Hey there Everyone!
I hope you're doing well; this is my end of term report for the Spring term of 2023, as well as an opening report for the upcoming Summer term, which will hopefully encourage and inform you all of what is to come not only for the Students' Union, but my intentions as well. My report aims to focus on issues that have come up throughout the year that students have faced, and how we can devise future-proof solutions that address these issues.
Over the Spring term, I've been putting a lot of focus into making sure the University is moving in the necessary direction to accommodate students the best it can. Starting off with the literal 'accommodation' of students - it's no secret that there were many students who faced issues acquiring accommodation at the start of the year. University Accommodation began the year with 100% capacity, which is great to know the University's accommodation is being utilised, however the issue this creates for the future growth in student numbers cannot be ignored.
I know first-hand that there were first-year students who arrived in January with the impression that accommodation would be guaranteed for them, only to find there was no space for them and they would have to deal with the ridiculously high rent prices in external accommodations around Buckingham/MK, a direct result of the Cost-of-Living crisis. Making sure that the University's upper management and departments (Estates, Accommodation etc.) were aware of this issue was one part of my work; making sure that the University viewed it as an absolute priority to solve this issue was another task entirely.
The University's endeavour to represent values of freedom of speech, academic freedom and vigorous debate; while important, cannot be placed above the tangible factors that are a necessity for the well-being of our students. Therefore, I wanted to make sure that the University's focus was on producing more accommodation, to avoid the potential of a student housing crisis. Openly expressing this view to the board of trustees at the University, as well as the University senate, while also meeting 1-to-1 to discuss this multiple times with the CFO and Registrar - I can confidently say I made sure the student voice was made clear on the need for more living space for students. Ultimately, I am now confident that the University is taking the matter seriously, there are measures being put in place to address this situation which will be visible to students very soon.
Secondly, I'd like to cover the SU Executive and their work over the last term; I'm pleased to say that, compared to the prior term, the amount of output from the part-time officers has increased, as they continue to each develop within their roles. These are some of the highlights I personally feel have made or will make to students.
International Students joining us in September will receive an informational pack supplied to them by our International Officer, Erik Broten, which will include information all about living in the UK and Buckingham specifically as an international student. Featuring guidance on opening bank accounts, what university events to attend and more!
The BSU managed to run one of the biggest OTM parties in recent memory, that being the Ibiza White Party. Its success can be attributed to the good work of the BSU executive team and the promotion of the event to students from the BSU President. The BSU President has also contributed greatly to the students by introducing the BSU member of the month, an award that highlights a highly engaged sports club member and gives them the recognition they deserve.
The Crewe Officer continues to collaborate with the new director of the Crewe Campus, Sara Crowley, to ensure the best possible non-academic experience for students. Acting as the student voice representative in many conversations that concern the future of the Crewe Campus. The success of the Crewe Summer Ball for Crewe students must be mentioned as well!
Exciting opportunities are lined up for mature students as our Mature Students Officer is planning a networking event in August aimed at those completing their degrees soon. This will assist students in building their connections with other students as they transition into being postgraduates.
Work on the Hunter Street Library being open later into the night for students continues to progress as both the Buckingham Campus Officer and the Vice President of Student Voice collaborate with the Heads of the Library to explore this possibility.
Meetings of the Executive team were split over two meetings per week to accommodate everyone’s academic schedules. Executives were split based on what their roles covered, with one meeting focused on student demographics and another focused towards university development. This ensured that the weekly meetings continue to be effective. With the work-rate of each officer increasing - meetings will now be returning to take place once per fortnight, and being in person rather than over teams. It is hoped that with each officer now developing individually within their roles, the in-person meetings will increase the overall 'collaboration' of the team.
Thirdly, I'd like to state my intent to action feedback brought to me by students, particularly from the medical school. From here on, I intend to hold focus group sessions with students, with the purpose of having a more concentrated discussion on issues being raised and to collect qualitative feedback. I think this is important because whenever I approach a school with feedback, I often find that they want more detail, rather than simple verbal communication. So, I intend to collate reports based on student feedback from these focus group sessions to achieve that. While some schools may already have these in place, I believe offering these from the Students' Union will provide a platform where students potentially feel more comfortable to speak on issues affecting them. Many medical students from the 2022 cohort have come to me with issues concerning changes to their accommodation arrangements, this is an example of one of the topics that I will hold a focus group for.
On the topics of groups, the Students' Union Advisory Board has finally been approved by the University Executive. The board includes members of the SU such as the Head of the Student Union, me and the other sabbatical officers; as well as student representatives, university staff representatives and externals, whom all bring their own skillset and experience. I personally believe that the formation and approval of this board will benefit the relationship between the students, the SU, and the University. The board is intended to help advise and guide the decision-making within the SU.
With that, as mentioned in my previous report, it is still a key strategic focus of the Union to pursue independence and autonomy from the University so that we can better represent, engage and empower our members. While more people throughout the University are aware of the activity of the Students' Union - the independence of the union is still a conversation to be had with the University. Once we have managed to address the questions from the University and position ourselves to be independent, I believe the opportunities for the SU will increase exponentially.
Thank you to everyone who has read my report, and to the students who I will continue to represent the best I possibly can. It's been a great 6 months in the role of President up to this point and I hope to do even better in the next term. Have a great summer all!