Executive Committee is a meeting of the Sabbatical Officer Trustees and the Union's Senior Management Team. The Sabbatical Officer Trustees approve new Student Groups and have a place to confirm approaches to matters which are both political and operational in nature.
Here you'll find updates from the Execuctive Committee: these are minutes. Some items are confidential to indviduals, to protect the privacy of those individuals we don't share information about them. There may also be times whereby there are confidential conversations relating to commercial activity, again this information wont be shared. For more information please consult the SU's Bye Laws. When we are awaiting minutes to be approved by the next meeting there will be an updated posted in relation to what was discussed and actions taken.
Full Minutes available here | Cofnodion Pwyllgor Gwaith (Rhagfyr 23)
Student Groups
No Student Groups submitted
Policies
Three policies will be going for consultation to PSLT (Professional Services Leadership Team)
CCTV Policy
Waste Policy
Visitor Policy
SMT will review:
Flexibility around lunch breaks
Confirmation external support for 14.02.24
Board of Trustees Papers Questions for 15.02.24
Student Group Approvals
Swansea Football Team - Approved
Sabbatical Officer Updates:
Group President
Working on mailing lists
Would like to work on developing the sports provision at UWTSD
Report on London visit
Swansea Campus President
Postponed student panel
Supporting the Careers Fair
CEO Update:
PSLT updates are available within the Academic Board and issues tracker
Dates for: Project Board, SU Exec, and Managers’ Meetings have been set for next year, these will be communicated soon
Working on sabb inductions
Student Group approvals
None Submitted
Student Group Policy
Group set Up, Lead, Dormancy & Disbandment Policy
SU Opportunities tasked with re-developing & reviewing existing student group policies
High level of quality policy writing noted by CEO
Policy Discussion Highlights:
Suggestion from Exec to decrease student numbers for a group
‘Appeal’ element of policy is an option for students who are unhappy with disbandment process. Appeal will be discussed at Governance, Nominations & Appointments sub-committee and a fair appeal in terms of practise
£50 start up fund for new groups has a deadline of 3 months to be applied for
Policy Approved
Sabbatical Officer Updates
Group President
Approval from University to change name of gym initiative (TechnoGym)
Step-by-step guide was being created to access and open account on the app
81 locations are listed
Remaining monies from Techno-Gym grant to be -reallocated to Opportunities budget for London, Birmingham and Cardiff
Swansea President
Focused on wellbeing project and completing social spaces initiatives
Carmarthen Building
The University is content that the building is safe.
Hhighlighted to the University there is still the issue of the balcony / the upstairs door – ventilation is required upstairs in Y Lloft as it gets either too warm or too cold.
The University has noted the cost of repairs to the building are prohibitive. SU has asked the University for a quote / contractor for the doors which went to the balcony to be replaced with windows. Once SMT have that quote it will meet to discuss next steps.
Lampeter Building
The present issue with the building is that the majority of the doors are not fire compliant. SU have asked that the works are completed ahead of Lampeter welcome rather than the current completion date of 25 October
UnionCloud
UnionCloud are the union’s website provider.
The contract with UnionCloud is up for renewal. SU have noted that will continue with UnionCloud for the moment but SMT and Design & Communications are eager to see what other providers could offer. A website review and tender process can be lengthy, this is not something the SU have the capacity to do at present.
Recruitment:
Geri Smits, Head of Membership Services – Geri will join the SU from Monday 14 August.
Student Groups Approval
None submitted
Exec asked to approve banks at Welcome Fairs
Not approved
External Mental health Campaigns – SCP
For the attention of Exec – Swansea Campus President outlined two initiatives being rolled out by Student Minds – Mental Health Manifesto and Mental health Charter – some Universities and Unions were signing up to it.
NUS UK & NHS have external Mental Health WhatsApp groups
SCP also highlighted possible collaboration with another Union on creating a campaign which collates all Mental Health provisions available for each university in the UK
Statement Regarding Riots – approved & Published on SU website
Sabbatical Officer Updates
Group President:
Swansea Campus President
Lampeter Campus President
CEO Updates
Reviewing Memorandum & Arts and de-mystifying
Asked for Team Day Feedback
Policies for Approval
Bucs and Fixtures Policy – Postponed for edits
Engagement and Representation 2024-2025
Presentation outlining different options for students on Carmarthen Campus to be represented
Welsh Language
Work underway in collaboration with colleagues in the University to update the Welsh Language Action plan and policy moving forward.
Sabbatical officer Updates
Group President
Swansea Campus President
Lampeter Campus President
Democracy-related Updates / Democracy Review
Questions being compiled for students to set research direction for Democracy review
Buildings Update
Swipe access requested for Lampeter Students Union building due to a number of incidences of the public being in a working space
DPO Appointment
Candidate offered role – yet to confirm
Student Group Approvals
Musical Theatre
WAVDA Dance Society
Outdoor Pursuits
Swansea Film Club
Policies Approved
New duties on Sexual Harassment
New UK requirement for organsiations to be more pro-active in the subject of sexual harassment. Policy which outlines duties solely for sexual harassment .
Policy needs to be created for the SU
Reporting and monitoring form to be developed in line with GDPR
Staff training by external company
Policy will need to be approved at Board of Trustees
SU will need to be legally compliant by the 26th October 2024
Sabbatical Officer Updates
Group President
Meeting with MPs in Westminster
No update from Lampeter or Swansea Campus Presidents
CEO Updates
Easter closure dates submitted for review
Democracy-related Updates / Democracy Review
Democracy review submitted to Board of Trustees
Work to be done in connecting the different student engagement strands for a complete picture of representation
Overwhelming support for Part-Time Officers on all campuses during student consultation
Democracy review will be submitted to AGM after approval at December Board of Trustees
DPO Appointment
Support needed in creating an external contract for DPO and induction from SMT
Once complete DPO will sign contract and begin role, with induction including a GDPR staff training session.
AQR
Sabbatical Officers asked to work collaboratively to decide topic on academic experience.
Once decided, research will be undertaken in the second term ready for submission in May/June
Student Group Approvals
Craft Society – Lampeter – approved
SSSH Group – Lampeter approved pending more info
Book Society – Lampeter - approved
Gaming Society – Lampeter – approved
Environment Society – Swansea – approved
Policies from Opportunities to be approved
Code of Conduct – Approved
Committee Elections Policy – Approved
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy – Approved
External Guest Speaker Policy - Approved
Fundraising Policy – Approved
Purchases & Reimbursement Policy - Approved
Social Media and Website Policy - Pending
Student Group Sponsorship Agreement - Pending
Student Volunteering Network – Not Approved
Students’ Union Refund Policy - Pending
Travel & Transport Policy - Approved
Trips & Tours Policy – Approved
Wellbeing Policy - Pending
Sabbatical Officer Update
Group President
70 students approx. engagement
Students believe they are being over-assessed
Enquiries about the food hub/cost of living is a concern for many students
IICL – catchup with Operations to raise issues and issues around accessibility in Birmingham
Some students find some university processes troubling
Swansea Campus President
Timetabling problems
Money issues and referrals
Nothing to do when café is closed
More advertisement of the social spaces
Social Spaces in Dynevor/Griffydd studio
AQR 2025
Conversations with Voice to compile AQR questions and research
Officer team to do themes and survey questions for next Exec 09 Dec
Democracy review
On hold due to Lampeter announcement from University
DPO Appointment
Organising Induction once contract is returned
Student Group Approvals
Business Society – Not approved pending further clarification
Policies
Student Group Sponsorship Agreement – Approved
Student Volunteering Network – Approved
Students’ Union Refund Policy – Approved with edits
Wellbeing Policy – Approved pending edits
External Mental Health Update
SCP met with Wellbeing PTO and agreed to support them with goals for the year by connecting them to different departments
Wellbeing Department catch up to discuss future collaborative projects such as the co-opt project
Sabbatical Officer Update
Group President
Your Voice, My Ear sessions undertaken.
Vending machines in IICL to secure meal deals for students
Request to make vending machines accessible to wheelchair users as the pay pad is too high – resolution is to remove legs of the vending machine to make it smaller
Issues around accessibility on Birmingham campus as Quay Place is on an incline – solution is to work with staff to undertake training in order to assist students with mobility issues
Lift out of service for 4 days - working with the University on a back up plan
Printer being made more accessible in Birmingham, ongoing discussions with IT to resolve
Looking to travel more to the Birmingham campuses as students report feeling under-represented.
Disability Awareness Month progress is underway with resources already being purchased and/or rolled out including banners and TV adverts.
Finalising details for the LGBTQ+ History Month and Womens History Month which will be submitted to Project Board.
Lampeter Campus President
Trying to get video reels completed for the Lampeter Campus campaign – looking to get 3 reels posted this week
Continuing to put the finishing touches on the Wellbeing week campaign which has been moved to the week of the University decision regarding Lampeter Campus. It will act as a support and have specific things for the possible outcomes in alignment with mental health, wellbeing and support.
Time is now being largely consumed by student activity around the Lampeter campaign and fielding queries as well as capture feedback and create a survey.
Swansea Campus President
Survey for cost of living survey completed and approved by the Wellbeing department and added extra resources to the survey.
Bags have been ordered ready for a soft launch and then a roll out launch to all Welsh campuses in January
AQR 2025
Officers updated that AQR needed more refining, with involvement from Voice
Scrutiny on questions being more applicable to students and not specific groups
Questions had been narrowed down to include the ones which would yield the most impactful data
SMT will support Officers to focus on 3 main areas
Democracy-related Updates / Democracy Review
On hold due to complications with Lampeter campus future
Updated Excel spreadsheet with Gantt Chart
Highlights in Red and Green due to term dates
After the decision is made and communicated the SU will have 2-3 days to make a response before beginning and approach via AGM and from there, the outcomes of democracy review into elections
Elections is most likely going to be rescheduled
Student Group Approvals
Business Society – Approved
Policies
Storage Policy – Approved
Events Policy – Approved
Social Media Policy – Approved
Health & safety policy – postponed
External Mental Health Campaigns
NUS planning campaign around Housing – investigate whether student services had experienced an increase in queries specifically relating to housing and whether this is an increasing issue.
Welsh language Update
Meeting with Welsh Language Officer (University) to discuss policy and language usage.
Agreed that all material within the University needs to be bilingual. Elections promo materials will be bilingual but more resources is needed to create a robust Welsh Language Policy for the SU as an organisation.
AQR Update
Draft survey has been created and divides demographically which will give a broader picture of where, when and how students are engaging with the survey.
Next steps are to ensure questions will give insightful information and to clarify with Voice team and a final run through of the survey.
Officers will be communicated with at this stage to give approval and the Academic Office will be contacted to ensure they also are aware and support the survey. The survey will then be translated and rolled out to students.
Sabbatical Officer Updates
Swansea Campus President
Refreshers is currently quiet
Cost of Living project going well – focusing on Pop Ups to collect as much data as possible from student survey, hoping to change this feedback into meaningful in depth information.
SCP shared priorities for the remainder of the year.
Feb – finalizing data from Cost of Living
March & April – collaborating with Wellbeing to create resources for signposting specific key issues
May - Would like to do something for Mental Health month
June – Officer handover
Group President Update
Currently finalising an impact report regarding Disability campaign
Working on LGBTQ+ campaign project, up to date with details being confirmed
Checking progress against manifesto checklist
Still to begin promoting accountable and transparent leadership – currently using social media profile but looking to do accountability sessions with students once discussed and developed further with SMT
Rest of the year includes:
Lampeter Campus President
DPO Appointment
Offer rescinded due to no contact for over 2 months
Student Group Approvals
Shhh! – Approved
LGBTQ+ Society – Pending
Motorcycle Society – Pending
External Mental Health Campaigns Update
SCP received communication from Bangor SU highlighting an initiative where businesses make food donations which is then transformed into hot meals for the community/public on the weekend. A discussion ensued pn the practicalities of delivering a similar project, however due to the commercial kitchens being de-commissioned within the Lampeter and Carmarthen venues it would pose a challenge. It would also leave the other campuses without the same provision.
A suggestion was made to monitor the food hubs and research whether further support would be more beneficial to students instead.
Supporting Autistic Students and the Autism (Wales) Bill 2019 - Further Education
Bought to the attention of the Sabbatical Officers for compliance reasons.
AQR Update
Questions have been update and work is being collated that would support the Officers and themes. Feedback has been shared with key Univerisrty stakeholders who have expressed they would like to support with involvement.
LCP
SCP
CEO Update from SLT / Other matters
Gave update on position of the University and compared the situation across the sector where other Universities are facing much higher difficulties and having to make drastic changes due to financial struggles.
Democracy-related Updates / Democracy Review
AGM is scheduled this week
Papers shared with information on the options for the democracy review
Results will be reflected in the upcoming election cycle
HoMS also reiterated the rules around re-running for Sabbatical Officers
Voice staff member was scheduled to meet the Union Chairperson and provisions are in place in case they are unavailable.
Finance Update
‘Clean’ update received from external auditors – no recommendations for the second consecutive year and the SU is in a health financial position.
DPO – Update
GAM has reached out to University DPO to ask for assistance through networking to find alternative DPO