EdgE Hill StudEntS’ union AnnuAl REpoRt2008/2009

2008-2009

ContEntS

1....................................................Introduction from the President

2...............................................Report from the General Manager

3....................................................Advice Information & Guidance

4-5...................................................Representation & Democracy

6-7............................................................Events & Entertainment

8.............................................................................................Sport

9.....................................................Finance Report31st July 2009

10......................................................................2009 and Beyond!

2008-20092008-2009

intRoduCtion fRom tHE pRESidEnt

Hello and welcome to Edge Hill Students’ Union’s Annual Report 2008/2009. This report highlights some of the successes and developments over the past 12 months giving a brief summary of the Union’s departments and financial position. This document outlines what the Union has been doing and how we have been active in helping to support, guide, represent and create a great student experience for the Students of Edge Hill University, our members.

Over the past year being your President has been a great experience, a challenge, a lot of hard work and really really enjoyable. What a busy 12 months it has been for myself and the Union. Our Union has gone though some major changes and developments and has seen some fantastic growth and engagement from the student body. After months of hard work and a lot of planning for the future the Union has a new fit for purpose constitution, some real policy and procedures and is able to properly represent its members effectively and appropriately. Alongside this the Union has got a lot more engaged with NUS including attending the NUS annual conference for the first time. Thanks to the major changes that have occurred over the past year, we now have a much stronger governance and with the introduction of our two Vice Presidents it is hoped that we will be able to represent the students a lot better on a daily basis.

The Union has developed communications between the Union and the University and more importantly between the Union and its members. The Union has put on a number of successful and different events and entertainment and has become a lot more open and accessible. During 2008/09 the Union had to work within difficult budget conditions as the Union has very little additional income from sources other than the University block grand. Through some hard work and negotiation with the University the Union has accomplished an improved block grant, begun to diversify income streams with some commercial activity and produced a budget that can be worked with and is fit for purpose.

This has all been done to make sure that your Union can run a lot more effectively, affect change and create a better student experience for its members.

On a final note I would like to thanks all of Edge Hill Students’ Union members for your support for me as your President and for believing in your Union. I urge you to get involved in as much as you can while you’re studying here at Edge Hill. It really is your Union and without you there would be nothing.

Nic BouchardPresident 2008-2010

2008-2009

REpoRt fRom tHE gEnERAl mAnAgER

What a difference a year makes! At least I hope it does.When I started in my post of General Manager in July 2008, I had an idea that there was a significant challenge that lay ahead. It is fair to say that now looking back, I didn’t quite realise just how much work was required if we were to become a strong, fit for purpose Stu-dents’ Union. And suffice to say we are only at the start of our journey.

I began my tenure at the same time as Nic, your current President, and we were determined that we would begin to build both the democratic and business frameworks that would en-able the Students’ Union to move forward and progress. I feel we have made progress on both fronts.

In terms of democracy, we now have the beginnings of a new department containing two newly created posts. This has led to the development of a robust student’s Union gover-nance and deliberative structure that will in the future enable the membership, you, to get involved in both how your Union works and more importantly how the University performs.

There is also now more focus in the Students’ Union in terms of departments and work roles. As well as representation and democracy, during the year we have shifted our operation under the headings of advice, information and guidance, and activities.

In terms of the back office functions, we now have more concentration on finance, systems and controls as well as developing our human resource policy and procedures. You may think that all of the above is quite dry (and you’d probably be right) but it was badly needed in order to allow the Students’ Union to reach anywhere near the potential it has as an organisation.

See it as putting in the foundations which enable the building to be solid. On top of all of the above, the year was spent trying to build and rebuild our relationships with our other stakeholders; the University, the community, local council, the Police and the National Union of Students (NUS). I am pleased that progress has been made on all fronts but we should not become complacent as trust and credibility have to be earned over the long term.

I would like to finish by thanking the staff for their hard work, dedication and commitment to change during the course of the year. It will mainly be through our people that our culture develops and working in a Students’ Union has its own set of challenges, much like being the civil servant to the MP, a sometimes thankless task that takes place in the background.

Rest assured, the future of the Union is a positive one; a new strategic plan on the horizon, charitable registration, new student focussed and led structures and the possibility of a new building in the next few years; but that is all for another report, for now I hope you find the following few pages informative and useful.

Paul MaloneGeneral Manager

2008-2009

AdviCE infoRmAtion & guidAnCE

The 2008/09 academic year was to see a complete restructure for the Union’s advice service as foundations were laid for a new and more structured advice, information and guidance service including the introduction of a Student Advisor. The year was to be spent focusing on the building and planning for this new service which included visiting advice services provided by other Students’ Unions including Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam and Lancaster.

Last year saw 456 Students accessing the advice service for a number of different issues, queries or general information.

Fundraising for Breast Cancer AwarenessA cake and gift sale was held during October 2008 to raise money for Breast Cancer Care. The day saw students and staff come together to raise £192 in support of the charity.

Drop In ServicesThe Union facilitated a legal advice service for both staff and students where a solicitor from Brighouse Wolff provided free legal advice every fortnight. This proved to be extremely popular with 100 people attending between October 08 to July 09.

Community LinksThroughout the year, links with local services were established and built upon to strengthen the services that the Union could provide. Essential services such as Chlamydia Screening and the Samaritans attended campus on regular occasions to support the Union’s work. The Union’s link with the local Police was also strengthened by working on projects to ben-efit the students and local community.

Police Drink Awareness CampaignDue to a high volume of female students putting themselves at potential risk after drinking, the Police and the Union advice service came together to work on a campaign to highlight this issue. A campaign was launched and 500 personal attack alarms and credit card sized safety tips were handed out to female students to encourage them to take better care whilst out drinking. The campaign received widespread publicity in the local press and on national radio and proved to be a huge success with positive feedback received. Plans are in place to continue to highlight this issue and the campaign has been nominated for an award at the Police annual conference.

CVS Grant Application and Healthy Living WeekThe advice service was successful in obtaining a grant from Lancashire CVS to carry out a promotion around encouraging students to be more aware of their health and wellbe-ing. This resulted in the Union’s first ever Healthy Living Week, which highlighted a different health issue each day including sexual health, drink awareness and personal safety.

2008-2009

REpRESEntAtion & dEmoCRACy

The democratic representation of our members remains our primary function and is at the heart of everything we do.

During 2008/2009 we have made significant investment in this key area with the recruitment of a full time permanent staff member to coordinate the Unions work in representation and democracy and the introduction of two new sabbatical officer posts. Union Democracy & GovernanceThe Union has undertaken a critical evaluation of its democratic structures to enable more of our members to be engaged in our work and future direction. Major Constitutional re-forms were approved by a General Meeting of the Union in December 2008 leading to the adoption of a new Constitution to govern the Union.

Our new Constitution has provided improved democratic processes and procedures that will be implemented during 2009/2010. A new Union Council and Executive Committee of elected students will enable our officers to constructively come together to discuss student issues and take action.

Alongside the introduction of a new Constitution the Union has worked in partnership with the University to develop a revised Code of Practice to regulate the Students’ Union in accordance with the 1994 Education Act.

Union Elections 2009Having adopted improved election regulations the Union was able to carry out elections in March 2009 with 28 electable positions available for students including two new sabbatical Vice President positions (VP Academic & Welfare and VP Activities & Participation) and for the first time the election of a delegation to the National Union of Students Annual Conference.

With 11 out of 21 candidates standing for election of a sabbatical officer role and a turnout of 865 students casting their votes the 2009 elections proved to be the most highly contested elections at Edge Hill in recent years.

2008-2009

REpRESEntAtion & dEmoCRACy

Student RepresentationThe Union’s attention has been focussed on improving course level student representation having been involved in a thematic enquiry into Student Staff Consultative Groups led by the University’s Academic Quality Unit.

Whilst the Course Representative System remains a joint initiative between the University and the Union, it is envisaged that the Union will take a lead role in the training and sup-porting of reps in the 2009/2010 academic year.

Representation of the student body at a senior level in the University remains the responsibility of the Union’s elected officers. During 2008/2009 the Union President support-ed by the permanent staff team has represented the views and opinions of students to the Academic Board and its sub-committees. Elected officer attendance at these committees remain of utmost importance to the Union and our members in, order to influence decision making that will bring about positive change.

Student Experience Survey 2009In April the Union carried out independent research into the student experience at Edge Hill University. Using innovative online survey software provided by our partners Student Union Surveys Ltd we were able to capture the views and opinions of over 1,600 Edge Hill students.

The results will enable us to build up a picture of the student experience at Edge Hill and inform our Student Written Submission (SWS) to the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) as part of the University’s Institutional Audit process in 2010.

2008-2009

EvEntS & EntERtAinmEnt

Fresher’s Week 2008Fresher’s Week 2008, 8 days and nights of events and entertainment kicked the academic year 2008/2009 off to a great start. Welcome Sunday saw a magician entertaining the crowds, out-door performances from three bands and a BBQ for all students and staff! The annual ‘Take-over’ trip into Liverpool saw 1,400 Edge Hill students hit three of the biggest and most popular bars in the famous Albert Docks before settling into University life with a karaoke session with a live band the following night.

Fresher’s Week 2008 brought about a mix of events from old favourite such as ‘The Takeover’ to new events such as ‘Essential Thursdays’ which launched to a huge audience with stilt walkers, celebrity Fran Cosgrove and free-giveaways to all students.

Without a doubt though Fresher’s Finale took the week to a new level when a sell out crowd of over 1000 students dressed up jungle style to dance to the tunes from Busted star and I’m a Celebrity Get Me out of Here 2006 Winner Matt Willis.

Overall the week took events at Edge Hill into the history books with more Takeover tickets than ever sold to new and returning students, two celebrities, the launch of the SU’s first weekly club night and a sell out Fresher’s Finale.

Essential ThursdaysDuring 08/09 the Students’ Union launched their own weekly club night in the University Club which aimed to showcase various guest DJ’s, entertainers and different themes each week providing students with a different music, night-time experience on campus.

The event was launched in Freshers Week 08 by Fran Cosgrove to an audience of 800 + students and over the year saw events such as Halloween, Australian Beach Party, Coyote Ugly and the now termly event ‘Old Skool NEON RAVE’ hosted by resident student DJ Danny Howard. In april 2009 the Neon Rave Foam Party was chosen as the theme for the Essential Thursday’s huge Finale party with over 1000 students dressed up and raving in the first ever foam party at Edge Hill University. Essential Thursdays presents...KartoonsIn December 2008 Essential Thursdays teamed up with a newly re-formed LGBT society, to create an event which aimed to raise the profile of the society on campus. The night was attended by over 150 students and brought Dave Booth, resident DJ of Garlands, Liverpool to the decks at Edge Hill.

Diversity Week 2009In February 2009 Edge Hill Students’ Union alongside the University, Rose Theatre and University Club created a series of events aimed at highlighting the diverse student body at Edge Hill. Throughout the week SU societies such as Unite (Christian Union) hosted prayer requests and the Students’ Union LGBT Officer did a workshop highlighting his experiences as a LGBT student. Alongside these day-events the Students Union hosted a full week of evening events which gave a platform to develop future Diversity Week events.

2008-2009

EvEntS & EntERtAinmEnt

Sports Awards 2009Edge Hill Sports Awards returned in April 09 to recognise and award not only high achieving sports teams but also individuals who have contributed to improving sports teams within Edge Hill University.

All sports teams were represented at the Awards Ceremony which was held at The Royal Clifton, Southport followed by an after-party at Studio 55, Southport. On the night over 200 students were in attendance and over 33 awards were presented.

Summerball 2009Edge Hill Students’ Union ‘Summerball’ took place on Friday 22nd May 2009. Over 250 students attended the event which was held at JJB Stadium in Wigan. Students enjoyed a three-course sit down meal overlooking the pitch of Wigan Warriors rugby before the evening entertainment including DJ set from Just Jack, Dave Booth and student DJ Danny Howard.

Edge Hill Students’ Union and The Rose TheatreIn an attempt to provide Edge Hill students with choice and a variety of events the Students’ Union in 2008 began working more closely with The Rose Theatre. From live music nights such as ‘Love Music Hate Racism’ to the Dance Society Show, the Students’ Union tried to bring an alternative programme of events to students at Edge Hill.

Other Rose Theatre events such as the Alternative Comedy Night and Short Cuts Film Nights were also promoted through Students’ Union channels to increase students awareness of events that were taking place outside the bar environment.

Following a successful first year, this relationship will continue to grow into 2009/2010 as the Stu-dents’ Union seeks to firstly continue but also increase the amount of events on campus which are not directly linked to the University Club and a nightclub experience.

Societies2008 / 2009 saw the re-launch of the LGBT society on campus as well the first ever dance society show which performed for two consecutive nights at the Rose Theatre, raising money for Cancer Research UK. Alongside new societies, already established societies such as Unite (Christian Union) and Anime continued to provide students with a variety of events on and off campus.

The development of societies having started this year still has a long way to go. The Students’ Union recognises a lot of work will be required to not only increase the number of societies ac-tive on campus, but also the participation in them from the student body.

2008-2009

SpoRt

Edge Hill Students’ Union sports teams, what a season it has been, full of ups and downs, inju-ries, waterlogged pitches and unbeaten runs.

So the season started at the beginning of October and we had some great achievements within the first couple of weeks, Men’s Hockey 2nds managed their first ever win since starting up 2006 and Men’s Rugby league 1sts started their unbeaten run.

All three teams from basketball have had various wins and defeats and Rugby Union have battled through injuries, had some good wins in the BUCS cup but unfortunately finished at the bottom of their table.

Football seemed to have been the most affected by the winter weather this year and had their own battles with waterlogged pitches. But well done to both our men’s and women’s teams for their results this year. Women’s Hockey 2nds unfortunately hasn’t been so successful this year however do have to commend them for their constant support and involvement.

Netball’s 4 teams have also had some ups, some downs and some fantastic results. A massive congratulations must go to Netball 3rds who lost only 1 league game this season and became league champions. Talking of wins brings me onto Men’s Rugby League. Played 9 Lost 0 Drew 0 Won 9. League champions and semi-finalist of the Cup. An awesome season and a massive achievement. A number of the players were also chosen to represent their country, well done to you all.

All in all there has been some fantastic results and some areas for improvement. Lets hope with the introduction of Team Edge Hill next season will be even better than the last.

2008-2009

finAnCE REpoRt31St July 2009

The audited accounts show a deficit for the year to 31st July 2009 of £27,555. This compares with a surplus in the previous year of £25,543.

During the year there were major changes in the organisation of the Students’ Union; a General Manager was appointed together with other senior staff and wide ranging improvements were made in administration procedures, establishing a more efficient and accessible structure. The cost of salaries increased from £75,188 to £159,956 (increase of 84,768) and administration overheads increased from £7,113 to £25,103 (increase of £17,990). However, the grant income of £240,000 from the university in 2008/2009 was only an increase of £48,301 on the previous year.

2008-2009

2009 And BEyond!

The future for Edge Hill Students’ Union really is bright. With a number steps that have been put in place and with the major changes in the Union’s constitution and governance struc-tures, this has meant that Edge Hill Students’ Union can really look into its future with its head held high as a democratic student led organisation that will be able to truly represent its members at local, national and most importantly institutional level.

The future of Edge Hill Students’ Union will see further development in Clubs and Societies, Events and Entertainments, Advice Information and Guidance services. Edge Hill Students’ Union of the future will be a Union that its members are proud to be a part of and are actively seeking to participate in. Edge Hill Students’ Union will be a leading Union that is fully student led, democratic and providing top class services to its members. Edge Hill Students’ Union will be fighting to make sure that all of our students have the best experience possible whilst learning, socialising and participating in all that we do.

Edge Hill Students’ Union, IT’S YOUR UNION.

Edge Hill Students’ UnionSt Helens RoadOrmskirkLancsL39 4QP Tel: 01695 584255Fax: 01695 577904