Nomination
1. How has the union ensured that it meets the needs of its members?
In 2013 we launched a two-year enquiry to explore these questions:
Why has our Union (and other modern uni SUs) underperformed?
Who are our students?
What outcomes do students want from their Union?
How do students want us to deliver things?
Face to face engagement with students has been central to this enquiry and we employed students to deliver much of this work themselves.
Highlights include:
‘Direct Conversations Project’: 400 new students (Freshers 13);
‘Student Rep Summit’: 60 student reps (Feb 14);
‘Nurses Experience Research’ 30 students in focus groups (July 14);
‘Direct Conversations Project’: 2000 new students, 98% of the cohort (Freshers 14);
‘Academic & Personal Support Feedback’: 400 students (Feb 2015);
180 face-to-face meetings with Course Reps to discuss their vision for the student experience and the SU (Nov 14 – Jan 15);
‘Retention Project’: 110 students, extensive research project (Nov 14 – April 15);
‘General Election Views’: 300 students (Apr 15).
UWL students want the same outcomes that most unions offer but the traditional model isn’t going to work at UWL because it relies on free voluntary time, prior knowledge of HE, and a critical mass of students leading the way for other students.
Thinking about different delivery models, we undertook a 12 month fact finding mission to find out what we could learn from the youth work sector.
In light of students’ views and our research, we have taken a ‘no stone unturned’ approach to evaluating and changing our services to meet the needs of students.
2. How have the activities of the union resulted in a positive impact for students and the community?
Since 2013 UWLSU has gone from being one of the lowest performing unions to meeting or beating the sector average in every area. We make this application partly in recognition of the pace and scale of improvement.
Highlights include:
98% of new students took part in welcome activities and told us that they felt welcomed, had fun, and made friends;
We enabled 50 students to raise concerns directly with the VC in a special meeting – more than 100 separate issues are being dealt with over 4 courses;
We improved retention; students who used our Advice Service had a 20% higher chance of success in mitigation & appeals;
We spoke directly (and repeatedly) to 2000 new students over 5 months – with no agenda. We just spoke to them. Feedback was outstanding and students told us they felt supported and part of a community;
Through our ‘Make It A Thing’ initiative 300 students benefited from funding for a business idea. We invested in a student band to enable them to go on tour to 42 venues. They were signed as a result.
We coordinate two Action Learning Sets and take an active role in creating a ‘community of improvement’ in our part of the sector.
Through meetings, papers, and presentations we have ignited a university-wide conversation about changing the nature of how HE is delivered to better meet the needs of our members. This culminated in an SU-led away day with the uni Executive and Governors.
3. What steps has the union taken over the last year to ensure that the democratic processes that are used to make decisions are open and inclusive?
The standard democratic model has persistently failed to put UWL students in the driving seat – so we’ve changed it.
In December we launched two interrelated reviews of academic representation and governance.
We hosted a pop-up ‘SU living room’ on all of our campuses for 3 weeks. Students talked to us about how they wanted to have a say over their education and their union. We spoke to more than 1000 students (over 10% of the student body) during this campaign.
Students said they considered physical meetings and formal bodies (e.g. a council) barriers to participation. Students told us that ‘motions’ and regulations were a complete road block. They said they wanted a representative union and that they preferred dealing with other students rather than permanent staff. They told us they couldn’t afford to give up lots of voluntary time and that they wanted flexible and tailored participation options.
Our new governance and academic representation arrangements include:
Paid ‘super reps’ to attend the vast majority of meetings;
Paid ‘student activators’ to coordinate informal communication between students;
Virtually no formal meetings or bodies; complete flexibility for students to act together in self defined groups;
Extra accountabilities for Trustees and managers;
A new ‘Union Test’ with new requirements to guarantee accessible student involvement in design and delivery of all services.
Key outcomes so far include:
Increase in voter turnout of 63% on last year
Additional £50k funding from UWL to support paid student reps.
4. How is the union perceived by its members, stakeholders, officers and staff, and what is it doing to improve its perception?
Members: between 2013 – 2014 our NSS Q23 score improved by 10%, taking us from the bottom to the second quartile. Early data indicates another improvement this year, particularly from NHS funded students; following specific engagement with them this year, satisfaction has shot up.
Student staff: rated us 98% in our NUS Staff Engagement Survey employee index. Face to face, student staff describe it as the best job they’ve ever had. Competition for jobs with us is fierce.
Stakeholders: Our reputation with the institution is excellent. Evidenced by:
Frequent meetings with all Executive and Senior Managers including the VC;
We are asked to present regularly on our ideas at key meetings including the Board and the VCs Executive;
Key services transferred to us including UWL merchandise, module evaluation, and the course rep scheme;
Our block grant has doubled since 2013.
Staff: rated us 98% on the NUS Staff Engagement Survey employee index, 20 points higher than the SU sector sample, and 26 more than the third sector benchmark. Every topic area scored higher than all three benchmark comparators. In particular we excelled on leadership, vision, involvement, and clarity of purpose.
These achievements are possible because we operate under a paradigm of constant reflection and improvement. This is enacted through a series of diligent plans including a Relationship Management Strategy, a continual strategic renewal cycle, and the development of a coaching culture. We invest heavily in staff development, and in student-staff led communications.