Impact report 2018-2019 - NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' UNION - Newcastle University Students' Union
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impact report
2018-2019
NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ UNION
STUDENTS UNION OF THE YEAR
CONTents
06
07
08
12
16
20
24
It is my delight to be introducing this year’s Impact Report which will reflect on the great work and achievements of last year’s sabbatical Officers and our fantastic staff team. This impact report will look to outline our key impacts, outcomes and achievements over the last year. We are continuously working towards our NUSU 2021 strategic plan, and this report will display how we have made steps towards achieving each of the goals we have set. Over the academic year NUSU has continued to offer a vast array of opportunities, activities and campaigns that have helped ensure our students feel welcome, represented and part of the larger community that is Newcastle University students. Our ‘Big Wins’ Campaign has seen some great wins for our officers including successfully lobbying the University to introduce free sanitary items for students across campus. NUSU has also seen great success across our global campuses and even saw NUMed in Malaysia introduce their first Celebrating Success Awards. Our hard work and commitment to ensure our students have the best time in Newcastle has been shown through our great student survey feedback, the increase in engagement with our campaigns, and the SU of the year award, for the second year running (Educate North Awards). Katie Smyth President, 2019-20
It is my pleasure to be highlighting some of the key achievements that were delivered this year by our talented officer and staff teams. Credit should go to every single one of them as they all played their part in ensuring that our students got the best possible experience they could during what was at times a very challenging year. As an organisation we live by our values, and this year progressive was very much to the fore. We embarked on an ambitious new strategic plan and I am glad to report that excellent progress was made against the majority of our key objectives. Particular highlights included marked improvement in our digital engagement with our students, the success of our new more diversified events programme which increased our commercial revenues, and the introduction of our new NUSU App and student perks programme. Student feedback is very important to us and their opinions are the ones that matter. Feedback was strong across the majority of areas and very strong in some key areas such as overall satisfaction with NUSU (96%), and students agreeing that we provide a range of opportunities and activities that suits their needs (95%). 85% of students agreed that we positively contributed to their University experience and 86% would recommend us to a friend. Financially we came in above budget posting an £80,000 surplus against a target of £60,000, moving us to within one year of hitting the Trustees unrestricted reserves target of £300,000. We look forward to another successful year next year, with the introduction of a new retail offering through a new Coop franchise, the extension of our licensed provision to Cochrane Park sports ground, and the extension of our student perks programme. Simon Gerry Chief Executive
06 STRATEGIC DIRECTION
WHERE WE ARE HEADING
trustees
report
2018/2019 has been an exciting year for NUSU.
With the introduction of our new strategic themes in
2017/2018. Whilst there is still much to do, Trustees
are delighted with progress made this academic
year, which has seen us begin to make strides
towards delivering our new priorities.
In particular, we have seen an increase in positive
feedback not only from our students but the
trustees report
community and press, with the likes of the BBC
producing positive stories surrounding our Freshers’
week and campaigns. International student
satisfaction remained very strong with NUSU
receiving the highest score in the Russell Group on
the International Student Barometer.
OUR VISION
LONG TERM GOAL NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY
STUDENTS UNION
We aim to ensure our Students have the best
ACHIEVED THE
HIGHEST SCORE IN THE
experience whilst living in Newcastle. Our Your RUSSELL GROUP
Voice department and Student Advice Centre teams
ensure students are supported and represented on
both academic and personal issues whilst our
activities and commercial departments aim to
ensure students feel included in the student HIGHEST SCORE IN THE
community by providing a fun and empowering
COUNTRY ON THE
environment on campus.
OUR MISSION EMPOWER eXCITE
WHY WE EXIST students to enhance their students with new experiences and
academic experience. meaningful social opportunities.
Our mission for 2018-21 is to represent,
support, develop and enhance the lives ENERGISE PROACTIVELY
of Newcastle University students. To
deliver our mission we have embeded students to embrace personal SUPPORT
four strategic themes moving forward. development and careers students in their everyday lives.
preparation.
REPRESENTATIVE
OUR VALUEs
INCLUSIVE
We represent students’ interests We support diversity,
locally, regionally and nationally. involvement and equality. We
Our students are at the heart of adjust our services to assist
our decision making. and reflect the evolving, diverse
needs of our students.
82% of our students agree NUSU campaigns
on issues that matter to them.
94% of our students agreed that NUSU was
welcoming and safe.
PROGRESSIVE EMPOWERING
We look to the future, seeking We empower, help and facilitate
new opportunities and students to shape their own lives,
partnerships. We are innovative, create change, develop skills and
imaginative and creative, and unlock their own potential.
happy to work in collaboration
with others.
95% 76%
of our students want NUSU to provide of our students believe NUSU supports
discounts to city centre businesses them to meet their career development
through student perks. aspirations.
SUPPORTIVE FUN
We ensure our students are We want students’ time with us to
supported in the best way be as enjoyable as possible.
possible, regardless of their
circumstance.
94%
of our students agree that NUSU provides
96%
a range of opportunities,activities and
of students using our Student Advice events to suit students’ needs
Centre rated it Satisfactory or above.
08 Empower students to enhance their
academic experience
EMPOWER
NUSU understands the importance of empowering students to enhance their
academic experience, be that through academic support, representation or
Officer positions. Our work aims to help our students get the most from their
studies at Newcastle University.
As part of our strategic plan one of our key aims is to help students feel
empowered to enhance their academic experience. Our Your Voice team has
campaigned on numerous change campaigns over the academic year to ensure
students not only have the best academic experience possible, but also that they
feel their voices are heard.
EMPOWER
What our Officers have been up to this year
1. Lobbied University Accommodation to 7. Summer Jam
reduce the cost of rent in three key halls of residence Celebrating the end of exams with an outdoor festival held in the
The 2018/2019 President and Welfare & Equality Officer negotiated a rent centre of campus. With live music from student bands, local food
reduction of 3.6% for all non en-suite University owned accommodation trucks, pop-up bars and a silent disco, the Summer Jam was a
with the exception of Marris House, which will be reduced by 2.3%. In perfect end to what was for many students a stressful period.
addition from 1 September 2020, Castle Leazes non en-suite
accommodation will be reduced by a further 5.12% 8. Fossil fuel divestment for NUSU
To change the way NUSU finacially invests, the NUSU Board decided
2. Distributed 10,000 postcards across to ensure none of our investments are in fossil fuels. NUSU is now
campus and planned the Ed Farmer memorial Events making great steps towards becoming a more environmentally
Following the inquest into the tragic death of Ed Farmer held in October friendly organisation.
2018 a memorial was held in his memory. This included the distribution
of 10,000 memorial postcards before the event for students to leave their 9. Shout out
messages of remembrance. A campaign aimed at promoting all the amazing work the Academic
Reps do in their individual schools. The campaign also asked
3. Cutting the Costs week Newcastle University Students what changes they wanted to see
A full week dedicated to finding out and trying to tackle the extra costs made on their degree courses.
faced by Newcastle University Students on campus. Examples included
discounts such as 50% off Shijo, and an outdoor fair with big brands like 10. Organised a mash-up between
Greggs and Student Shopping Night giving away some great freebies. the Students’ Union and Goodgym
A great turnout of over 52 runners turned up to get fit and do some
4. Organised a talk from Maisie Williams good deeds on the way. Tasks included helping N.E.S.T organise and
The Game of Throne’s star held an empowering talk about her journey sort their storage, making bird feeders from recycled materials to
into the creative arts and how she achieved her great success in the either hang around campus or take home, whilst some volunteers
acting industry helped Newcastle Food Co-Op paint a blackboard and clean and
organise their storage jars whilst getting a little messy in the
5. Introduction of a mini-kitchen with meantime. Then the largest group settled down to a more relaxing
microwave in the Hub activity writing letters to sick children (Post Pals) and sewing ‘Wiggly
Now our students can bring food from home and heat this up on the top Bags’ to be donated to the children in the RVI.
floor of the NUSU building. A great win to combat affordability on campus
and help our students stay healthy. 11. Textbook exchange service
To help with student affordability a textbook exchange service was
6. Promoting students to vote and set up for students to sell or giveaway their old textbooks.
lobbying councillors to take student issues seriously
Working with the CityCouncil to make sure the voice of our students is
heard in the local community.
NUSU secures Free Sanitary
products across campus
As part of the 2018/2019 NUSU President’s manifesto the
University were lobbied to provide free sanitary items to be
provided on campus.
With Scottish, Welsh and English Governments and the
NHS introducing, or pledging to introduce, free provision
of sanitary items, here at NUSU we strongly believed that
Newcastle University should be at the forefront of bringing
this idea to Universities in England, and the students on this
campus. After all, they’re not a luxury, they’re a necessity.
After successfully campaigning Newcastle University have
agreed to provide free items across campus, for
everyone who needs them. Our proposal was for 8
dispensing machines in locations across campus,
including the two main libraries, the Sports Centre and
here at NUSU, with a variety of sanitary items provided.
Raff Marioni was voted into being President by students on
this promise, our student council voted unanimously for the
University to introduce this scheme, and there has been
amazing work undertaken by individuals and societies
to raise the profile of this cause. Through hard work and
dedication, it was a great win for NUSU.
‘There should be no instances where a student
is not able to reach their full potential due to
any stigma around periods or the stress of not
being able to afford proper sanitary products’
EMPOWER
- Professor Julie Sanders, Deputy Vice-Chancellor
82%
09
of our students agreed that “NUSU campaigns effectively on the behalf
of students” in the annual NUSU Survey, an increase from 76% in the
previous year.
10
EMPOWER
STUDENT COUNCIL
Throughout 2018/19, Student Council was engaging and
controversial whilst representing the student body
throughout a challenging year. In addition to being the forum
where NUSU agreed to take a neutral stance over the industrial
action, the Student Council also decided to:
• Implement a Commuting Students’ Liberation Officer.
• Include more water facilities in NUSU.
• Demand greater transparency and more regular
information on Newcastle University’s investments,
including fossil fuel divestment.
How our Academic Reps improved Computing 2018/19
your student experience •Secured investigation of modules requiring students to bring
laptops, as this should not be a requirement.
IN 2018/2019 A TOTAL
OF 1,838 STUDENTS
Geography, Politics and Sociology 2018/19
•Developed a ‘hand over sheet’ for when there is a change in
VOLUNTEERED IN dissertation mentor.
REPRESENTATIVE ROLES
NEW RECORD History, Classics and Archaeology 2018/19
•Created a Resilience Working Group to address mental
health issues relating to assessed assignments.
‘Change is through persistent effort and that’s what we
appreciate from the staff. Not necessarily can every demand Natural and Environmental Sciences 2018/19
be met with but what we sincerely appreciate is their •Secured a commitment to improve the time taken to
promptness and willingness to find common ground.’ provide feedback on PGR progression reports.
NU London 2018/19
Faisal Khan - NUMed School Rep
•Within NU London, the Student Reprs raised concerns
about the lack of visibility of welfare staff and the Industry
Engagement Officer. As a result, the Student Services Staff
‘The Combined Honours Committee are dedicated to became more engaged with the students through emails and
interpersonal interaction.
improving the degree programme, but more importantly have
found innovative ways to engage their constituents to ensure
NUMED Malaysia 2018/19
they are reaching and representing all students in Combined
•Pushed for new and improved tech resources in the NUMed
Honours.’
Anatomy Lab (eg: the Complete Anatomy App now available for
Natalie Garner - Chair of the Combined Honours SSC
free for students, and better cadaveric picture compilations, etc).CAMPAIGNS
Education
• Big Academic Wins
• Shout Out
• ReCap
Community TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARDS
• Leave Newcastle Happy
• I need your knickers 2018/2019 saw the introduction of the new name for the TEAs.
• Fossil free Previously known as the Teaching Excellence Awards, it was decided
• Go green that the awards should be renamed to be more representative of
• Love living in what we wanted students to nominate for and so The Education
• International women’s day Awards were born.
• Helping our homeless
• Student food bank The Education Awards continue to be one of the highlights of the
academic year and through awards schemes we are able to support
Welfare students in rewarding University staff and recognising what students
• Housing Week consider as good practice. 2019 saw 443 TEAs nominations 10%
• Sexual Health and Guidance increase on nominations from 2017/2018. We also saw an amazing
• Stressed Out Students 11.7% of nominations come from our global campuses, who are now
• National Money week really buying into the concept.
• Cutting the Costs
• Mission Nutrition
• 5 ways to wellbeing
• Shout up
• Free menstrual care
• Housing fair
• Its not ok
PTO Campaigns
• Black History month
• Trans Awareness Week
• LGBT+ Awareness
EMPOWER
11
NEW RECORD12 Energising students to embrace personal
development and career preparation
ENERGISE
NUSU aims to ensure students feel they can embrace personal development and career
preparation whilst studying. Our Go Volunteer and Employability departments work
together to ensure all our students feel prepared for their future careers when they finish
their studies.
Here at NUSU we understand just how competitive the graduate market is and we aim to
ensure our students are fully prepared for whatever career path they take. Pride of
Newcastle Award nominations increased from 595 in 2017 to 662 in 2018.Thanks to the
close relations between our Employability and Go Volunteer departments 81% of our
students say ‘they feel more employable as a result of volunteering with NUSU’.
2018/2019 saw a 50% increase in student volunteers from 2017/2018 with a total of 7,593
volunteering roles filled over the academic year. With 71% of our students ‘aware of
opportunities for personal development through the NUSU Go Volunteer programme’ and
65% feeling ‘more empowered to shape their future after engaging in activities with NUSU’.
it has been an extremely busy year for our Go Volunteer and employability team. It was
pleasing to note that students fed back that the ‘volunteering opportunities are very
positive and they have got a lot from these’ (NUSU Survey 2018/2019).
ENERGISE
How our students helped the local community:
-North East Solidarity and Teaching (N.E.S.T) -PALS
In the academic year 2018-19 N.E.S.T supported over 200 The PALS project was set up in partnership with the school of
refugees and asylum seekers with 350 individual student psychology to help try and ease the transition of pupils from school
volunteers contributing over 10000 hours to the project. to university consisting of several interactive presentations which
served to boost student’s mental resilience.
-Nightline
Homesickness, suicidal feelings, bereavement, exam stress, -A Second Life
gender identity problems, whatever the issue Nightline is a safe A Second Life is our up-cycling creative project which takes old
place where students can talk about their troubles. materials or products and gives them a new lease of life.
-INTOgration -Grow Volunteer
INTOgration is an English study & conversation group open to all Grow Volunteer encompasses all the green, growing and
students who want to improve their English speaking confidence environmental projects that we run. We regularly run conservation
and learn more about UK culture. task days in the city parks and join up with groups like Keep Jesmond
Clean to do litter picks and street tidy’s.
-Revitilising Redesdale
Revitalising Redesdale is a £2.8m, Heritage Lottery-funded -Micro volunteering
Landscape Partnership Scheme, which aims to celebrate, Micro volunteering is perfect for those who want to make a
conserve and enhance Redesdale’s rich cultural heritage, contribution to society but are strapped for time. Some examples
landscape and wildlife. include writing letters to sick children and knitting hats for premature
babies.
-Widening Access
Our Widening Access project saw 65 school visits in 2018/2019,
engaging 3,423 pupils in the local area with the view to
encouraging aspirations to Higher Education.Go Volunteer works to provide worthwhile volunteering opportunities for
students within NUSU and the wider community. Volunteering gives our students
the chance to meet new people from all walks of life, give back to the community
and develop wider employability skills which will help them to pursue the career
of their choice.
Go Volunteer has 35 of its own student led projects and this year 1,682 students
volunteered on at least one of these projects, contributing over 25,000 volunteer
hours. In addition, Go Volunteer promotes opportunities on behalf of 300 local
charities and not for profit organisations making 1,476 referrals this year. We
provided a myriad of training opportunities for students over the course of the
past year with total attendances at our training sessions at 3,971 and a total of
over 3,034 hours training was provided.
Enhancing your Employability
“There are so many skills that I’m taking away from this opportunity. My
confidence, ability to work effectively in a team and presentation skills
have increased massively, alongside my cultural awareness. Most
importantly for me, I’ve been able to meet people from all over the world
and learn about their cultures while simultaneously teaching them
about mine, ultimately contributing to an increasingly global mind set.
The advice I would give is, not having time is not an excuse! Even
dedicating 10 minutes of your day that otherwise would be spent
Alex McVeigh scrolling through Instagram to do something worthwhile to help
INTOgration someone else, such as Post Pals or Wiggly bags can make a
MASSIVE difference.”
“The 3-week tutoring sessions were great for self-growth and
confidence. It’s easy going, yet still slightly challenging but the aspect
of challenge really pushes you out of your comfort zone in a good way,
giving a great sense of reward afterwards. It allowed me to work both
independently and collaboratively which I think are great skills for
anyone to have / gain, regardless of your desired career path. I’d highly
Laura Dobby
ENERGISE
recommend tutoring at the school for someone who wants to start
Science Volunteering adding things to their CV but aren’t sure where to start.”
ON STUDENT LED PROJECTS
13Celebrating Success
Awards 2018/19
Student Rep Awards Society Awards START UP Enterprise Media Awards
Hall Rep of the Year Awards The Courier Journalist of the Year
Best Departmental Society
Rachel Martin Speech and Language Therapy Society Molly Greeves
Best Concept
Community Rep of the Year Peter Michalak
Best New Society The Courier Article of the Year
Meg Keates Youth Stop AIDS Newcastle
Aimee Seddon
Best New Business
Staff Facilitator of the Year Angel of the North – Best Fundraising
Event Ngozi Ossai The Courier Sub-editor of the Year
Ruth Furlonger
Speech and Language Therapy Society Rebecca Johnson
Course Rep UG of the Year Best Independent Professional
Best Performance Event
Holly Murphy Musical Medics Laura Linceviciute The Courier Section of the Year
Lifestyle
Course Rep PG of the Year Best Society Campaign Enterprising Undergraduate Award –
Sophie Ferguson It Happens Here Outstanding Contribution to The
for individual undergraduates
Courier
Best Society Event Rahima Khatun
Student Secretary of the Year Isabel Sykes
Jewish Society
James Woods
Best Inter-Society Collaboration Enterprising Postgraduate Award –
NSR Newcomer of the Year
Student Chair of the Year RAG & Dance Society for individual taught Tom Stone
Natalie Garner
postgraduates
Most Improved Society
Jewish Society Ife Olarinde NSR Presenter of the Year
School Rep UG of the Year
Matthew Harper Liv Green and Ollie Thomas
Society Contribution to the
Enterprising Researcher Award – for
Community
School Rep PG of the Year Voltage individual postgraduate research NSR Broadcast of the Year
Scott Steele Election Debates
students
Individual Award for Outstanding
Contribution to Societies Tom Gilbert
Student-Staff Committee of the Year NSR Show of the Year
Planning Student Voice Committee Haaris Aytishaam Mahmood Qureshi
Backsplash
Enterprising Team Award – for teams
Society of the Year
Campaign of the Year of two or more students
Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra Outstanding Contribution to NSR
‘I Need Your Knickers’
Olivia Wallis, Sam Griffiths, George Bruce Skelton
Contribution to Inclusivity Barker, James Woods (Combined
The Daniel Wood* PTO LGBT+ Society
of the Year Award Honours Challenge Winners) NUTV Producer of the Year
Charlotte Boulton Charlotte Washington & Holly Rich
NUTV Editor of the Year
Haaris Qureshi
NUTV Presenter of the Year
Julia McGee-Russell
NUTV Show of the Year
Fight Night
Outstanding Contribution to NUTV
Charlotte Washington
Monica Doughty Award for
Outstanding Contribution to Student
Media
Harry ParsonsAt NUSU we have many fantastic volunteers doing great work and we look to
celebrate their success through a number of award ceremonies. All areas of
extra-curricular activity are covered, and we received 762 nominations this year, with
the best of the best going forward to the Pride of Newcastle University Awards.
AU Sports Awards Community Impact Pride of Newcastle University Awards
Administrator of the Year Awards
Kate Belcher – Ice Hockey Youth Volunteering Award The Alumni Achievement Award in Recognition of Lifelong Achievement
Siobhan Ewens Maria Nazarova-Doyle
Sports Writer of the Year The Alumni Achievement Award in Recognition of International Impact
Unsung Hero Award Bridget Stratford (N.E.S.T)
Harry Parsons Ellie Mahoney
Outstanding Contribution to Arts, Media and Culture
Cultural Diversity Champion Harry Parsons
Most Improved Club of the Year
Afro-Caribbean Society
Ultimate Frisbee Outstanding Contribution to the Community
Voltage Society
Students for Students Award
Team of the Year Nightline Outstanding Contribution to Diversity and Cultural Awareness
Men’s Basketball 2nd Team the Afro-Caribbean Society
Sustainability Champion
Outstanding Contribution to Entrepreneurship
Stu Brew Ngozi Ossai
AU Club Member of the Year
Lara Books – Women’s Lacrosse
Social Inclusion Award Outstanding Contribution to Global Outlook
N.E.S.T Volunteer in Me (VoluME)
Contribution to Inclusivity
Outstanding Contribution to Lifelong Health and Wellbeing
Archery Volunteering Innovation Award Siobhan Ewens
Volunteer In Me (VOLUME)
Outstanding Contribution to Sport
Club of the Year Corey Chan
Community Outreach Award
Ladies Hockey N.E.S.T
Outstanding Contribution to Student Life
Haaris Qureshi
Coach of the Year – STAFF Student Leadership Award
Tara-Alexandra Burrows Outstanding Contribution to the Student Voice
Jeremy Pidgeon – Women’s Lacrosse
It Happens Here Society
Individual Contribution to Outstanding Contribution to Sustainability and the Environment
Stu Brew
University Sport
Corey Chan – Tennis Outstanding Contribution to the Workplace
Séphora ZitaExciting students with new experiences and
meaningful social opportunities
NUSU knows there is more to life than just studying and we aim to ensure our students have an
exciting environment in which to deliever an exciting experience. We do this through our clubs
and societies, Student Perks or the amazing gigs and events that take place on campus.
Over the course of 2018/2019, NUSU held a range of external
commercial events including sell out shows from the likes of Sam Fender, Lewis Capaldi and
Circa Waves. We have also seen an increase in bookings for daytime events including sample
sales from Barbour and BooHoo.
EXCITESTUDENT PERKS
94%
Securing exclusive discounts for students
2018/2019 saw a huge increase in
exclusive deals and discounts offered by Student
of students that attended Freshers Week 2018 Perks. With brands and businesses such as
were satisfied with the quality of events Dominos, Revolution and Blackwell’s Bookshop
offering up to 50% off products NUSU’s discount
76%
scheme made strides towards combating some of the
expense of Uni life. The Student Perks scheme has not
only benefitted the students but has also allowed us to
build longer term relationships with local and national
brands wanting to work with us year in and year out.
of students are aware of Student Perks discounts
Providing a Social Hub
for our students
With one of NUSU’s key aims being to provide
a social hub for Newcastle University Students
2018/2019 was a very strong year for student led
& society events. Showcases from the Irish Dance
Society, RAG fashion show and Take Me Out style
events being just a selection of the great events
societies have used our Venue for over the year.
Celebrating what we do
As well as hosting range of gigs and music events
we also held a week of Celebrating Success
awards, transforming the Venue into an elegant, EXCITE
formal space with a champagne reception and
red carpeted entrance to thank Students and Staff
for everything they have achieved over the past
academic year.
1718
EXCITE
This year £241,000+ was given out in grants to our Clubs and Societies, including
£56,721 in special grants which were used to fund activities, trips, research, and new
equipment. Below are a few examples of how the money was put to good use in the
students’ own words.
Rock Society - Rockstock Festival
Rock Society used £900 to help pay for the Rockstock
Festival, an annual traditional charity music festival, to raise
money for the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, a charity
working to promote greater acceptance of subcultures
which many if not all of the festival attendees would feel
they were a part of. The festival day was enjoyed by all who
attended. Good quality bands performed, followed by a Rise
DJ set, and plenty of Rockstock Festival t-shirts and
brownies were sold from a charity merchandise stands.
SOCIETIES
TED X Conference Report
The TED X Newcastle University Society used £2,000 to
hold the TED X Conference. Not only did all members have
the opportunity to experience a TED-like atmosphere,
network with others and learn something new but the
society was nominated for an Enterprise and
Entrepreneurship Award. The event involved multiple
workshops, performances and inspirational talks given by
talented speakers.
Links (St John Ambulance)
Thanks to the special grant the society managed to
purchase three QCPR upgrade kits for our three child
manikins to be used with their members, members of other
societies, and members of the wider community who are
already involved in training. Their application in training
sessions will be useful in recording the progress of society
members, and with fun and engaging minigames available
in the upgrade kits, perfecting CPR skills will be much more
appealing to those training.Our sports clubs finished a fantastic 9th place overall out a great achievement to have 3 teams go through to the
SPORTS CLUBS
of 153 institutions in BUCS for the 2018/2019 season, Big BUCS Wednesday national championships held
collecting a total of 2541.7 BUCS points, 1,350 league at Nottingham University on Wednesday 27th March
points and 702.2 points were gained through the 2019. Although it was unfortunate that Mens Table
individual, knockout and cup competitions, an increase Tennis 1sts, Mens Lacrosse 1sts and Mens Squash
of 4.5% from 2017/18. This was our highest ever BUCS 2nds all lost out in their respective finals
points total.
Newcastle did however have 20 teams win their
Newcastle entered 83 teams into the traditional respective BUCS Leagues, the most ever titles in any
weekly BUCS Wednesday sports programme playing season. Newcastle also excelled in the Conference
859 fixtures, winning 479, drawing 49 and losing 393 Cup competitions with 6 finalists all winning their
giving a win ratio of 52% (5% increase from 17/18). It was respective leagues.
Boat Club Canoe Club
Newcastle University Boat Club were crowned BUCS The Canoe team had their best ever set of results in the
Victor Ludorum Champions for the second BUCS Slalom and WWR competitions. In the WWR,
consecutive year. At the BUCS regatta held in May at held on the River Washburn, Yorkshire, the Canoe Club
Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham, the men came first finished in 1st position overall.
overall and the women second which included 6 gold,
7 silver and 3 bronze medals. This was the best set of
results ever for the club. Another significant
achievement was the overall domination of the
lightweights who won the four, quad and eight beating
both the top Oxford and Cambridge lightweight crews.
Inclusive Sport
The opportunity for students to participate in sport
during their time at university plays a key part in the
overall student experience and we work hard to
ensure the correct balance between performance
and participation is maintained. With the help of the
EXCITE
University we ensure that opportunities exist for all
students to engage with and enjoy sport and to reap
the many benefits including promoting a healthy
lifestyle and building the skills required to fulfil their
19
personal and professional ambitions.
As well as over 4,200 students participating in AU
Clubs, a further 1,500 were actively engaged in our
Inclusive/Campus sports programmes.20 Proactively supporting students
in their everyday lives
Proactive
NUSU understands that not every student experience is without its issues.
Support
Whether its personal or academic support, participation bursaries or inclusivity
for sports clubs and societies, NUSU aims to proactively support all Newcastle
University students during their studies.
When asked our students ranked mental health and wellbeing as the number
one issue that matters to them. This correlates with our professional advice
service continuing to see an increase in activity and an increase in
appointments made over the academic year. With 283 widening participation
Proactively Support
bursaries given out we have seen improvements in retention rates, growth in
our disability sports programme, and our Special Grants programme saw
students undertaking life-changing opportunities and activities.
To assist in the wellbeing of all students 2018/2019 also saw the introduction of
welfare officers in all of our clubs and some societies to ensure students
wellbeing is looked after through all NUSU associated extra-curricular activities.
STUDENT ADVICE SERVICE
The main focus for our Student Advice Centre in 2018/2019 was to increase the
amount of outreach undertaken and work alongside more partners, such as the
Student Wellbeing Service, to ensure our students get the best experience at
Newcastle University.
With 1750 appointments offered throughout the academic year, 348 of which
were during the vacation period, we have seen an increase in appointments
of 45%. In many Cases our advisers either saved students money, help them
receive benefits or get compensataion. In 2018/19 this totalled a staggering
£297,910.50.STUDENT FEEDBACK:
When asked 86% of students said they would use
our welfare services in the Student Advice Centre if
needed. Furthermore, of those that used the service
96% felt the quality of service was satisfactory or
above. This is an excellent reflection of the service
given that students do not always get the answers
they want to hear!
95%
of students were satisfied or better
with quality of advice
Our Student feedback showed that the support through our campaigns
helped to make them feel part of the student community in Newcastle.
Feedback included:
‘Very proud of our SU, from lingerie bunting to free sanitary products.
Makes me feel empowered to be a female studying at Newcastle’
‘I am really pleased by all the campaigning NUSU does especially in Proactive
terms of welfare, I feel like the union takes issues such as sexual
Support
assault and antisocial behaviour seriously and I just want to say a
huge well done on providing free menstrual care too!’
2122 Proactively Supporting our students to
enhance their student experience
through participation.
Proactive
Support
Here at NUSU we understand that student experience is enhanced through
participation in extra-curricular activities. With a range of activities aimed at
helping students get one off experiences, volunteering, furthering their career
prospects and becoming a part of the student community participation is a
key aspect in helping us proactively support our students.
17,450 overall memberships
across 200+ societiesProactive Support 23
We are pleased to report that we have ended the academic year with an
FINANCE
operational surplus of £81,000 against a target of £60,000. Financially a
very positive year in terms of our commercial income and this contributes
towards our reserve target as planned.Communication with our members is key to helping us achieve our four key strategic priorities. Communication through
social media has resulted in increased drive to the NUSU website with one post reaching over 816,000 people. Our updated
website has proven a success with an increase in total page views and decrease in bounce rate year on year. Our Email Comms
have proven to be extremely successful in driving traffic to our website with 57% increase in website traffic year on year.
of students rated the quality of
communications as satisfactory or better
communicationspeople
We recognise that our people are what make us great, and the introduction of several staff engagement initiatives have resulted in
a significant increase in satisfaction this year. 90% of staff agreed that the work climate encourages teamwork and support, with
83% agreeing they trust and respect the leadership of the organisation. Overall satisfaction is also at a very encouraging 90%, with
97% agreeing that they would recommend NUSU as a good place to work.
90%
overall staff satisfaction
90%
agreed the work climate
encourages teamwork and support
97%
would recommend NUSU as a good
place to workAWARDS
Students’ Union of the Year
846
nominations
received
Shortlisted for Community
Project of the Year
UK Town and Gown Association Awards
Community Impact Winner 2018 Stu Brew
(collaboration with Careers Service,
Northumbria Police and Newcastle City Council) Silver Winner in Sustainability 2019
Winner of the Enterprise Award 2018
25Contact Us Newcastle University Students’ Union Kings Walk Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8QB Telephone: +44 (0) 191 239 3900 Email: student.union@ncl.ac.uk Web: nusu.co.uk
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