6 months in....

Thirteen months ago I stood to be Students' Union President and 6 months in to my year in office, I thought it would be to give you an update of where I am up to in achieving my manifesto goals.

Campaign to keep the cap on tuition fees
Unfortunately the house of commons and lords have voted to increase the cap for UK Home tuition fees to £6000. At Salford we put a lot of work and effort into raising awareness on the campus on this issue and we took 400 students to London on a national demo and 100 Salford students to a demo in Manchester. Please read my email to all students, to find how we will move this campaign forward in the coming months.

Year round timetables
Delivered!

More Student Social Space
I can't take all the credit for this one, for Adelphi Students Joe Kirwin (Last Year's VP for Arts and Humanities ) and Christabel Brown (current VP for Arts and Humanities) have worked hard to get the social space in the Adelphi building modernised. In the next few months there will be some more changes in University House that will see more student social space in the building. All new buildings currently being developed by the University will all have social learning zones in them as well.

Longer Library Opening Hours Off Peak
Working with Matt Webber (Last Years President) this has also been achieved, the Clifford Wwhitworth library is currently 24/7 for the whole of this academic year, however this will be reviewed at the end of the year dependant on usage. This really is a great win for the students' union, Salford students have been asking for a 24/7 library for years and finally we have one.

2 Day Activities Fair and Fresher’s Ball
Delivered!

Promote religious diversity and interfaith groups
I still have some work to do on this manifesto point, last semester saw a very successful Black History Month working in partnership with the University to produce a month long set of events. Currently I am working with the University to have more clearly guidance for religious observance.

My full manifesto can be seen at http://salfordstudents.com/files/minisites/2996/RickyManifesto.pdf

There is still plently of things left to do in the second half of my term of office.

Students' Union Elections 2011

The Students Union annually elects 4 sabbatical officers, 4 student trustees, and 4 NUS Conference Delegates. In addition this year, you will have the opportunity to be elected to the Union's new Student Council, a body of 22 students whose role will be to direct, review and approve the representation work of the Sabbatical Officers.
We may not have been successful in stopping an increase in tuition fees, however at Salford we have to ensure that over the next few years the impact of the cuts do not impact on our education experience. We can only do this with a strong and active students’ union.

If you are interested in standing in the elections and want to find out more check out: http://www.salfordstudents.com/takecharge
I am really looking forward to the next 6 months, if you have any questions about this blog post or want to find out more about the elections phone 01613515400 or email president-ussu@salford.ac.uk

Ricky

Update on the UK Home Tuition Fees and the Anti Cuts Campaign!

I wanted to take this opportunity to say how proud I am of the students at Salford. People have often said students had become apathetic, and were not interested in politics. Well, we have proved them wrong on both a local and national scale.

Over 400 students, attended the fifty thousand strong day of peaceful action in November. In addition, this week we had over 1000 students march in Manchester of which we saw 100 Salford students, and 1000s of letters sent to MPs. Thursday the day of the tuition fee vote saw the union hold a candle lit vigil outside the Old Fire Station and I was in London lobbying MPs up until the vote.

Unfortunately I am sure you have all read that the Universities in the UK, after a very close vote in the House of Commons will now be able to charge up to £9000 for UK Home Tuition Fees. This by no means is the end of the campaign in fact it is just the start.



Today the Students’ Union starts its Anti Cuts Campaign. The Campaign is about ensuring that if there are any cuts at the University, then we will ensure that they do not harm the student experience. The University is expected to lose some funding due to the comprehensive spending review, and in the coming weeks and months we will find out the full effects.



Over the coming months the University of Salford will also be setting the fee level for the University and it is vital that during those discussions the student voice is heard.

I strongly urge you all to join the mailing list at www.salfordstudents.com/anticuts. I will not be using the All Students Lists to keep you updated on this issue, so please join to keep updated on what we are doing as a Students’ Union on these issues.

I feel so honoured to be the Students’ Union President at this time. The student movement here in Salford, and nationally, has never been stronger and we must keep up the fight.

Thank you,

Ricky Chotai | President

1 month in... The New Team and the journey ahead of us

Posted By Ricky

It has been about one month since I last blogged where I reposted my final email to the faculty of health.

So what a month since then ... the new team are now officially in and settled into their new roles.



Pictured from left to right:

Jim Dale - VP for Science, Engineering and Environment

Caroline Dangerfield- VP for Health and Social Care

Ricky Chotai - President

Christabel Brown- VP for Arts, Media and Social Sciences

Maros Kravec - VP for Business, Law and Built Environment

This year is going to one of the most pivotal years, we have seen in the Higher Education Sector since the introduction of fees for University Students.

There are two reasons for this, we shall hear the outcome Lord Browne Review, and the public sector cuts.

The Browne Review is the review that is looking at the methods of the different ways Universities can be funded for Undergraduate Teaching. The Guardian did a very good run down of the different possible outcomes. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/jul/20/university-fees

The public sector cuts, are going to hit Universities hard and Salford by no means will be escaping them.

That is the picture nationally, however what we doing at Salford Students' Union about these issues.

Firstly lets look at the funding, NUS which is the National Union Students' will be having a massive demo about this, this year. The demo will be headed up by the Vice President Higher Education Usman Ali (former Salford SU President 2 years ago). We will have more details soon and we will be doing events on campus, but also asking as many of you to come on the demo in London to show the government and everybody on where we stand at the possibility of higher fees for students.

Public Sector Cuts – Now this is a tough one, over the next few years the University is going to have to do a lot more, with less. As a Students' Union we firmly believe that whilst we understand that cuts may have to happen, however any that are detrimental to the student experience we really should oppose. As students we pay a minimum of £3000 pounds for our courses a year, whilst a lot more for Postgraduate courses. We must ensure that we are getting value for money.

I think that is enough doom and gloom.

Welcome Week 2010

We are already planning Welcome for September 2010, there is loads to do but things are starting to come together and can honestly this will be the best two weeks of your life.
We have so many great events over the two weeks, and for all the new students will be an opportunity to find out what your union does. Our activities range from student media, student activities, to student representation. In the mean time keep an eye on our website http://www.salfordstudents.com/welcome and make sure you join our facebook group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17359979849


Come and Get involved in YOUR union

I have been involved in the Students' Union, for 5 years now and I got involved for two reasons I became a course rep and I got involved in the SU Radio Station Shock Radio (www.shockradio.co.uk).
The majority of Salford Students have no involvement in the union and this is something that I personally want to see change over the next year. Over the last few years, things have got a lot better more course reps, more people involved in Student media, more people involved in Clubs and Societies. As a Union we really offer a wide range of activities however the main thing we do is being your voice to the University and creating change for the better.
Whether you come and get involved in any of the activities I listed above, the best thing you can do is tell what you think.
Whether that be about the University or about the SU itself and how we do things.

Remember that ugly photo at the top of the post? One of them is your vice president (Unlucky huh) and represent students in your faculty. Don't forget me, as SU president feel free to get in touch any time, on any issue. My contact details will be at the end of this post.

The Union is not about what me and the rest of team what to do, it is YOUR union. We were simply elected to make the changes that you want to see made in the University or in the SU.

So if you have an idea for welcome week? Think we should be doing more for student reps? Feel the University does not support you enough with your studies?

Come and see us, we are all based in University House on the Peel Park Campus.

If you can't come and see us get in touch.
My contact details are;

Email: president-ussu@salford.ac.uk
Mobile:07540222310
Tel: 0161 351 5413
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SalfordPres

You can even add me on Facebook and contact me on there http://www.facebook.com/salfordpres

Feel free to get in touch if you got any questions, big or small I should be able to point in the right direction.

I really am looking forward to the year ahead, I think it is going to be awesome.

Thanks,

Ricky
SU President

Final email to all Students with Health and Social Care

Posted by Ricky

Dear All,

This week’s starts the handover process between the officer team, for this year and next year.
It has been one year since I started the role of being Vice President for Health and Social Care, and I thought it would good to share the positives of this year but also what is next.
This year, the union moved from traditional officer portfolio roles, to those where the 4 vice presidents move to represented one of the 4 faculties.
It was agreed that I would represent the faculty of Health and Social Care. The faculty at the start of the year was the one faculty that was the least engaged with the Union. The number of people who voted in SU was the lowest in the University, people had no idea what the Students’ Union does or even knew we existed.
Once of things I had to work out was why? In all honesty, in previous years I don’t think the Union has been good at finding out in the past the issues that affect you. Over the year the biggest challenge was changing the perception of the students’ union that it is just as much your union, as it is that of students who study on Peel Park.
I think students within the faculty are now getting, what they should have always been getting from the Union. With the role of the Vice President I think you really do have a voice not just within the Union, but championing your views/ concerns to senior management to the University. Elections statistics for this year’s elections saw a massive increase in students within the faculty. I have also personally seen more and more students getting involved within the Union.

Below are just some the wins of the year:

New Concourse Redevelopment that has now given health students a social learning zone.
Increase in Semester 3 services both the Union Shop, but also the University Catering Outlets.
An increase in students seeking advice from the Student Advice Centre, particularly in the areas of Fitness to Practice.
Consultation on the Cash Machine
Increase in the Number of Student Reps within the Faculty
Specific events for mature students
March Welcome Event for the new Nursing Students

What is Next?
The year I have seen one of the big issues that affect a lot of students are centred on placement issues, and I think next year there is work to done, to ensure that we help as many students on this issue.
Over the year although I mentioned above that number of people that use of our advice centre about Fitness to Practice, however I still think there is more the University came be doing in terms of advising people of how on a day to day basis this affects them.
I am sure, in the next few weeks Caroline (Your new Vice President!) will be in touch with her full contact details.
Over the next few weeks if you do not anything from the Union please feel free to email VPHSC-USSU@salford.ac.uk), as the email remains the same each year regardless of the officer or telephone 0161 351 5400.

It has been a pleasure to be your vice president over the last year, and I look forward to the challenge of being Students’ Union President over the next year.

Good Luck to all those who took exams over the last week.

Thanks,
Ricky

Ricky Chotai | Vice President Health and Social Care
University of Salford Students' Union | University House | Salford | M5 4WT
Tel: 0161 351 5424 | Mobile: 07540222310 | Fax: 0161 351 5428
Web: www.salfordstudents.com | Twitter: www.twitter.com/SalfordVPHSC
MSN / Email: VPHSC-USSU@salford.ac.uk
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The Pav: Facts and Figures

Posted By Ricky

Dear All,

There have been questions about why one year we were fighting to save the Pav and the year after the choice was made to close it for good.

What happened last year?

This time last year the University told the Union that the Pav had to be closed at the end of last year.
This then sparked the “save our Pav” campaign that was spearheaded by last year’s team which I was also involved in. The motivation behind the campaign was the view that the University’s request was quite simply an attack on the independence of the Students' Union particularly when the trading figures projected that although trade had decreased, the Pav was still a commercially viable venue at that point.

And now?
The easiest way to explain the change in thinking is to look at the figures. Below are the figures for the net financial contribution of the Pavilion to the Union since 2005 (calculated by taking the surplus generated by the bar and subtracting the net cost of putting on entertainments)

2005 ₤56,416
2006 ₤66,131
2007 ₤95,457
2008 ₤61,676
2009 ₤28,462
2010 ₤565 (projected)
2011 ₤(3,000) (projected)

As a result of trade falling a further 30% this year, the Pav will just about break even. Next year the Pav is estimated to make a ₤3000 loss. This loss would have to come from cutbacks in other areas of the Union. Also, from 1 June the Union will have to register as a charity. The Charity Commission takes a negative view of charities that run loss making trading activities that are not connected to the primary reasons for the charity’s existence. The Trustee Board took this into account in its decision making process too.

The new venue??

This time last year, the University promised not to close The Pavilion until a replacement venue was available on campus. Since those discussions took place, substantial cuts in higher education funding have meant that the University has had to reconsider its investment options. The development of a new venue got as far as costing out initial drawings. However, those schemes came back costing around the ₤1 million mark. In addition, the venue would only have held 200 people and would have had to operate at absolute capacity from day one to generate a very small financial return. The University’s view was that the level of investment was not justifiable to impact on a small sample of the University population, nor when it would generate such a small financial return.

The Future??

The loss of the Pav is sad, however as a Students' Union we will move on and it gives us a real opportunity to look at the offerings of entertainment on campus.
Next year we will be having a Freshers Ball and we are looking at tie ins with clubs in town.

This however is your opportunity to have you feedback please join the group The Pav is closing... what entertainment do you want next year? http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=122573974434875#!/group.php?gid=122573974434875&v=info
and if you are not on facebook please get in touch by email VPHSC-USSU@salford.ac.uk

The Full Press Release from the Union can be found at http://salfordstudents.com/files/PAV_FULL.pdf


Ricky
Vice President Health and Social Care
(President Elect 2010/2011)

Fees Review Leak

Posted by Ricky

Yesterday the Sunday Times published the following article, in which it details of some of the outcomes of Lord Browne review which is due to to report in Autumn.

John Pert who is a member of NUS's Executive Council has provided some good insight and analysis on his blog.

What does that mean for Salford Students and what will the Students Union be doing?

The leaked outcome of Lord Browne's review suggests various methods of raising fees, one of those suggested is to double the level of fees and then start adding an extra £1000 a year until we see a 'true market'.
This is an absolute disgrace, students across the country have not seen any benefit of the current system in where students pay fees by taking a loan to pay fees upfront, further more the Times article suggests that 'the subsidised interest rate on student loans would go'. This would be a massive blow for students and what is the fee level that achieves a 'true market' £20000? £30000??
This is issue is not just limited to home students, you can guarantee that Universities across the country will use this as an opportunity to raise fees for international students as well.

We must remember that currently none of the proposals reported in the Times are confirmed, however as students at Salford and nationally we should be ready for what is likely to be the outcome.
The National Union of Students (NUS), agreed at conference that we would be holding a National Demonstration on this very topic and we will be making sure as many Salford Students go to it to ensure the voice of students is heard by the MP's that run our country.
Locally we will be continuing to lobby MP's in the local area to ensure that when this comes to the house of commons, we ensure that they have heard both sides of the argument.
We will also be lobbying our Vice Chancellor Martin Hall, to ask him the very questions I have posed in this blog. Can he show to the student body any benefit they have seen since the introduction of top up fees? Does he support a 'true market' for fees that will price out so many students from Higher Education?





What can you do?
As I am sure you aware on Thursday the country will take to the polls and this is your opportunity to have your voice and use your vote.
Over the last week we have been working with NUS on the Vote for Students' Campaign. The campaign is very simple to ask MP's and prospective MP's to sign up to the following pledge

“I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and to pressure the government to introduce a fairer alternative”

The results of all the people that have signed the pledge is available online http://nus.org.uk/Global/FULLVOTEFORSTUDENTSLIST280410.xls and I urge you that when you cast your vote this week you consider who has and who has not signed the pledge.
Politically the next year is going to be a huge challenge not just in the area of tution fees, but also some of the proposed public sector cuts we may see. You will be seeing the Students' Union doing a lot of work over the upcoming weeks and months.

If you have a keen interest in the subject of this blog post send me an email at vphsc-ussu@salford.ac.uk and I can keep you upto date in all the union is doing.

Ricky Chotai
Vice President Health and Social Care
Tel: 0161 351 5424 | Mobile: 07540222310
Web: www.salfordstudents.com | Twitter: www.twitter.com/SalfordVPHSC


NB Thankyou for John Pert from the NUS NEC for alerting me to the link.

Advice for students currently stranded abroad

News : Advice for students currently stranded abroad

Date: Apr 19, 2010

Monday 19 April - 6pm BST
As air travel continues to be paralysed by the huge cloud of volcanic ash, the University is advising students who are stranded overseas because of flight cancellation to contact the Student Life Directorate.

A single point of contact has been set up within Student Life Directorate. Students unsure of what to do should contact +44 (0)161 295 0023 or email advice@salford.ac.uk

Students who are stranded overseas and are unable to hand in assessed work by submission deadlines during the period of travel disruption will need to submit a Personal Mitigating Circumstances (PMC) form. For more information see http://policies.salford.ac.uk/display.php?id=305.

Personal Mitigating Circumstances forms will need to be accompanied by evidence of their disrupted travel arrangements. Students should submit their PMC form as soon as possible on return to the University.

Would students please note that the University’s insurance does not cover students unless you are on a University field trip or its equivalent.

For more news keep an eye on the Student Channel http://students.salford.ac.uk/

Usman Ali becomes NUS VP Higher Education

Posted by Ricky

If you popped into the Students' Union last week you would have noticed that none of the Sabbs were about. We were all at the NUS National Conference in Gateshead.

Myself and Matt go automatically as President and President Elect, Jim, Joe and Alan Bailey came as they were elected delegates in March.

On Thursday was the election for the Vice President Higher Education and former SU President Usman Ali was up against six other candidates.

Below was his speech to conference how why he should be elected!



I have never seen Usman speak so well before.

There were late nights and early mornings campaigning for Usman during breaks and all the hardwork of everyone pulled off and he was elected.

I am really looking forward to working with Usman next year, on some of the key issues that will be affecting our movement nationally. The key one being the Browne review and the outcome of that.
At Conference, we passed policy to hold a National Demo and you can guarantee we will be getting involved with that.

The good news will hopefully set to continue as Alan Bailey is running unopposed for the open place officer for the NUS LGBT Campaign.

It is awesome that next year we will have two former sabbaticals on the National Executive Council of NUS!

I am sure one of the others will be blogging about the full details of conference soon.

Students' Union Annual Awards Nomination List

Posted by Ricky

Hi Guys,
The SU Annual Awards Nomination List was announced earlier today.

A full list of nominees appears in the table below



New Student of the Year

Alasdair Salisbury

Harriet Phipps

Mishal Saeed

Poppy Olah

Robin Crosby


Club of the Year

Boat Club

Cricket Club

Diving Club

Snowports Team

Women’s Football


Society of the Year

Almost Famous

Belly Dancing Society

Dance Society

Islamic Society

Shock Radio


Societies Personality of the Year

Alan Bailey

Amanda Blewitt

Christabel Brown

Natalie Carr

Tasha Hetherington


Sports Personality of the year-

The Iain Till Memorial Award

Alan Moore

Jamie Pritchard

Lauren Perrin

Rachel Colym- Doyle

Tim Hawkins


Student Journalist of the Year

Gemma Blackman

Jenny Longworth

Lucy Jones

Rupert White

Mazher Abidi


Students’ Union Personality of the Year – The Stuart Wright Memorial Award

Alan Bailey

Caroline Dangerfield

Ram Bende

Tim Hawkins



Faculty Outstanding Achievement Award



Fazila Bux

Neil Bradley

Tomasz Zub

Lesley Turner

Susan Warren

Saadia Mahmood

Hamida Iqbal

Famida Iqbal





Student Representative of the Year Award

Mishal Saeed

Jason Barnes

Andrew Mawson

Yousuf Iqbal

Semara Bukhari

Giorgian Rusu

Connor Jackson

Hannah Robinson

Nnamdi Uchechukwu







The winners will be announced live at the Students' Union Annual Awards Event which takes place at the Palace Hotel on Wednesday 28 April. Make sure you attend with your friends and family to find out whether you are a WINNER!

If you’re early buying your ticket you’ll enjoy this amazing night out to remember for under £20. Early birds will get over 5 pounds off their tickets paying £19.95, (normal price £25). Book online at: https://shop.salford.ac.uk or at General Office in University House.


*DRINKS RECEPTION *THREE COURSE MEAL *AWARDS CEREMONY *DJ AND DISCO UNTIL LATE


More information at: www.salfordstudents.com

Well done to all those nominated!

Vote for Students

Posted by Jim, Ricky and Joe

New Pro Vice Chancellor announced Today

Posted by Ricky


The University has appointed Professor Huw Morris as its new Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic).

The full story can be read here.

I am sure many of you are wondering what a Pro Vice Chancellor Academic actually is? They are essentially the person responsible for setting the strategy for the teaching and learning experience here at the University. They really do have a massive influence on how teaching is delivered here at Salford.

The Students’ Union is looked forward to working with Professor Huw Morris over the following year, and really trying to tackle some of the key issues where you have told us you want see change.
These include E-Submission and the use of technology in your lectures and not just PowerPoint, to name a few.

Professor Morris takes up his new role at Salford in July 2010.

Elections, Elections and a General Election

Posted by Ricky

Firstly please accept my apologies for not blogging sooner, things have been as hectic as ever but that is not an excuse.
The second is that back in December I posted about Does the Students’ Union really represent you?, and promised to do I follow up post, this will happen however I am just waiting for some of the election data.

Student Union Elections



Left to right: Tom Doyle, Student Trustee Elect; Jim Dale, Vice President Elect; Christabel Brown, Vice President Elect; Ricky Chotai, President Elect; Caroline Dangerfield, Vice President Elect; Maros Kravec, Vice President Elect; Sophie Atkinson, Student Trustee Elect; James Walsh, Student Trustee Elect on the night of the win.

As you are aware in February and March the Students’ Union hold elections for next years trustee board and who is to go to NUS conference.

The Results were as follows;
President – Ricky Chotai
Vice Presidents – Christabel Brown, Jim Dale, Caroline Dangerfield and Maros Kravec
Student Trustees – Sophie Atkinson, Tom Doyle, Sylvia Joseph and James Walsh
NUS Delegates – Alan Bailey, Jim Dale and Joe Kirwin

The new sabbatical team is fantastic and I look forward to the all the challenges ahead and working on delivering our individual manifestos from the 1st of July. The team is a real mixed bunch of people some of whom I already know such as Jim who is one of the current Vice Presidents, and Caroline who I knew as the then Head of News at Shock Radio 3 years ago and is the current President of the Rowing Club. Others who I know less well, however I am sure this will change over the year, Christabel who is the current chair of Almost Famous and Maros Kravec who is Vice President of the Law Society.

NUS Services Election

After the Students’ Union Election I vowed to myself, no more elections however as president elect last week I attended NUS Services Convention. NUS Services is owned by Students’ Unions and the National Union of Students. Their mission statement is to; ‘Create, develop and sustain competitive advantages for member Students’ Unions – reducing costs and maximising commercial revenues’
To this end they provide three core services:
• Purchasing
• Commercial Development
• Marketing Services

The board is made of student officers and staff members from various Students’ Unions across they country and I decided to run for the position of Non-executive Student Directors.
The question I am sure you are wondering is why? During my time at University I did not study Politics etc, I studied Business and I have a real passion for it.
Yes I am one of those sad acts, that gets excited when such shows as Dragons Den and The Apprentice is on.






I was successful at the election for non executive student director, and therefore start my time on the board on the 1st July 2010.

General Election

For those of you may have been asleep over the last 24 hours, the date of the General Election has now been called for the 6th of May.
Check out all the details on our website www.salfordstudents.com/vote

We are supporting the NUS ‘Vote For Students’ campaign. Join us and pledge your support to vote for a candidate supportive of a fairer fees and funding system for UK Universities at the next General Election.
If the 7 million students in this country stand together in this campaign and pledge their support to protect our future, MPs and parliamentary candidates will have no option but to vote with us or pay the price at the ballot box.
Sign up at: www.voteforstudents.co.uk A minute or two of your time could help make a huge difference.

As well as encouraging Salford students to sign up, USSU and other unions across the UK are lobbying MPs to support the following pledge:

“I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and to pressure the government to introduce a fairer alternative”

Find out more about the Vote For Students campaign here.

Make sure you check out the Facebook Group here.

On that I think that well and truly covers the topic of elections.

I will promise I will blog more regularly and maybe kick the others to maybe blog more often! :)

Semester 2 Timetabling Update in Health and Social Care

Timetabling has not been a strong point for the University, in fact this time last year, Semester two timetables had not come out. There was some press coverage on this issue after I raised this at a House of Commons Select Committee

This year the University had promised then Union that timetables would be out by the 15th of December and after Christmas the officers decided to test that theory.
When the sabbatical officers returned on the 4th January after the Christmas break, Joe who is the VP from Arts Media and Social Sciences was inundated with emails from students who did not have their Semester 2 timetables. With many of the Students Reps not being here, as they have been enjoying their well deserved Christmas break, they have therefore been unable to speak to their students on their course and School office to find out what has been going on with their timetable. With this in mind the Sabbatical Officers took it upon themselves to contact all Students to find out if they had received their timetable or not and the Schools to find out what the Schools had done regarding distribution of timetables.
All three schools contacted me saying that timetables had been out since the 15th December, and this was the case. Over 100 of you in Health and Social Care contacted me to say that you did not have your timetables and the schools contacted all the students effected to show them where they were located. It became clear that the issue for the 100 students who contacted me was not that they did not have their timetables but they did not know where they located within Blackboard.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank administrative staff, for all their hard work assisting those students who had difficulty locate them. I am quite confident that all students within the Faculty of Health and Social Care should have their timetable and if not in the first case contact your school office. If you are still having difficulty then feel free to get in touch with me.

However the Future?:

Timetables are something the Students Union is always lobbying the University on however your feedback is always needed to provide evidence to support the cause.

Is the 15th December early enough for Semester 2 timetables? If not what do you think is a suitable date for semester 2 timetables?

Would you want the Students Union to lobby the University for all year timetables at the start of the academic year?

Please Comment below or get in touch with me by email.

Ricky
Vice President Health and Social Care

Tel: 0161 351 5424
Fax: 0161 351 5428
Web: www.salfordstudents.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SalfordVPHSC
MSN / Email: VPHSC-USSU@salford.ac.uk

Does the Students’ Union really represent you?

Posted by Ricky


As many of you know the Students Union has gone through massive governance reforms, and now the Vice Presidents are faculty based.




I really don’t want to dwell and bore you about the full details about the new structure as it is all on the Student Union Website www.salfordstudents.com

The real questions I want to ask are;

Do you know who your sabbatical officer is?
Do you think they represent your views to the University?

You can either leave a comment (please note this will be publically viewable), drop me an email vphsc-ussu@salford.ac.uk or fill in the anonymous form below.
Your feedback is really useful, so we would really appreciate you to take the time to reply.




If you fill the form in above it really is anonymous, so please be as honest as you wish.

You are probably wondering why I am asking these questions, and the real answer is that over the last few weeks I have been giving presentations about the new structure.
The only way I can find out if it really is working is by asking you!
I do have my own opinions on this however I would like to share those with you in a follow up post in January.

In the meantime I look forward to hearing your feedback, and I hope you all have a lovely break over Christmas.
Good luck with your exams if you have them in January.

Ricky

The Future of Education Funding and You

Last week I put my GCSE grade C woodwork skills to good use and built a wall. However, it is not a normal type of wall used to partition or create a barrier. It is a wall that actually brings people together and creates strength of unity. That is because this wall is a sort of petition. It is a wall of student debt upon which students have been asked to fill out their personal debt, accountable to funding them through university, on a small form and pin it to the wall. In the few hours that I have had the wall out, once in the foyer of University House and once on Friday afternoon outside the Lady Hale Building, I have managed to fill up one side of the wall. With the sum of all the debts easily coming to well in excess £1 million pounds so far, the wall is a palpable statement that the issue of student debt is a massive problem, and will only get worse if the cost of tuition fees that students pay goes up.

This five foot by seven foot construction though is just a small part of a wider event that is taking place in Manchester this week to heighten the awareness of the future of higher education funding in this country. It is a Campaign called Town Takeover and is being run by the National Union of Students in collaboration with Students’ Unions from the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford. These city takeovers are happening all over the country with Liverpool and Bristol already done, and Sheffield on Monday and Tuesday; Manchester will be the fourth city to take part in this truly national campaign.

The major focus of the campaign is to highlight the unfairness of the current system that leaves many of today’s graduates leaving university with an average debt of £23,000. The campaign is well timed too, with a government review of the current system due to start soon, many different groups including University Vice Chancellors and the Confederation for British Industry are saying that students should pay more. Yet the issue of Higher Education funding still sits low on the political agenda, with the Liberal Democrats being the only major party to publicise a policy. That is why we are making statements about student debt now and that is why we are taking the campaign to our city. We want to show as many people as possible how bad student debt is and how it affects many different people, such as students, parents, college leavers, local communities and businesses. We want to say no to more debt and we want to put the issue on the political map by getting people talking about student debt and education funding and really making it an issue for the next general election. There are alternatives to tuition fees, and NUS have come up with their own plan to fund universities called the Blueprint, which is founded on a form of graduation tax. You can find out more about it here http://www.nus.org.uk/Campaigns/Funding-Our-Future-/Funding-Blueprint-launch-/ However, debates and discussion and advocates for free education will not be too far away from the centre of attractions this week either.

It has been quite heartening during the last couple of days speaking to students who are really concerned with this and are willing to get involved to do something to make education funding fairer in the future. It was also great when I met a Salford graduate from years ago who was here when education was free. She said she remembered how the government wanted to introduce fees whilst she was still a student and how they protested against it then and that she still thinks it wrong now. A contrast to the many politicians in this country who also benefited from free education but back top up fees now.

I really hope that as many students as possible come to get involved with the events in Manchester next week. There are all sorts of activities, such as flash mobs, street theatre and other stunts happening during the day on the Wednesday in Piccadilly gardens and a debate taking place in the Town Hall during the evening with a panel of guest speakers. The more students and supporters we get there the bigger effect we will have. So if you want to get involved and come along, then meet me and the other USSU sabbatical officers outside the front of University House on Wednesday Afternoon at 1:30, looking to leave for Manchester at 2:00. And of course don’t forget to add your contribution to our wall of debt, you will find me in Maxwell near the main entrance from 12 o’clock until 4 o’clock today, I will also leave some forms at our general office where you can fill them in and I will add them to the wall later.

I hope to see you all there on Wednesday.

Jim

For more info
http://www.nus.org.uk/en/Campaigns/TownTakeovers/
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148053976904&index=1#/group.php?gid=160096289625

Student Direct Columns so far...

Posted by Matt

Hope everyone is doing well. My next blog is a copy of the first five of my weekly blogs in Student Direct. Also don't forget today is 'You Decide' at 4pm in Chapman 4. We will be discussing the Student Rep review, your Academic Experience, Environmental issues and higher education funding. Hope to see you there!

01

Events you don’t want to miss

My name is Matt Webber and I am the Students’ Union President for the year. Over the course of the year I hope to be writing about some of the fun stuff going on as well as some of the key issues affecting students in Salford and nationally.
First of all I want to draw your attention to the grass area outside University House. You may have noticed this huge marquee that isn’t normally there. It’s huge! Inside it there will be a variety over the next week of events and stands giving out lots of freebies. One of my favourite events is on Friday, our very own Students Union Activities and Trade Fair. This event is one of the events of the year where you can sign up to over sixty different student activity groups and take your pick of the free stuff in the Trade Fair! It should have a real festival vibe in and around the marquee this week. It’s also a very different fair from when I came to Salford four years ago and the fair was in Sports Hall before its recent renovation!
There are also loads of other areas to get involved in. There are ‘Give it a Go’ activities which while they started last year, are now back as an epic series of events from speed dating to paintballing. More info on those is at our permanent stand in the Marquee.
There are also club and social nights in our bar and club. In Yours Bar on Tuesday is comedy night and every Friday is ‘Fresh’ a pre-warm up night as well as this coming week three big nights in ‘The Pav’ including the not to be missed ‘Flirt’ night every Tuesday. ‘The Pav’ is one of my favourite haunts particularly when I lived on Castle Irwell and I always played pool there with housemates over a few pints at weekends and then was there most Tuesday nights for ‘Flirt’ and a cheeky one (or two) on other nights during the week! Yours Café is also open weekdays offering a non-alcoholic space with Halal food on offer.
There are also many other activities to get involved in, including writing for this paper which is published most weeks of the academic year, get involved in any of our collectives which our single issue or group specific meetings. We currently have seven – Activities, Disabled, Entertainments, Green, International, Postgraduate and Media. There is also the chance to be a Student Rep for your course which adds to any CV, takes up little of your time and allows you to have a key role in how your course is delivered. More info on any of these can be found on the Students’ Union website which is www.salfordstudents.com.
So there’s a lot to do, and in some ways very little time to do it in so my advice, if you choose to take it, get involved in as much as you can!

One way not to finish your time at the University

Recently, the University made a major change to its academic regulations, which has an impact on every student at Salford. From this year onwards, if you fail to attend your last assessment, or fail to submit your final piece of coursework on any module then you will not be allowed to be reassessed on that module. You will effectively fail that particular module at that point with no comeback. Should you find yourself in this position, then your only opportunity to appeal will be through the submission of a Personal Mitigating Circumstances (PMC) claim in the hope that it will be accepted. If it is not accepted, then you will be finished on your course for that year with no resit or resubmission available to you.
I strongly urge other students to check with their lecturers what constitutes the “final assessment” on their module, and ensure that you meet its requirements.
02

How much will a degree cost?

Money. That has been the buzz word of education for quite some time now, certainly in the last four years whilst I’ve been a University student. The conversation has been generally about two conflicting areas; the discussion about raising students financial contribution to their studies whilst many students are generating ever increasing debt. The debate on how to resolve such a burdensome issue on so many current and prospective students is an interesting one. Everyone is stepping in with their own view on such a contentious issue.
Only last week the Confederation of Business Industry stated that students should have to contribute further to their education which the National Union of Students (NUS) retorted was the view of “gross fat cats from the CBI.” Quite right too when you consider that in the NUS report ‘Broke and Broken’ the average student debt (for those outside London) is £25,178 and in London is just over £37,000 by the end of a three year undergraduate course.
Even our new Vice Chancellor Martin Hall has commented on the future of funding saying in a recent Manchester Evening News interview that “there are fairer ways to fund the system - something like a graduate tax which would make education free at the point of use.” NUS have also offered a similar view, suggesting that a graduate tax might be the way forward.
But what’s your Students’ Union doing on this matter? Well we want to encourage debate amongst students at Salford on this issue. At the beginning of November we will be hosting several events as part of a campaign called ‘Town Takeover.’ I should add before anyone becomes unduly concerned that this isn’t a mob of students descending on a town and taking it over, instead we are asking what the future of funding University education is. We are engaging in the campaign to discuss what the options are in partnership with the NUS, University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University Students’ Unions. There will be a ‘wall of debt’ at each University which will allow all students to come together and write how much debt studying at University has put them in before the walls are displayed at the Manchester Town Hall as well as debate and discussion.
With a General Election coming next year it is important this issue does not get sidelined as none of the parties will probably want to engage in a debate about the future of funding in Education until the next General Election is over. Is it unreasonable for the public to know what whomever is in charge is going to do to a huge part of our education over the next five years? I certainly don’t think so. Is it unfair to expect future students (such as our children or siblings) to contribute financially to their degree? Well that’s for you to make your own mind up on. I like the Graduate tax scheme proposal as this would keep education open to everyone. Why should only the rich go to University? Why should anyone undertake £25,000 of debt? Has no one learnt from the amount of debt consumers have got into with credit card companies in previous years that considerable debt is unhelpful to anyone?
The solution used to be (and for some still is) free education, and when that fight was lost then, in most cases by former students, we had the repercussions which was to pay for our education. Let’s not do the same to the next generations where our siblings, our friends and our children may all well wish to go to University and not be able to afford it. At the moment the resolution is a big unknown – but what is important is that we as students studying today have a significant say in answering the question over how much a degree in the future should cost because those affected by it in many cases do not have the same opportunity.

03

Induction and the Marquee

Although by the time this goes to print it may feel like a long time ago I want to write about the induction process in the University. What do I mean by that? Well everything from the first step onto campus as a student at the University of Salford to the Students’ Union Activities and Trade Fair which was the culmination of the events.
I know a great deal of staff from both the University and the Students’ Union put in a lot of effort into the welcome for new and returning students. Between the five sabbatical officers we did over forty induction talks to new students, and I know staff from across the University departments also did plenty of talks too.
Of course not everything always goes perfectly with the current financial climate for students regarding student loans some of the celebrations were tarnished by uncertainty. However credit should be given to all those staff members who seem to be managing the various student loan related issues.
There was however one big disappointment I witnessed during Induction. I’m not going to ‘name and shame’ in this instance as it is not relevant to what I observed. In an induction talk that I attended I witnessed a (presumably new) student ask a question and be greeted by the presenter of the presentation with “look at the website, I don’t want to receive x number of emails (from students) asking me the same question.” It’s a pity that in some instances it seems that the few forget why they are even at the University and that if it wasn’t for students they wouldn’t be employed here in the first place. An eager student who wants to find out more about something related to enhancing their student experience should never be seen as a chore; instead it should be viewed as an opportunity. This sort of attitude can undo all the hard work others have put into all the events for the individuals affected.
That’s not to say that all was lost over the week. I spoke to so many other students who enjoyed themselves and in my (admittedly biased) opinion I thought the marquee was brilliant. It had a great vibe about it, and on the Friday we had at least 5,500 people come through the main doors for Activity and Trade fair with over 60 different groups to join as well as plenty of free pizza! What I like most is the sheer dedication all the other students involved in stands at Activity fair promoting their Students’ Union activity group. We had a rowing machine, a paddling pool and various goodies being handed out as everyone made a strong pitch for why other students should join their group. Hopefully this effort will lead to a membership that each group deserves!

Up to the challenge?

You may have heard about the infamous final in last years University Challenge where Oxford Corpus Christi team were stripped of their winners’ title which was then handed to Manchester University students who had initially been runner ups.
Well this year we are recruiting for a team to represent Salford. The folks from ITV (who host the program at their Manchester studios despite it being transmitting the BBC) have been sending me posters and quiz questions to help us select a team. So if you’re up to the challenge and are a current student for the next year at Salford then please come to Yours Bar for 3pm on the 22 October. If you got any questions before hand then just drop me an email.

04

Answer the question!

This week I have been attending as many of the political fringe events as I can. Now before I go on I want to make clear my comments are not based on any affiliation or dislike for the Tories (in fact it would be wrong of me to share my own political views in this column) nor is my criticism about politics just aimed at the Conservatives. It just happens that the only political party conference close to Salford was the Conservative one in Manchester.
Well what a week it has been! Monday morning I attended the Victoria Derbyshire Radio 5 show which was making a special broadcast from the Urbis museum. Basically it was an opportunity to question members of the shadow cabinet. What I wanted to establish was an answer from the Conservatives -as they may be leading the country in twelve months- as to their view on the future of higher education funding. Now I won’t dwell on why I asked this as I’ve discussed that in a previous column. However when the question was eventually asked they dodged it. They said it would be wrong to comment before the Government review. That’s right, it’s wrong as the potential government in less than twelve months to not share its view on how it will fund higher education. What a load of bull! Labour though is also keeping schtum. What I have been told informally by many people is that the major parties have an agreement not to mention this before the next General Election. You can see why, it’s not a vote winner. You will annoy people either way; either those who don’t want to be taxed more, or those who don’t want to themselves or those they know to get into on average £25,000 of debt let alone substantially more with any future increase in tuition fees. Of course the clever way to get around this with the current batch of students is to say the amount they pay won’t be affected, but we have to think about the future for our siblings and any of our children or friends. Funnily enough one minister was repeatedly asked a question on the Lisbon Treaty referendum in Ireland and kept dodging the question to the point where the presenter said “I’ll try this one more time…” before preceding to ask her question which remained unanswered. Little reason why voting numbers are dwindling.

The Future of Television

Or is at transpired the BBC! One of the fringe events I attended one evening with guests on the panel including Ed Vaisey from the Shadow Minister for Culture and Caroline Thomson the Chief Operating Officer of the BBC who is currently heading up the BBC North work (including Media City) and the key debate seemed to centre around the future of the BBC and what its remit was. In the end I had to throw in my own view which as a scriptwriting student it would probably be quite obvious I confessed my great love for the Beeb. Other topics discussed included product placement (which has just been given the green light on all channels apart from the BBC) and the battle for monopoly between BT and Sky. Who knows what the future will hold!

Reports

Our officer reports will be on the Students’ Union website. Please do have a look through and be ready to ask us any questions the week after. More details are in the news story towards the front of this newspaper. ‘You Decide’ is a chance for you to find out what the sabbatical officers are doing as well as discussing some of the key topics affecting students. It all sounds rather fancy and political, but actually it’s not. It’s just a good way to find out what’s going on in your Students’ Union and find out areas you either want to get involved in or issues you want the sabbatical officers to act on.


05

Welcome Irene and Martin

I was delighted to be part of the instillation ceremony last Monday in Peel Hall. The University of Salford had the honour of welcoming Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International as well as officially installing our new Vice Chancellor Martin Hall at the University. As part of the ceremony I carried the University mace which is held traditionally to protect everyone else in the procession. I guess this makes me a bit of a ceremonial body guard!
I do think we are very lucky to have Irene Khan as our new Chancellor and no doubt with her great expertise and knowledge the University will be influenced to focus some of its efforts on human rights.

7 Grand!

David Willets, according to the NUS, hinted in the Evening Standard he would consider raising the cap on tuition fees to £7000. I’ve made my thoughts on this rather well known so here’s what Wes Streeting, NUS President had to say.
“It is of serious concern that the Conservatives seem so relaxed about entertaining the notion of more than doubling fees when they have not committed to a clear policy for students and their families ahead of the general election.”
Quite!

Thirty five jobs you can’t go into

Every year around October it seems there are ticket inspectors at Salford Crescent train station where some people don’t have tickets and get duly fined and/or prosecuted. Now the obvious thing to do is to just buy a ticket. However if for whatever reason you don’t have a valid ticket on you when checked, be polite and friendly. You’re may then be less likely to be taken to court. If you do get a criminal record from this there are apparently about thirty five different jobs that you are then unable to go into.

Stand out

A new award has been set up to acknowledge student achievement called the ‘Salford Student Life Award.’ It’s a new initiative which helps students gain recognition for extra-curricular activities in a formal way. Basically it shows future employers you did other things at University aside from just your course. Now there are many things you could do to help you get the award including being a student rep or a student ambassador. Even writing for this newspaper counts. If this is your last or only year at Salford you can fastrack the award as long you start in the November cohort. If you don’t fall into this category then the award takes a year. I think it’s a great way to impress an employer and for those already taking an active role in something outside their studies it’s another way to get good recognition for it. More info on 0161 295 0464 or go to www.studentlifeaward.co.uk

Accommodation Deferment

Because of the well documented issues with student loans the University have agreed for all Undergraduate students that they will defer first payment of Accommodation fees by a month. This is for anyone who is in Bramall, Castle Irwell, Constantine, Horlock or Mathias.
CLV are taking a similar tack having emailed all Undergraduate students in their accommodation (Eddie Colman and John Lester) asking if they need to defer. However I do believe that if you want to defer with CLV you need to agree this with them first.

Welcome Week 09

Posted By Ricky Chotai

Welcome Week 09




Photo of Students at the Welcome 2009 Barbecue.

Welcome Week has come to a close and I can honestly say that it has been best ever. The week ended with huge success of the Students’ Union Activity and Trade Fair. We saw about 5000 students come through the Marquee and come and have a look at all the SU Activity Groups.
Don’t panic if you did not manage to come down, if you are still interested in joining an activity group then get in contact with our Student Activities Coordinator Stephanie Pratt on 0161351400 or email her on Studentactivities-ussu@salford.ac.uk

As well as all the festivities that have been going on during this week, all the officers have been giving Induction Talks to all the new students. Below is a copy of the slides I used for the Frederick Road Campus.

Presenation2009

View more presentations from Ricky Chotai.

If you do have any questions about what the students union does or want to get in touch with one of your elected officers check out www.salfordstudents.com for our contact details.

Next week is a much quieter week, however I do have some interesting things coming up. These include interviewing for our Advice Centre Volunteers and a meeting of University Council*.
*University's supreme governing body. The Council is responsible for the management and administration of the revenue and property of the University and for the conduct of the affairs of the University.

As ever if you have any more questions please do not hesitate to get in touch;
Ricky
Vice President Health and Social Care
Tel: 0161 351 5424
Web: www.salfordstudents.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SalfordVPHSC
MSN / Email: VPHSC-USSU@salford.ac.uk

Student Loans - the current situation

Posted by Matt

At present there are some pressing issues with the Students Loans situation for all students. I am working closely with the University to try and resolve these issue as best as possible for all other students.

I wanted to share with you however some facts that were sent to myself by the NUS (National Union of Students.)

The NUS wrote:

"Current situation

As of the end of last week, the SLC advises us that:

• There are currently 1,040,000 applications in the system, of which 830,000 have been processed

• They are still receiving 5,000 applications per day – a higher than expected volume for this time in the year

• Earlier in the summer, there were significant delays in processing evidence for those who were applying for the full, means-tested loan. Moreover, more students have applied this year for student finance in general, and a greater proportion of applicants have asked for means-tested support compared with last year

• All students who applied by the deadlines will receive the non means-tested loan (which accounts for at least 72% of their entitlement) when they start term and will receive any outstanding amount around 4 weeks later. SLC continues to take this approach for later applications so that students have at least the majority of their cash as soon as possible

• Many students have applied late in the cycle, after clearing

• The phone lines are unable to cope with the volume of calls. The call centre is set up to deal with 25,000 calls per day but is currently receiving 100,000 per day. Applicants should check the status of their applications using the online tracking system first, or if they do wish to call they should do so after 6pm when lines tend to be quieter."



My own view is it's unnaceptable to treat students in such a way and if and when the current situation is resolved there are going to have to be serious questions asked of the Students Loan Company and whether this is going to be a recurring problem.

I will update as and when any new information comes to light.

Late night at the office

Posted by Matt

So I’m at work in the evening which is a rarity at least over summer as the building where we work (University House) has been closing at 6.30pm every week night and has been closed at weekends.

But for one night only –until Yours Bar is open till 11pm and in turn so is the building on the 14th of September- I can work at work rather than home.

There’s a function going on in Yours Bar tonight so the five sabbs our here working away. We got objectives for the year to write, emails to send and blogs to create. The trick of working after 5pm is that the phone isn’t ringing all the time. You can listen to Chemical Brothers whilst concentrating on a project without having to press the pause button.

So I should try and tell you what I’ve been doing. I’ve been on holiday for a week of sunshine and beer, an NUS conference, too many meetings and the fun one – planning events for Welcome Week 09. We’ll have a barbeque, a market, an activities fair, a treasure hunt, several club nights and plenty more going on – more info on that at salfordstudents.com

I’ve also been in interviews for an Anglican Chaplain, been discussing plans for the year with the Senior Management of the University, helping students find Accommodation, campaign planning and working out how I can contribute to hopefully a very successful year for students at Salford!

I also found something pretty cool today. A series of trophies that students have won from as long ago as 1975. Incidentally we also won four trophies last year. So what the other sabbs and I have decided is that we’re going to put a trophy cabinet in Yours Bar with all the trophies on show. Hopefully next summer they’ll be a few more to add!

But I shall keep the blog short for now. All I’ll say is I cannot wait for loads of other students to return/start uni – hope to see you soon!