Annual ReportUniversity of Central LancashireStudents’ Union

2010

“we have to be able to adapt and develop to ensure we achieve our mission, to make life better for students”

President’s WelcomeWelcome to the University of Central Lancashire Students’ Union Annual Report for 2010. UCLan Students’ Union was established in 1957 and its aim remains the same today as it was back then. We strive to improve the education and protect the interests of our membership in all we do, to make life better for students.

It gives me great pleasure to be able to present to you this report that is rich in detail and provides the reader with a clear understanding of just how serious we take our mission, vision and values. Every service, activity and campaign the Union provides we do with the student in mind, we are proud to be student led.

As a Students’ Union our challenge is to ensure we effectively represent and meet the needs of our membership byproviding the correct support structure accessible to all. While it is true that each year we face different challenges, we also must ensure we secure the opportunities that cross our path. We have to be able to adapt and develop to ensure we achieve our mission, to make life better for students.

Over the previous 12 months we have shown great commitment and enthusiasm in regards to student academic needs with a successful ‘Quality of lecture’ campaign, as well as ‘Town Takeover’ which helped engage and mobilise students for a peaceful protest in Preston over higher education funding.

Our ambition to grow and develop has seen us strive to obtain official recognition with the investing in volunteers programme, as well as the Students Union Evaluation initiative (SUEi) which will tell us where we succeed and importantly where to improve.

Representation

EducationCampaignsFollowing on from the success of The Good, The Bad and The Feedback campaign in 2009-10 the Union turned its attention to the quality of lectures. An initial survey of 275 Course Reps revealed that the major concern was not the quantity of contact time but the quality. In response the Union ran a successful campaign to get students to rate the lecture styles they found most engaging.

In total 301 responses were received with the over whelming winner being a lecturer who is knowledgeable,interactive and passionate about their subject. Alongside this the Union inaugurated a Favourite Lecturer of the Year Award with a view to promoting good practice.

From this campaign a presentation was made to the University which involved seven recommendations which we hope will ensure that all lecturers have the resources and training necessary to deliver the quality of lectures that students aspire to.

“The Advice Centre continues to advance and

develop with new staff, new projects and a growing

number of student’s accessing the service”

personal debts!”

”£231,013income for students from grants!”

£280,000“negotiated over

Advice CentreAcademic year 2009/10 has been a record year for the Students’ Union Advice Centre dealing with 2487 caseenquires in total. We are going from strength to strengthhaving 4 trained advisors (3 specialists and one generalist) to deal with academic, student finance, benefit, debt, housing, and employment related topics.

Between the four Advisors we have successfully retrieved £231,013 of income for students from grants, benefits and charitable payments. In addition we have negotiated over £280,000 personal debts.

Money Advice Project2009/10 saw the launch of Money Buddies which is a student led project focusing on budgeting skills and student finance. In September 2009 we had more than 200 students’ directly involved which made the events a great success. This year we have received repeat funding and are concentrating on Student Finance to try and support students on their applications on top of giving budgeting skills.

Supporting Course RepsWe also worked with the University to recruit a record number of course reps and were able to provide training for 73% of them. Three successful events were held to bring reps together to both socialise and celebrate their experiences. Many of them asked for a base to work from and we have therefore developed a Student Voice Hub, located on the first floor of the Students’ Union, this space is designed with Course Reps in mind. There are five open access computers, a growing library of resources, a space for meetings workshops and networking.

Course Rep Awards 2009

Students at PlayDuring the 2009-2010 academic year the Student Involvement and Development centre had a busy year. We saw an increase in membership and an increase in the numbers of new societies affiliating with us.

The Student Activities fair went by with the usual excitement and high sign-up figures, with over 3,500 people coming through the doors in September 2009. Over the year, we had over 1700 individuals sign up to join a club or society.

Training and DevelopmentOver the last year we ran three full-day training workshops covering a range of topics and we trained over 400 volunteers to help them run their student groups. We also provided around 100 hours of support time to our student group volunteers. To support them through the challengesthey faced while volunteering and chat about the positive things they and their groups had been doing.

We also began the first stages of going for Investors in Volunteers which is a nationally recognised scheme which demonstrates good practice in volunteer management. We hope to complete this in 2011.

Give it a Go!Our exciting activities programme, Give it a Go, continued to grow over the course of the year.The programme was extended from its usual blocks of two weeks in semesters one andtwo, to include activities throughout the academic year.

Highlights of Give it a Go this year included a Chinese New Year Event, Strictly Come UCLan, Grub Club, and trips to Oxford and Newcastle.In total we had 2491 people participate in the activities throughout the year.

Sports Ball & Societies CelebrationVolunteers came together to celebrate the successes of the year during the annual Sports Ball and new for this year, Societies Celebration events. Highlights included the Snow Sports being awarded Club of the Year and the Islamic Society gaining Society of the Year in recognition of all the hard work and effort they had put into their groups over the academic year.

Mitchell and Kenyon CinemaOur first year running the Mitchell and Kenyon Cinemathrough our Film Society volunteerssaw 53 films be screened over the course of 9 months. This has provided a great opportunity for students to develop new skills and experience how to run a cinema and has seen the Film Society grow in popularity. Our links with local community groups, the city council and university departments have been strengthened as a result of our collaboration on film festivals and one-off film events such as the International Film Festival, Black History Month and Multi-faith festival.

Staff We were joined this year by two new members of staff: Jonathan Fletcher, our new Student Activities Co-ordinator, and Amanda Pattinson, our new StudentActivities Administrator.

During this year, both Amanda and Jonathan have helped to further develop the Student Involvement & DevelopmentCentre, improving our service to our members and piloting new initiatives & procedures including a pilot for a new recreational sports league called the Students’ Union Leagues (SUL). This will develop over the course of 2010-11 with 5 leagues for 11-a-side Football, Netball, Badminton, Indoor Rowing and Table Tennis all starting in September.

We also held a very successful Kick Racism out of Football match in partnership with a local community group to highlight the issue of discrimination within the game.

“The Student Activities fair went by with the usual excitement, with over 3,500people coming through the doors in September 2009”

”£231,013income for students from grants!”

£280,000“negotiated over

Give it a go - Wine Tasting

Students at Work

Bridge ServicesThe Bridge has continued to work closely with ‘futures’ helping to improve international students employability skills and they are now working with the Prospects.netsoftware to provide an easier to use search facilityfor vacancies.

Although the economic background continues to cause concern we have been successful in attracting new positions to our books. In recent months we have discussed with UCLan and other Unions how we can help develop student employment and entrepreneurial skills at a time of decreasing levels of part time work.

Union as an employer The Students’ Union undertakes a Staff Satisfaction Survey annually and this year was extended for the first time to our Student Staff. The results of the survey were positive and 95% of the students working for the Union said they were able to manage their job alongside their studies. 93% said the Students’ Union had a good working atmosphere and 88% said they really enjoyed working for the Students’ Union.

The Union makes a positive choice to recruit students to work alongside permanent staff through its student employment agency, The Bridge. Students gain experience of a wide range of roles including traditional bar staff roles but increasingly roles in new media, Membership Services, Events, Marketing and our Finance and Reception functions.

In November 2009 the Students’ Union received recognition as an Investor in People achieving reaccreditation for the fourth time.

“The bridge has had another busy year,

with the agency generating £187,665

“In November 2009 the Students’ Unionreceived recognition as an Investor in People achieving reaccreditation for the fourth time”

212 vacancies with over1048 positions available”

income for students”

“the team has advertised

The BridgeStudent Employment Service

Students in the newsPlutoPluto continues to be the standard bearer for UCLan news, constantly delivering the independent student voice, produced by students for students. Pluto has kept this up by recently running a story on students being left out of pocket due to housing problems. Championing the rights of vulnerable students and bringing the issue to the forefront.

Pluto Online has been established and is this year looking to make progress as the best place students can find out what’s going on campus and in partner colleges.

PR1 run as a quarter-fold magazine has now come to an end. The decision has been taken to launch PR1 online with its own website to continue to develop its unique brand while also running inside Pluto.

FrequencyThis year Frequency is in a very strong position after the success of its website we aim to be pushing and promoting it across campus. Using initiatives like giveaways and having live music on campus to promote student radio in a variety of ways but alsoreflect the diversity of what’s on offer on air.

PS TVPS-TV: this year will be a big year for PS-TV we will be launching a new website and also we will be running a once monthly Television show. Named Psst!. We hope to develop PS-TV further by upping the inclusion rates involved in PS-TV so we can make a real impact on campus.

“PR1 offers opportunities to interview the biggest names in music and entertainment and this year we hope to do a give for the Warehouse project”

Frequency DJ’s at

Clubs & Societies Fair

“This year Frequency is in a very strong position after the success of its website we aim to be pushing and promoting it across campus!”

53 degreesDespite the recession and challenging trading conditions in 2009/10 we delivered over 170 events, 28% more than last year. The diverse programme mix of concerts, club nights and comedy shows included fast rising Dubstep artists Skream and Caspa, various high profile club brands such as Ministry of Sound, Goodgreef, and Bounce Heaven. The programme also featured some more unusual events ‘Blaze’ a BMX light and sound orchestra, the National Youth Week Awards, an Adult pantomime by Red Ribbon Cabaret, Superfunk Roller Disco, Underground Rebel Bingo and Circus of Horrors along with the usual big name sell-out concerts usually only associated with

major city venues. Artists such as Calvin Harris, Lost Prophets, The Enemy, NDubz, Chipmunk, Tinchy Stryder and Friendly Fires made it to 53 Degrees further enhancing our reputation.

Summer 2010 saw our first major refurbishment in five years. The mezzanine area of the 53 Degrees main room has been transformed into a new 800 capacity space and means we can hold an even greater range of club nights, including new night FWAP! which promises to bring the biggest names to Preston on a monthly basis, as well as providing a small 120 capacity space for student usage and private hire.

“To be our customers favourite venue”

In 2009/10 we delivered over 170 events, 28% more than last year.With artists such as Calvin Harris, Lost Prophets, The Enemy, NDubz, Chipmunk, Tinchy Stryder and Friendly Fires, to name but a few!

Major refurbishment Transformed into a new 800 capacity space

120 capacity space for student usage and private hire

After a difficult trading year in 2009/10 we have undergone a thorough evaluation of our event provision and how this can best be delivered. We have further restructured and refocused the department and have a new team in place. All of whom are ready to achieve our primary aims of increasing the number of shows, selling more tickets and increasing student participation.

The year ahead will see an increased use of Peer to Peer communication with our customers, and increased involvement with Clubs and Societies, as well as launching our student engagement, marketing, and digital strategies to ensure that we stay ahead of the game.

In 2009/10 we delivered over 170 events, 28% more than last year.With artists such as Calvin Harris, Lost Prophets, The Enemy, NDubz, Chipmunk, Tinchy Stryder and Friendly Fires, to name but a few!

Eating, drinking and shoppingEssentialsSales in Essentials, our on-campus Mini Supermarket for students has continued to grow steadily throughout the past year by continuing to meet student and customer needs. During the year we achieved £991,795 in sales and served 343,633 customers through the year. We intend to improve on this performance in 2010 and ensure we beat the million pound mark by the end of the year. By doing this we were able to provide on-campus employment for 44 students.

The new Epos system introduced in the summer of 2009 has reaped huge awards for Essentials allowing us to understand more closely our customers’ requirements and buying patterns. Data about best and worst sellers, hourly sales and peak times of business allows us to control our stock and waste effectively but to make sure we’re staffed to meet customers’ needs when they want to shop.

We continue our alliance with the Co-op brokered through our national purchasing consortium NUS Services Limited. Co-op has been integrating their operations with Somerfield in the past 18 months and this has increased the range of products and promotions available to us.

During the year we also launched ‘Factory’our on-line shop for UCLan merchandise. Printshop continued to provide a valuableservice to students, having moved to ournew location inside the building to a shopfront on Fylde Road.

SourceSource continues to be the quality, inexpensive and safe student bar that it is renowned for at UCLan. Following on from our successful refurbishment 2 years ago, we have acted on strong customer feedback and invested in a new state of the art sound system to enhance our customers’ experience.

With strong ties having been built with sports clubs over the last 2 years via the ‘Back to You’ loyalty programme, we are now rolling this opportunity to gain funding to the full range of societies at UCLan to benefit from.

The bar has continued to buck the national trend by delivering excellent financial results and the real success of last year was our food offering which performed well against budget and continues to deliver year on year growth.

During the past year we have seen an 87% increase on ourpopular meal deal arranged by the NUS Services Limited and supported by Ginsters.

Essentials -Student Shop

Source Bar

WebsitesThe Students’ Union website had become subject for concern after it was established that many students and some staff were unable to source information as the navigation had become convoluted over time. The designs and layout on many of the pages were also showing signs of age, and as such it was decided that a new website should be launched in time for the upcoming 2010/11 academic year.

There have also been some minor rebranding projects taking place throughout our social media channels -

Fresher’sFresher’s Fortnight grows from strength to strength. 2009 saw the introduction of Super Sunday, an event that opened up the Union fully for the first time over Accommodation Weekend with games, market stalls and the chance for new students to come along and meet each other over that daunting but exciting time in their lives.

There was an increase in numbers at Fresher’s Fair in terms of both exhibitors and visitors and a growth in NUS Extra card sales,bringing approximately £15,000 of revenue into theStudents’ Union.

2010 Fresher’s is currently in full swing and data shows numbers of visitors attending Fresher’s Fair up by around 25% and sales of NUS Extra cards looking strong. Preparations for next year’s activities start early 2011 which will enable us to develop our events and grow on the success of 2009 and 2010.

The AtriumResponding to customers we have reviewed the Atrium and invested £30k to improve customer service by improving customer flow through and service speed, adding a grab and go facility, improving our menu range (with seasonal changes planned) and improving our already great coffee.

Another key change this year is that more responsibility has been given to student staff who are rising to the challenge, this is an adventurous move that will be reviewed on a quarterly basis but has proven to be successful in the busiest few weeks of term.

Although with a possible recession looming and generalcutbacks the plans in place for The Atrium mean that it is in a far better position to handle them than before.

Source Bar

visitors attending Fresher’s Fair

up by around 25%

A RIUM

Governance & ElectionsGovernanceIn 2008 students in a Referendum agreed new governance arrangements for the Students’ Union. This was the first step in a programme of change that has continued into 2010. The Board of Trustees first created in July 2008 is meeting the challenge of finding people willing to take on the responsibility of being a Trustee and supporting the Elected Officers. The Board has been happy to welcome and values the contribution of Alex Bone, Antony Weller, Jane Riley and Joanna Frith-Jones as appointed Trustees. We should alsoexpress our thanks to Glen Woodroffe,our first appointment Student Trustee who has now left the Board having completed his studies at UCLan.

The creation of the Student Affairs Committee (SAC) ensures that the officers elected by students each year are focused on representing students, promoting involvement and developing the student voice. The Union has devoted increased resources to supporting the work of the SAC in the appointment of a Representation Co-ordinator. The creation of this post recognises that affective campaigning, the support of Course Rep networks and the development of student forums and GOAL programmes all require underpinning resources.

Going GreenWe are proud to say that since 2008 the Union has achieved annual recognition by NUS Services in the Sound Impact Award scheme.

The scheme recognises the commitment of Students’ Union’s to being environmentally friendly, promoting recycling,minimiing waste and energy use and involving students inenvironmental products. In 2009 the Union won a silver award in the scheme after our fantastic Gold award in 2008.

In 2008 over 200 solar panels were installed on the roof of the Union’s venue, 53 Degrees. Since installation the panels have generated energy which has helped the University and the Union save thousands of tonnes of CO2. High profile projects like this have been supported by less obvious but important projects, such as the reuse before recycling of office paper, the use of local supplies for catering, the support of Fair Trade, installation of LED lights in our venues and support for One Water through our catering outlets. We continue to work in partnership with the University on these projects and the partnership has ensured we have achieved high standards.

“over 200 solar panels installedon the roof of the Union’s Venue”

Solar Panels

Our 2010 SAC’s

The Union had a record year in involving members in its governance. In March the Union launched its own bespoke electronic election package. For the first time in many years all full time positions were contested, all council positions filled and a record number of students stood and voted. School Rep elections were run in all schools and the majority were filled. This led to one of the busiest and liveliest calendar of Student Council meetings. This year we are aspiring to fill all School Rep positions and encourage more students to become involved in Forums.

The increased levels of participation led to a hugely successful Town Takeover Campaign which climaxed with a hundred strong flash mob in Preston Town Centre. The task for this year is to build upon this and take the Pay More Get Less campaign to a higher level.

ElectionsThe Union first adopted E-Voting in the 2008 annual elections, completing and on-line ballot in partnership with the Electoral Reform Services (ERS). In 2009 we supplemented the on-line voting system provided by ERS with bespoke Facebook application that permitted students to comment, debate and get involved in elections using social media. In 2010 we commissioned and launched our own on-line voting system and saw turnout increase to over 2,500, a record for the Students’ Union either off-line or on-line. We have set ambitious annual targets for improving participation in elections by candidates and voter turnout.

Charity RegistrationIn 2006 the Charities Act became law and has hadfar reaching consequences for the Students’ Union. By June 2011 the Students’ Union will register as acharity and will, for the first time, be subject toregulation by the Charity Commission.

“in 2010 wecommissioned andlaunched our own on-linevoting system”

The futureAt the heart of our plans for the future and what we do as a Union is our promise to make life better for students. We do this through the services we deliver to students and the way that we champion change for the better in the University and beyond. To ensure this continues to thrive, we as a Union need to identify the challenges and opportunities we face over the immediate 12 months as well as looking further ahead and towards our long term strategy.

In the short term, our key objective for the Students’ Union in 2010/11 is to undertake a significant student membership consultation exercise in order to ensure that the Students’ Union is meeting all our students’ needs.

We undertake this research in an uncertain time for all in Higher Education. Recent recommendations from the Lord Browne review and the announcements in the Comprehensive Spending Review mean the University will be making some very difficult decisions in the coming months. The Union’s immediate priority is to ensure students are involved and consulted during this process. While we wait on their announcement, we are working on recommendations to put to the University based on our beliefs that the proposals in Lord Browne’s review will have a disastrous effect on students wanting to attend this institution.

Casting our gaze to the horizon and identifying issues and opportunities in the long term, our strategy of being recognised as an outstanding Union with a reputation for excellence will be driven by the financial constraints we encounter.

Financial PositionThe Union has faced a tough 12 months as the full extent of the recession has hit. Against this back drop though there have been some success stories which are a direct result of our membership supporting our facilities and outlets together with our management teams constantly improving the services we provide.

The turnover has increased on last year by 2% achieving £4.3m. For what expect to be the last time core grant funding increased by 4% due to growth in student numbers. This has been carefully spent in Membership Services as investment has increased on last year by 3% to £580k. This has been made possible by cutting costs in our Central Services by 6% to £342k.

Trading has suffered this year and the operating surplus of £115k is a fall of 30% on last year’s stronger result of £165k. It was noted early in the year that the live music industry as a whole was experiencing changes making the booking of live events even harder to achieve. Event promoters using 53 degrees as a platform for their events also experienced sharp falls in attendances. This had a major financial impact on 53 Degrees from the outset and our year end result does not reflect the hard work by the events team. We started in January to makechanges to turn round our poor showing and this summer made a £100k investment to create a new 800 capacityflexible space which allows for a wider range of events.

The main success story of last year was Essentials increasing their sales to nearly a million and increasing their surplus by 16% on last year. This retail outlet had a challenging time in the 1st term with staff changes and a new till system but their hard work has paid off giving the Union additional fundsto reinvest.

Overall the net surplus of £4k is still a good reflection of the achievements of all concerned due to the challenges which have been overcome. )We are grateful for the continued support of the university in the form of the block grant and much other support in kind.

A copy of the Union’s financial statements are available to download at www.uclansu.co.uk.

“In the autumn of 2010 we are undertaking a major survey of first & second year students about their views of

the Union”

turnover has increased by 2%core grant funding increased by 4% due to growth in student numbers!

RecognitionUCLan Students’ Union has been ranked as one of the best in the country by a recent survey. The 2009 Times Higher Education Student Experience survey saw UCLan Students’ Union ranked fifth in the UK for “Good Students’ Union”. The success in the THES (Times Higher Education Supplement) survey show the strides made by the Students’ Union in improving the student experience.

Professor David Phoenix, Deputy Vice Chancellor, said “It is fantastic news the UCLan has been rated so highly on the excellence of its academic and support staff, its well structured courses, Students’ Union and library facilities and the first-rate individual relationships our students have with teaching staff. The survey also highlighted our Students’ Union, communityatmosphere and safe environment as being key strengthsof UCLan.”

UCLan Student Satisfaction Survey 2009 showed 89.5% of students were very satisfied or satisfied with the Union. The Advice Centre, Source, the Students’ Union bar, the Union Reception and Box Office, 53 Degrees live music, Essentials convenience store and Source, the Students’ Union bar all scored highly with satisfaction rates over 90%.

In 2008 we achieved a silver level award in the NUS Sound Impact Awards. The Sound Impact Award is a nationally recognised accreditation offering independent bench marking of the Union’s environmental performance.

The Union is an Investor in People (IIP) and was reassessed against this standard in November 2009. We are pleased to say that we achieved reaccreditation. IIP recognises the Union’s commitment to effective learning and development for employees and volunteers and we are confident we will retain the award in the future.

In 2009 the Union committed to achieve the Investors in Volunteering award that recognises the Union for its policy, processes and practices in the recruitment, retention, support and recognition of volunteers. We have committed to achieve this award in order to ensure that all our volunteering opportunities meet the highest standards we can achieve.

The Union is committed to continually improving its performance and achieving awards and standards can give our members reassurance that the Union meets independent bench marks for its range of activities.

In 2009 the Board of Trustees committed to obtain the Students’ Union Evaluation Initiative award (SUEi Award). This award is made by the National Union of Students and is supported by both Government and the Quality Assurance Agency. To obtain the SUEi award Unions must complete an18 month long period of self assessment and plannedimprovement against tough standards. The standardrequires us to ensure that we understand the student’s needs and that we are meeting them in reality. We are determined to achieve the award and provide reassurance to students and the University that what we do is of a high quality and that we have the processes in place to ensure we continually improve.

Student Satisfaction Survey showed 89.5%satisfied with the Union.

UCLan Students’Union has been ranked as

5th in the UK for ‘GoodStudents’ Unions’!

Accomodation Weekend

THANK YOU!!!Michael Palmer President

Sam Sandilands Education OfficerLaura Leigh Hicks Campaigns Officer

Ross Herridge Activities and Participation OfficerKeron Knight Media Officer

Pete Shilton Godwin Chief ExecutiveGareth Pye Membership Services Manager

Mehmet Bekir Head of Bars and VenueLynda Stott Head of Central ServicesHelen Gittens Acting Retail Manager

Dave Evans Events ManagerBecky Taplin Representation and Democracy Co-Ordinator

Joseph Cooper SI&D Co-OrdinatorLee Bradshaw Web and Digital Marketing Co-Ordinator

Debbie Markland Printshop Co-ordinatorDoreen Jackson PA to the Cheif Executive