University of Salford Students' Union
Encyclopedia
| University of Salford Students' Union | |
 |
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| Mission | Enhancing Students' Lives |
| Established | 1967 |
| President | Ricky Chotai |
| Location | Salford City of Salford The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over... , United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
| Members | 19,250 approx |
| Member of | National Union of Students |
| Homepage | http://www.salfordstudents.com |
The University of Salford Students' Union (USSU) is the representative body of students at the University of Salford
University of Salford
The University of Salford is a campus university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students. The main campus is about west of Manchester city centre, on the A6, opposite the former home of the physicist, James Prescott Joule and the Working Class...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The Union is based within University House on the Peel Park Campus and represents the interests of the 19,250 full and part time members. It is affiliated to the National Union of Students (NUS). The Union's affiliation to NUS was re-confirmed by a cross campus referendum in March 2009 which resulted in 98% of voters voting "Yes" when asked if the Union should continue to affiliate to the NUS.
Trustees
The sabbatical members of the 2010/11 Trustee Board are- Ricky Chotai - President
- Jim Dale - Vice President (Science, Engineering, Environment)
- Caroline Dangerfield - Vice President (Health & Social Care)
- Christabel Brown - Vice President (Arts, Media & Social Science)
- Maros Kravec - Vice President (Business, Law & Built Environment)
The next group of trustees are full time students and have no portfolio or mandate
- Sylvia Joseph - Student Trustee
- James Walsh - Student Trustee
- Tom Doyle - Student Trustee
- Sophie Atkinson - Student Trustee
The final group of trustees are appointed externally by the trustee board to serve 4 year terms.
- Ruth Everard - Regional Operations Director, Aldi Supermarkets, & former President of the Students' Union
- Alan Gibson - Former Chair of University of Salford Council
- Samantha Foster - Head of Strategy & Performance in Salford Community Leisure Ltd
- Kevin Morley - Former Chair of Manchester Trades Council
Governance and representation
Following in the footsteps of King's College London Students' UnionKing's College London Students' Union
King's College London Students' Union is one of England's oldest students' union. KCLSU is an independent charitable organisation, being a registered Charity with the Charity Commission, and exists solely to further the interests of its members, the approximately 23,500 students who are at King's...
, the Union has transformed its governance prior to achieving registered charity status, as required by the Charities Act 2006
Charities Act 2006
The Charities Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to alter the regulatory framework in which charities operate, partly by amending the Charities Act 1993.-Provisions:...
. Presently it is an un-incorporated association and an exempt charity under the Education Act 1994
Education Act 1994
The Education Act 1994 is an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under John Major's government.Part I relates to Teacher Training....
. Charity registration will take place from November 2009.
The new structure, which took effect on 2 July 2007, created a board of trustees to govern the union. This is made up of five sabbatical officers (President and 4 Vice Presidents), four student trustees, and four external non-student trustees. The board is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Union and monitoring its long term performance and achievements. It is also responsible for the Union's financial performance, directing its staff, and ensuring that the Union's members are involved and consulted on the organisation's work.
The Sabbatical Trustees are responsible for delivering effective student representation on a day-to-day basis, and their representation work is supported and monitored by the Union's student representation forum called "You Decide". You Decide is an open forum that can be attended by any student at the University. Its agenda is split between holding the Sabbatical Officers to account for their representation work, and discussing policy motions for the Union as a whole.
To assist the officers in focussing on representation work, the Union recently changed the role descriptions for the four Vice Presidents. Instead of having traditional service based portfolios such as Activities, Communications or Welfare, the four VPs are now responsible for being the lead student representative in each of the University's four academic Faculties. The officers are expected to work closely with other student representatives and University staff in their Faculties to take action on the academic related issues that matter most to students. Each of the VPs is expected to be a champion for the Union and its activities within their Faculty, and to that end need to have a degree of understanding about most of the Union's activities and services.
The Union employs Student Liaison Representatives to co ordinate the educational feedback for the University, and has an Advice Centre that people can just drop in for almost every problem.
Commercial activities
The Union operates several commercial service. The revenue generated is invested in the Union to enhance the lives of the student body. Some of these activities are:-- Shops. Sited on each campus is a student shop, the largest being on the Peel Park campus (next to which is a bank and bookstore).
- Bars. The union runs a bar. Cafe/Bar Yours situated in University House.
Fire
On the evening of 25 January 2007, a fire tore through the Lowry Bar in University House, devastating the bar and its contents. Fortunately, the fire happened whilst the building was closed and there were no casualties. The Lowry Bar was completely destroyed, but the space was re-usable. The situation was compounded by the temporary closure of the Pavilion at the Castle Irwell Student Village, which lost its roof in the high winds of 18 January 2007. Thanks to swift repair work, the roof was restored within a fortnight and the bar reopened on 6 February 2007. Pictures of the fire.Yours
The Union decided not to rebuild the Lowry bar in situ, and instead moved the whole operation to the other side of the building. The new facility, called Yours consists of a café, traditional bar, and sports bar and occupies the southern part of University House. The University has repaired and redecorated the old Lowry bar space, which is currently being turned into its Student Life Centre, bringing the University's key student facing services alongside those of the Students' Union.Salford Student Direct
Student Direct is Greater Manchester's official student newspaper and one of the widest circulating student publications in Europe serving the University of SalfordUniversity of Salford
The University of Salford is a campus university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students. The main campus is about west of Manchester city centre, on the A6, opposite the former home of the physicist, James Prescott Joule and the Working Class...
, the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
and the University of Bolton
University of Bolton
The University of Bolton is a university in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It has around 14,000 students across all sites and courses, with 700 academic and professional staff. Around 70% of its students come from Bolton and the North West region...
. The University of Salford edition aims to represent the views and interests of students and communicate the work of the Union, as well as informing members about local, national and international issues that effect them as students. It differs from the Manchester edition with up to 12 opt-out pages, including the front and back cover. The editor of the Salford edition is a placement student selected each May on a one year fixed term basis.
Clubs and societies
The Union's sports clubs participate in many competitions, mostly within the BUCS organised leagues. The clubs within the union are:Badminton, Basketball, Cricket, Diving, Football (Men), Football (Women), Hiking, Hockey, Horseriding, Judo, Mountaineering, Netball, Ninjutsu, Rowing, Rugby League, Rugby Union (Men), Rugby Union (Women), Canoe and Kayak, Ski and Snowboard, Snooker, Trampolining.
In addition to the Clubs, there is a large society base within the Union, consisting of activities, political groups, religious groups, and other interest groups. They are as follows.
Arabic, African Caribbean, Airsoft, Rifle, Almost Famous, Breakdancing, Campaign For Real Ale Society, Cheerleading, Christian Union, Circus and Juggling, Conservative Future, High Rollers, Islamic, Jewish, Labour Students, LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans), Liberal Democrat, UKIP, Linux, Literary, Manchester United Appreciation, PhysSoc, RAG, Rock, Salford University Engineers Union, Socialist Workers Students, United Against Communism, Wargames and Roleplay.
Shock Radio
The Union also has a student radio society called Shock Radio, which was formed in 2000 following the breakup of Storm FM (a joint project between the University of ManchesterUniversity of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
and the University of Salford
University of Salford
The University of Salford is a campus university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students. The main campus is about west of Manchester city centre, on the A6, opposite the former home of the physicist, James Prescott Joule and the Working Class...
). The first FM Restricted Service Licence
Restricted Service Licence
A UK Restricted Service Licence , is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event...
(valid for 28 days) broadcast was in 2002. The seventh broadcast (2008) and all subsequent broadcasts have only been broadcast over the internet.