It was my last Board of Governors on 22 May.
I have made a brief, honesta nd open summary of the Students’ Union over the past year and also introduced the incoming president Lina Mughal and her team
I kept it short. I feel that the SU needs to be much more assertive and open with the university. There are tensions between both sides - Uni and SU - and the past 2 months have been incredibly frustrating most of the times. It is tempting to patronise an organisation lead and run by students, however if Brookes wants to see a successful strong Students’ Union, then it needs to learn to effectively listen and act.
My presentation made a reference to our mission statement and objectives, and listed overall achievements and performance of the SU over the past 11 months. I mentioned how proud we are of how far we have gone despite the difficulties, leaving 5 min to reflect on the experience of the SU over the past 11 months, and yes I was honest about how it feels currently at the su!
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it is extremely difficult at times, we are working at full capacity, resources are insufficient and the University is not necessarily hearing us. If you are working at any SU in the UK, you might think that these are hardly news! But why should it be this way? I’d like to think that at some point things will move on for SUs in the UK
I have highlighted that the SU would need some investment in order to continue performing. The resources identfied are a result of the student feedback and consultations that took place in over semester 2. Detailed business proposals have been presented to SMT at May Management conference 2008. I am yet to hear the final decision.
Main investment is needed for:
- Development of Democracy Unit – to better support representation and democracy
- IT system - Improve Membership Management – a much needed IT system to help information flow, communication and representation
- Support and guidance through the process of organisational change 2008-2011
These were the 3 main, absolutely essential areas that our SU needs more funding for, of course there are other aspirations we have, but if we establish these, the rest will be much easier!
If you look at the scale of funding compared to many SUs across the country, from top we have gone to the very bottom over the past 5 years.
My presentation outlined my frustration with the University’s commitment. Of course it was not pleasant to the ears – especially those of SMT, but if not the President of the SU, who would ensure that the SU perspective is given in open and honest manner?
I was pleased to see overwhealming feedback from Gvernors in the break after my presentation. Many said that they appreciated the honest review of the SU this year.
An SU should be challenging, open and honest, we need to ensure that the students' view is communicated clearly. Just a note: assertive doesn't mean unapreciative! We need to be critical friends with our University, and I'll stress 'critical'. MUtual respect, integrity and assertiveness are crucial if we would like to work in effective partnership.
I’d like to see the University taking a note of the SU when it does well, not only when it doesn’t do well enough.
I’d like to see Brookes University actively talking and being proud of its students, and in doing so recognising that these students ARE the Students’ Union, and the Students’ Union is the students! (and if there are comments that the SU is not inclusive enough, I'll challenge this - just recently we were given as an example of good practice for diversity and inclusivity on a national level... and of course we should improve much much more! but without an adequate infrastructure and resources it won't be that easy)
I’d like to know that staff at Brookes know what this SU stands for, and use the potential of this organisation to promote and enhance the Brookes image and the students' experience.
It sometimes feels like we are tagged along at the end of a few projects and events, simply because it looks good on paper to say that students’ view was taken into account. Maybe that's just my false impression - i'd welcome different opinions here.
Why am I feeling that Brookes own SU is noted on a national level, or by local authorities more, and is complemented more on our achievements, than by our own University?!
Having said that, I appreciate that the University is a complex organisation, busy in its own affairs, but if it gives even the minimum credit at regular times, then the SU won’t throw tantrums and feel upset becuase of attention deprivation.
It might be that I want too much too quickly?!
Of course at the end of the day we’ll keep the smile and continue achieving, enhancing the student experience and making an impact on society.
Noone says that changing the world for the better is an easy job!
Love from your Prez x
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