funding dedicated to the outreach and representation of postgraduate, international and mature students.

Student Feedback and feed-in

• This year we expanded our referenda to seek large scale feed-in on issues affecting students.
• Students Decide portal - makes it easy for students to tell us what they think without having to understand formal Union decision-making mechanisms. Has greatly improved feed-in.
• Established a Postgraduate Association with an elected Chair to increase feedback from PG students
• Our commercial outlets all operate a ‘comment card’ system as well as focus groups on possible changes to our offer. This year we also introduced meetings for students to feed in to shaping our commercial outlets, and we hold regular forums for student staff consultation. We take away actions from these forums, and report back with what we’ve done at the next.
• The QAA process this year included student research and feed-in and has been successfully used to get University to work with the Students’ Union and progress well on an action plan to address issues.
• We have good ongoing general communication, particularly through strong social media, and have launched internal newsletter to increase contact and discussion with volunteers and staff members.
• This year we have also launched a review of all of our governance and democratic structures, with a view to changes being made in the 2013/14 academic year.
• Once again Fresher’s week has been very successful with high satisfaction ratings and an inclusive programme of events. This year 50% of all Fresher’s Week events are alcohol free and we arrange specific events for student parents as well as mature and postgraduate students.

Campaigns

We take an evidenced-based approach to our campaigning and have seen some great wins for students this year, not just on campus but also locally. We have been presented with some difficult challenges, and took on the task of taking some of these to the national level especially with issues of privatisation in higher education.

We have for the first time secured representation on local transport and housing planning committees, and developed our relationship with the local Council.

We have also developed our support for student-led campaigns, establishing mechanisms to supporting students in campaigning on the issues they want to. A dedicated fund has been established.

We have also created students’ union campaign volunteer roles to get students more actively engaged in organising and running our campaigns, and have seen great success particularly with mental health and zero tolerance.