What is the likely impact on Student life? The University of Sheffield Students Union is democratically run by students for students. All of our students automatically become members when they join the University. We are an independent organisation and work closely with the University to achieve a world class student experience for those studying at the University of Sheffield. We are an independent voice that represents students within the University, locally and nationally. Our Student Advice Centre provides advice, support and academic representation to assist our students. Sheffield Students Union is the heart of the student community. It provides a multitude of facilities to support students through their University life, from the advice centre and nursery to sports teams and nights out. The proposed increase in annual PPL charges of over 220,000 would have a huge effect on the standard of services the Union would be able to provide and in cases may lead to the loss of some. The events programme is in many ways the lifeblood of the student community. Being able to play music is a necessity for running the events; however it is not the primary reason people attend events at the Students Union. The programme brings people together, making friendships and creating memories. Events offer a critical community service, giving students an opportunity to socialise and meet new people. For the majority of our members who are away from home, many for the first time, this is a vital support network. Whilst being able to play music is essential in running club nights and live events it is the culture of the Union that brings people to them. The Students Union is not merely an entertainments venue it is a home away from home for our members. For the majority of students, coming to University is the time when they uncover new passions, from sports to music. Through our events programme the Students Union is in part a place of musical discovery, where they will hear artistes they have never heard before and build an appreciation for many of PPL s members for years to come. Within this captive audience there is the potential to promote a wide variety of music, something which would be of a huge benefit to PPL s members and which could be maximised through special focused events held at the Students Union. With such a significant increase in costs, many events would become too costly to be viable ongoing propositions, and a reduction in the number of events run at the Students Union would be inevitable. Many niche events are currently operated with a subsidy from the more profitable elements of the events programme. In the instance of such large cost savings having to be achieved, it would inevitably be the smaller, more marginalised niche interests and minority groups within the Students Union that would be affected first. This would include the monthly lesbian, gay, bisexual and trasn-gender night, a vital date in the whole of Sheffield s LGBT calendar, as well as student led events that the Union work on with student groups and societies giving them invaluable experience in running their own events as well as enhancing the student community. Many of these events are in part funded by student groups out of their own accounts, for them to be unable to have the opportunity to create their own events would be a substantial loss. The implications of this across the national student movement, would have a large and long-term impact on the UK music scene. Many of today s most influential and prolific event promoters began their experience of event promoting, targeting relatively niche groups within the safe, and financially supportive environment of their student union.
In addition the impact on student employment would be negative. The Students Union employs many students in our services, venues and retail outlets. Money made from the events pays their wages, and with the cultivation of musical appreciation from attending Union events much of their expendable income is then used to purchase music or tickets to music events. As well as having a negative impact on the diversity of the programme, there would also be a huge financial impact on bigger, mainstream events. They would not be able to happen with the current level of entertainments and social content as costs would have to be scaled back. The seasonality of trade means in some weeks of the year the regular programme is sustained even though operating at a loss making level. The need for substantial cost saving would jeopardise these events, affecting the regularity of the program and therefore the reliability of the Students' Union's services that students have come to rely on. Sheffield Students Union exists in the not-for-profit sector, any surplus generated from events goes straight back into providing services for our students. The increase in PPL charges in excess of 2000% would have a direct impact on our success in pursuing our charitable objectives. The proposed increase would not just effect events, it would have a direct impact on the student community and the lives of everyone who lives and works in it. Who are the Sheffield University Students Union? What purpose does Sheffield University Students Union serve? The University of Sheffield Students Union is democratically run by students for students. All of our students automatically become members when they join the University. We are an independent organisation and work closely with the University to achieve a world class student experience for those studying at the University of Sheffield. Eight Student Officers are elected annually in a cross campus ballot. They form the Student Executive Committee and are responsible for the day to day operation of the organisation via a number of student working committees and a 900+ staff team. A Students Union Council of 62 elected students provides direction, support and oversees the work of the Student Executive Committee. We are an independent voice that represents students within the University, locally and nationally. Our Student Advice Centre provides advice, support and academic representation to assist our students. We provide a wide range of trading services including retail, catering, bars and entertainments. Where these services are profit making, this money is used to support the non-trading activities of the Students Union, in line with priorities defined by students. Fantastic work of students directly in the local community; over 1,400 students were involved in volunteering projects during the year, and Raising And Giving (RAG) raised a record 163,000 for charity over 80% going to local causes. The many
achievements are only possible due to the extraordinary contributions from students actively involved in the community that is the Students Union. Innovative & Responsive We build a culture which encourages new ideas and captures the energy of our students and staff to create an innovative and responsive Union We fully capture the energy and ideas of our students, with over 350 societies and sports clubs, managed directly by students. They include initiatives such as: Give it a Go scheme Raising & Giving (RAG) raising money for local good causes Film Unit, in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam, launched the No Limits film festival, one of the largest in the world and offered 130 films from 14 countries. Sports ambassadors Children s projects Community garden Student Advice Centre - academic, housing, immigration, money For the past 20 years the Student Advice Centre has dealt with over 600,000 queries, of which 100,000 required detailed advice and support from our advisers. It has also contributed to the development of more student-friendly policies both at institutional, local and national level. Life at University isn t always easy: students fail exams; funding is disrupted; landlords refuse to do essential repairs; family members are refused visas. The Student Advice Centre is a place where our members can come in confidence to get information, advice and support from a trusted and independent source. Rt. Hon Paul Blomfield MP..the Student Advice Centre has played and continues to play a pivotal role in ensuring students at the University of Sheffield have access to a quality education, adequate financial support, decent housing and fro international students a right to enter and remain in the UK. Over the years, not only helping individual students but also have influenced the development of policy in may key areas of student life. I have no doubt that the Student Advice Centre is one of the key reasons why the Students Union has continued to enjoy such an excellent reputation both nationally and amongst its membership...the Student Advice Centre will I am sure continue to play a key role in supporting students and helping the Students Union to have a credible voice in terms of representing its members on students issues..it is often those individuals who work on a daily basis to support and advise individual students who should be remembered most and so I am delighted to applaud the work they do and the development over the years of such an effective service Democracy We will embed democracy at the heart of the Union; valued by all our students and staff
This year saw all our elections conducted fully online, and we once again broke records with our voter turnout. 3,735 voted in Students Union Council elections and 7,216 in Students Union Officer Elections. We work hard to ensure our Students Union Council is representative of all of our membership. We mounted an effective campaign to get students to both register, and vote, in the UK general election, with record turnouts from students. High Performance We will create a positive and high performance culture, where staff enjoy working and their potential is realised so that they contribute fully to our success Received a Gold Award under the Student Union Evaluation Initiative (SUEI), of which we are only the second students union to do so. Lego Club was awarded Outstanding Project at the Higher Education Student Volunteering Awards. Film Unit won the Best Student Society at the British Federation of Film Societies national awards. Strong Effective Voice for Students We will champion students interests, providing them with a strong effective voice by supporting and empowering them, collectively and individually Contributing & Participating We will have student recognition of their membership of the Union, its value and the benefit of contributing to and participating in it Over 1,400 student volunteers were active in our local community, a 7% increase and the 7 th successive year of expansion for Sheffield Volunteering. Over 4,700 Students were involved in Raising and Giving (RAG) and raised 163,000 for good causes, of which over 80% was used to support local projects. Give it a Go maintained its leading position as a gateway to student activities, selling nearly 10,000 tickets and recorded satisfaction ratings amongst home and international students in excess of 90%. Our diverse community building programme in the student residences recorded 18,200 attendances, with 79% of residents saying that they felt part of their community. Environment We will develop a vibrant building, providing excellent facilities, activities and services, which is accessible, friendly and meets the aspirations of all our members We will be at the forefront of environmental best practice, and we will encourage and enable our members to do likewise Finance
The finance strategy supporting Vision 2012 aims for the Union to be in a breakeven position by 2012. We invested 729k of our own resources in both commercial and non-commercial areas to ensure that the internal facilities met with our Vision. We are continuing work to ensure that the student experience is enhanced in future years for an increasingly diversifying student population. Accounts 2010 Income University grant Commercial contribution Interest receivable Expenditure Student focussed costs Operating and facilities costs 2,819,875 2,148,544 652,917 18,414 3,248,238 1,154,055 2,094,133 Deficit 428,363 In 2009/10, the commercial contribution represented 23% of available income to the Students Union. Commercial contribution was 42% short of the previous years figure due primarily to the one-off disruption caused to normal activity by the building works, although we can not ignore the additional impact of underlying trends and the prevailing economic conditions, which has had, and will continue to have a considerable effect. Commercial services are run by the Students Union to give members the services they want whilst offering value for money. The profits from these services are use to fund other services and activities which could not be offered if the Students Union relied upon the University Grant alone.