February: The Beginning is the End is the Beginning

Gearing up for Elections: Created this sign outside my office

I might look back at my year and see February as the month that really defined my time as a sabb. Whilst only being 28 days long, we've had big wins, some more sombering losses and we went through an entire nominations period for Elections.

This is also the month where I decided not to re-run for Election for 2014/15. Whilst there are several reasons for me deciding against re-election, ultimately I felt that whilst being Vice President Cardiff has made me learn a lot, I have other bigger passions in life which I don't want to wait longer to get in to. Whilst I flirted with the idea of running for President and was being persuaded by a number of students to run for it, I felt it best to leave that to other candidates.

So what happened in the month of February?

Big wins
This month we achieved two really significant results. First off it was announced on UniLife that from March 10th to June 6th, the ATRiuM will now be open from 9am - 10pm on weekends. This is great news and means those who have final projects or deadlines in and around Easter will be able to access the ATRiuM's facilities for as long as they need to and hopefully this will help them achieve to their full potential.

The other big win surrounds ATRiuM 2A. After months of negotiations with the University we're finally in a position to be able to offer a food provision at the new Students' Union due to open in September. This means will be able to go ahead with the move and have a much better chance of making the SU a self-sustainable service. It's a big step in the right direction to provide a better SU for students in Cardiff. But it is only one step in that process and it's important now that we find more ways to involve students in how the SU operates in Cardiff.

Also in the Elections, Cardiff has had nominations for more positions than in any other region. Students are running for the roles of Vice President Cardiff, Atrium Campus Officer, Mature Students Officer, Sports Officer and Student Council Chair. Also Emily Lee is rerunning for Women's Officer. This is extremely positive as this year we have struggled to fill the positions on Council which has affected the democratic influence of the Cardiff region. Now we are well on our way to rectifying that and making sure Cardiff can be involved in the decision making process of the Union at every level.

You can have a look at the Candidates manifestos here and see what you think of them. Also I filmed the candidates answering questions about their roles which you can find here. Elections for President, Vice Presidents and Student Council Chair run between March 3rd and March 6th. The Student Council Officer Elections will happen the week after between March 10th and March 13th.

Some less good news...
I think it's important to address that not everything went swimmingly this month. The biggest issue is that the opening hours of the current ATRiuM Students' Union have been decreased further due to a decline in trade. This has been a commercial decision I have had very little involvement with. The new opening hours are between 9am and 3pm. Considering the new SU is going to open in September, I want to make sure that we can use this opportunity to address what is going wrong with the current SU and look at what we can do to bolster trade and activity so the new Students' Union doesn't fall to the same fate as the current one.

Another issue that's really brought to my attention is the feeling at Cromwell House and Atlantic House and that we as a Students' Union haven't been doing enough to represent these students points of view and tackle the issues they are facing. With the opening hours being increased at the ATRiuM, it seems unfair that Cromwell and Atlantic can't receive similar treatment. Also there's big access issues to Atlantic House due to the bridge by Liberty Bridge being demolished with a new one unlikely to be open until September. After hearing more about these issues and more, they have been raised to the University at a number of different levels of seniority to try and solve them relatively quickly. I believe we need to have more of an SU presence at Cromwell and Atlantic by doing regular sabb visits (would help if my card could actually get me into the buildings!) and looking into creating Students' Union social spaces similar to what's just been set up at Glyntaff.

What I'm working on at the moment.
Elections are at the forefront of all the staff and sabbs minds at the moment and probably will be for the next week or so. Despite that we'll still be working at making a difference and tackling issues in Cardiff. As mentioned we're looking to address the things that were brought up to us from Cromwell House and Atlantic House at our recent Course Rep Council meeting. I'm looking at the Opening Hours there, the technical support and issues at Atlantic House and whether we can help students with the travel issues around the different buildings in Cardiff by providing some kind of minibus service.

I'll also be working with the Union's senior management and the University to ensure the new ATRiuM Students' Union is the Union that students want. I'll be looking to set up a student forum where we can address issues with the current building and discuss areas such as menus, what is sold in the shop, what activities and events should happen and how we can use the space effectively.

After the Elections, the sabb team will be working on trying to provide a handover period for the new sabbaticals starting in June so they feel fully equipped to hit the ground running in July. We're also looking at what we can do on the Go Out and Talk side of things in the next couple of months which ties in with recent work surrounding the review of SU services and strategic planning.

That's all for now. I shall talk to you in March when we'll have a new Sabb team elected and we'll be fast approaching the Easter break. Speak to you then!

Rich

January: Not a slow start to the year

It's now 2014 and I'm in to the second half of my sabbatical year in office at the University of South Wales Students' Union. The New Year was never going to start slowly as we were already booked in for important meetings with the Vice Chancellor and the University Executive before the Christmas break. So lets have a look at the important things that have happened so far...

We met with the Vice Chancellor along with the University's Executive twice in one week (once with the sabbatical team, once with Trustee Board) to discuss a number of issues including funding. The following outcomes came out of the meetings:

• The back doors of the ATRiuM will continue to have doors which are card accessible only. This is a security measure due to thefts at the ATRiuM and to prevent 'strangers' wondering in.
• Further discussions are needed to decide what catering provision (if any) the Students' Union in ATRiuM 2A can provide. There's an potential issue of directly competing on menus which needs to be addressed.
• In regards to the Union's funding situation, the University's Executive have suggested we conduct a joint review of Union services. The Union's Trustee Board is currently working on a response to that proposal.

I also met with the Dean of Faculty of Creative Industries Gill Sandford to discuss some issues raised by Course Reps last term, the following results came out of that meeting:

• The Opening Times of the ATRiuM have been extended to 10pm. If people are getting chucked out a bit early they need to report this to either their Course Rep, an SVR or myself.
• Extended Opening Times over Easter are still being considered.
• In regards to certain students not being able to access all equipment from the library, the issue seems to be that students will use the equipment more for non-academic work if there are no booking restricitions. There's also the issue that equipment may need to be prioritised to those who need it most such as third years doing a major project.
• Rooms can't be booked from reception ad hoc due to security issues. 
• Fining people for not turning up to use rooms may take too much time of reception staff but has been suggested as a solution to students not turning up for rooms they've booked.
• Security issues in the case of cards not working need to be reported and recorded. If you've had an issue I'd suggest you visit reception to see if they can solve the problem. If it persists, email me and I'll record and report the issue.

Here's some of the other things I got up to...

• Had a Trustee Away Day to begin the process of creating a strategic plan for next couple of years at the Students' Union. We're waiting on seeing the University's Strategic Plan before moving forward with this as this needs to be considered when putting together this document.
• Had the second lot of Course Rep Training. Unfortunately only 3 people turned up for it but still seemed to work as a session.
• Went to the final Steering Group session for the Learning Environment Review. A proposal has been put together for a new system to be used which is just being finalised now.
• Went to a Student Opportunities Bootcamp run by NUS. This gave me an insight into how to better engage and support societies and clubs as well as more general advice to take for other parts of my job.
• Had our 4th Trustee Board Meeting at City Campus. An end of year event was decided on at the meeting. You can find out the details of this here. 
• We were scheduled to have our Annual General Meeting on the 30th Jan. Unfortunately not enough people turned up to be quorate so it didn't go ahead. The business of the meeting will be rolled over to next week's Student Council Meetings.
• After the AGM, I answered quite a few questions from students about some of the agenda items as well as other issues. Since then I have updated the Cardiff Student Council and Society pages on the USWSU website to make sure all the up-to-date information is there.

Before I go, I think it's worth flagging up a few things that are happening at the Students' Union in the coming weeks...

• In February, nominations will open for elections for the 14/15 academic year. So if you fancy doing my job and being a sabbatical officer or want to get involved in our Student Council then do get involved. We'll be out and about promoting it on Friday 7th February in the ATRiuM and the other Cardiff buildings as well (if they let us in!)
• February also sees Cardiff get its first Student Council Meeting on Wednesday 5th February where we'll be discussing the AGM agenda.

So that's January. Remember to follow me on Facebook and Twitter for more immediate updates and the occasional bit of irrelevance. February looks like it's going to be an extremely interesting month indeed. I shall speak to you then.

Ciao,

Rich

ATRiuM 2A Q & A

This is how the construction for Atrium 2a is coming along so far.

In a recent survey I did, it became apparent to me that many students in Cardiff at USW have not been provided with enough information about the new building ATRiuM 2A. Also some of the communication the Students' Union distributed before Christmas seems to have been misconstrued. Therefore I'd thought I'd write this blog to try and outline the facts of the matter.

What is ATRiuM 2A?
Atrium 2A is the current building work at the side of the ATRiuM. It'll be a two-storey building and will contain a University operated catering facility (similar to Stilts in Treforest) on its ground floor and a new Students' Union on the first floor. The Students' Union is due to have a bar area, a dedicated Union Office, an Ideas Factory and a shop. It's the first part of extension plans to the ATRiuM. The second part (Atrium 2B) is in a state of limbo at the moment and is only likely to be constructed if student numbers based in Cardiff increase.

Why has it been built?
The Atrium Cafe has been extremely popular and there is a feeling among the University that the Atrium could do with more catering facilities due to demand. Also the new catering facilities will mean they can be hired privately for events and dinner evenings in a central city location. Previous functions have had to happen off campus.

The new Students' Union has been constructed as the current one was only designed to be a temporary building for five years. It opened in 2009 so is now its in its last year so the new building is seen as the long term solution. It also may have something to do with low NSS scores surrounding Satisfaction with the Students' Union in the Cardiff area.

When will it open?
The building is due to open in September 2014 in time for the new academic year though Estates projects have been known to overrun before!

Will there still be catering facilities?
Yes, but the majority if not all of these will be run by the University included the current cafe and the new cafeteria area. The current menu supplied at the ATRiuM SU at the moment is likely to change a lot.

Will there be any teaching facilities?
No. Atrium 2a just has the catering and Students' Union. Atrium 2b is due to have teaching facilities should it be constructed.

Will the ATRiuM Students' Union be closing?
There are no plans for the Students' Union to be closed only for it to move. But it is likely to change significantly in terms of what food and drink it can offer. The only way the ATRiuM Students' Union may close is if USWSU's Trustee Board felt there was no way the new SU could be commercially viable.

Plans for the layout of Atrium 2a once constructed.

What are the issues with 2a for the Students' Union?
From the past 8 months from which I've been dealing with the ATRiuM 2A situation, several problems have been raised from a Students' Union perspective. The first was that the idea was proposed to us that the SU should be a 'wine bar' and therefore not have on tap pints as the piping would be difficult to set up. This has been resolved and now there will be taps.

The major issue at the moment surrounds what food the Students' Union can serve. It's been suggested that the SU should run a Tapas Bar. At the moment, the SU will only be supplied with a microwave to prepare food. Microwaved food is likely to be expensive to buy in and may drive up the price of food at the SU. Therefore the SU is looking to try and get a Deep Fat Fryer installed to ensure the Union in Cardiff can be commercially viable. However the University have raised several issues in regards to this including the lack of proper extraction in the preparation area at the new site and the possibility of the SU directly competing with the catering outlet in the same building.

Can the Union still run even without the fryer?
That's not a straightforward question to answer. It's likely that if the SU doesn't get a fryer there's a relatively good chance that there may be no food offering. In recent years the SU has had to rely more on catering due to less alcohol sales. There is now a culture of pre-drinking as students find that the most economic way of getting booze is by buying it from a supermarket. Also a reliance on alcohol sales would rely on evening trade. Historically, through past experiences, the ATRiuM SU made a significant loss by opening in the evenings and weekends which is why the opening hours became much more restricted in 2011. If this trend was to continue, the new SU would likely lose the organisation money.

On the flip side of that argument there are some successful bars which can self-sustain themselves. A good example in a similar environment is the Royal Welsh College's Students' Union bar. The bar only opens in the evenings but manages to be a sustainable source of income for the SU despite the fact the college has significantly less students than USW's Cardiff Campus (around 800). Also Porters bar, minutes down the road from the Atrium has seen great popularity due to the weekly events they hold there. Over 50% of people I surveyed in a recent questionnaire said that they went to Porters so it is popular among the student population which means it also represents one of the new SU's key competitors.

Have any other alternatives been suggested?
We have mentioned to the University whether it would be possible to offer a completely non-commercial space which could be used by clubs and societies in the region and students wanting to host events and such. However the University rejected this idea despite the fact it would ensure the SU wouldn't be likely to lose money on it.

What are the overriding issues with the Students' Union in Cardiff?
As far as I'm concerned it's not so much about what the SU looks like but it's much more about how the space is used. Issues that came up in my survey included:

• The feeling that the Union wasn't run by students due to no student staff working behind the bar
• The SU should be open in the evenings
• The SU should do more events, social activities and live music.
• The marketing and promotion of the Union needs to be improved.

From a personal aspect, there's also the issue that students aren't aware of the full breath and depth of what the Students' Union does. It's a lot more than just a bar. It provides representation through its sabbatical officers (like myself), its Student Council officers along with the SVR and Course Rep system. There's also societies, clubs, volunteering and fundraising opportunities to get involved with and much more. I believe awareness of our core services would be the easiest way to improve the low NSS scores USWSU receives in the Cardiff region.

What can I do to help with the issues or provide input? 

Ultimately, what has happened at the ATRiuM and the other Cardiff buildings at USW is that there's been a lack of student feedback surrounding the issues of catering and the Students' Union. This in turn has caused both University management and Union management to make their own assumptions as to what students want. So if you want a Students' Union that's student-led and truly reflects the student opinion all you need to do is voice your opinions and/or get more involved in the SU in one of the following ways:

• Comment on this blog with your thoughts
• Get in touch with me - by email: vicepresident.cardiff@southwales.ac.uk, or on Twitter @sheepfm
• Attend our Annual General Meeting on Jan 30 at 6:30pm in the Atrium Zen Room(CB403) and have your say in person. Link to the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/256116464552793/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
• Get involved in our Elections next month where you can run for a Sabbatical or Student Council position. Nominations for elections open on February 6th and close on February 20th and nominations packs can be picked up from any Students' Union office from February 6th.

If you've got any more questions feel free to let me know and I can add them to this blog. Hopefully now you've got a bit better idea of what Atrium 2 is all about.

So...how are those manifesto points coming along?

My manifesto I wrote back in May.

Now I'm at the half way point of my term in office (time really flies!) I thought it'd be a good time to take a look back at those manifesto points I made back in May to see how many I'd actually been able to fulfil or at least make some progress on. So here's how I've done as of yet:

1. A Union of people, not place

This point has become somewhat derailed by the current plans to move the Students' Union to ATRiuM 2A. As there's the possibility of opening the Union later next year we have to be careful what external partners we forge now. However, engagement is one of my key priorities this year so I've been working hard to build up the 'people' side by supporting Course Reps and helping promote Student Council Elections.

2. On the ground support

Soon into my job, I realised that providing on-the-ground support was unrealistic. Since I have to attend many meetings and cannot commit myself to staying in Cardiff permanently in role. I have been looking to support Course Reps with issues they raise at our Course Rep Council meetings.

3. Campaign for what you want

I've actually managed to achieve something here (Whey!) albeit with the help of Jess Urch and her petition to increase opening hours. Opening hours at the ATRiuM have been restored to 8am to 10pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on weekends. For the other issues surrounding cash machines, there are major issues with this that we've come across. The main issue is that it costs the Union money to install a cash machine rather than make money out of the service. This is the reason there is currently no cash machine in Cardiff and also why they're being removed from Caerleon campus in Newport.

4. Society Encouragement 

Just by having me in a more permanent position in Cardiff has certainly improved the amount of people we've had come forward with interest in starting a society. However we've found that there still seem to be a lot of barriers which mean some of our societies still haven't completed registration yet. I will to see how we can address this issue in the coming months.

5. Communication

I've been active on my Facebook and Twitter profile with disseminating information. I've also used various Facebook groups and email to tell people important info. This blog also helps anyone keep track every month of what I've been doing. Communication was a priority for all sabbs this year and is something we still have to work on. With the sites and campuses so spread out through South Wales, our internal communication suffers at times and coming up with a solution to this will be an interesting challenge in the coming months.

Hopefully that shows I've been making steps to achieving some of my manifesto points. However it's key to point out that my priorities have had to change somewhat especially over the last couple of months with the Union's current financial issues. What I'd really like to achieve by the end of June is to have a Strategic Plan for USWSU for 2014 to 2017 which helps build a Union that supports all regions and campuses of the University of South Wales. I'll be checking back on all this in June so stay tuned for that!

December: Short Time, Significant Success

Christmas Jumpers on show after our Trustee Board meeting (via Carys Rhiannon)

I've only had 2 short weeks of December to comment upon since I'm off home on my Christmas hollies after today. However we've had a few major developments. Here's what's been going on:

• Had a meeting with the Dean about Jess Urch's petition to increase the opening hours at the ATRiuM. We've been promised that from January, the ATRiuM will open from 8am until 10pm weekdays and 9am to 5pm on weekends as it was two years ago. It's also being considered that weekend opening hours could be extended further during busy times such as around Easter.
• Went to a partner approval and re-approval meeting which looks at which external parties can link up with the University as part of their courses.
• Recorded audio for our latest video project due to be released in January.
• Had our third Trustee Board Meeting. Was mandated to continue circulating the ATRiuM SU Questionnaire (which you can fill out here: http://bit.ly/18be4bU) and to lobby to get the back doors of the ATRiuM accessible without a swipe card to try and help access to Students' Union building.
• Had our first Course Rep Council Meeting in Cardiff. A number of issues were raised including certain courses not having course leaders and issues with the communication lines with university staff when issues are not resolved. Will look to work with staff and SVRs to address these areas in the new year.
• Attended a Students as Partners meeting and will be creating some Student Stories videos on how the Student Voice has had an impact on University study.
• Attended a Keep Cardiff Tidy meeting. Will look to improve lines of communication on issues surrounding litter. If you want to keep up to date with it all I thoroughly recommend you like Cardiff Digs on Facebook or follow them on Twitter
• Attended a meeting about the Learner Journey. Will be helping with a blog there are setting up for it in the coming months.
• Met with Alex Butterworth from NUS to discuss the upcoming Course Rep Conference she is organising.

January's shaping up to be a busy month - I'll be making sure the extended opening times at the ATRiuM come to fruition in practice, organising more Course Rep Training, making some Student Stories videos and in the middle of all that our funding campaign will be significantly ramped up as we enter negotiations with the University.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2014 which will definitely be an interesting year for USWSU.

Rich

November: Moustaches and Student Movement

My Movember efforts. This is the 3rd year in a row I've done Movember.

Without a doubt, things have really picked up in the last month in Cardiff at the Students' Union. But overall it's been a really positive month. From bringing Course Reps together to our 2nd batch of elections this term to fighting for the future of the SU. Things have been kicking off but students in Cardiff are definitely letting their voice be heard which can only mean the change is on the horizon. This was how this month went:

• 4 more students are running for Student Council for four positions - Postgraduate and Part Time Officer, Students with Disabilities Officer, International Officer and Welsh Language Officer. Should they all get elected this will bring our total student council members up to 8 which is enough to have decision making power!
• Met with Mary Traynor and Leann Thomas to discuss the National Student Survey and different ways we can communicate avenues for feedback to students.
• Went on BBC Radio Wales to promote what USWSU was doing for Children in Need.
• Had our Course Rep Training and had productive conversations with course reps about the issues surrounding their own individual courses. 
• Attended a Student Casework session held by the Quality Unit.
• Attended NUS Wales Zone Conference at Aberystwyth University.
• Met with our CEO to discuss the financial situation of the Union.
• Started our #FairFunding campaign to try and insure the short and long-term stability of the Students' Union. We filmed a campaign video for it which is due to be released in the New Year.
• Started a campaign to protect the food provision at the ATRiuM Students' Union which is due to be taken away from us in the next academic year with the construction of ATRiuM 2A. We're using the hashtag #SOS on Twitter if you want to voice your opinion. Here's a couple of opinions already:

Why would you shut the only place students can afford to eat in Cardiff!?! #SOS @USWSU #SaveOurService
— Owain Talfryn (@owstalfryn) November 28, 2013

Don't shut the one place they pity students! #SOS @USWSU
— Jade Kim Mathieson (@JesuisJadeKim) November 28, 2013

• Represented a student involving a suspension case.
• Met Jess Urch who has started to petition for longer opening hours of the ATRiuM so students are able to complete their work that sometimes requires specialist equipment. I'm helping her to escalate the issue to the Faculty, to the Estates Department and to the University Executive. If you want to sign the petition go to: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/student-petition-atrium
• Attended NUS Wales' 40th Birthday drinks.
• Started a questionnaire I'm circulating around the ATRiuM about the Students' Union. If you'd like to answer it please follow the link here: http://bit.ly/18be4bU 
• Got sent this lovely thank you card for showing some MBA students around the ATRiuM and Cromwell House. The tour was really useful as I realised there were quite a few changes in the two buildings this year that I hadn't noticed before!

The thank you card I got sent.

On top of that I've been growing a moustache for Movember. You can see my progress up to now in the pic at the top of the page. It'll probably be gone by Monday so I can get back to growing a good winter beard as Christmas approaches. I'm looking forward to the Christmas break but there's still a lot to do before that. I shall let you know how I get on in a couple of weeks.

Speak soon,

Rich

October - Train, Recruit, Elect and Interview

USW Snowsports at our Societies Fair. Photos courtesy of Rachael Roberts.

I was forewarned that October would be a busy month for me. It's when we try and sort out a lot of things at once here at USWSU. From getting SVRs and Course Reps in position to promoting Student Council positions to getting societies on the go. All whilst trying to attend meetings at all the different campuses of the University of South Wales. In all, it's been a month of ups and downs for me as I look back at the last thirty odd days:

• Presented the Academic Manifesto, along with the sabb team to Vice Chancellor Julie Lydon.
• Organised the Societies Day held at the ATRiuM on October 2nd along with the Cardiff Societies Officer Rachael Roberts. In attendance were Tequila Radio, USW Snowsports, Yoga Society, ATRiuM Christian Union and the new ATRiuM film society.
• Got trained up with Panopto, the lecture capture system USW uses. We're looking to use it for Course Rep Training so refresher training is available online.
• As part of the Learning Environment Review steering group, I've been spreading the word about the survey that was recently released on UniLife to students and I gave my input into the wording and structure of the survey.
• Met with students wanting to set up a Drama Society and a Musical Theatre Society and helped them with administration and getting their society off the ground (a point actually in my manifesto! Way!)
• Attended Associate Trainer Training which will feed into the Course Rep Training will be undertaking in the next couple of weeks.
• Sat on the panel for interviews for Student Voice Reps in Cardiff and Treforest and helped decide some of this year's SVRs.
• We had our by-elections. I helped give out nominations pack to those who ran in the election in the Cardiff Region and answered any questions they had. We now have 4 elected Student Council Officers which unfortunately isn't enough to be quorate and effect decision making. Therefore I'm now in the process of trying to find more officers. If you're interested please email vicepresident.cardiff@southwales.ac.uk ASAP.
• We had our GOAT (Go Out and Talk) day at Newport City Campus where we received significant feedback from students about the SU provision there and how much money they thought we received from the University.
• Said goodbye to Sara Correia, our Integration Co-ordinator who left to join Swansea Students' Union.
• Met with Emma Robson from Cardiff Digs and sabb officers from Cardiff SU and Cardiff Met SU about how we could work together on projects such as Keep Cardiff Tidy and Accomodation.
• Helped deliver the Student Voice Representative Training and participated in some of the games in the evening (there was free food which assured my attendance!)
• We had an emergency Trustee Board meeting to discuss the financial state of the Students' Union. We're currently in some difficulties and looking to restructure to make the Union sustainable and fit for purpose in the future. We'll be releasing more info on this in the coming weeks.
• Met with Mark Cadwallader along with the sabbs and our CEO to get a better insight into the University's strategic plan to see where the Union could tie in to this going forward.

The Tequila Radio crew at the societies fair. The station is now 5 years old.

So that was October. In truth I think I should have spent more time this month going out and talking to students in the three Cardiff buildings - ATRiuM, Cromwell House and Atlantic House and this is definitely something I'll look to work on in November. This is especially important based on the situation with ATRiuM 2A and how any Students' Union facility there might look. Hopefully I'll see you then.

Laters,

RQ