Goldsmiths Impact Report 2010-11

Goldsmiths Students’ Union 2010 - 2011 2

2010-11 was an incredibly successful year for Goldsmiths Students’ Union. We have gone from strength to strength, from winning two Gold awards for Green impact and Best Bar None, to having more students involved in activities then ever before! This was a crucial year of fighting against government reforms to Higher Education funding: we mobilised over 700 Goldsmiths students to attend the biggest student demonstration in over two decades.

Additionally we organised two well-attended rallies that included speakers such as Caroline Lucas MP and Tony Benn.

We have been the force behind many academic changes for Goldsmiths students this year including a refurbishment of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), getting internet access for residents of Raymont Hall, pushing the College to guarantee a three week turnaround time for feedback on all written assessments and securing 24 hour Library opening throughout the whole academic year.

However without a doubt our greatest success was reversing the plan to close the campus nursery. After a well fought campaign, College management agreed to hand over the nursery for us to run.

WELCOMEBINDZ PATEL, PRESIDENT 2010/11

Bindz PatelPresidentGoldsmiths Students’ Union 2010-2011


The campaign to persuade the College to keep the nursery open was successful

Over 700 Goldsmiths students protested at the November demonstration against higher fees

Another increase in the number of students participating in sports clubs

Victory in the annual Varsity competition against the University of the Arts

Gold in Sound Impact Awards, which recognises environmentally friendly unions

Gold in the Best Bar None awards

Online elections run for the first time ever, an increase in turnout and no complaints raised by candidates

Persuaded the College to introduce a new £40,000 childcare bursary fund.

ACHIEVEMENTS


On 8th June 2010 Goldsmiths College notified us of their intention to close the College nursery as a matter of urgency over the summer holiday period. The closure would have resulted in staff redundancies and the loss of a service which provided places for 23 children of students and staff.

Through constant communication and further campaigning the initial success was to win a compromise where the College agreed to extend the life of the Nursery

Save Goldsmiths Nursery Campaign

until the end of the year. This gave us time to look at alternative solutions.

After further investigation of options and following significant negotiations with the College, the Union made a successful bid to operate the Nursery as a Union run service. The new GSU nursery reopened on the the 5th of September following a refurbishment. The picture above shows local MP Joan Ruddock together with parents, officers and SU Staff at the opening. celebrations.

CAMPAIGNS


The campaign began in 2009 as a response to the new Points Based System of Immigration (PBSI) introduced into the UK, which had a negative effect upon the ability of students and academic staff to study and work in British universities.

The crucial impact the campaign made this year was ensuring the College interpreted the legislation as liberally as possible. Our campaign also had national impact. We

We organised various activities in the lead up to the demonstration, which went on to gain national media coverage. Goldsmiths was the first institution to go into occupation, which was covered by the Guardian and BBC1 News. This had a national influence and triggered off many more occupations across the country.

While we didn’t succeed in halting the goverments plans to increase fees, at the

exported the Students Not Suspects brand to The London School of Economics (LSE). From our campaign group the UCU have nationally organised a conference and campaign to oppose the PBSI.

We worked with international students and the NUS to oppose the goverment scrapping of the Post Study Work Visa and achieved a partial victory.

Students Not Suspects Campaign

Campaign Against Fees & Cuts

local level we persuaded the College to spend more money on measures promoting widening participation in their access agreement.

We also worked with the community to oppose funding cuts to local services. This culminated in over 100 students marching to Lewisham Town Centre in support of a community protest against the vote by the Council proposing deep cuts to funding.


It was another successful year for sports, with more students participating in our varied teams than ever before. The total sports membership for the year was 627, with 563 individual members and we are confident that we can increase on these numbers again next year.

Notably, Dance ran another successful Christmas show, the Jitsu team came home with more medals from the Nationals, the Cheer squad brought home more trophies and the year was rounded off with another successful Varsity against The University of The Arts.

This now means we are ahead 3-2 over the 5 years the event has been running. We are hoping for bigger and better next year and will be working hard behind the scenes to drive this success forward.

A highlight of the first term was the African Caribbean Society (ACS) ‘Roc the Runway’ fashion show in October. The ACS went on to win two awards at the Student Awards Night at the end of the second term as did the Shakespeare Society who were voted by Goldsmiths students to be the Society of the Year. The year was rounded of with a fantastic sell out performance of Little Shop of Horrors, put on by the Musical Theatre Society.

In 2010/11 we spent the second half of the year researching the volunteering service that Goldsmiths staff and students wanted to see. The full report into the review

Sport

SocietiesWe’d also like to draw attention to the hard work that our societies have put into fundraising for charities this year. Of particular note are RAG who in February organised the first RAG week that Goldsmiths has had in several years. The Japan Society raised a huge amount for the Tsunami, well over £1000. The Islamic Society‘s annual charity week also raised over £1000.

Volunteeringand plans for the future can be found on our website. In May we had our first Volunteering Fayre in several years in The Stretch Students’ Union Bar.

ACTIVITIES


There were two big developments in Student Media in 2010/11. The first was the new student newspaper, The Leopard which was started in the Autumn term and is now an established part of our student media.

The second big development was the

Student Media

moving of Wired Radio from the old studio which was hidden down the side of RHB, into the new Student Media Hub. The Student Media Hub is shared by Wired Radio, Smiths Magazine and The Leopard and can be found right next to the backfield in the Whitehead building.

7%25%245317LEOPARD

Of students took part in Union sports

Of students were involved with societies

Sports clubs

Societies

New societies

Launch of Goldsmiths Student Newspaper, The Leopard.


It was a successful year for Goldsmiths Students’ Union Academic Advice Service. The core service is to assist students with academic problems through the processes and procedures of the University, to ensure they get a fair outcome. We have increased the number of drop in times available for students without appointments, maximising the time students can access the service at their convenience.

Throughout the year, students have had access to a growing library of leaflets on

various issues. The service also runs on a more efficient system which allows time for ‘follow-ups’ after initial student inquiries are dealt with. The service continues to work to be completely available, accessible and adaptable to the students it serves; with a commitment to not just measuring its outputs in numbers but measuring the attitudes and feedback of its student-clients, while empowering them to make meaningful change in their lives.

During the first half of the academic year the service dealt with: 135 Appeals and Complaints

144 referrals to the College Support Services

Raised awareness on a variety of student issues ranging from alcohol abuse to mental health issues

Raised awareness of financial planning & budgetting for students through the Money Doctor scheme

Advised students on their rights and procedures to follow, in the lead up and aftermath of the cuts to education protests.

ADVICE


Feedback

Thank you for the chat yesterday. I spoke with a lecturer in the department and as you suggested she was very helpful. Our chat really helped me to put my side across clearly.

I just wanted to THANK YOU for all the personal and professional support you have given me over the past few days in which I have come to know you.

I will never forget how much you have helped me in the short space of time that I have known you.

I finally received this response yesterday, with an offer of over £1000 plus the cost of visa reapplication. I’m really happy that I got a good result, as now I can afford to return to Goldsmiths. Thank you so much for all the help you gave me...I would’ve been lost trying to navigate through the complicated complaint process without your guidance...Once again, thank you.


The Representational and Democracy department of the Union has two key areas to fulfil. The representational arm of the Union encompasses the work and workings of all the elected Sabbaticals, Student Assembly Officers and Student Trustees, as well as the Departmental Student Coordinators (DSCs) in four key areas

Representation & Democracy

To empower the representatives to voice their concerns and for them to be truly representative

To create channels of accountability and scrutiny for the representatives

To ensure that the officers and DSCs are fulfilling their job functions and supporting them in completing their manifesto pledges

Ensuring that representation is evidence based and students are consulted

REPRESENTATION

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In line with the above, the Union has created working groups to support the Student Assembly officers with the aim to provide greater scrutiny over their workings. The Union has also increased the DSC numbers from 45 to 50 and has divided the numbers based on the numbers of students per department. The democracy section of the union looks into two key things (i) the elections process and (ii) the involvement of students in the decision making process. In 2010/2011 these were manifested in the change of the Students’ Assembly voting method, in which it was decided that all students present at any Student Assembly could vote rather then the previous model in which only elected Assembly members could vote. Furthermore, the main election was conducted online for the first time to increase student accessability.

Overall 2010/2011 has seen a great level of input which has resulted in the following

SU elections conducted online for the first time. This resulted in an electoral increase from 15.61% in 2010 main elections to 18.61% in 2011 main elections

The creation of 3 new part time officer positionsStudent ParentSocieties OfficerSports Officer

The change of the Sabbatical Officer rolesPresidentEducation OfficerWelfare and Diversity OfficerCampaigns Officer

The creation of 5 working groups for part time officersLiberationAcademicCampaignsMediaAccess

For the first time the DSC’s were asked to present their work to the Warden’s Advisory Group. They focused on the following issues:Careers serviceLecture room spaceAccess to academics and Departmental Administrators

electoral increase from 15.61% in 2010 main elections to 18.61% in 2011 main elections


The Stretch has been through a year of significant change, and has experienced a decline in revenues, as is the national trend of many non-campus SU’s, but it has also been a great year in many ways. After feedback last year we introduced a new entertainments schedule for 2010/11. This included more student-led nights, moving the popular quiz to Mondays and regular film nights.

Our regular Wednesday cheesy disco experienced a resurgence this year, with highlights including the popcorn party, Hot Cross Sandwich Easter spectacular and the UV foam party to mention just a few.

After feedback on previous years we altered the Freshers Passes by lowering the price and increasing the value by including additions other than free entry to The Stretch. As a result we sold over 200, which was more than ever before.

2010/11 was a great year for staff development, with 16 new staff employed via a recruitment fayre in September as well as 5 new Student Supervisors and 2 new Student Licensees who were trained with nationally recognized qualifications in licensing and first aid which they can use post-study.

Bar & Ents

In April The Stretch was the proud winner of a Gold Award in the Best Bar None scheme. This is a national scheme run to evaluate best practice in bars and venues. We were winners of a bronze award in 2009/10 so we were very pleased with the improvement.

Gold Best Bar None

ENJOYMENT


247000116 00030 00046£32 000

New student staff were employed

hours worked by student staff who earned over £48,000 in total

people were served by the student] staff

pints were served and over £22,000 worth of Club Sandwich doubles and mixers

student led nights, took place throughout the year and there were 21 dedicated live music nights

has been spent on security for the safety of students and staff.

The G shop celebrated its 5th birthday this year, and continues to build on previous success! New for this year was an expanded sandwich and snack range, including Ginsters sausage rolls and filled slices. Here are some stats for 2010/11 The G shop employed 13 student staff, including two student supervisors. In total they worked over 4,000 hours and earnt over £27,000 between themWhilst at work they served over 350,000 people and took nearly £390,000They did this on two new card machines,

doubling the number we used to have which has reduced queuing time during peak periods. The new machines also include contactless technology to pay for goods by waiving your card over the terminal.

The Art Shop continues to be a great addition and supply students with their art essentials, with sales growing by 16% since 2009/10.

Sandwich sales are also growing, by over £5k compared to 2009/10, or 20%.

G Shop


This year we conducted our first Annual Survey which has given us essential information to base some of our decision making. The survey achieved a 3% turnout and was a mixture of qualitative and quantitative questions delving into students needs and covering every aspect of Students’ Union operations.

There were some broad areas that come out of the survey. It was clear that students

SURVEYS

Keep up the good work guys! I’ve had contact with a number of SU members (including the President who responded to my email in a very polite and reasonable way) and I could really feel that you all are concerned about students and that you treat improving our experience at Goldsmiths as a priority, and I think this general feeling of trust is even more important than the actual services you provide. To sum up, you’re doing a great job!

Survey Response

want better accessibility to Union services and wanted the building to be redecorated or refurbished in some areas.

Online methods of communication came out as the method that students wanted to communicated with and, although GSU has a strong activism base, students were not that aware of how the Union works and how decisions are made.

86%70%87%

have used The Stretch.

visited the Freshers Fayre

believed that Goldsmiths Students’ Union made a positive difference to their time at University


STAFFThe Union staff have performed brilliantly this year, with several staffing changes along the way. We have restructured our Commercial Services with a more efficient struture that is performing excellently.

We have changed the Marketing department to have a full time member of staff and utilised working groups that add depth and experience to key projects such as elections and Freshers fayre.

We have re-written the staff handbook and introduced a flexible working policy that is

enabling better working arrangements for staff to work more effectively.

Internal communications have been refined with regular internal meetings supported by the introduction of group working and efficient time management using Google Apps.

We conducted our first full staffing survey of full time and part time staff adding to the staff voice within the Union. Overall the feedback was very positive; suggesting that GSU staff are happy, motivated and cared for.

90%of all staff believe that GSU champions diversity and challenges discrimination.

92%of permanent staff say they are trusted to do their job.


Ensuring financial sustainability

Agree revised Memorandum of Understanding

Generate surplus and develop 3 year financial forecast

Commercial areas generate budgeted net profit

Explore possibilities of new gym

Generate increased revenue from sponsorship and

advertising

Ensure administration resourcesare deployed effectively

Delivering

diverse

opportunities

To establish Volunteering Goldsmiths as an

oustanding service for students

Fully ultilise the SU Building to enable diverse

events led by students

Increase activities participation by 10%

Mainstream Equality and Diversity into all our

activities

Representing

students

effectively

Develop new SU Strategic Plan

Enabling students to campaign on issues they care and are

passionate about

Increased participation in elections – turnout of 19%

Fill final external Trustee vacancy and register with the

Charity Commission

An excellent, ethical Union

Develop plans for future possibilities of SU building

Pass SUEI and IiP assessment

Maintain Gold in Green Impact and Best Bar None awards

Ensure Ethical & Environmental best practice is part of

our culture

Use technology to enhance ourservices

Establish the nursery as an outstanding service

Continue to provide a great advice service, supporting even

more Goldsmiths students

GSU Mission Statement: ‘Statement Representation is at the centre of all we do and through representation we provide inclusive, accessible activities and services for Goldsmiths Students.’

Defending a quality education at Goldsmiths

Ensuring students receive timely, constructive feedback

from tutors

Improving Union communications

Challenging the marketisation of higher education

Making the Union more accessible and carrying out

essential works on the building

Increased involvement with Open Book, insuring widening access is central to Goldsmiths

ANNUAL PLAN


Ensuring financial sustainability

Agree revised Memorandum of Understanding

Generate surplus and develop 3 year financial forecast

Commercial areas generate budgeted net profit

Explore possibilities of new gym

Generate increased revenue from sponsorship and

advertising

Ensure administration resourcesare deployed effectively

Delivering

diverse

opportunities

To establish Volunteering Goldsmiths as an

oustanding service for students

Fully ultilise the SU Building to enable diverse

events led by students

Increase activities participation by 10%

Mainstream Equality and Diversity into all our

activities

Representing

students

effectively

Develop new SU Strategic Plan

Enabling students to campaign on issues they care and are

passionate about

Increased participation in elections – turnout of 19%

Fill final external Trustee vacancy and register with the

Charity Commission

An excellent, ethical Union

Develop plans for future possibilities of SU building

Pass SUEI and IiP assessment

Maintain Gold in Green Impact and Best Bar None awards

Ensure Ethical & Environmental best practice is part of

our culture

Use technology to enhance ourservices

Establish the nursery as an outstanding service

Continue to provide a great advice service, supporting even

more Goldsmiths students

GSU Mission Statement: ‘Statement Representation is at the centre of all we do and through representation we provide inclusive, accessible activities and services for Goldsmiths Students.’

Defending a quality education at Goldsmiths

Ensuring students receive timely, constructive feedback

from tutors

Improving Union communications

Challenging the marketisation of higher education

Making the Union more accessible and carrying out

essential works on the building

Increased involvement with Open Book, insuring widening access is central to Goldsmiths

2011/12


GSU had a strong year financially, posting an overall surplus of £59,000. The year has been spent fighting against the declining bar incomes and greater students needs.

Entertainments made a surplus for the first time in in many years and bar costs were controlled very tightly by excellent management and robust systems. Overall bar and ents return a small surplus.

£ spent on representitive services and activity

into students pockets, working for the Union.

surplus from entertainments

FINANCE

322 708£97 247£25 205

£1,385,676OUR TURNOVER FOR 2010/11


1,385,676

GOLDSMITHS STUDENTS’ UNIONWWW.GOLDSMITHSSU.ORG

Goldsmiths Impact Report 2010-11

Documents

Transcript of Goldsmiths Impact Report 2010-11