University of Salford Students' Union

University of Salford Students' Union

University of Salford Students' Union logo
Motto	Enhancing Students' Lives
Institution	University of Salford
Location	Salford, United Kingdom
Established	1967
President	Mishal Saeed
Members	19,250 approx.
Affiliations	National Union of Students
Website	http://www.salfordstudents.com

The University of Salford Students' Union (USSU) is the representative body of students at the University of Salford, Greater Manchester, England.

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 2013/14 Trustee Board are:

• Mishal Saeed - President
• Todd Hewitt - Vice President (Arts & Social Science)
• Alex Thorp - Vice President (Science and Technology)
• Jasmine Pokuaa - Vice President (Health & Social Care)

The next group of trustees are full-time students

• Chrissy Patman - Student Trustee
• Elisaveta Prodromova - Student Trustee
• Joe Woods - Student Trustee
• Rosie Burnham - Student Trustee

The final group of trustees are appointed externally by the trustee board to serve 4 year terms.

• Chris Wells - Former Deputy 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

One external trustee position is currently vacant

Governance and representation

Following in the footsteps of King's College London Students' Union, the Union transformed its governance prior to achieving registered charity status, as required by the Charities Act 2006. Presently it is an un-incorporated association and an exempt charity under the Education Act 1994. Charity registration took place in September 2010.

The new structure, which took effect on 2 July 2007, created a board of trustees to govern the union. This is made up of four sabbatical officers (President and 3 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 Council. Council's 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 focusing on representation work, the Union changed the role descriptions for the three Vice Presidents. Instead of having traditional service based portfolios such as Activities, Communications or Welfare, the VPs are now responsible for being the lead student representative in each of the University's academic Colleges. The officers are expected to work closely with other student representatives and University staff in their Colleges 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 College, and to that end need to have a degree of understanding about most of the Union's activities and services.

The Union recruits School and programme level Student Representatives to co ordinate the educational feedback for the University, and has an Advice Centre that people can just drop into for academic casework support.

Commercial activities

The Union operates several commercial actvities. 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. Bar and Café Yours situated in University House.

Bar and Café 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.

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.

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 Salford, the University of Manchester and the University of Bolton. 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.

Sports and Activity Groups

The Union's sports clubs participate in many competitions, mostly within the BUCS organised leagues.

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.

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 Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford). The first FM Restricted Service Licence (valid for 28 days) broadcast was in 2002. The seventh broadcast (2008) and all subsequent broadcasts have only been broadcast over the internet.

External links

• University of Salford Students' Union official website
• Student Direct
• Shock Radio Website