As your Students’ Union, we can always do more to make sure you’re represented effectively, and student priorities are always reflected in the work we do. Last year we launched a Democracy Review to analyse the challenges with our current processes, gather your opinions and feedback, and implement new processes to better support you.
This included reviewing all aspects of our system (e.g. elected officer roles, policy submission mechanisms, SU council) - nothing was off the table, and all decisions taken were informed by your feedback.
How did we do this?
We split the review up into different stages, which involved various opportunities for you to get involved in such as surveys and focus groups.
What have we done so far?
In October, we launched the Democracy Survey and hosted various focus groups to get your feedback on our current democratic system. This also included a focus group with college representatives to understand their views on representation and our democratic structure.
We looked at everyone's feedback and drew up new ways the SU can effectively represent you.
In November, we announced Survey Superheros and Student Panel Reps, new initiatives designed to give you more paid opportunities, putting you at the heart of everything we do. Our first Survey Superhero launched on Fri 16 Jan, and Student Panel Reps will attend their first committees in early February.
In December, to better represent and support the changing student demographic at Roehampton, the Students' Union's Board of Trustees approved a recommendation that the Sabbatical Officer structure move to a two Officer model with clearer and more defined portfolios. That's where you came in again! We asked you to have your say and vote on the titles of these two new roles.
We're pleased to announce that you decided a President Education and President Community would lead your Union.
The President Education will focus on every aspect of the academic experience, ensuring students feel their degree offers real value. It involves leading on key areas such as teaching quality, educational support, career development, curriculum design, and supports the Programme and School Reps.
The President Community will focus on all aspects of university life beyond the classroom, ensuring students feel safe, supported, and a true sense of belonging at Roehampton. It involves leading on key areas such as sustainability, housing, cost of living, mental health, student communities, student groups, and events.
The Board of Trustees also approved a series of other changes to our democratic structures:
- Transition of Part-Time Officers - Changing the existing part-time officer structure that consists of College President and Deputy Presidents to societies for each of the four colleges. This means more leadership roles exist within each College through the core committee roles of President, Secretary, and Treasurer. This move simplifies the management of these roles while also opening up funding routes for these groups which currently does not exist.
- The introduction of Student Priorities - Using insight and feedback generated across the academic year, a set of priorities will be voted on by students during the Student Leadership Elections with the top six becoming priority campaigns in the next academic year.
- Re-introduction of Students’ Union Council - To increase accessibility and transparency of decision-making, we are bringing back Students' Union Council and expanding the membership to include all of RSU's student leaders while making it open for all students to attend. This change will see over 40 student leaders actively involved in setting Union policy and promoting the voices of students within their communities across the University.
All of these changes were made to give stronger representation to our changing student body. We want to thank all of you who engaged in our Democracy Review in any way, as your feedback has directly contributed to having a representation structure that helps make student life better at Roehampton.
