► Transformation

03/04 Policy

Valid AULUC 2009

 

 

MOTION TO THIRD COUNCIL ON TRANSFORMATION

Proposed by: Chris Piper [ULU President]

Seconded by: Mike Johnson [ULU V-P Finance, Services & Operations]

 

THIS UNION NOTES

 

1.           A motion was passed at the first ULU Council meeting of the 2003/2004 academic year starting a consultation process entitled ‘ULU Transformation’ on the future of ULU and in particular its non-commercial services.

2.          Transformation was defined as “a process which will gain support for a new financially and politically viable role for the entity of ULU to ensure its survival and to create something that adds to the University Of London student experience and represents value for money to the taxpayer”.

3.          The student centre concept was defined as “The development of a central student building for the student population of London in the existing ULU building in Malet Street. It would be a mixture of a 1-stop shop and a centre of excellence and innovation. A very strong brand identity would be created by promoting the building itself and the central location of it as a landmark”.

4.          The consultation process opened on the 13^th October and many College Union’s have fed positively back their opinions on this matter.

5.          Consultation has also been undertaken within ULU’s Committees, over the various networks and on ULU’s website.

6.          The University is keen to have a single face to all UL student services and the UL Accommodation Office, the UL Careers Centre and the Universities Chaplaincy have signalled a willingness to be part of the scheme.

7.          That ULU have commissioned an external consultant to look into the Governance structures of ULU and this will be feedback over the upcoming term, with input from both ULU Council and the various ULU Committees/Networks.

8.          That plans for Transformation contain no initiatives to invest in ULU’s commercial/trading services.

9.       That finance committee has been presented with the preliminary reports on the financial strategy of Transformation.

10.     That several other student union’s have successfully created a ‘one stop’ shop by working in partnership with their parent institution to provide all the facilities that students want under one roof.

11.      The University of London is extremely committed to the transformation scheme and has promised to underwrite and fund refurbishment of the building estimated at some £3 million.

12.      The cost of maintenance within the ULU building continues to rise beyond the increases in our block grant and the planned refurbishment will ease the financial burden of the running of the building, as backlog maintenance will be cleared.

13.      That the University have promised to contribute to the future maintenance of ULU by paying space charges for their services within the building.

14.     That the building after the building process will still be run and managed by ULU.

15.        That in the paving motion at the first Council, the name for the student centre concept was the “University of London Student Centre” or “ULSC”.

16.        That notwithstanding the title of “ULSC”, ULU will still be called ULU and will continue to manage the building.

16.        There is a significant Pan-London postgraduate student community requiring specialist:

-                                               Welfare advice

-                                               Peer networks

-                                               Support

-                                               Democratic structures & representation

-                                               Information & access to appropriate facilities (e.g. Housing/Services)

-                                               Social Provision

17.        The international, national and regional demand to study on postgraduate courses at the University of London continues to grow, reflecting the unique concentration and diversity of world-class postgraduate provision that UL offers.

19.     There is a significant medical and health care student community in London requiring specialist:

-           Welfare advice

-           Peer networks

-           Support

-            Democratic structures & representation

-            Information & access to appropriate facilities (e.g. Housing/Services)

-                  Social Provision

20.        That proposed changes to the structure of medical education in the UK may increase the number of medical and health care students in the capital.

21.     The continuing work of ULU’s MedGroup.

22.        That for full-time first year undergraduates at the University of London, 21% were international students.

23.        That for full-time and part-time postgraduates at the University of London, 42% were international students.

24.        Across institutions as a whole, 60% of students at LSE were internationally domiciled; at Imperial College the figure is 28% and at UCL, 23%.

25.        European Union students have similar issues.

26.        Higher Education Institutes want international students for profit.

27.        That non-EU students can expect to pay far higher fees than domestic students for exactly the same courses.

28.        That these factors alone create some complex welfare needs for a significantly sized population of UL students.

 

(Data taken from “Students in Higher Education Institutions 2001/02” by HESA and www.ukcosa.org.uk/pages/hestats.htm)

 

THIS UNION BELIEVES

 

1.          As stated in the paving motion, reformation of ULU, that is to continue to produce the same service in a new style, is not radical or fundamental enough to achieve the desired outcomes.

2.          That ULU needs to enhance the UL student experience without unnecessarily duplicating college SU non-commercial services or less effectively providing services that should be provided at that level.

3.          That ULU needs to engage and represent all its members whilst catering for specific niches within the student membership and providing centres of excellence and research to assist and not unnecessarily duplicate services already provided at a college level.

4.          That ULU should not actively compete with other Students’ Union’s functions within commercial services but seek to add to the range on offer.

5.          That the moves towards creating specialist units such as a Postgraduate Student Centre, International Student Centre and a Small and Specialist Colleges Development Unit will significantly add to the student experience across London and are things that ULU should be pursuing.

6.          That ULU should investigate other potential units within the student centre concept, which will build and complement the services at College level such as for example a London Student Media Centre and an Equalities Unit.

7.       That consultation should be ongoing with respect to the units within the potential student centre as noted previously.

8.        It will be possible to seek new funding for expenditure areas, most likely involving a partnership approach.

9.       ULU should investigate the possibility of allowing non-UL institutions to affiliate to ULU at a given rate.

10.     Under the Governance Review, there is an opportunity to explore other democratic governance models, which retain officer control.

11.     It is time to place the emphasis within governance on creating a more viable and effective ULU.

12.     That creating a ‘one stop shop’ or student centre will be of great benefit to students across London, who currently have to travel across Bloomsbury to find the central University services such as the Accommodation Office and Careers Centre.

13.     That it would be advantageous to invite the Accommodation Office, Careers Centre and the other student faces of the University into the ULU building.

14.     That existing trading activities will benefit from the increased numbers of visitors that a “one-stop” student service centre will attract.

15.     That the refurbishment of the ULU building, funded by the University will remove the biggest strategic financial problem facing ULU, cutting operating costs and disruption and reduce building running costs.

16.      That the planned refurbishment of ULU will allow the Union to operate in a facility that will be amongst the best in the country and will aid the development of a student centre to benefit students across London.

17.        That there is currently lots of space within the ULU building that could be better used to help further the aims of ULU and this development could release that potential.

18.        That ULU should work in partnership with the University to ensure that future maintenance is properly funded and that the building does not get again into its current position.

19.        The aim is to complete the works as soon as reasonably possible.

20.     That the name should be easy to understand for students, should imply a partnership approach and something new and innovative.

21      That the student centre concept should take its name from the University and should be hence called the “University of London Student Centre”.

22.     That ULU should remain an integral part of the student centre, will continue to manage the building and will continue to be branded as the campaigning voice of students across London.

23.     That the following areas may be gaps in postgraduate student provision which a specialist unit could fill

-           Dedicated web based resources for PG students

-           Specialist academic affairs advice

-           Research Students: Academic appeals/complaints against supervisors/funding options/harassment of PG students/working independently or in small groups

-           Taught Students: Procedural issues/exam systems/academic structures

-           Dedicated support for open/distance learning programmes

-           Inclusivity of PG’s within existing ULU structures.

-           Lack of adequate course rep systems in many instances

 

24.     That there is considerable scope for a specialist postgraduate centre to cater for the needs mentioned above and many more.

25.        That there are distinctive needs for Medical and Healthcare students in the capital that could be better served by a specialist centre of knowledge and expertise.

26.        That ULU’s MedGroup is the best forum for debating the issues most significant to medical students and establishing the remit and priority of such a centre.

27.        That the standard of existing welfare provision can be very high at some institutions or very poor at others; that there may be inadequate dedicated resources with which to meet existing levels of demand; that the overall UL provision may therefore best be described as patchy.

28.        That as a consequence, international students lack a cohesive and dedicated set of resources tailored to their needs and interests.

29.        That there is considerable scope for a specialist international centre to cater for the needs outlined above alone.

 

THIS UNION RESOLVES

 

1.          To undertake the process called Transformation subject to prior approval of an ongoing business plan by Finance Committee.

2.          To continue to consult on all aspects with relevant stakeholders.

3.          To continue to delegate matters pertaining to the finance of Transformation to Finance committee with regular reporting to Council.

4.          To create a student centre or ‘one stop shop’ for the benefit of students across London housing the student faces of the University and other specialist units as determined by Council.

5.       To move to the second phase of the ‘Transformation’ process and work in partnership with the University to undertake the building work within the ULU Building.

6.          To allocate space within the ULU building for the Careers Centre, the Accommodation Office, a World Faith Centre and any other student faces of the University that have been brought to, and passed by, Council.

7.          To work within the plans, space for other specialist units that the Union will believe to be of benefit to both the student centre and students across London.

8.          To work with the University to ensure that after the redevelopment, that the long-term maintenance is undertaken and to devise systems to ensure that this happens.

9.          To minimise, as much as possible, disruption to ULU’s activities during building works.

10.     To entitle the student centre the “University of London Student Centre”.

11.     To ensure that the brand identity of ULU continues to be used within the student centre and beyond across London.

12.     To continue consultation on what such a centre could provide across UL’s postgraduate community.

13.        To actively pursue the creation of such a centre to address these needs as part of Transformation.

14.     To task ULU’s MedGroup with the continuing development, through consultation, regarding the establishment of a specialist medical and healthcare students’ centre.

15.     To actively pursue the creation of such a centre to address these needs as part of Transformation.

16.     To continue consultation on what such a centre could provide across UL’s international student community.

17.     To actively pursue the creation of such a centre to address these needs as part of Transformation.

 

PASSED:  9^th December 2003