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Notes of the Accountability Open Meeting held on Thursday 22 January 2009 in The Rumblin’ Tum Café, University of Brighton Students’ Union, Cockcroft Building
Phil Gilks (PG), Union President, explained the purpose of the meeting and the focal topic: Accountability. He asked the students present to say how they feel they should hold the elected student officers to account and how they think the process of doing so could be made more accessible.
PG asked if all those present understood what “accountability” means re students’ union decision making? KG (KG) used the example of the “top up fees” funding and how that was spent on “the student experience”; suggestions for spending are approved by the elected officers on UBSU’s Finance Committee and Union Council; are they making the right decisions?
Student: “I live at Falmer, there is nothing to do and nowhere to go; why can’t our activities be more like those at Loughborough?”
PG: So if there is nowhere to go; how should the Union resolve this? How can you hold the officers to account? Is it letters of complaint? Is it open meetings?
Student: ” The University of Brighton is neither a city university nor on a campus; this causes cashpoint problems and prices are too high.
Student: “ Course costs impact upon the student experience and our spending power.
PG: “Tell us how can we address this; get in touch; hold us to account”
Clive Pritchard (CP), Mature Students’ Officer: “The officers are here now; the students are voicing their opinions”
Chris Kong (CK), Community Liaison Officer: “The Union is inviting students to speak”
Student: “There is lots of information at the start of the year and then it drops away; need to keep students informed throughout the year as to what the Union is doing, when and why. Perhaps a refreshers’ programme?”
PG: “Are the students aware that the extended library hours and improved pool facilities are as a result of SU officers lobbying the University? The elected officers are the student voice. Are we doing enough? How can we do more?
PG: “What is the best form of communications: Emails? Suggestion boxes? Drop-ins? Issue of the Week? Referenda? “
Student: “We need to have many different vehicles to communicate with the officers”
CP: “Communication is a two way exchange of information and is necessary to engage student interest”
PG: “If we don’t deliver, what can you, the students, do to hold us to account?” “What brought you here tonight?”
Student: “Free buffet as seen on a flyer handed out this week”
CK: “Think of Block Grant expenditure; Segregated (Top Up) Fees: What should we do to improve services, The Pebble, etc.”
PG: “The sabbaticals are paid £16,500 a year to represent you; we work for the students. Hold us to account; are you happy with what we are doing? Do you know who we are, why we are here and what we do?”
Student: “I am not keen on single voice democracy”
Joel Andrews (JA), VP Comms & Finance: “How would you respond to regular referenda?”
Student: “Societies meet weekly (eg ACS), why not the SU as a whole?”
Student: “I don’t know what I can do or where to get information; SU officers could go into lectures and raise the profile of the SU”
Ed Bending (EB), Ethical & Environmental Officer: “Would you like a Society Starter Pack with profiles of all the elected officers?”
Student: “Yes, please”
EB: “What about using the ballot boxes as suggestion boxes in communal areas?”
Student: “Some suggestions would be useful; but not all”
EB: “How can the students contribute to the Union Review process?”
PG: “Various methods – taking time to talk to officers through the one to one questionnaires; the on line surveys; the open meetings; the focus groups”
Will Brodie (WB), First Year Students’ Rep: “Need to use professionals to conduct the one to one questionnaires (as at Bath).”
Student: “People are slow to respond; keep on asking and inviting feedback”
Student Casual: “Hold regular events and employ professional researchers to speak with the students. Use STARSS to promote events. Timing is crucial”.
Student: “After Freshers’ the SU becomes invisible; we need day time events to promote the SU and how it can be held to account”.
CK: “What is missing?”
Student: “An identifiable SU building; maybe at Falmer?”
PG: “This is a split site institution; we cannot replicate all services on all campuses.”
Student: “Glasgow’s SU is part public and part members only; the public access services subsidise the Union”.
PG: “Union Council has made a conscious decision not to run a bar on campus”.
JA: “ Having a bar at Falmer was financially draining (by £24,000 in 2007/08) and any surpluses made in other services were lost to subsidise a bar no one was using. Most of what the Union does is invisible to students.”
Student: “Speak to the clubs and societies; attend their meetings and organise their elected reps” (Could be a good model for governance? Ed.)
Student: “Organise small social events to invite feedback from students and questions to the elected officers.”
Student casual: “Make more of a story of the prize winners for the online survey; open meetings etc (Pebble; Channel; ubsu.net)”
Student: “Regular communications with the clubs and societies secretaries, captains etc)”
CK: “The members of the clubs and societies are already engaged with the SU; we need to target the wider student community with emails, comment/suggestion schemes, swat teams etc”
EB: “We need to employ a variety of marketing techniques”.
CK: “What about a monthly Q&A section in Pebble featuring a ‘Question of the Month’?”
Sam Forster (SF), VP Education & Equalities: “How about using course reps as a springboard? Particularly as the resistance from the schools has reduced courtesy of our lobbying via the University’s senior management team?”
Student: “Why not require course reps to attend SU meetings?”
Jodie Howe (JH), VP Eastbourne & Outreach: “This could be most helpful; particularly if the SU educates the course reps who could then speak on SU matters at lectures/seminars.”
PG: “Communication with course reps is key”.
EB: “What about Facebook? Officers could have post specific pages and be required to maintain them.”
JA: “There is a UBSU group; we could encourage freshers to join up over the summer”.
PG: “I have received feedback on Union decisions via Facebook”
Student: “What about an SMS system, keeping us in touch with events, surveys etc?”
EB: “Would you ever come to a Union committee meeting? “What about less formal meetings? The chance to have a rant or a moan?”
Student: “Depends on the agenda topics.”
PG: “Would you travel to other sites for a meeting? Council meetings rotate around the different campuses”
Student: “Hold different meetings for different topics: generic issues, campus based issues; regular and informal.”
PG: “When?”
Student: “Wednesdays are good; no lectures in the afternoon”
PG: “What can we do to involve more students in the elections?”
Nacim Harrison (NH), Faculty Rep: “I was elected on 63 votes; how accountable does that make me?”
Student: “You need to make a visible difference”.
Student: “Make the officers more obvious (eg branded clothing)”
Student: “Get your photos up; we need to know who you all are.”
Student: “Get out and talk to the students and raise your individual profiles.”
Student: “Have campus based officers with a high profile.”
PG: “The five sabs are currently based on four campuses; how can we raise our profile?”
Student: “Have an open door policy; let students see that you are in”
Student: “Screen talking heads with candidates and elected officers in the cafes and corridors including UoB foyer areas”.
Student: “Students are not voters, need to incentivize to engage; where are the first years?”
CK: “Is the message getting through?”
Student: “UBSU needs a stronger brand to distinguish it from the UoB and a tag line such as “keeping you fresh!”
Student: “Yes; Freshers’ is great but SU needs to keep the students engaged all year round”
PG: “Will students attend a monthly meeting?
JA: “Ad hoc events are as important as scheduled calendar events”
PG invited final comments
Student: “Is the SU doing anything about road safety/speed control along the Lewes Road?”
PG: “This is on the UoB Safety Committee agenda; SU officers sit on this”
Student: “How about giant punch bags featuring the officers?”
Student: “Campaign for more halls and then maybe an SU bar will be possible”
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