annual report 2014

WAIKATO STUDENTS’ UNIONANNUAL REPORT 2014

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WAIKATO STUDENTS’ UNION ANNUAL REPORT 2014

presidentAaron Letcher

The Waikato Students’ Union was a very different place when I was first elected as a Director in 2012.Membership was compulsory, funding was guaranteed and a seat at the University Council table was given as of right. All of this changed with the passing of Voluntary Student Membership. Although this has been a challenging time for the students association we have worked hard, planned strategically, and budgeted sensibly to enable our organization to both survive and thrive in our new voluntary environment. While laws, contracts and personalities have changed our objective remains the same: To deliver value for our members.

In previous reports 2012 was described as a year of change and 2013 as a year of consolidation. With that in mind I would describe 2014 as a year of growth. Last year’s Board did an excellent job in setting the strategic direction of the organization with a four year plan and our team has worked relentlessly to deliver on the key objectives it contained. Highlights for the year include: • Increasing our revenue through Service Level Agreement negotiations;• Expansion of our advocacy service to include a second advocate, an independent budgeting

service and a food bank for emergency hardship situations;• Securing the funding for a technology overhaul for the organization to ensure our team have the

tools to deliver the standard of service that our members expect;• The purchase of a van for use by our service delivery team and clubs network;• Successfully lobbied the University for free unlimited high-speed internet;• Removal of fee’s for afterhours swipe access to labs;• Successfully lobbied for extended library hours;• While the year is not yet over I am optimistic that we will have our books “back in black” as

opposed to the $59,600 deficit that we budgeted for. While 2014 has been a difficult year with a unique set of challenges I am proud of the work that we have completed as a team and I believe we have left the organization a better place than when we found it. Changes made to the constitution at our recent SGM to remove wording that remained from the days of compulsory student unionism were as symbolic as they were administratively necessary.This was about accepting our new environment that we operate in and embracing it. We are no longer looking back reminiscently but are looking forward aspirationally and I hope that this is the mindset the organization takes into 2015.

I wish Shannon, Roy, Taha and the rest of their Board all the best for the year ahead of them. I am confident that the annual plan and budget we have proposed here today will set a clear strategic vision and allows the finances they will need to deliver. Serving as an elected representative is never an easy job but I have every confidence that as a team you will continue the good work that this organization has carried out since 1977.

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vice-presidentShannon Stewart

Firstly I want to thank the students who elected me as Vice-President for this year. It was a hard-fought win and my competitors put up a fierce battle. It has been an honour and a privilege to serve alongside such a great bunch of representatives on our board this year and I am so thankful for the opportunity to represent the students here at Waikato.

I have had a great year interacting with the wide range of students that we have here at the university. Whether it was the (nice) kids we gave free rides home from town or the postgraduate students who are working hard studying things I can’t even comprehend, you have all made this year worthwhile.

This year it was the board’s mission to deliver things to students that they actually need. After spending not one but two years living on campus I quickly realised that I almost had to sell an organ to pay for my monthly internet bill, which is a problem many students encounter. Our board has worked hard this year to secure free unlimited internet on campus, with this being extended to the halls in 2015. After paying already significant fees students were required to pay an extra $15 to set up their cards for access to their faculty’s labs. Our board decided that we shouldn’t have to pay any more to have access to our education so has had that fee removed as well.

Access to our library was also identified as a problem. Not all of us have suitable space to study at home and the hours that our library is open just weren’t quite long enough. That’s why we have been pushing for extended library hours as well as later access to the library labs. We have to date achieved an hour and a half increase per day as well as having the library labs hours extended so that it is now open till 12am. This is something that I will continue pushing for next year.

Our Clubs on campus are a huge hub of activity. Whether it is a sporting, cultural, special interest or academic club we are so pleased to have every one of you adding to our support networks and campus culture. The value that we place in our clubs is shown in our 2015 budget where we have doubled our clubs funding.

Level Zero has been crazy busy this year and it is a great space for our students. If you come in to hang out and play pool or just make a quick coffee to get you through class we love seeing you in there and hearing what you have to say about life here in Hamilton. If you haven’t checked it out this year make sure you pay us a visit.

Our amazing advocacy team Amber and Lawrence have been working hard this year sorting out students’ problems from hardship to tenancy, health or university and they have been doing a fantastic job or supporting our students. If you have any student related problems and need some help make sure you call in and see our wonderful team.

As you can imagine there are a lot of people I have to thank for the hard work they put in to our organisation. I wish to thank (in no particular order)David West our general manager for the time and effort that he puts in to keeping this place running.Jan our amazing receptionist/problem solver/advice giver.Our events and clubs team.Amber and Lawrence our awesome advocacy crew. Our Nexus crew, particularly Haylie, James and Rachel for their hard work and supportAaron Letcher, whose hard work and dedication over the past two years has meant that the WSU has gone from strength to strength where other organisations have faltered.Our VP Maori Steffan who joined us late in the game but has been working hard in his role and of course our fantastic board who keep me on my toes whilst providing unwavering support.

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vice-president MAORISteffen Van Lieshout

Thank you to the people who have allowed me to serve in the role of Waikato Students’ Union Vice-President Maori. I came to this role following the resignation of the previous Vice-President Maori. In the interim the role was filled by the President and a senior Director. I thank them for allowing the Maori voice to continue until the position was filled.

I have always had a good relationship with the President and we often talked about the role of student needs and initiatives that I would like to see the WSU run with like the food bank for students and a garden to support the food bank and Maori representation. Together we often spoke of the need for Maori to represent themselves, in the past the role of Vice-President Maori has been filled with people who were not Maori this was a concern for me, and others. Having firmly set my mind on my task ahead I asked former Vice-President Maori on my role within the WSU and what it would take to change the status quo in how Maori were elected, particularly how criteria can be implemented to see Vice-President Maori filled by Maori. Constitutional change was needed to allow this to happen, a special general meeting was also needed to achieve it. WSU also needed to have constitutional changes as some of the things in the constitution were outdated and some needed to allow for possible changes to voluntary student membership.

Some have said to me that the SGM was a boil up; I think that if the SGM has caused people to become more politically aware even at the grassroots level here on campus that’s a good thing. I was surprised to see how light Maori were at the SGM and hope that’s not a reflection that they just do not care. One thing for sure that was needed in this role, was the need to re-engage with the Maori community. The other was for the community to engage with the WSU to bring about the best possible strategic way in visualising Maori aspirations and concerns. Kanohi kit e kanohi is a two way path, and to endeavour to capture those concerns and aspirations for the future of Maori is paramount.

I am glad to see Taha as the incoming Vice-President Maori and will do all I can to familarise him in his role so he hits the ground running and not the way I did with me starting off with a crawl. The role of Vice-President Maori requires him to sit upon a number of boards within the university and introducing him to the boards and its members before he officially starts will ease him into his role and hopefully make him feel more comfortable. I wish him and the new directors the best in their tenure with the WSU. I came into the role to make a difference and can proudly say that I have, the Vice-President Maori position is in a stronger state then when I found it and the mana of the position is intact. My huia feather still stands erect upon my head, may yours also.Tena koutou katoa.

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Reporting Against The Annual PlanDavid West

Introduction

The plan for 2014 was formulated after extensive consultation with the student body through online surveys, face-to-face surveys, a referendum, focus groups, interviews, observations and informal conversations. You told us that we needed to continue to deliver our existing services while responding constructively to challenges and opportunities as they arose. We believe we have met those expectations.

Strategic Plan

The long-term strategic plan identifies four key focuses to help us meet the needs of current students, while ensuring we remain responsive to the future.

Focus 1–Sustainability and GrowthWSU negotiated an improved contract for service delivery with the University of Waikato. This allowed us to maintain existing services and introduce some new services into the organisation. It also gave us confidence that we were being seen to add value to the student environment.

Focus 2 – InvolvementOur engagement with students through activities, clubs and advocacy, as well as our communications channels and other networks, allowed us to keep informed of student issues and needs. We applied this knowledge to our own activities, for example through the provision of an emergency food bank.

Focus 3 – PartnershipWSU was able to lobby the University to achieve some significant improvements to the student environment, for example improved access to after hours labs and greater internet access.

Focus 4 – ImpactWSU carefully reflects and analyses our organisation to ensure we perform effectively. In 2014 we reviewed the role of the Vice-President Maori, calling an SGM to make changes to the way this position was elected and strengthening the responsibilities of the role. WSU also reviewed its membership of, and involvement in, national student bodies:

WSU resigned from the New Zealand Union of Students Associations (NZUSA) as we believed we were receiving no value from our membership. We will continue to review their performance into the future.

WSU remained members of University Sports New Zealand (USNZ) and was part of a group working on a restructuring plan. The organisation is now being re-established under a different entity to ensure sports remain a part of University life. WSU has retained membership of Te Mana Akonga (TMA). WSU has also remained members of SJS

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Membership Levies

WSU has changed its rules to ensure that free membership can be offered within the parameters of both our own constitution and the legislation. After hearing your views we have approached the University and have now implemented a new system of membership where all students will be offered membership on enrolment, and that membership will remain valid for as long as the student is studying (no more signing up every year).

Directors Honoraria

In recent student surveys the majority of students reported that current honoraria were about right for the positions held. The AGM agreed and the rates for 2014 were set at:• President: $35,000 gross (returning for a second term)• Vice President: $15,000 gross• Vice President Maori: $15,000 gross• Directors: $2,500 gross for each Director serving their first term and $2,750 gross for those

returning for a second term

Sale of U Leisure Shares and Distribution of Proceeds

During negotiations with the University we were unable to agree on acceptable terms and conditions for the sale, which meant we were unable to proceed with this transaction. The status quo remains and WSU still owns a 50% share of the company U Leisure.

Mascot

WSU has been reviewing this issue and how a mascot would fit within our branding. We have now developed some concepts and are working towards implementation later in 2014.

Budget

The budget for 2014 was based on a service level agreement with the University of Waikato to a sum of around $450,000. We were successful in negotiating a contract for services worth nearer to $500,000. This has allowed us to retain our existing services, with additional resources being tasked to advocacy, hardship assistance, and support for our employment service Student Job Search. With careful management of our finances we are confident that this year will see an improved financial performance.

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AdvocacyAmber Cardale

2014 has seen a significant increase in demand and service delivery for the Advocacy Department of the WSU. By the end of Semester A 138 advocacy cases had been initiated. This number is significant when compared to the figures for 2013 which saw a total of 168 cases by the end of the year. Due to the significant increases in caseload the WSU hired and trained a part time advocate to enhance our service delivery.

This semester has also seen the launch of the student law clinic on campus. The WSU has been working with Community Law Waikato to provide students with free legal advice right here from the WSU office. The uptake in cases has been very good averaging two appointments per visit for the duty lawyer. The Law Clinic is currently running every week of semester on Thursdays between 11- 1pm

Interestingly we have had a number of advocacy enquiries from students at other institutes. These students have either had no appropriate support where they are currently studying or they don’t know where to get the support they need. Where we can we have tried to help them get in contact with the appropriate organisation and refer them onto someone who can help accordingly.

WSU recently conducted two focus groups with students around student lifestyle and their needs for support on campus. We are currently in the process of analysing the information from these focus groups. We also ran an Advocacy Week promotion covering both Hamilton and Tauranga campuses, and a food drive which contributed towards making a small base for a student food bank.

WSU has given financial hardship support to students to the sum of over $4,000 during A semester 2014. This includes money, food and petrol vouchers.

The most common financial problems we encountered were around students with children and lack of financial stability to pay for unexpected bills, for example fixing the car or dentist bills. Many of these students have also benefitted from some simple budgeting advice but where the needs are more comprehensive we have had to support them to attend a budget service.

WSU developed an integrated online feedback and satisfaction survey form which is sent to every client when a case finishes. This survey provides WSU with information of how useful the student felt the service was to them and how it can be improved for next time.Feedback and satisfaction surveys were sent to all student clients at the completion of their case. Of the 138 students so surveyed, 95 (68%) responded. Comments included:

“ I have been able to concentrate on study and have had the clarity and energy to get a flatmate in to help with the costs.”

“ I was able to sign up to courses that would better suit the situation I am in and helped me to manage more effectively.”

“Feeling supported and listened to, has made an enormous difference. This service is vital.”Overall service satisfaction continues to be high.

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ClubsKhayt Hanara

The WSU coordinates and supports a wide variety of clubs and societies which meet the cultural and recreational aspirations of the students. These groups reflect the diverse nature of students and society in general. These groups also foster the relationship between students, the University and the WSU, promoting a strong, on-going cultural wealth for students throughout their studies.

At the beginning of the year all clubs were invited to attend the A semester Clubs Day held during Orientation. This was a busy day with 40+ clubs participating and many students using this opportunity to join a club.

During the semester all clubs were contacted through email newsletters and personal contact and were informed of support they could access from WSU many have taken up the opportunity to do so.

A Clubs mixer” event was held at the Bank Bar on Victoria St. This function was attended by representatives of 12 clubs which encouraged networking between the club members and WSU.

Number of affiliated clubs We have a great range of clubs across the university These 52 clubs have a total membership of around 3,500 with around 3,000 of them being University of Waikato Students.

We are also working to support new clubs like the Kava Club, a Poetry Club and an Environmental Planning

Our new streamlining of club processes and new rules introduced to make benefits real to affiliated clubs has been welcomed. We also have a van been introduced as another asset the WSU can offer to assist club activities.

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EVENTSPene Walker-Delaney

Orientation activities were well supported with around 8,000 interactions with students recorded during the day-time activities, and a further 5,000 during the evening and night-time events. Kicking off with a pool party on the Sunday and finishing with a Family Day the following Saturday there was a diverse range of activities, performances, food and entertainment provided each day.

Clubs contribute strongly towards campus culture. Clubs Day has been part of our Orientation festival for many years and has built a strong brand within that framework. Also as part of the event WSU gave away around 3,000 packs containing a free diary, wall planner and other essentials such as pens and noodles.

In partnership with various faculty groups the WSU also supported several University events during A semester. These included the University Powhiri, the “Amazing Race” event held in conjunction with the International Centre we provided tautoko to a Maori information day and Hakinakina (Maori Students Sports Tournament). The Uni careers fair on 26th April, the University Open Day on 16th May. Community Open Day We rounded of A semester with a Finished on Friday also known as FoF

We continued our work in B Semester with Re-orientation also known as ReOri 2014. To support this we established the role of interns within the events team. This development has provided a great experience for students who want to work in event management. The week itself had a great turnout with exciting events and a return of the popular WSU transport into town.

During Cultural Hour WSU continued to provide regular barbeques and entertainment such as performances, games, competitions and market stalls both on the Green and in around Level Zero.

Other activities we have provided include a lunch for disabled students, a Clubs mixer, and workshops on budgeting, cooking, workers’ rights, employment and social media.

We also provided 2 Noho Marae trips for 100 International students, a promo for the FIFA under 20 World Cup, supported “The Edge in Space” on the Village Green, several soup kitchens across both semesters(free homemade soup), and cultural music performances. We also gave away around 200 exam packs for free in the last week of A semester with 400 scheduled for B semester.

There has also been strong demand for us to support student initiatives on the campus. We have supplied expertise and manpower to help students plan and run their own events, also supporting them with equipment.

Events we have worked on include:International Amazing Race, Movie Night, Raiza Biza, Burgerfuel Body Painting Competition, Car Giveaway, Strangely Arousing, WSU Free Bus all week, MayaVanya, Comedy Night, Burgerfuel Big Eater, Meat Pie Mile, Eden Roberts, Harry Parsons, Vivid, Fitter Better Faster Stronger, Beach Day, Family Day, Disability Lunch, Maori Info Day, Clubs Mixer, YWRC Youth employment workshop, SJS promotion, Budgeting Workshop, Cooking Workshop, Entrepreneurship Workshop, Social Media Workshop, Clothes Swap, University Careers Fair, BBQ Burger Feed, Tauranga Trip, A Cheeky Breakfast Row, Hakinakina, Noho Marae, FIFA U20 World Cup, The Edge in Space, Open Day, Community Open Day, MCOM - Supporting Mcom students, Soup Kitchen, Waikato Invitational, Shrapnel, FOF, Exam Packs, Reorientation, Kingitanga Day, The WSU /Golden Key political series.

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communicationsJames Raffan

In A semester 2014 Nexus has been published in print in each teaching week, being a total of 12 issues. Print production consisted of 3500 copies for the first issue (Orientation) and a further 2,500 copies in each subsequent issue giving it a cumulative total of 31,000 individual magazines produced.

We also continue to publish the magazine online through ISSUU digital publication, which also contains a number of years of archived editions. There have been over 70,000 visits to pages on the site during A semester, with over 7,000 readers staying on the site for more than 3 minutes.The WSU Facebook site grew to 3,600 users by the end of June 2014. 56% of subscribers were female and 43% male. This is the reverse of Facebook’s average user demographic. The 18-24 age group accounted for over 68% of traffic to the site.

The Nexus Facebook site targets a different set of readers and attracted slower growth, rising to 2,600 users at the end of A Semester. 52% of subscribers were female and 47% male. Again the largest traffic came from the 18-24 age group (54%), however the 25-30 age group still accounted for almost 29% of all users.

The WSU website has displayed significant growth in 2014. At the end of A Semester user interaction was over 35,000, compared with 36,000 for the whole of 2013. Unsurprisingly the highest traffic points were in February and March in anticipation of Orientation Week. The daily average of visitors to the site has increased from 101 to 201.

Whilst there have been some changes in staff there we have continued to maintain strong relationships with a number of the CER team. This regular contact has enabled us make changes in style and tone, to continue the weekly series of articles dedicated to Uni News, and to be sensitive to each other’s point of view. CER also coordinates University advertising in Nexus and other WSU publications such as the student diary and wall-planner.

While the team is supported by professional staff it remains strongly shaped and steered by students. Nexus currently has around 50 volunteer contributors of which 36 (72%) are current students. Over the course of 12 issues an average of 70% of the content per issue was submitted by students.

Three graphic design interns from the Bachelor of Computer Graphic Design programme were again placed with WSU and Nexus. They contributed to all facets of design work, both print and digital. A written evaluation and assessment report was completed, and the outlook for a similar placement for next year is favourable.

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financesStatement of financial performance for the year ended 31 December 2013

2013 2012 $ $ INCOME Grants 458,350 332,722Interest Received 27,235 29,367Sundry Income 26,717 37,317Orientation Account 34,918 29,572Nexus 71,125 77,790TOTAL INCOME 618,345 506,768

Less: EXPENSES ACC Levies 207 1,747Accounting 8,727 -Audit Fees 7,910 7,800Bad Debts 511 -Cleaning and Laundry 1,061 1,219Communications 5,305 6,451Computer 4,069 5,143Consumables and Equipment 11,876 10,218Depreciation 12,187 13,471Entertainment 7,370 3,419Legal 8,184 6,565Fees and Subscriptions 26,173 11,499Foregive Nexus Loan - 13,481General 174 -Grants 12,922 28,598Interest and Bank Fees 242 248Labour and Related 5,455 2,886Loss on Sale - 344Photocopier 5,044 7,752Postage 1,029 2,146Printing 77,714 75,399Promotion 6,841 10,421Repair and Maintenance 3,599 -Stationery 1,158 887Sundry Costs 4,362 4,494Travel 16,256 10,634Vehicle 782 720Wages and Salary 432,453 401,592TOTAL EXPENSES 661,609 627,133DEFICIT (43,264) (120,365)

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financesStatement of financial position as at 31 December 2013.

CURRENT ASSETS Notes 2013 2012 $ $ $ Bank and Cash 3 16,415 2,217Float - 200Term Deposits 3 749,294 787,542Accounts Receivable 15,341 16,153GST Receivable - 3,494NEXUS Publications Ltd - Current Account - 5,019

781,049 814,625Less: CURRENT LIABILITIESAccounts Payable 60,444 66,061GST Payable 7,269 -

67,713 66,061

WORKING CAPITAL SURPLUS 713,336 748,564

PROPERTY PLANT AND EQUIPMENT 4 16,426 24,462

NET ASSETS 729,762 773,026

REPRESENTED BY: Equity 729,762 773,026

729,762 773,026