WELCOME | ADVICE & SUPPORT | STUDENT VOICE | OPPORTUNITIES | SOCIAL EXPERIENCES | THE MONEY

Finances

A breakdown of where and what we spent our money on in 2014/15

Money raised in 2014/15

Money raised in 2014/15 (% of total income)

In total, we raised

£2,398,000

for the Students' Union

There are 4 core areas where we raise income: the University Block Grant, from our commerical services (broken down into 2 areas: Shops, and Music, Food & Drink), and Other Income.

Our final income breakdowns are as follows:

Music, Food & Drink

£410,000

Shops

£743,000

University Block Grant

£1,031,000

Other Income

£214,000

Money spent in 2014/15

There are 8 core areas where we spend our income: back into Commerical Services through Music, Food & Drinks and Shops, through Student Wages, and a large majority through our Membership Services such as Advice & Reception, Activities & Volunteering, the Sustainability Hub, Campaigns & Representation & Communications, and then Other Costs such as building maintenance.

Our final spening breakdowns are as follows:

Music, Food & Drink

£358,000

Shops

£663,000

Student Wages

£228,000

Campaigns, Representation & Communications

£227,000

Advice & Representation

£105,000

Activities & Volunteering

£191,000

Sustainability Hub

£39,000

Other Costs

£568,000

Money spent in 2014/15 (% of total spend)

In total, we spent

£2,379,000

for the Students' Union

Our Website

Unique page views for our website are

That's up from 449,731 unique page views last year.

Our website has received

page views between 1st July and 1st August

That's up from 681,147 views last year.

Through our website's online shop, we've raised

32172.28

pounds (through ticket, membership and product sales)

This year, the Communications team completed a redesign of our website making it much more accessible to our members, not only through additional channels, but also the consistent brand design elements.

The SU will continue to monitor and develop the website as needs arise and ensure more information and tools will be available online through it.

The two weekly e-newsletters, What's on Wednesday and SUUG News Bulletin, continue to enjoy high average open rates for the sector. We are refreshing the look and feel of these newsletters for the new academic year, as well as moving more of the What's on Wednesday content into a video format.

In this academic year,

weekly e-bulletin emails were opened by students. That's an average open rate of 25%!

In this academic year,

weekly What's on Wednesday emails were opened by students. That's an average open rate of 33%!

Staffing & Investment

This year has been a big year for staffing inside the Students' Union. We have reviewed our bars and communications with an external organisation, and we've added additional staff (full-time and part-time and students) into our Student Voice & Activities teams.

Changes in Student Voice

Following a review of the impact of the Student Voice at Greenwich, key areas were identified within Voice that need resourcing. To this end, we have restructured the role of the Student Voice department, bringing in a Manager, a Volunteering & Representation Intern (4 days a week), 4 student staff Faculty Support Workers, and Policy & Campaigns Assistant.

Student Voice Manager

The Student Voice Manager, in place of the Student Voice Coordinator, will manage the student representation system and the implementation of policies and projects in close collaboration with elected student leaders and others. They act as Deputy Returning Officer in elections, the key link to the Returning Officer. They are also responsible for planning and budgeting and will play a crucial role in improving the breadth and depth of student engagement.

Representation & Employability Intern

This role was created to maintain links with the programme representatives, passing information up and down the chain from President to Prog Rep. It is also responsible got promoting the SU’s volunteering opportunities and ensure that students gain the appropriate recognition for such work from the university and the SU.

Campaigns & Policy Assistant

This role was created to help produce a wide range of policy through the SU’s democratic structures and elected student leaders. It is also responsible for supporting and conducting research to underpin policy development and delivery, and assist with writing up policy for a variety of audiences.

(4x Student Staff positions) Faculty-based Representation Support Worker

This role was created to undertake a range of support and admin functions that will put you at the heart of the SU’s work with the university and its members. It is also responsible for being the SU’s eyes and ears in the faculties, working with the programme representatives and Faculty Officers, ensuring that information is passed to and from locally based representatives.

Changes in Activities

Following a member of staff leaving a role at a similar time to a increased level of funding for our Get Active programme from Sport England, it made sense to review the structure and role of the Activities department. It was decided that volunteering would move over into Student Voice.

Student Activities Manager

The Manager role is largely unchanged, still overseeing, reporting and managing the work of the Intern, Coordinator and various student staff.

Activities & Events Intern

A recent University of Greenwich graduate is employed annually to help us support and develop the Give it a Go programme, arranging activities, events and trips for Greenwich students, as well as acting as a key liaison between student leaders and volunteers and relevant Union staff.

Sports Participation Coordinator

This role looks at developing sport at Greenwich, and its role in health & wellbeing and student life to coordinate the provision of sporting opportunities through the Students' Union. This includes developing the Get Active programme and support for our sports clubs, their student leaders, and the coordination of the programme of sporting fixtures.

(2x Student Staff positions) Student Sport Activators

The Activators support the Get Active project and the Sports Participation Coordinator to provide a range of recreational and fun sporting activities for Greenwich students. Their work focuses on encouraging their fellow students to take part in activities and events provided by the Get Active project, acting as positive ambassadors for involvement in sport to all Greenwich students.

(2x Student Staff positions) Student Activities Administrators

The Administrators are the first point of contact for queries relating to what is happening in Student Activities, in person at drop-in sessions, by email and phone. They also administrate for the student groups, including processing forms and room bookings and working with student leaders and volunteers to help facilitate their activities and events.

Green Ambassadors

Green Ambassadors (seven paid student-staff positions in total) work with the Sustainability Hub Manager to organise campaigns, events and workshops, alongside supporting the overall aims of the Hub.

Launched in 2013, Greenwich Sustainability Hub is a partnership project between the SU and the University, funded by the NUS Students' Green Fund. Its purpose is to increase positive environmental behaviours amongst students and the community through student-led activities, support for environmental accreditation, and the delivery of sustainability workshops.

This year, the Sustainability Hub has achieved the Gold Award (NUS Green Impact). Its impact is directly measured through our lifestyle survey, which monitors environmental impacts and changes from our student body as a result of the work done by the Hub. Below are some of the standout numbers from this survey that demonstrate this impact

In addition, there now exists policy for sustainability which is fully embedded into culture and values of the SU, adopted as a key strategic objective.

Behavioural change

22

percent changed habits to reduce water consumption

28

percent of survey respondents who have participated into Hub activity say it has improved their understanding of environmental and

24

percent said is made them aware of their impact on their lifestyle and habits

47

percent of respondents said they made some type of change in their lifestyle as a result of their involvement with the Hub

Local primary & Secondary Schools

As part of ongoing work within the local community, the Sustainability Hub has dedicated to delivering workshops and seminars in local primary and secondary schools to provide pupils with a greater knowledge on growing organic food and the idea of a 'living wall'. This has allowed us to further embed sustainability into the curriculum, develop sustainabile behaviours from a young age, and gain local contacts in the Greenwich community

This year, we've delivered workshops to 3 schools, with

186

pupils taking part in these workshops.