Annual Review2011-2012

Contents2. A great year for SUSU | 3. About SUSU | 4. Voice | 6. Support

8. Communities | 10. Building an eff ective organistation

I hope that after reading this review you will be able to see what a remarkable Students’ Union SUSU really is. It is a privilege to work with such engaged, creative and enthusiastic students and the achievements we have reported here have only been possible with strong partnerships that have been built up over the years.

First and foremost we’d like to thank the thousands of students who work tirelessly to deliver an astonishing range of events and activities for their peers. We’ve had a hugely successful year working with our university colleagues and we’d like to thank them too for their continued commitment, support and encouragement. Finally, it’s been a pleasure this year to reach out further into the Southampton community and develop new and existing relationships, especially with local voluntary organisations, residents associations, and others who have sought to support our students during their time in the city.

SUSU is confi dent of a strong future. We are fl exible enough to take on the challenges created by the new funding regime in Higher Education and excited to continue our work to develop the potential and enrich the life of every student.

Sam Ling, Union President

A greatyear for

SUSU

2 | | Annual Review

The University of Southampton Students’ Union (SUSU) has over 22,000 members from all kinds of different backgrounds and represents the voice of students on issues at local, national and international levels.

SUSU also provides important services for its members including great value amenities and facilities, free and confidential advice and support and a whole range of exciting opportunities to have fun and socialise.

103

electedstudent officers589

About SUSU

Annual Review | | 3

22,269students

corestaff

283 supportstaff

Reward“It’s always nice to know that hard work is being acknowledged and rewarded in whatever form. Union Council has helped expand my knowledge of how the Union works and how it interacts with different departments, people and the University. Council is helpful in the sense that it can help get your voice heard on issues.”

Union Council Star, Natalie Ralph

#votesusu hashtag on Twitter trending in Southampton throughout Elections 2012

ChangeWe’ve championed a range of initiatives and campaigns this year to help our students have their say on the things that are important to them.

Voice

RepresentThis year SUSU has provided a strong and active voice on behalf of students to make sure the University continue to provide the best possible academic experience. We ensured every assessment deadline was extended by 4 days in January following a University wide IT outage and also pressed for better feedback and investment in new technologies for online assignment submission.

Student Representatives have also secured improvements to the way courses are delivered and the resources available to students. Key achievements include Winchester School of Art extending their opening hours during assessment periods and Chemistry introducing curriculum review sessions to enable students to inform the content of their degree.

ValueWe’ve worked closely with high quality external suppliers like Heineken, Pasta King, Southampton Football Club & the new SeaCity Museum this year to secure even better deals for SUSU. We’ve also reviewed our merchant banking systems to reduce transaction fees across our outlets.

This has helped us to provide consistently great services and excellent value to our students while optimizing the way we operate as a business.

4 | | Annual Review

In November 2011 we supported students attending national protests against the

rise in tuition fees and cuts to higher education funding.

We’re currently working with student groups on the ‘I’m Voting for Higher Education’ campaign.

Weekly Total Reach

43,34213,927Votes cast in

Elections

7,008 Likes(increasing every day)

Huge increase in engagement via our Facebook page…

1,301 TalkingAbout This

1,500,000Over Page views on

www.susu.org1 April 2011 to present (23 March 2012)

CommunicateIt has been a great year for democracy at SUSU, with at least 6 diff erent sets of elections taking place so far and the overall number of votes increasing. We also have a new style for Union Council that encourages discussion of ideas and better refl ects the cross section of students.

SUSU Media have also had some great sucesses. Surge Radio won a bronze technical award from the Student Radio Association whilst Wessex Scene and SUSUtv were both shortlisted for Guardian Media Awards. SUSUtv also won two awards and one ‘highly commended’ at the National Student Television Association (NaSTA) awards.

1 April 2011 - 31 March 2012

Annual Review | | 5

In terms of collaboration, SUSUtv hosted a successful live broadcast of “Freshers TV” working with 20 other student stations across the UK. Our student run publications Wessex Scene and The Edge have been redesigned and separated into two compact magazines. On top of all this, all four media departments have seen an increase in both volunteer members and audience fi gures.

Athletic UnionSUSU boasts one of the largest and most successful Athletic Unions in the country with over 75 clubs and 4,000 members and this year we’ve had some excellent results. The Ladies Hockey, Netball and Women’s Rugby teams have all been hugely successful with BUCS finals wins and our American Football and Women’s Rugby teams remain

6 | | Annual Review

Support

Student talent Over 300 students have been nominated for Union Council Star, Athletic Union and Excellence in Volunteering Awards in recognition of all manner of outstanding contributions to SUSU.

undefeated. We also fought off Portsmouth to become Varsity Cup winners for the fourth year in a row.

We’ve invested £226,500 this year to help our teams continue to develop and achieve such great results and secured almost £40,000 in additional funding to open a new, state-of-the-art gym facility.

4,000members

Developing student talent has been high on the agenda with 91 Junior Common Room Officers, 200 Course Representatives, and a cross-section of over 30 Student Leaders and Union Councillors all receiving targeted training to help equip them with the right skills to excel in their roles.

Ph

oto

by

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oto

So

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Southampton Uni 105Portsmouth Uni 66

75clubs

Student life

SUSU organises welfare events and initiatives throughout the year to ensure students get the most out of their time at university by staying safe, managing their money and settling in.

We recently launched the Student Taxi Scheme to help make sure students can get home safely after nights out and the Ssh! (Southampton Street Harmony) campaign has continued to promote the importance of being a good neighbour. Housing Week events throughout the year gave students important tips, advice and guidance on how to get the most out of private rented accommodation.

Annual Review | | 7

“The training I received was relevant to my job. It ensured that I knew what to do, and how to do it, without going overboard on things that weren’t necessary for the role. As well as the general skills you pick up from any specifi c role in a job (in my case, promotions/marketing and reception), I have also gained communication skills, learnt about the values of a Students’ Union, learnt how to time manage, and above all gained confi dence in talking to ‘clients’.

Chloe Richardson, SUSU Promo Team & Reception

53 students attended 6 x day courses (Emergency First Aid at Work). 2 training sessions in completing Risk Assessments, with more planned.

Desig

ned

by

CM

T at S

US

Ueach receiving at least3 hours of training todevelop their skills.180 new student

staff joinedin the last year

7,051 requestsfor advice

April 2011 – March 2012+

Student Engagement

SUSU’s excellent delivery of events and award-winning activities provides students with all kinds of interesting ways to get involved and develop their interests and skills.

It’s been an amazing year for our clubs and societies. Awards have been won by our members including Performing Arts Dance and Showstoppers and student trips have been organized around the globe from Windsurfing in Morocco to Freshers in Amsterdam.

We provided a 54% increase in funding for societies and also hosted the National Marrow Conference, helping different bone marrow societies and organisations from around the country to understand how best to engage with students.

8 | | Annual Review

Community

Spaces & places

September 2011 saw the grand opening of our all new concourse and reception area. This exciting new space features adaptable exhibition pods and social areas; a huge video screen displaying news and information; and a giant feature wall designed to explain everything that we do.

We have made huge strides towards creating a Master Plan for all of our spaces within the Union to ensure we continue to provide students with high quality, modern facilities.

All New Concourse

Theatre Group wonBest Original Student Production at Edinburgh Fringe

of those are for...

Annual Review | | 9

External interaction

The Community Volunteering scheme we run in partnership with the University has provided students with a great opportunity to work with local projects and community groups. Our ‘Recycling on your Doorstep’ project in June 2011 helped keep the local area tidy as students moved out of rented accommodation and SUSU representatives now regularly attend Local Residents’ Association meetings to discuss ways we can become better neighbours together.

GOne resident group, the North East Bassett Residents’ Association (NEBRA) held a pizza evening for students from Bencraft Hall to meet their neighbours.

“It was a great opportunity to meet the students living in our area, six of whom helped out at our Christmas Social and were invaluable. We hope to organise a quiz evening soon.” –

Sharon Smith, Secretary of NEBRA

46,293 Number of tickets soldfor SUSU events

1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012

£50,004.98August 2010 to July 2011

RAG Total

2,239students currently

signed up to...

189societies

10,066

35 societiesNEW

In the last year have become affiliated with SUSU.

of studentsare satisfied with clubs & societies

93%

of students are satisfiedwith SUSU

96%*Statistics from

iBarometer survey

GovernanceLeadership at the highest level of SUSU has developed signifi cantly during the year.

The new Trustee Board has allowed a stronger focus on implementing the Union Plan to 2015 as well as managing and minimising risk. Six Sabbatical Offi cers are now joined by two Student Leader Trustees and four Student Trustees. We have also recruited two of our four external trustees who bring invaluable insight to the board.

We have been preparing for our registration as a charity. Union Council approved new Memorandum and Articles of Association which will establish the Union as a company limited by guarantee, a common legal entity for large charities. Our charity registration will be submitted during the summer of 2012.

Building an

Eff ective Organisation

10 | | Annual Review

Staff talent This year we introduced termly reviews for all core staff to identify training needs and support our staff to become even better at their work.

We also held two successful Staff Conferences to promote discussion and communication at all levels across the whole of SUSU. Training priorities for the next year include health and safety and customer service, communication and management skills; all of which will help to improve the services and opportunities that we off er to students.

feel they make a difference to members

Annual Review | | 11

94%

of staff understand the impact their service has on SUSU members

88%

Grant£2,536,430

Food & Drink£1,965,943

Shop£2,181,533

Sponsorship, adverts & rents£161,303

Costs of shops& outlets£3,101,372

Wages£2,409,003

Building£562,838

Saving for future£170,145

Clubs & Socs£263,899

Community£169,627

Campaigns£112,022

Training£56,303

Income£6,845,209

What our staff say...

Our Finances

Expenditure£6,845,209

August 2011 - July 2012(Based on current budgets)

This annual review is also available in other formats

Students’ Union, University of Southampton,Southampton, SO17 1BJWeb: www.susu.org Email: contact@susu.org Tel: 023 8059 5200

All papers in this bookletare printed from sustainable forests.

Union President Sam LingVP Academic Aff airs Sasha WatsonVP Communications Joe McLoughlinVP Sports Development Jonny Brooks-BartlettVP Student Engagement Shane MurphyVP Welfare & Communities Frankie FryVP Winchester Laura Gardner

Equality & Diversity Offi cer Chloe Green Ethical & Environmental Offi cer Joshua Davies Student Trustee Andreas DayStudent Trustee Emily SheldrakeStudent Trustee James BrantStudent Trustee Alexander Houghton

External Trustee Mike Snell External Trustee Mark BeattieExternal Trustee Nigel Coopey

Faculty Offi cer Rachel StockeyFaculty Offi cer Maria KonstantinidouFaculty Offi cer Raminder PoonianFaculty Offi cer Sarah MarshallFaculty Offi cer Luke O’BrienFaculty Offi cer Natasha Van OudgaardenFaculty Offi cer Ishani BhatacharyaFaculty Offi cer Christopher Hambley

Postgraduate Offi cer (taught) Thomas McWhirterPostgraduate Offi cer (research) Joseph TaitInternational Students’ Offi cer Umair SiddiquiThe Edge Editor Joe HawkesSurge Radio Station Manager David GilaniWessex Scene Editor Mike FisherSUSUtv Station Manager Dom KullanderAthletic Union Offi cer James O’MahonySports & Health Offi cer Dean Jones

Community Volunteering Offi cer Kimberly BlewettJunior Common Room Offi cer Simon EylesPerforming Arts Offi cer Peter WardRaise & Give (RAG) Offi cer Adam MoloneySocieties Offi cer Alexander TaylorStudent Enterprise Offi cer Vadims (Frank) SondorsUnion Films Cinema Manager Natalie RalphSouthampton General Hospital (Site) Offi cer Brendan Westhoff Winchester (Site) Offi cer Peter Whiddon Union Councillor Sophie Bradfi eldUnion Councillor Lydie-Agathe ManiemaUnion Councillor Yun LinUnion Councillor Andre PuseyUnion Councillor Rob McGoughUnion Councillor Jack HodgsonUnion Councillor Thomas SmithUnion Councillor Meera BurgessUnion Councillor Nadia PapasideroUnion Councillor Chipo MososoUnion Councillor Laura DaviesUnion Councillor Alastair MogfordUnion Councillor Alice NorthUnion Councillor Husain PatelUnion Councillor Bethany MatthewsUnion Councillor Reetam SinghUnion Councillor Joshua CoxUnion Councillor Harriet DingleUnion Councillor Kate JowettUnion Councillor Thomas SanderUnion Councillor Jack KananiUnion Councillor Ioana NicolescuUnion Councillor Jamie BarkerUnion Councillor Fiona CookUnion Councillor Rupert BaileyUnion Councillor Jade HeadUnion Councillor Adam Proudley

Some of the people helpingto make SUSU even better