Exec Report 27th Feb 2008

Increase student participation in the Union, its elections, meetings and volunteering through high visibility Communication and Engagement Campaigns.

• The Sports Sponsorship is ongoing and there are Sports Council Meetings planned.
• I do not have any further info on the situation with OUSU regarding the Safety Busses. We are still struggling to get the busses out on a regular basis and the scheme is currently dependant on a very small group of students who are understandably not always available. I have received many comments from students wishing to drive the busses but aged under 21 they are currently prohibited from doing so. I have asked for information on the impacts of making driver positions available to people under 21.
• The UGM was a success. The ‘Date with the Union’ idea played out very well and even encouraged at least two students to stand for positions in the election who had never previously been involved in the SU. The stakeholder input gathered at this event has already been used in further developing the Vision 2011 work, which includes defining the Ten Principles of the Students’ Union.
• The next step in the Vision 2011 program is to get student input into how best to deliver on the agreed objectives. There are a series of student input sessions as well as a number of focus groups planned over the next 4 weeks. This work will define the future role of the Students’ Union in the lives of students at Brookes so it is vital that we talk to as many students as possible and record all the information we get back so we can justify everything we will do in the future to the University.
• I am happy to say that my Tell 10 group yielded a number of candidates for the elections.
• Brookes TV have been much more involved in this years election than last year. They have been an invaluable resource in providing the candidates with the opportunities to film video manifestoes. They also hosted studio debates, using the Independent Chair in a Paxman-esque role to question the candidates on aspects of their policies. These debates were for the Sabbatical Officer positions and the VP debates are already online at btv.brookes.ac.uk. These debates replace the more traditional ‘Hustings’ that many people may be used to. The debates have the benefit of being made available for interested students to look at whenever they wish without the need to sit through anything they are not interested in. It marks a shift in the way the SU communicates with its students. We are trying to use more technology to reflect the recent changes in the way that students (and people in general) communicate, through sites such as Facebook, youtube, myspace etc.
• Students working at Brookes TV have also produced a number of TV adverts for various SU services as part of their coursework. These adverts will be used by the Union to better communicate to students at Brookes the range and quality of the services provided by the SU.

Attract a greater number of students to run in Union Elections and provide access to comprehensive training and information regarding the available positions and the Union in general.

• The Elections themselves have started very strongly. Despite having received two withdrawals since nominations closed all but one of the Sabbatical Officer positions are contested and all the Non-Sabb positions also have candidates standing. This is the first time that the entire Exec will have been filled in the main elections.
• Filling all the available positions on the expanded Union Council is causing more of a problem. Union Council doesn’t have a high profile among most students and as a consequence is not seen as a high priority in terms of running for positions in the elections. Increased publicity of the meeting itself as well as increased communication of the outcomes and decisions of the Council would begin to address this.
• All Officers have encouraged the candidates running for their position to come in for a chat and have made themselves available, offering advice on any issues pertaining to the role or campaigning.

• There were three separate ‘Candidates Briefing’ sessions held at the beginning of week4.

To ensure that the Union improves or at least maintains its Sound Impact Award Status.

• We have sent the Sound Impact assessment book off but there are several criteria that are currently lacking evidence. The Sound Impact Award assessment has been tightened up this year and we will be fortunate to retain our Bronze Status. It is my intention over the next few weeks and after the election to develop much closer links with the Union outgoing and incoming Environment Officer. Hopefully between us we will be able to cover this area of the Unions work more effectively.

Communicate the achievements and successes of the Union internally and externally using all available media.

• I have sent information on the Elections to ONStream for inclusion to give University Staff a better understanding of the processes as well as link to the information featured on the Brookes TV website.
• There is now a weekly Sauce Coordination meeting which requires news and information to be brought by a cross-section of the staff at the SU. The aim is to better represent the diversity of the Students’ Union through its own communication mediums rather than being too focussed on commercial aspects.

Develop the Commercial Services of the Union so they are recognised as value for money by students through establishing provision level agreements and providing a high standard of customer service.

• The success of our various commercial operations is still difficult to ascertain. Through extremely close monitoring of trade it is clear that more students are using our facilities (clubs and bars) but that the amount of depreciation being carried by Harts Bar in particular is negating the small increase in takings.
• The Commercial Services Manager is committed to developing a more robust program of staff training across the commercial services of the Union aimed at promoting a more professional work ethic, focussing specifically on the customer experience. This will role out over the summer and the new year.
• The Summer Ball, planned for the 17^th May will be key in influencing future student opinion on the ability of the Students’ Union to provide quality services and events that reflect what students want.
• Peachy and Pleasuredome continue to benefit from heavy advertising as well as a largest ever number of guest appearances. The amount of money being spent on making these events special is considerable and is squeezing the profit margins. However, the extra income from the Virgin Media ‘Ave it’ offsets this increased expenditure.
• There is a questionnaire that focuses on assessing the quality of the services provided by the commercial department the results of which will inform the work over the summer to address the issues mentioned above and to improve our service for the benefit of students.