Student Union

Good afternoon folks

With end-of-year exams on the horizon and your mother’s cooking already beckoning you home for the summer (for those of you living away), the end of academic year 12/13 is beginning to come to a close for many of you (sorry teachers, nurses, paramedics etc who are stuck here till June-July and beyond). However, this does not mean we as an SU get to go home for the summer and work is still going on both in full-view and behind the scenes to improve the student experience here at Edge Hill. Indeed the summer is actually when much of the action takes place and aside from our usual roles – sitting on committees, board, panels and writing reports etc, it also sees much of the planning and changes take place for the next academic year so everything is ready for your start/return in September.

I wanted to take this opportunity to bring you up to speed on a few things which I/we have been involved in recently:

Firstly, Friday saw the final day of nominations for our Student-Led Teaching Awards (SLTAs). We’ve had record numbers of nominations this year, much of this down to the hard work of our VP Faculty of Education – Alex, who has taken the lead on this project. This is a really great venture, not only because it allows you as students and us as an SU the opportunity to thank those staff members who have had a positive impact on your student experience, but also because it helps us to pick out good practice and identify what Edge Hill students think makes a good lecturer, personal tutor or support staff member. We can then use this information to improve the teaching, support and services you receive in the future and indeed Alex, Gareth and I have been asked to present a lecture on this at a conference on campus in July.

Recently I have also been working with Facilities Management (FM) on a number of things. The first outcome is that FM are now putting the final proposals together for the new and improved multi-faith room currently located in the Magnolia suite at Forest Court. This work is costing upwards of £8000 and will be undertaken over the summer to ensure this bigger, better and more inclusive facility is available for students in September. I won’t go into detail about what this will look like but anyone wanting to know any more, just let me know.

I am also working with FM on putting a business case together for the University to invest in lockers on campus. Over the past two years in my respective roles I have had students coming to me asking about storage on campus and whether the University would invest in lockers, especially given the ever-expanding nature of the campus and the increase in student numbers over the last decade. As a result FM have now identified a number of areas around campus where lockers could be placed and once the plans have been completed, we will be taking the case forward to the senior management team within the University for approval. Hopefully if this is given the go ahead, there will be lockers in place for students to use from September.

The final topic I’ve been working on with FM is that of food waste. As someone who can’t stand waste, I hate it when the University holds events which are catered and then upon completion, proceed to dispose of all the leftover food when there are hundreds of students in the locality with tight budgets who would welcome some free food. As a result I’ve managed to convince FM to put a policy together which states that in the right circumstances once an event has finished but the food is still within a safe time period, members of Catering will take the food out into public areas and offer to any students there. So if you see someone coming up to you next year with free food – that’s why :p

In other news on Sunday we undertook our Lipdub attempt for this year to Frank Turner’s ‘I Still Believe’. Given the numbers, we have used this as our final pilot before undertaking a full-scale Lipdub in Oct-Nov of next academic year. We have a dedicated team of officers and students who will be taking this forward and I’m really hoping this can become a huge project which all students can be proud of and which really tells the public what Edge Hill is all about. If you want to get involved make sure you keep your eyes peeled for stuff posted online and during Freshers’ Fair etc. Additionally keep your eye out for the Promo vid which will be posted to our YouTube channel very shortly

And as a final note, if you are wondering where our website has gone, we’re currently making some major changes to it but it will be up and running ready for the start of the next academic year.

I’m sure many of you will hear from me or see me before you go but for those of you who don’t, have a wonderful summer and for those of you leaving for good, I wish you all the best of luck in the future and hopefully I’ll be present at your graduation ceremony to celebrate your achievements with you.

Best wishes

Elliott
SU President

P.S. I get to see the new Creative Edge building behind the track tonight Will try and post some pictures

Tel: 01695 657308
Email: supresident@edgehill.ac.uk
Facebook: Ehsu Pres Ident
Twitter: @EHSUpresident

Good afternoon one and all

It’s been a while since I put out blog up here, but I felt obliged to do so and inform you of a big event we have coming up this Sunday.

After the success of our Harlem Shake (now on almost 40k views!) we want to go one step further and create a Lipdub. Not sure what a Lipdub is? Well take a look at some of these examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zcOFN_VBVo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeGDRSWB46w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPjjZCO67WI

Basically it involves lip syncing to a song whilst showing off all that is great about your University and the things you do there. Many of the examples on the net have millions of views and we think it would be a great opportunity to show off Edge Hill and what we’re all about! More importantly there are very few British universities who have done one and we think it would be great for Edge Hill to have the best in the country!

The event is taking place from 10:30am this Sunday (12th) meeting in The Hub. You can find all the info you need at the following facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/306418629488807/ or by emailing me at supresident@edgehill.ac.uk.

The song we will be performing is Frank Turner – I Still Believe. Given the nature of the song and its very British routes, we felt it was an appropriate choice. In most cases we just require you to turn up on the day, but if you’re wanting to do anything in particular which may require specific resources or areas then again let me know.

I look forward to seeing you there and in the meantime spread the word and get thinking of creative ideas for the video.

Many thanks
Elliott
SU President

Tel: 01695 657308
Email: supresident@edgehill.ac.uk
Facebook: Ehsu Pres Ident
Twitter: @EHSUpresident

The fun continues here at Edge Hill Students’ Union because as one action-packed week comes to an end in National Student Money Week, we have another fun one upon us with both ‘University Mental Health & Wellbeing Day’ which this year we’ve named ‘Are You Feeling Good?’ and Edge Hill’s very own ‘Harlem Shake’ both scheduled for this Wednesday (20^th).

‘Are you feeling good?’ is all about students here at Edge Hill asking themselves how they feel and us highlighting different ways to make you feel good. Working alongside the University, we have put together a whole host of events which you can find in the picture posted below. Seth MacFarlane comedy Ted will be playing for FREE at 2pm in the Arts Centre and to book on to the also free ‘Think Good, Feel Good’ or ‘Laughter Yoga’ sessions email workshops@edgehill.ac.uk

As mentioned, we also have Edge Hill SU’s official Harlem Shake video scheduled for 5pm on Wednesday. If you can make it, we’d love to see you there. Meet in The Hub, the crazier attire, dance moves and ideas you bring with you the better… providing they’re not offensive or rude that is! :p
The official facebook event page is here – http://www.facebook.com/events/409288685829200/?notif_t=plan_user_joined

Finally just a quick note to tell you all that our Handball Society have their first home game of the season tonight against Manchester Met. It’s at 8pm in the Old Gym (next to the Business School). I’m sure they would be very grateful of any support you could give.

Hopefully see you all on Wednesday, whichever activity you get involved in.
Thanks for reading
Elliott
SU President

Tel: 01695 657308
Email: supresident@edgehill.ac.uk
Facebook: Ehsu Pres Ident
Twitter: @EHSUpresident

Link for full size poster here: http://blogs.edgehill.ac.uk/su/files/2013/02/Health-and-Wellbeing-A3.jpg 

So next week (11^th-15^th) is National Student Money Week and Edge Hill Students’ Union are official ‘National Showcase Partners’ alongside only 5 other institutions. As a result we’ve got lots going on, primarily based around the theme of game shows and with plenty of prizes to be won. You can see a schedule of the events we have going on during the week in this blog, but if want to know more about any then let me know or simply pop along on the day to join in

The week is about promoting financial capability and support to students and helping them save money. As a result we’re giving away hundreds of ‘Meals in a Bag’ for FREE and we’ve also been busy sourcing special offers that week for you within the catering outlets and the Arts Centre. Come and get involved in the week’s activities to get yourself some vouchers!

Finally, anyone wanting to enter our Student Family Fortunes or Mr and Mrs game shows and be in with a chance of winning some serious prizes including a Pizza Party for you and your friends, make sure you let me know so we can put your names down.

Hopefully see you all next week
Elliott
SU President

Tel: 01695 657308
Email: supresident@edgehill.ac.uk
Facebook: Ehsu Pres Ident
Twitter: @EHSUpresident

Some great news for nurses, midwives and ODP students.

NHS BSA has introduced a new 0300 number which will only be charged at local rate as oppose to the high cost of telephoning the call centre you used to have to ring.  From now on use 0300 330 1345 when calling about your bursary payments and applications for funding as it will much cheaper.

Also if you are on a nursing, midwifery or ODP course you no longer need to wait for an invitation to apply for your bursary funding.  The NHS BSA will now accept online applications when you are ready to apply.

If you are an April starter make sure you reapply for your funding now, the earlier the better!

Best wishes
Elliott

supresident@edgehill.ac.uk
01695 657308

Good afternoon one and all

This promises to be my shortest blog ever. I just wanted to remind everyone that it is Edge Hill Students’ Union’s AGM (Annual General Meeting) tomorrow. As boring as this possibly sounds, our aim this year is to break down the formalities and make it as engaging and relevant to students as possible. One major step we have taken in this vein, is to host the AGM at peak time in The Student Hub. We will be starting at 12:15pm but would welcome students drifting in and out to fit in with their lunch and lecture times. Please don’t feel you can’t join in if you aren’t around at 12:15pm on the dot.

At the AGM we deliver our Impact Report which informs our membership (the student body) what we have been doing for you over the last academic year and how we have been spending your money. More importantly it gives you and any student a public platform to hold your elected officers (the VPs and I) to account and ask any questions or raise any issues you may have.

I do hope I’ll see your faces there but if you can’t make it feel free to post any questions you may have below or send them to me via the contact details listed at the end of this blog.

Best wishes
Elliott

Tel: 01695 657308
Email: supresident@edgehill.ac.uk
Facebook: Ehsu Pres Ident
Twitter: @EHSUpresident

Hey everyone

I hope this blog finds you all well, despite the heavy spells of hailstones we keep getting here at the Ormskirk campus. It’s been almost a month since my last blog, so I thought I’d give you as briefer update as possible, on some of the things I (and we here at the SU) have been up to since the beginning of October.

Not long after my last blog I went with some senior members of staff in the University to visit both Chester and Lancaster University’s respective libraries. This is part of a group I am on which is looking at how we can improve the current Edge Hill library (Ormskirk) and what we should be considering if a time comes in the future when we come to build a new one. I actually applied to Lancaster University to do Advertising & Marketing after doing my A-Levels and got in, but pulled out at the last minute for a couple of reasons. In the end I took a gap year and ended up coming here instead to do Primary Education, but going back does make you wonder what your life would have been like had you taken a different direction. I wouldn’t be sat here writing this, that’s for sure. As for the libraries themselves, there were some really interesting ideas which will no doubt play a part in some of the group’s recommendations to the University and Learning Services. If you have any thoughts on the current library facilities, then let me know.

The 10^th October saw the launch of our Society Development Grant, which offers our societies the opportunity to get financial assistance from the SU for the first time ever. This was something I was keen to bring in when I was elected President, and although only a small pot of money, we have already been able to assist a number of societies in funding some of their activities and equipment etc. Safe to say, quite a lot of my time this month has been spent looking through applications for grants and deliberating with two of our staff members over what we should and shouldn’t fund and for how much etc.

It was around this time that many of our sports teams began their start to the competitive season with fixtures both home and away. One of the issues which has come up since then is the fact that some students are struggling to play sport on a Wednesday, due to lectures timetabled in the afternoon. We are working closely with the various faculties to try and resolve this, but in the meantime we need to know all courses which are affected. If you are on one of them, then get in contact with your name, course, year and the sport you play.

On the 15^th October Her Royal Highness Sophie, Countess of Wessex visited the Ormskirk campus to formally open The Student Hub. I’m very proud to say, I was an integral part of that day, meeting her and the Chancellor, Tanya Byron at Chancellor’s Court, introducing them to some students and their halls and then moving on to the SU and standing beside HRH as she was ‘flash-mobbed’ by the excellent HillStart society and the equally fantastic Edge FWD. After this I was very privileged to be invited to the formal dinner which contained only three other members of staff from the University as well as HRH, her dignitaries, the Chair of the Board of Governors and the Chancellor. She genuinely seemed to be interested in the students and impressed by the campus and I’m pleased to say, the day went pretty much according to plan (minus the weather).

At the back end of that week I was equally privileged to be invited to go and visit one of our first year students who unfortunately has been in hospital since a horrific accident in Freshers’ Week. I was very pleased to hear that he had been moved out of the High Dependency Unit, the day after I met him and as a result the member of staff I visited with and I, are claiming his improvement is as a result of our amazing personalities and levels of interesting discussion Since our visit it seems the student is making all sorts of progress and I really hope we get to see him around these parts in the not too distant future!

On the entertainment side of things, Cantina, our live music night every Friday in The Venue, continues to grow from strength to strength and as has become a staple part of weekly entertainment in Ormskirk. The Hummingbirds in particular were absolutely fantastic and I got to have a good chat with the boys afterwards; had a couple of tracks from their EPs on repeat since. This Wednesday also saw more SU-action in The Venue with a special Halloween-Themed Clubs & Socs night. Finally last week we had the official launch of the new Arts Centre, which saw a bizarre array of entertainment taking place around campus including speeding, hipster grannies and a frozen zoo.

In other news I’ve been at one of the NUS Zone Conferences this week which took place in Manchester. Some of you may have seen my tweet and facebook message about the hotel I was in, but safe to say, it was pretty plush. 11^th floor overlooking the city and surround by suits and posh décor. The actual conference itself got me inspired once again to do more and filled me with ideas of things we could do here at EHSU. The problem is, the moment you get back, you realise how many things you already have on your ‘To Do List’ which puts pay to any great ideas you had quite quickly. As a result I’ve been in full-steam-ahead mode today to try and get stuff done and boxed off so I can get on with some of the things I want to do and that I think will really benefit you as students.

This week also saw the launch of the first issue of this year’s student magazine, Vibe Mag, which is a Halloween Special. It launched on Halloween (funnily enough) and is available at www.vibemedia.co. You can also find information here on the other media platforms Vibe operates as well as information on how to get involved.

And that just about brings us up to present day. On the 21^st November we will be taking up to 30 students to London as part of the NUS National Demo 2012 campaigning against the rise in tuition fees, high levels of graduate unemployment and to bring the issue of further and higher education back onto the national agenda. If this is something you may be interested in, then you need to let us know pretty sharpish. Demo workshops are taking place from this coming week.

Finally, the library are reviewing their service standards and want them to be prioritised in correlation with the services students feel are most important in the library. Obviously in order to do this, they need to know which services students value most and as a result have asked if we at the SU could give our input but would also like to here from some current and active students too. The discussion is at 11:30am on the 16th November. If you would like to have your say and be involved then you’d be more than welcome. Just let me know

That’s all from me for now folks. I hope you’re all well, not finding work too hard and enjoying your time at Edge Hill, wherever and however you’re studying. As always, any questions, concerns or ideas, get in contact with me via the communication channels highlighted at the bottom of this blog, or simply pop into the SU and see me on the first floor of The Hub.

Thanks for reading
Elliott
SU President

Tel: 01695 657308
Email: supresident@edgehill.ac.uk
Facebook: Ehsu Pres Ident
Twitter: @EHSUPresident

Afternoon everyone

I am currently writing this at 4:39pm with the attempt to have it finished by 5:00pm (good luck with that). So on that notion, I shall try and keep it brief.

Well, early Monday morning saw an end to what had been a crazy (and very long) week and a bit. Safe to say Freshers’ Week was as hectic as always with many things going on around the place. Saturday 22nd saw a visit from our off campus students and those living in Unite halls in Liverpool followed by the arrival of all our new on-campus students on Welcome Sunday. That day also saw my beloved Red Devils beat the Scousers (but the less said about that the better I’m sure, given the local demographic of many of our students) and it brought in the official beginning of Freshers’ Week, with a very busy night on the Sunday evening.

From then we saw crazy paint parties, films, comedy nights, dance performances, silent discos and visits from Beat-A-Maxx, Jameela Jamil, Comedy Dave & Dom and Verne Troyer! Amidst all that we also held what has to be the most successful Freshers’ Fair we’ve ever had with 150 stalls, thousands of students and lots of freebies. I managed to speak to virtually all the sports teams and societies who were present and pretty much every one of them was surprised at just how many students had signed up to their activities.

And as if all that wasn’t enough, the University thought it would be a good idea to place my second official Board of Governors meeting on the Monday evening of that week. Safe to say, after what must have been almost 100+ hours in 8-9 days, I was (and still am), well and truly knackered. In fact, much of the office seems to be a little sneezy and sniffly with symptoms of the dreaded Freshers’ Flu!

Moving on from Freshers’ Week, Monday saw the launch of our new Advice & Guidance Centre. This is a real step forward for us an SU because it allows us to offer independent and impartial advice and support on a whole host of topics including academic problems, appeals, complaints, debt, finance, benefits, welfare, accommodation and more, from trained professionals. If you ever need anything, the service is open for appointments 10am-4pm every weekday with drop-ins 10am-12pm on Tues, Weds & Thurs. You can also email them any time at suadvice@edgehill.ac.uk

Excitingly, the back end of this week also sees the first regular ‘on-campus’ SU night for years in ‘Cantina’, a live music event in association with the University Bar & Club, Edge Hill Uni and Liverpool Sound City. Given the connections that Sound City have, the bands really are the best of the best in terms of underground music in Liverpool at the moment and it wouldn’t surprise me to see many of the bands becoming household names over the next few years. You may have seen the slightly bizarre looking posters round campus, but for those that haven’t, the first event is this Friday (5^th) and if you go to the event page (see below) and click attending, you can pick up a free ticket from the SU for this week only (regular price £5 or £2 with NUS Extra card).

Cantina Page – http://www.facebook.com/cantinaedgehill
Event – http://www.facebook.com/events/211695495628351/?fref=ts

In other news, we have our Mature Students Coffee Morning tomorrow 10am-1pm. For those who are unsure, a mature student is anybody who started their course at the age of 21 or over. It is on the top floor of The Hub, next to the big screen and will have free coffee and pastries for those attending .

Finally, I’ve spent virtually all today reviewing the Malpractice Regulations which the University and you as students must adhere to, for a review group whose first meeting took place this afternoon. Malpractice covers things such as cheating, collusion and plagiarism. The official review was triggered by us at the SU last year, raising some concerns over the consistency, fairness and potential contradictory nature of the regs. Although this seems horrendously dull it’s actually a big step for us in terms of influencing the rules you are governed and potentially punished by.

I’ve also been continuing to work closely with the IT team on IT provision and learning space around campus. Those of you who have me on facebook or twitter will have seen some of the wins we have secured for you the students already, and I will make sure I blog about this as an individual project, once all the actions have been undertaken.

And as 5:27pm passes by, once again I find myself not leaving at 5pm haha. Not so brief after all.

Many thanks to those of you who have made it to this stage, you really are martyrs and feel free to ask any questions or pop any comments in the section below or via the methods of communications listed.

Best wishes
Elliott
SU President

Tel: 01695 657308
Email: supresident@edgehill.ac.uk
Facebook: Ehsu Pres Ident  (I know it’s stupid)
Twitter: @EHSUpresident

…
5:32pm

Hello and welcome to my first (and very short you’ll be glad to hear) blog of the year

To those of you who are visiting this site for the first time as a result of finding you have been accepted into Edge Hill, congratulations and a big welcome to you all. To those of you who are returning, welcome back and I look forward to seeing you all again.

A few things to update on as we move into the new academic year. Continuing the trend of Presidents who don’t seem to be able to leave, last year’s President Colin Gibson was successful in his application for our new role of Development Officer – Communications. This role has been introduced in order to centrally coordinate all our social and physical media as well as hold responsibility for all our student media (radio, magazine, tv). It’s primary aim is to continue to get Edge Hill Students’ Union out there: who we are, what we do and how we can or have helped enhance your student experience.

This isn’t the only new addition to EHSU this summer. This September also sees the launch of our new Advice and Guidance Centre which currently has three new members of staff working within it. This service will provide professional and independent support and advice for students on a whole host of issues including finance, accommodation, academic regulations and welfare.

We are also making changes to the physical layout of our current facilities. They are still undergoing, so I am currently writing this in front of the remnants of an old table which looks more like an unsafe climbing frame than anything else. Nevertheless it should look much more slick and efficient when it’s finished come Freshers’ Week. When you do arrive do come and pop in and see us, whether it’s to ask about something or simply to say hello.

Finally I best introduce you to your all new sabbatical team. Those of you who are returning to Edge Hill may already know me as I was last year’s Vice President Faculty of Education. I am now the President of EHSU and alongside me we have Alex Illingworth (VP Faculty of Education), Sian (that’s See-Ann) Rees (Vice President Faculty of Health & Social Care) and Gareth Dowling (Vice President Faculty of Arts & Sciences). Hopefully if everything goes to plan, you’ll be fed up of seeing and hearing from us come the end of the year

Anyway I’ll shut up for now because that was longer than expected…

Many thanks for reading
Elliott
SU President

T: 01695 657308
E: supresident@edgehill.ac.uk
Fb: Ehsu Pres
Twit: @ehsupresident