Manifesto Review – Four: Accountabilty

Ensuring all Students’ Union Officers are accountable to the Students – Objectives;

• To make Officers physically accessible to students in a question provoking setting, on each campus
  Working lunch is making this happen each and every week at Lincoln, Cathederal & Riseholme. As for Hull & Holbeach; Steven and I visit now and then, but not enough yet!
• To ensure that all Officers are regularly communicating with students using the various media available
  As per the Student Council mandate, more Officers are blogging online as well as using their Social Media accounts – on top of communicating at council and committee meetings.
• To ensure that by the end of Semester A, Officers are reporting to Student Council on progress and outcomes in a way that satisfies Councillors and provokes questioning.
  We do report collectively, normally through the President, but we’re yet to ask Student Council if this works. My thoughts are that there are deeper problems with Council related to officer accountability that need to addressed in different ways.

Still more to do here, but it’s ten times better than last year!

Manifesto Review – Three: Volunteer Support

Objective: All Officers will regularly make an effort to ensure that students who are engaged within their department are feeling supported in their volunteering role.

Put simply; I haven’t tackled this yet. I’m thinking that this will take the form of a Union Policy to be approved by Student Council and implemented by the Executive and Staff Teams.

Watch this space.

Manifesto Review – Two: Student Council

It seems that Student Council was big on my agenda before October, while were getting it off the ground – but since it has been running, it has kind of gone of my radar.

I’m pleased with the progress that we have made with Student Council, with actual consistant promo, quorate meetings, students issues and a student chair – but I can’t help still not being satisfied with where it is.

It needs to be more focused on student submitted issues and on officer accountability than it is (well, that’s my opinion and is how I’ll be working until I’m told otherwise), and I think that can helped by training and support for those students who sit on Council, which links to School Reps, which links to the Student Reps system.

So again; my issues link back to communication and support in the Student Reps system – which is what I’ll be thinking about over the crimbo hols!

Manifesto Review – One (b): Reps // Faculty Reps

Ellie, Kim, Anna, Tash & Nichola are our team of five super-reps, who represent and co-ordinate Student Reps within their respective faculties at the University of Lincoln. They are in the perfect position to do all sorts in their faculties to improve representation and the student voice, but we (the faculty reps and SU) are struggling to win in a quite a hard battle.

The role of Faculty Rep was something that I included in my reform paper that was written and submitted last academic year – they were going to be five superstars who provided a link between the Students’ Union, its officers and the Course / School reps in each faculty – but we always knew that was going to be tough, and we were right.

I can’t help but feel I’m not paying as much attention to each of them as I should be, but my time is stretched and it’s also difficult for them to fit Faculty Rep work around their studies, which is why next semester I want to look at the staff support provided to Student Reps (Course, School & Faculty levels).

It’s time for the Reps system to push forward and find its feet, and for that to happen – we need some dedicated support to help implement strategy and do the day-to-day stuff.

Regardless of this; I’m chuffed to bits with the progress that we (inc. each Faculty Rep) have made – and am very glad we introduced the roles!

Manifesto Review – One: Reps

The development of a reformed Course Rep system that WORKS FOR THE STUDENTS

Done:

1. Nearly 500 Course Reps registered
2. Around 200 Course Reps trained
3. 15/16 School Liaison Reps elected
4. 5/5 Faculty Reps elected
5. More resource invested by ULSU into Students Reps
6. Extra income from the University just for Reps
7. Training guides produced for reps
8. Regular e-Communication will all reps
9. Information guides for academics
10. Good working relationships with all Faculty Offices
11. Postgraduate Reps in place
12. In touch with FE Student Reps at Riseholme
13. Course Rep Exec has met
14. 150 Hoodies on Reps’ backs out on campus!

To Do:

1. Promote Student Reps to the Student Body
2. Educate academics more on the role and benefits of Student Reps
3. Support Faculty & School Reps in engaging Course Reps
4. Make Course Rep Exec effective and regular
5. Provide refresher training for all Reps
6. Award and reward good Student Reps

Ambitions:

1. Better Post Graduate Representation
2. More staff support for Student Reps in ULSU
3. Collect feedback from Subject Committees across the University

Generally; pretty super so far, but still miles to go before I’m satisfied!

Officer Blog Post: July 09 – Ramblings…

Hello there guys!

I hope you’re all enjoying your summer and taking advantage of the occasional day of sunshine! It’s dry in Lincoln today, which is a bonus!

So, what have I been up to?

Student Council – do you know what it is? If you do, you’re probably in the minority. At the minute; we’re working hard to develop Student Council so that it engages more students and is more accessible to the average student who isn’t fussed about lots of technical terminology. I’m working with Chris (President), Emma (VP Comms) and Beccy (a member of our staff team).

Council meets regularly and has the power to mandate Officers and set the Union’s priorities which put students in charge – so please do keep an eye out for updates on how to get involved. If you want more info check out www.lincolnsu.com/council or drop me an email to reps@lincolnsu.com

My biggest piece of work to shout about relates to our Holbeach Campus! Steven Greaves (VP Welfare) and I have been named as the Lead Officers for all things ULSU at Holbeach and we’ve swung into action and started to research the needs of students and plan for the year ahead. We’re making our representation and our opportunities more accessible for those who spend very little time on campus which is a great development which students will benefit from greatly.

Whilst on the topic of satellite campuses; we have been working with Val Braybrooks, Dean of the Agriculture, Food and Animal Sciences Faculty to develop what is know as FE Student Council at Riseholme. Our priority is to ensure that this group doesn’t turn into another typical bureaucratic university management committee and that is remains a safe haven for students to take their problems and have them dealt with.

It wouldn’t be one of my blogs without mentioning Student Reps, so the big thing to tell you this time is about Sponsorship. We have put together a package which should see considerable additional income pumped into the system – I’m not going to go into detail until it’s finalised as I don’t want to get anybodies hopes up or jeopardise the deal, but more info shall follow!

We’ve met as an Executive on a number of occasions now, one of which was to elect ourselves to the various committee and board seats that the Union holds – including our own Board of Trustees. My term as a Council Trustee ends in October and as I wasn’t elected as a Student Officer Trustee, so I shall be stepping down from the board when the time comes – but this does relieve a considerable workload meaning that I can focus efforts on the projects that I’m involved in, which directly benefit students! I’d like to wish the best of luck to the new Trustees taking up positions on the board, I hope that you succeed in continuing to develop the role into what it should be.

Looking ahead;

I’m going back home on Sunday for a couple of weeks, meaning that I’ll be relying on email and phone calls to add my input and progress my projects – which should be fun, and will also give me a chance to relax and earn some money for my holiday.

My to-do list is ever growing, highlights include: finding a sponsor for student reps, confirming arrangements for Holbeach fresher’s week, continuing work on Student Council and also, as a project team, we’ll be starting to write up all the content for the reps system; handbooks, websites, guides, promo stuff etc

So busy times, even though very few students are around – but it should ensure that our big changes are ready for September!

If you have any questions about what I’m up to or even fancy getting involved – just send an email to reps@lincoln.ac.uk and I’d be happy to have a chat.

8/9 weeks till Freshers!

Dan x

Am I “Putting the student back into Students’ Union” as promised? I sure am!

My manifesto ended with the slogan “Put the STUDENT back into Students’ Union… vote Dan Derricott for SU Student Officer” and I guaranteed that I would prioritise the following;

• The development of a reformed Course Rep system that WORKS FOR THE STUDENTS;
• An effective student voice with true representation for all;
• The development of Student Council;
• Continuous support of all students;
• Ensuring all Students’ Union Officers are accountable to the Students!!

I’m pleased to say that I’ve already made massive progress with the first of my priorities; Course Reps.

Before the elections, I’d been working as part of a team that was reviewing the Reps system at Lincoln but it wasn’t until my election that our work stepped up a gear.  In the months since election results on March 6th, I have led the Union’s work on Course Reps along with Kayleigh Turner and Beccy Rock (SU Staff) and we have made substantial progress;

We now have a final proposal document for ‘Lincoln Student Reps’; a system that works for students and encompasses all reps from the ‘ground troop’ course reps through to the School Liaison Reps who will sit on Student Council, through to Faculty Reps who will have responsibility for helping to manage and develop the system as a whole.

We’re addressing the fundamental need for sound training and support throughout the year and we’re working on getting a sponsor which should see every trained rep receive a t-shirt or hoody to help promote themselves. As well as allowing Reps to promote themselves, we’re putting together a plan to market the whole system and the concept of representation to Students.

Alongside our work on looking after the Reps, we have lots planned to make sure Academic & Non-Academic staff are fully aware of what reps are, how they work and how to respond to what they ask for, this should ensure that Reps are treated with the respect that they deserve. This is supported by University Senior Managers who describe the views and actions of reps as important as the National Student Survey and any Institutional Survery!

From September, ‘we start a new journey’ and a what a journey it will be, with a base of well trained, well support, engaged and effective Student Reps who can make a real difference and with another QAA Audit in a few years time, this is something that the University cannot and are not ignoring.

Even though I haven’t started my term of office, I’m working for students and making a real difference! To be able to write this feels great and I have to finish by expressing my thanks to Kayleigh & Beccy, and to a special young lady; Laura Driscoll – without her enthusiasm and determination we wouldn’t have been in the fantastic position that we are now.