Students’ Union

Strategy& StrategicPlan 2011 - 2014

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Contents

Introduction from the PresidentIntroduction to the Strategy Our MembershipWhat we want to achieveOur resources and ImprovementsIntroduction to the Strategic PlanOur Key AchievementsThe Plan for ImprovementEngagementStudent VoiceExperienceOrganisation

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A strategy, and the resultant strategic plan, gives the University of Sussex Students’ Union a set of goals to head towards over the next few years.

The nature of the Students’ Union is such that a new team of Full-Time-Officers leads the Union each year. For so many reasons this is fantastic; it means that Officers have enough time to deliver on their manifesto pledges, yet not so long that they lose their democratic accountability. The annual changeover also means that the Union remains fresh, current and relevant with the changing needs of the student body. Whilst a year was enough time to make some key changes within the University, such as the return of all examination feedback and a redesign of the University’s scholarships and bursaries package, it was not enough time to make real structural change to the Union itself, something that was long overdue. So this plan addresses that need.

We decided that we needed to be ambitious. Sussex was already a

well renowned Students’ Union across the country and we aimed to really set the standard in student representation, personal development, and making change in the University and local community. Most importantly, however, we recognised changes were taking place across the Students’ Union sector that contradicted what we were hearing in our own consultations. Students wanted to be actively involved in the running of their own Students’ Union. The strategy, therefore, looks to create a Students’ Union with students at every level: in governance, in leadership, in provision, involved.

I know that with the leadership of the 2011 / 2012 Officer team and the excellent staff team supporting them, the Union will move from strength to strength not only in this next year, but for many years to come.

Cameron TaitPresident 2010-2011, The University of Sussex Students’ Union

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USSU Strategy Introduction Cameron Tait

Cameron Tait

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As the University of Sussex is entering its 50th year it is a great opportunity for the Students’ Union to reflect on ourselves, our position within the University community, the wider community and most importantly on our interaction with students and the support and opportunities we offer them.

The Students’ Union is made up of every student studying at Sussex and BSMS (Brighton and Sussex Medical School). This strategy is the result of a year of extensive consultation with students, staff, volunteers and officers. It outlines very clearly who and what the Students’ Union is and more importantly what we want it to be and how we want to get there.

It starts off with the Unions’ purpose, our vision and our values. These will be at the core of everything we do and want to achieve and these are what makes us unique and what will hopefully inspire you to participate and take action.

The Students’ Union aims to be a membership organisation that is

run by its members and acts in the interest of its members. In other words the Union aims to be a strong union that is democratically led by students and a base for the entire student community. An organisation that empowers students to be active participants and an organisation that is progressive and critical in order to promote educational and social change.

We can be proud of what Sussex Students’ Union has achieved over the past half decade and in the way the Union has contributed to making the University of Sussex what it is today. This strategy will enable us to improve ourselves, the university experience of the students at Sussex and will enable us to continue to fight for fair, equal and quality education.

David CichonPresident 2011-2012, The University of Sussex Students’ Union

Introduction from the President

David Cichon

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Introduction to the Strategy

Student Unions’ Purpose

The Students’ Union’s charitable object, as detailed in its constitution, is the advancement of education of students at the University of Sussex for the public benefit.

Our Vision

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.

Our Mission

To enable students at Sussex to make a positive difference to their University experience.

Our Aim

By 2014 we will become a leading organisation in the fields of student participation, representation and engagement.

Our Values

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Type and level of study:

Percentage of: Ethnicity:

23% (3,479) Postgraduate

77% (8,362) Undergraduate

Part time students - 18%

Students over 25 - 32%

Students with a knowndisability - 11%

Students from lowersocial economic groups - 19%

White - 75%

Black - 7%

Asian - 4%

Mixed - 4%

Chinese - 3%

Other - 2%

Unknown - 5%

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Our Membership

Students at the University of Sussex

Total Number of Students: 12,575

Data supplied from Higher Education Statistics Agency.

BME students- 13%

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Gender:

Domicile: Top 10 countries of domicile:

Female - 58% Male - 42%

UK - 8,876EU - 948Other - 589

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What we want to achieve

Increasing the number of students actively engaged in the running of Union activities and democratic processes empowering them to take

ownership of their union

Removing social and academic problems affecting students both on an individual and a collective level

Increasing students’ personal development and enjoyment of their University experience

Increasing the awareness of student issues ensuring that students’ views are integral to all decisions affecting them so that their best

interests are served with no groups being unfairly affected

Increasing students’ impact on their local environment ensuring they are recognised as a positive and progressive part of the university

and the local community and are inspired to affect change at a local, national and international level

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Our Core Activities

We operate an advice and representation service providing individual advice and student representation on university committees and at a school level. We support student representation through training and briefings and ensuring that our democratic systems are functioning and effective.

We facilitate the creation and organisation of various student led media outlets, sport clubs, general interest societies, RAG, support groups and we provide a community volunteering brokering scheme. We provide advice literature, information and workshops and help train other providers of student support services. We run awareness campaigns and lobby decision-makers both locally and nationally on the key issues affecting students. Together with student groups we run various key events throughout the university and cultural calendar and also general entertainment and other opportunities for students to meet and socialise with each other.

As a provider of student run space we facilitate student debate and discussion and act as a platform for political activity, social action and student self governance and liberation. Recently we have introduced a student run computer repair service and are currently developing a student lettings agency.

Through our commercial trading services we operate social venues and retailing that provides essential services, employment opportunities for students and revenue to support our non-commercial services.

Throughout all of this we encourage student participation and involvement and provide many supported voluntary roles within the Students’ Union itself.

Our Focus

All of our activities, including our commercial services, must be student-led and have a direct positive impact on students’ lives. We will concentrate on improving the university experience for existing and future students and wherever possible look to facilitate students providing their own services over other methods.

Our Position

We differ from similar organisation and services because we are committed to student participation and strive to be a facilitator of services as well as a provider.

All of our activity is completely student led through active democratic accountability and student involvement. We are also an ethically driven organisation committed to acting responsibly in all of our actions and decisions.

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Our Resources and ImprovementsHow we will resource ourselves over the next three years:

We will aim to increase our annual block grant to a level that covers the cost of our core services and to agree a mechanism for calculating that level with the University. We will also look to use our charitable status to increase our income from external grants and funds for student led projects and seek other sources of funding from within the University for jointly provided services such as Sussex Plus.

Commercially we will aim to make our services more profitable by improving our operations and increasing our trading year. We will look to diversify our trading income so as not to be solely reliant on the traditional areas, especially where income is declining at a national level. We will look to increase online sales and find additional sources of income from new services such as the student lettings market.

What internal improvements we need to make:

Over the next three years we will actively aim to engage with more students. We will do this through improving our democratic accountability and developing and supporting our democratic structures to make them simple and empowering. Our aim is to make it easier for students to understand how to get involved and feel encouraged to do so. We will improve our transparency and actively seek to engage more students through increased interaction with union officers, more effective individual and collective representation and through our social policy work. A key aspect of encouraging participation will be making greater use of volunteers,

more support for general student involvement in all our activities and ensuring our activities and services are of the highest quality.

We must ensure that all groups of students are involved within the Union and pay special attention to those groups often excluded. We will become better at communicating the services we offer and our impact both to students and the University. But our communication must also be two way and we must improve our ability to listen to and understand students’ needs through better use of new technologies, social media and research. We will also concentrate on providing events that enrich the University and cultural calendar that are not provided elsewhere.

We must improve our HR practices, staff engagement and embed equality and diversity into all of our work. We must also ensure we are sustainable, both financially and environmentally. We will need to look for new ways to provide existing services through partnerships and collaboration that delivers real benefit and value for money but also train staff to be facilitators of students services rather than providers. Most importantly our services and activities must be student focused and student led and we must be flexible enough to adapt to their changing needs and priorities.

Our Resources and Improvements

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Our external relationships

We seek constructive engagement with the university; we expect the views of students to be taken seriously and considered in all relevant decisions taken within the institution. We want to develop a more structured relationship with the other service providers within the University and to have greater influence with the local authority and national bodies such as NUS. We would wish to develop relationships with local communities and suppliers that match our ethical and political values and to work in unity with the campus trade unions. We see other universities and students’ unionsas partners in the provision of higher education.

How we wish to be seen by others

As an organisation we want to be seen as being progressive in our outlook, well informed, relevant to all students’ lives whilst being supportive and empowering.

We want students to feel that by getting involved they will be able to effect real change, not just within the Union and the University but also within society.

We wish to be seen as a ‘critical friend’ and as a partner in the provision of education at Sussex by the University but also as an asset that is worth investing in.

As an organisation we want to been seen as being progressive in our outlook, well informed, relevant to all students’ lives whilst being supportive and empowering.

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We carried out extensive research on the views of our officers, staff, volunteers, customer and users of our services through surveys, interviews and focus groups and held away days with managers, officers and staff.

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How we decided on the priorities of this plan

We have spent the last year doing a lot of consultation with students, staff, volunteers and officers to help inform this plan. We have looked at the results of surveys carried out by ourselves, most notable the annual USSU Questionnaire, which in 2010 received over 700 responses, as well as analysing survey results carried out by national organisations such as the International Student Barometer, National Student Survey and the NUSSL Student Lifestyle Survey. We targeted specific groups that we knew rarely used our services with our What Matters To You? Survey with 600 respondents from International, Postgraduate, Mature and Part-Time students and students with dependants.

We also made use of detailed research work carried out by other sector bodies such as the NUS Wave Of Change report and NCVO’s State Of The Voluntary Sector and Participation: trends, facts and figures.

Key findings of our research and analysis

The overriding factors that come through the research regarding the Students’ Union is that we are performing well, receiving high satisfaction rates from our customers and service users. We also have a very actively engaged student body in areas such as democracy and student-led campaigning. But there exists considerably large groups of students that feel alienated and unsupported by the Students’ Union, most notably postgraduate, mature, part-time and international students and students with dependants. Sussex has a high number of postgraduate and mature students compared to other HEIs on top of this the institution is looking to considerably expand its intake

of international students over the next three years. Although a relatively small group of students, student with dependant children have very acute, specific needs that are currently not being adequately addressed by the either the Union or the University. The other key area of weakness identified regarding student involvement was a lack of democratic accountability and openness and weak support for our internal democratic processes.

We also need to continue to address the perception of high profile activities such as entertainment that can reflect poorly on our other services and look to increase the overall awareness of Students’ Union services and membership benefit amongst the student body. Our ability to communicate effectively, particularly using online social media is a key factor in this. Limited resources is the other key factor that needs to be addressed. In addressing these issues this plan must take advantage of the high levels of student engagement and highly regarded services. We must combine these strengths with our ability as an organisation to be flexibility and responsive and the commitment and quality of our staff, volunteers and officers.

Introduction to the Strategic Plan

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Our Environment

The higher education sector is changing and we are about to enter very challenging times. HE has received huge cuts in its budget that will affect universities and students’ unions. The level of fees students will have to pay for their education will treble and this in turn will affect how they view their education and what they will expect from their institutions and the services they receive. Within this environment the student voice has never been more important and strong representation will be essential. Student development will also become more important with students wanting to turn their experiences into transferable skills so that they will be better able to secure graduate employment. Above all we need to ensure that our services continue to be efficient and high quality.

There are also opportunities in this new environment; the rise of digital media offers a fantastic way to engage with members and to enable much higher levels of participation. With new legislation meaning students’ unions becoming registered charities there will be new opportunities for fundraising. Additional sources of income must be sought from new services such as the student lettings market; an area that could potentially provide revenue for the Union and huge social benefit for our members. We must also look for new ways to provide existing services through partnerships and collaboration that delivers real benefit and value for money.

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Our Key Achievements

Over 3000 students

voting in online elections

Successfully lobbied for all work to be marked and

returned with 15 days

Successfully lobbied for exam papers to be

returned to students once they have been marked

Introduced customer service training for every

member of commercial staff team

Gold Students’ Unions Green Impact environmental award

Highest rating of any 1994 Group University

students’ union in International

Student Barometer

Almost 1000 students volunteering within the

Students’ Union

Successfully lobbied for 24 hour library access

Invested in refits to our advice centre, common room, shops

and bars

Introduced Equal Opportunity monitoring

across the whole organisation

Gold Best Bar None award for responsible operation

of alcohol licensed premises

Led the process for the University of Sussex to awarded the status of a

Fairtrade University

Introduction of Union Volunteering Scheme with

student volunteers now operating five key areas of

Union services

Successfully lobbied for exam papers to be

returned to students once they have been marked

Introduced a management training programme for

all managers, key staff and supervisors

Commercial turnover up from £2,284,000 in 2005

to £3,804,000 in 2010

Achieved Investors in Volunteers accreditation

Completed a successful redevelopment and re-branding of the

Students’ Union and website

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The Plan for Improvement

Participation

Diversity

Quality

Resources

Increase the numbers of students involved in Union and University decision-making and in the running of all Union activities and services

Key Goal 1 - by 2014 we will have:Over 50% of our members would have voted in a Students’ Union election and/or referendum at some stage in the year

Ensure that all sections of the student body are involved in what we do, especially minority groups

Key Goal 2 - by 2014 we will have:The demographic of the overall student body is reflected positively across all Union activities, democratic structures and services

Ensure that whatever we do and the services and activities we offer are of the best they can be

Key Goal 3 - by 2014 we will have:Achieved a SUEI Silver award with over 85% of students agreeing that we have had a positive impact on their university experience

Ensure we have the necessary resources to achieve our objectives and the long-term future of the Union as a sustainable enterprise both financially and environmentally

Key Goal 4 - by 2014 we will have:Our annual block grant at a level that covers the cost of our core services with an agreed mechanism for calculating that level

StrandsThere are four strategic strands running through all four areas of the union’s strategic plan with a key goal for each strand.

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The Plan for ImprovementAreasThe four key areas of the plan are each divided into three sections. They are:

Engagement

Student Voice

Experience

Organisation

• Communications• Volunteering• Hard-to-Reach Students

• Democracy• Representation• Advice

• Clubs & Societies• Events• Community

• People• Technology• Sustainability

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Engagement

CommunicationsWe will communicate in a timely and effective way with the membership using the same methods they use to communicate with each other. We will create a coherent message based on students’ needs rather than Union priorities.

VolunteeringWe will expand both the number of volunteers running our services and the amount of services run by volunteers. We will continue to develop the existing volunteer roles within the Union to offer a valuable and rewarding developmental and social experience for those students that volunteer with us and with groups and projects within the community.

‘Hard-to-Reach’ StudentsWe will improve our representation for traditionally underrepresented groups with specific focus on postgraduates and international students; mature and part-time students; students with childcare responsibilities; BME students and students from Widening Participation backgrounds. We will ensure that their needs and views are heard and met within the Union, the University and the local community. We will increase the number of students from these groups that engage with the Students’ Union both in existing activities and services and through the creation of new services specifically for these groups. We will also encourage more students from these groups to become actively engaged in the provision of their own services and activities through societies and campaigning.

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By 2014 we will have:

Communications Volunteering ‘Hard-to-Reach’ Students

Participation: Over 250,000 unique visitors to our web site per year

At least 2500 members opening the fortnightly newsletter

Diversity: Our market research respondent data accurately reflecting the demographic of the student body

We will have targeted marketing and communications for at least four of our identified ‘hard-to-reach’ student groups

Quality: Developed and implemented a communications strategy across the organisation

80% of students responding in the annual survey feel that they are well informed of Union activities

Resources:Increased marketing and communications expenditure by 50%

Reduced our printed material by 50%

Participation: At least 25% of our membership will be involved in voluntary activity through the Students’ Union

Students will contribute over 70,000 hours of voluntary work within the campus and local community

Diversity: The demographic of the overall student body is reflected in the students volunteering through the Students’ Union

Conducted an Equality Impact Assessment for Union volunteering to ensure no group of students are excluded from participating

Quality: Developed and implemented a Union Volunteering Strategy

90% of students volunteering within the Union will rate their experience as Good or Excellent

Resources:Provided dedicated financial and staff support for all Union volunteers

Trained all key Union staff in volunteer development and facilitating volunteer-led services

Participation: 75% of International Student Barometer (ISB) respondents using our services

At least one campaign to be run on an issue relevant to one of these groups a year and concerns of these groups to be included in any other Union campaigns

Diversity: Conducted Equality Impact Assessments for all new Union services to ensure that they do not exclude these groups

Developed and implemented an organisational strategy for engaging with these identified students groups

Quality: A 95% satisfaction rating for Students’ Union in ISB

75% of Hard-to-Reach students rating the Students’ Union Good or Excellent in annual survey

Resources:A dedicated budget to support these groups

Additional funding for a new post to support these groups from the University

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Student Voice

RepresentationWe will develop and support relevant and accessible representational structures to ensure we represent all of our members. Our social policy campaigning will be targeted and organised to deliver real change and benefit to our membership. We will also increase our role at a national level ensuring that the voice of Sussex students shapes the future of student politics and higher education.

AdviceWe will continue to develop a professional, independent advice and casework service that meets the needs of our members. As part of this we will also develop and greatly expand the Advice and Representation volunteering scheme to enable service development and provide rewarding volunteer opportunities.

DemocracyWe will increase the number of students involved in the democratic structures of the Union both in terms of those standing for positions and those voting. We will strengthen our democratic structures to increase accountability and engage students in leading and influencing the direction of the Union, the University and national student issues that affect them.

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By 2014 we will have:

Representation Advice Democracy

Participation: 85% of Student Representative positions contested

At least one Sussex representative at a national level in the student movement every year of this plan

Diversity: Run at least one awareness campaign on minority issues in every year of this plan

The demographic of the overall student body is reflected in those nominating themselves for student representatives and officers

Participation: Created a schedule of volunteer-led advice services and outreach activities and ensured sufficient volunteers to operate them

Established a student mediation scheme

Diversity: Conducted an Equality Impact Assessment for the advice service to ensure all groups of students have equal access to the service

A system that prioritises social policy evidence relating to minority and hard-to-reach groups into tangible action

Participation: Over 15% of students voting in a Students’ Union Councillor election at some stage in the year

Over 90% of students knowing that they are a member of the students’ union and that we are a democratically accountable, student led organisation.

All Member Meetings attaining a minimum of 450 students attending

Quality: Implemented all recommendations from the 2011 Student Representative Scheme review

Published at least 3 campaign objectives each year of this plan and achieved at least 3 of the objectives across the course of this plan

85% of our membership agreeing that we effectively lobby the university on their behalf

Resources:Dedicated staff support for social policy work development

Quality: Obtained a relevant quality standard for the advice service

85% of respondents to User Survey ranking service Good or Excellent

Resources:Permanent A&R Volunteer Coordinator post

Dedicated administrative support for officers, volunteers and staff working in the advice service

Diversity: The demographics of our membership will be reflected in the candidates and in those members voting

Established delivery plans for improving democratic involvement of all underrepresented groups identified in the 2011 Democratic Working Group review

Quality: Implemented all recommendations from the Democratic Working Group 2011 review

A new training programme for all union officers and Council members with an 85% attendance

Resources:Dedicated staff support for the Union’s democratic processes

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Clubs & SocietiesWe will expand the scope and widen the participation in Students’ Union activities to achieve more students involved in quality activities. We will improve our support for our active students and create a high profile, quality RAG for Sussex. We will also increased accessibility to sport, focusing on underrepresented areas, groups and disabled students.

EventsWe will develop an improved events programme ensuring all our provision remains focused on the requirements and diversity of our entire membership. Through our cultural events we will provide opportunities for students from different cultures to meet and celebrate together and to mix with students from other backgrounds. We will also make sure that students themselves are at the heart of providing the events and entertainment that we provide and facilitating students to provide their own events and entertainment.

CommunityWe will continue to engage with the local community in a positive and constructive way; providing a voice for students within the community but also help highlight the positive impact that students bring to the city and the local area. We will also seek to increase our contacts with community voluntary groups and to continue to increase the number of students that we place within them.

Experience

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By 2014 we will have:

Clubs & Societies Events Community

Quality:85% of respondents to User Survey ranking activities as Good or Excellent

A 95% satisfaction rating for Clubs & Societies in Student Barometer and International Student Barometer

Resources:Provided fundraising training and resources for key staff

Raised at least £60,000 of external funding for student activities

Quality: Been in the upper quartile of NSS Social Opportunities ‘entertainments question’

Introduced a formal training programme for Event volunteers in areas such as promotions, stage management, sound engineering and lighting

Resources:The events budget achieving an overall financial surplus

Invested in new lighting and staging equipment

Diversity: Run at least one campaign on an issue that affects a minority group of students within the local community

Established our Link-Up and Community workshop scheme promoting skill sharing between students and the local community with at least 20 active projects

Quality: Hold two meetings per year with senior representatives of Brighton & Hove Council to discuss issues affecting students within the city

The Rate Your Landlord Survey as a recognised annual event within the city, helping to eliminate bad practice within the private letting sector, with over 1000 respondents annually

Resources:Raised at least £30,000 of external funding for Students’ Union community initiatives or events

Participation: Over 4000 registered members in sport clubs and societies

80% of Club and Society executive members attending a training event

Participation: A schedule of volunteer-led events with sufficient volunteers to provide them

Support packages and training available for student groups to organise their own events

Participation: Two high-profile, annual events showcasing student activities to the local community

Over 300 students actively volunteering in community groups and initiatives

Increased the amount of money raised for charities through RAG, year-on-year, to £25,000

Diversity: Conducted an Equality Impact Assessment for clubs and societies to ensure no group of students are unfairly excluded from participating

The demographic of the overall student body is reflected in the membership of clubs and societies

Diversity: A well established cultural events calendar attended by students from all backgrounds

To have at least 50% of Freshers Week entertainment as non-alcohol based events and events aimed at hard-to-reach student groups

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PeopleStudents’ Unions rely entirely on officers, staff and volunteers. If we are going to be successful we are going to need trained and motivated individuals and teams. We will develop an HR strategy that creates a working environment that builds staff, officer and volunteer enthusiasm based on:1. Equity & Fairness – ensure that our staff and volunteers are treated fairly at work.2. Achievement – be clear about objectives and ensure that staff and volunteers understand

that their roles are important and useful and to ensure that they are recognised for this.3. Camaraderie - encourage good relationships across the organisation through cross-

departmental projects, staff meetings and social activities.

TechnologyWe will build on from our work over recent years to better utilise technology to improve our service accessibility and communication with our membership. The key aims will now be to create greater efficiencies, increase student engagement in our democratic structures and student activities and to ensure the Students’ Union remains future proof and relevant through our use of technology.

SustainabilityWe will ensure that we are financially stable by building the level of our reserves and developing sound strategies for growth within our commercial services. We will continue to improve our environmental impact through reducing our carbon footprint across the organisation and by embedding environmental and ethical best practice into all of our operations.

Organisation

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By 2014 we will have:

People Technology Sustainability

Quality: Achieved Investors in People Silver accreditation

Been in the Sunday Times Best 100 Companies To Work For list

Resources:Invested in new HR software

Increased Learning and Development budget by 50%

Quality: All delivery and business plans to be organised via an online project management system

Improved end user experience through centralising all PCs and facilitating remote and mobile access to our IT systems

Resources:Replaced servers and all PCs with ‘thin client’ hardware

A dedicated server for our website

Diversity: The demographic of the overall student body is reflected in the usage of the Students’ Union’s commercial services

Quality: Achieved Green Impact Students’ Unions overall winners at least once

Achieved a year-on-year increase in the number of organic, Fairtrade and locally sourced products sold across Union outlets

Resources:Maintained our reserves above £200,000 over the course of this plan

Reduced like-for-like annual electricity and water consumption and general waste by 10% year-on-year and to have less than 5% of general waste containing waste that could be recycled

Achieved a year-on-year increase in the surplus from our commercial services with an annual trading surplus of at least £250,000 by 2014

Participation: 90% of all staff participating in the annual Staff Satisfaction Survey

Developed and implemented a staff engagement strategy across the whole Students’ Union

Participation: Developed a new online election system

Key services and information available on at least two mobile platforms

Student volunteers providing IT support and training within the Union

Participation: Reduced our carbon footprint per employee by 10% over the course of this plan

Reduced the overall electricity consumption of students living in halls of residence by 15% per head

Diversity: Increased the diversity of our workforce ensuring that all staff have received diversity training and improved recruitment methods and advertising to attract under-represented groups

Achieved Investors in Diversity accreditation

Diversity: All content on our website in an accessible format that conforms with WAI guidelines