Annual Academic Year Review 2007-2008 (17th edition)
Sport and Recreation Service (SRS)
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- 21.2 Sports Development Unit
- 21.3 Learning and Teaching
- 21.4 Local, Regional and National Developments
- 22 University of Brighton Students’ Union (UBSU)
- 22.4 Student Welcome Bags
- 22.6 Training Development
- 22.7 UBSU Advice Centre
- 22.9 Institutional Audit – Students’ Written Submission
- 22.10 Course Representation
- 22.12 Student Activities
- 22.14 Additional Fee Income
21 Sport and Recreation Service (SRS)21.1 IntroductionThe Sport and Recreation Service continues to focus upon delivering a range of sport services to students, staff and members of the local community, from providing an increasing range of participation opportunities, to managing and developing facilities, to forming strategic internal and external partnerships which support recreational, competitive and academic developments in sport. During the academic year 2007/8 the department has been engaged in a number of areas working under the Sport Brighton banner. The paragraphs below are illustrative of the work of the department and review initiatives, partnerships, developments and issues. 21.2 Sports Development UnitThe Falmer based Sports Development Unit continues to host influential local and regional sports agencies, and it is an effective means of the department, and thus the university, comprehending and responding to changing national and regional sports policy and agenda. During the academic year the Sussex County Sports Partnership (SCSPT) established itself as an independent sports trust with business operations and finances transferring from the University. The Trust was granted charitable status in December 2007. This change of governance and assurance alleviated any financial risk that the university had in hosting this organisation yet through a close working relationship and a memorandum of understanding still allows for the continuance of mutually beneficial areas. This includes colleagues lecturing on elements of academic degrees such as the MA Sports Development, opportunities for student placements and the passing on of up to date information about strategic developments in sport. The SCSPT continues to lead on national investment sport programmes for the region such as the Community Sport Coach Scheme, the Step into Sport Community Volunteer programme and the School Sport Competition Managers initiative. In addition it continues to lead on and develop the county wide workforce development plan for sport and co-ordinate the Sussex Sport and Health Network as well as providing education and training programmes and a successful events programme. The partnership between the University and the SCSPT has proved successful and can be evidenced by a recent example which has seen, against high level competition, two recent University of Brighton graduates being employed into vacant posts. (One who undertook her work placement as part of the Leisure and Sport management degree has been employed as the Communications and Events Officer and one who was the Vice President of Eastbourne and Outreach and on the Sport Brighton Management group being employed as the County Netball Development Officer). 21.3 Learning and TeachingThe department continues to assist academic colleagues in many aspects of learning and teaching whether by facilitating contact with partners to ensure up to date input into academic degrees, whether continuing to offer placement opportunities both internally or through our extended professional networks or whether directly lecturing on some module elements. The department has been working on developing and improving the range of vocational sport coaching qualifications to enhance academic sport courses and the employability of students. To meet the recognised workforce development shortfall that exists in sport and recreation locally, where courses are not filled by our students, we are offering opportunity to local people. In addition, initial investigations have been undertaken with academic colleagues on embedding vocational elements into academic degrees by providing leisure industry based qualifications. Operationally, the department continues to provide a high level of service to academic staff, assisting in lecture preparation and facilitating facility use. Externally, the head of department continues as a national tutor for the Youth Sport Trust and delivers on regional and national training for school sport co- ordinators. Two of the duty officers continue to deliver first aid training and are trainer assessors for national pool lifeguard qualifications and the deputy head of department continues to deliver county wide training for football referees. To improve their own level of learning and as part of the departments professional development plan a number of staff within the department have enrolled onto internal and external courses ranging from Masters level study to specific leisure management qualifications. 21.4 Local, Regional and National DevelopmentsNationally recognition is increasing of the higher education sector’s contribution to sport in this country. It is acknowledged that there are a number of significant ways HEIs add value ranging from:- the provision of facilities for our own and wider community use; providing participation opportunities for students and staff; supporting talented athletes with the provision of internal scholarship schemes; supporting external elite athletes with HEIs hosting centres of sporting excellence; to hosting sports support service providers such as the English Institute of sport. In addition students are increasingly becoming involved in sport volunteering as more opportunities are developed to capture this market and ensure that the volunteering legacy in our country continues. The University of Brighton contributes in all the above areas and has specific recognition for its community engagement through increasing use of facilities by local residents, community clubs, sport talent camps, as a venue for regional festivals and disability sport festivals and as a centre for sporting excellence in triathlon. Our internal sports scholarship scheme continues to flourish and assist students in combining high level sport with academic commitments. Noted alumni include Ben Hawes who captained the Great Britain hockey team at the Beijing Olympics and Ragheb Aga who signed a first class cricket contract with Sussex. The University continues to provide sports science support as an English Institute of Sport satellite centre. Nationally, Podium, the Further and Higher Education unit for the 2012 Games was set up to communicate, both within the sector and with outside agencies, “the potential for Universities and Colleges to support the successful staging and delivery of the 2012 Games”. It was also tasked with “coordinating the development of activity within the sector that maximises the benefits” of hosting the Games, by contributing to the building of a sustainable and wide reaching legacy (Podium website, www.podium.ac.uk 2008). The unit aims to develop areas through five main work strands: community engagement, skills and employability, business and enterprise, active participation in sport and the Cultural Olympiad. The University is already engaged in many of these areas in complementary activities and is well placed to engage in others as opportunities develop. Over eighty higher education institutions and further education colleges are listed in the LOCOG directory of training facilities for the 2012 Olympic Games. Whilst the University of Brighton is not specifically listed, we are involved in consortia which are offering opportunities through the Eastbourne Devonshire Park bid and the Gatwick Diamond bid. The department is increasingly using sport and recreation to increase levels of community engagement within our host communities to enhance local benefit from university activity. In Eastbourne, for example the Over Fifty Five Club continues to flourish and we support a Cardiac Phase Four Rehabilitation programme with the local Primary Care Trust. We continue to support and develop Community University Clubs where local sports people and students come together either in our facilities or locally to take part in activity that would not be sustainable without this partnership. Nationally it is recognised that Active Participation levels amongst students are lower than government targets. In the second National Audit of Student Sport (November 2007) only 23% indicated that they are reaching recommended levels of five times thirty minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. However 48% of students out of the thirty thousand that completed the survey indicated that they were taking some form of exercise although below the recommended level, compared to 32.7% of the general population (Active People Survey 2007). The department continues to develop participation opportunities and our student participation rates are improving with facility investment although they are still below the sector average. The department would like to investigate the true participation rates of students at the university, but does not have this capability at present due to the dispersed nature of sports facilities and a lack of human resource this year to formulate ways of doing this. In the following academic year we will be working with colleagues in other departments on developing procedures for collecting this statistical data to allow us to benchmark more accurately our levels of participation. The department continues its membership of influential local and national sports networks, groups and organisations, thus ensuring that we are able to establish and gain appropriate recognition for the university, both for the existing role we have regionally in supporting sport and for our potential to engage with future opportunities in sport, the health and wellbeing agenda and in sport education and training. The Head of Sport and Recreation sits on the Board of Trustees of the Sussex County Sport Partnership and has also been invited to represent the sector on the British Universities and Colleges Sport national consultative group working with Sport England and National Governing Bodies of Sport to develop Higher Education Sports contribution to the development of sport. The Deputy Head of department sits on the National Strategic Forum of the Institute of Sport Recreation and Management and on local strategic sport partnerships. 21.5 Sports FacilitiesThis area is perhaps our most challenging. The department struggles to balance the demand for current facilities with the amount and quality that are available and we are also challenged by the balance between having to be an income generator with the need to be a service provider. However an excellent operational team ensures that the facilities and services that are provided are of the highest possible standard and an equally excellent administrative team ensure that facilities usage is maximised. The 07/08 academic year has been an exciting one in that plans are being developed on the Falmer campus to increase the range, quality and accessibility of sports facilities. Following a feasibility study, agreement has been reached for a significant new sports centre on the Falmer campus. This will complement recent investment into the new third generation artificial pitch. The provision of the artificial pitch at Falmer has reaped many benefits already, and has without doubt significantly increased participation opportunities to students on all Brighton sites. It is heavily utilised by student clubs and for student recreational use and has led to a large increase in participation opportunities. There are also financial saving for the department from not having to hire external facilities which has been invested back into the student sport programme. Community engagement opportunities and income generation are benefiting as the pitch is able to support Brighton and Hove Albion Girls Centre of Excellence and has even provided training for the Brighton and Hove Albion men’s first team when they have been unable to utilise grass locally due to inclement weather. All feedback has been superb. Overall 66,550 recorded ‘users’ accessed the facility throughout the academic year. 46% of this was student club use, 19% was student recreational use, 1% was staff use and the remaining community use. Investment in facility development has proved to be beneficial and further investment in new facilities will only increase this and aid student recruitment and retention by: Increasing participation opportunities; Increasing the types of sports available on site; Decreasing travel for students to get to external sport locations; Improving the quality of provision for students and students from visiting universities; Decreasing costs for students involved in university sport; Providing more opportunity to play at an appropriate level; Providing an increased reliability for fixtures due to better quality facilities. There is however a need to establish a long term pitch improvement plan for the grass pitches at Falmer to ensure that outdoor sports provision is of the highest quality and will match the quality of other facilities. At Moulsecoomb use of the fitness suite and sports hall at peak times continues to be at maximum capacity which leaves little room for additional activities and hinders opportunities for students who do not want to wait to exercise due to our need to introduce a one in one out queuing system. The department has been involved in the initial discussions of the refurbishment of the Cockcroft building and has outlined its desire to expand facility provision on the site. However, as the project for work on the ground floor areas is a number of years away it is unlikely that participation opportunities will be able to be increased on this site in the near future. At Eastbourne the sports facilities are heavily utilised and work is currently being undertaken on rationalising space use and developing a programme for enhancing existing areas. There is recognition in both the Sport and Recreation Service Plan and the Chelsea School Plan of the need for further facility development on this campus to cater not only for current need but for future academic need especially in the area of fitness / strength and conditioning and outdoor games. The department is working in collaboration with Chelsea School on the reciprocal use of sports facilities between the university and Eastbourne College. This is directly benefiting the academic schools access to outdoor space. Where we are unable to provide facilities and sporting opportunities internally, we continue to seek partnerships with local providers, in particular at Grand Parade with the discount for use of the Prince Regent Pool and in Hastings with discounts for local fitness facilities for students registered with the University. 21.6 Student SupportThe department continues to support the student experience by offering a broad range of services through the ‘Sport Brighton’ concept, which is the successful partnership with the student union in all areas of sport. We continually seek to provide creative and responsive ways to develop and deliver activities which reflect national initiatives and current trends, working to overcome some of the financial and facility constraints that exist. Work is also increasing on health related activity and health promotion using sport as the catalyst. As stated in previous reports, the level of participation of Brighton based students is lower than the sector average as a result of the number and quality of existing facilities. However improvements have been seen this year and will increase further when the new facilities are developed. The department has expanded the number and range of recreational sporting opportunities through a student union funded initiative called ‘Parklife’ supported by the student fee money allocated to the student union to enhance the student experience. Successful leagues ran in netball and football. One league alone saw 10 teams playing each week, in an initial league and a knockout competition. This has allowed an additional 160 students to be actively involved in recreational sport in this sport alone on a weekly basis. In addition, more students than ever took part in student run clubs. The University of Brighton inducted three new BUSA teams in golf, women’s badminton and women’s table tennis. (BUSA is the British University Sports Association national competitive sport programme). On a full BUSA week there were over 350 students representing the University of Brighton in 10 different sports at venues that can be as far away as Aberdeen University. The logistics of organising this weekly competitive opportunity for the students is challenging but ably overseen by the department’s Sport Development Officer, Michelle Bennett. In individual sports the University has been represented in a number of events including the swimming, badminton, sailing and golf championships. Students continue to value the opportunity to represent the university at these individual competitions. Many clubs have been active competing locally and nationally including sports such as American Football, Lacrosse, Table Tennis, Climbing, Trampolining, Karting, Snow-sports, Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball, Jitsu and Gaelic Football. As a result of a University of Brighton Leisure Management placement student’s project the department has looked to set up a recognition scheme for volunteers involved in sport at the University, in association with @ctive students and the Sussex County Sports Partnership Trust volunteer reward scheme. The aspiration is to raise the profile of the value of volunteering in the area of sport, both on a student for student level where peers take on the role of team captains and club officials, and also on a student for community level where students can undertake sport volunteering opportunities in the local community. The department continues to support athletes at various stages of the performance pathway, providing introductory and casual recreational opportunities through to high level competition at the top end of university sport and also through supporting elite and talented athletes through the sports scholarship programme. It is excellent news that the University Foundation Fund agreed in this academic year to continue the support for sports scholarships at an increased level. 22 University of Brighton Students’ Union (UBSU)22.1 University of Brighton Students’ Union (UBSU)UBSU underwent some significant changes in the latter part of the academic year. These changes were instigated by a decline in income from some of UBSU’s trading areas. These changes led to a restructure of the Union’s services to better reflect the needs of the contemporary student, and to avoid duplication of services students already access within the University and in the local community. Key changes to Union’s services were: Closure of the Union Bar at Falmer; The Trading Co-ordinator position being made redundant; The closure of the Students’ Union Student Advice Centre; The expansion of UBSU’s Student Academic Advocacy & Research Service; and The planned recruitment of a Marketing & Communications Assistant The Union has worked closely with the Head of Student Services and the Head of Residences & Catering at the University to ensure that these services will be able to cope with any additional workload. 22.2 UBSU on CampusThe Union’s campus offices at Eastbourne, Falmer, Grand Parade, Hastings and Moulsecoomb provide all students with access to Union services. Services available from UBSU campus offices include NUS cards, volunteering opportunities, sports clubs, societies, minibuses, ticket sales and local job opportunities. The Site Administrators were complemented in their service delivery by regular visits from Academic Advocacy, the Student Advisors and representatives of the Union’s sports clubs and societies. 22.3 UBSU PublicationsThe Union Handbook was distributed to new students with the NUS cards and has been available year round online via ubsu.net, the Union’s website. Other publications include The SU newspaper ‘The Pebble’ providing full information on student life and student interest features. 22.4 Student Welcome BagsUBSU provided all new students with a welcome bag containing The Union Handbook plus guidance on a wide variety of student issues. The Welcome Packs also contained quality items including food, magazines, toiletries and soft drinks. They were issued to new students on collection of their UBSU NUS cards during Freshers’ Week and in advance to students on courses commencing outside the academic term dates including the May intake of students to the School of Nursing & Midwifery. 22.5 Freshers FairsBrighton’s Freshers’ Fair was again held at Brighton Racecourse. Exhibitors continue to be impressed by the calibre of the student stewards and the organisation of the fair to include exhibitors’ parking, staffed trolleys to transport display materials to stalls, plenty of space, full disabled access and plentiful power supplies. Eastbourne Freshers’ Fair was held in the University Sports Centre and attracted a greater number of stallholders than previous years. UBSU also hosted a mini Freshers’ Fair for nursing and midwifery students at Falmer in May. 22.6 Training & DevelopmentUBSU has run courses for established and student staff and elected officers including Union Council members and course representatives. These courses included Equal Opportunities Awareness, Effective Campaigns, Effective Lobbying, Introduction to Marketing, Equal Opportunities Recruitment & Selection, Health & Safety, New Council Member training, Sabbatical Officer Induction, Teambuilding, Sabbatical Officer Closure, Sabbatical Handover training, Course Representative training, Working with Sabbatical Officers and Operational Procedures. In addition, the five sabbatical officers attended NUS run courses including People & Money, Support & Represent, Participate and Develop Training the Trainers. 22.7 UBSU Advice CentreThe Advice centre saw a total of 2383 enquiries during 2007/08 on a range of information and support issues such as student finance, benefits, housing advice and some academic advice. After 17 years of service the Student Advice Centre has closed. The resources within the Student Advice Centre have now been utilised to create a Student Advocacy & Research Department with which to better represent our students’ need in terms of complaints against the Institution and academic appeals. For students who wish to access generic advice we will be encouraging them to access Student Services, and external organisations such as The Community Legal Advice Service, which offers free comprehensive support and representation on a wide range of advice issues in confidence. 22.8 Academic AdviceThe 2007/08 academic year has seen UBSU continue to support students needing advice or support when dealing with the academic regulations of the University. January 2008 saw UBSU adopt a new casework recording system which provides clearer and more comprehensive data. The period I January to 31 July saw UBSU receive enquiries for support from 110 individual students. Of these, 73 were female and 38 male. Of the 97 that expressed their ethnicity, 10 were Asian or Asian British, 12 were Black or Black British. 75 were White. Of the 99 stating their age, 48 were under 25 and 51 were over 25. Of the 106 stating their fee status 8 were EU nationals, 13 were other internationals and 85 were UK home students. As with previous years the majority of our work involves supporting students making academic appeals or facing allegations of academic misconduct. However, while these cases are often quite simple to administer, there continues to be a growing complexity in the nature of complaints students are making. 
22.9 Institutional Audit – Students’ Written SubmissionTo form our contribution to this year’s institutional audit and to assist the audit team in getting a full understanding of what it is to be a student at the University of Brighton; UBSU undertook a large scale survey of student experience. This focussed on four key areas of University life and the extent to which students have proper access to quality resources, services and support. While the general overview proved to be broadly positive we do note that there are distinct variances in students’ experiences between schools and sites of study. Issues that have been identified for further exploration include understanding the way in which students are supported on placement, the way in which the course rep system is conceived, supported and engaged with by both students and staff and understanding student interactions with University rules and regulations. The production of the SWS is by no means the end of the process for UBSU and we will be working closely with the University and seeking best practice from other Unions to find solutions to those issues that have arisen as a result of our findings. 22.10 Course RepresentationCourse representatives continue to make numerous contributions to the quality assurance and enhancement of the student experience through their respective course boards. However it was highlighted in the SWS that the course rep system as it exists does not fully meet the needs of either students, UBSU or the University. It is only through active engagement with their course and their peers that reps are able to give feedback on their experience and it is this feedback that best enables the University to identify and respond to the needs of our members. Recognising this UBSU, with excellent support from Information Services has developed a new area on studentcentral designed to support student reps and provoke an ongoing conversation between students, reps, UBSU and the University so that all parties may develop a better understanding of, and respond appropriately to, student needs, expectations and experience. 22.11 UBSU ElectionsAlthough the turnout for the sabbatical elections in March was down by approximately 15% on last year, with only 843 votes cast, the enthusiasm of the candidates was not reduced at all. Four of the five Sabbatical posts were contested and a number of candidates also stood for non-sabbatical posts. The sabbatical team for the 2008/09 academic year is: President – Phil Gilks VP Communication and Finance – Joel Andrews VP Eastbourne and Outreach – Jodie Howe VP Education and Equalities – Sam Forster VP Student Activities – Jamie Stratton Feedback from students and voters suggests that there is an appetite amongst students to move beyond traditional ballot boxes and to engage electronically with their democratic rights through e-voting. This has been discussed with UBSU’s web provider and key University staff and it is proposed that the first trial of electronic voting will take place in November 2008. 22.12 Student ActivitiesThe Students’ Union continued to provide students with access to a range of activities including sports, societies, and the opportunity to undertake voluntary work within the local community, enabling them to learn and gain experiences of varying cultures and social experiences and to make the most their time at the University. Societies Federation enjoyed a buoyant year, with a high number of societies continuing from 2006/07 into the next academic year. We started the year with 37 groups registered and ended with 63, an all-time record. Groups range across all campuses, including partner institutions UCH and Plumpton College and the variety of interests encompassed remains diverse from course based to cultural and religious to special interest groups. Memorable events this year included Drama Society’s innovative production of Alice in Wonderland at Brighton’s Pavilion Theatre and the ever popular Spotlight Talent Show, hosted by the Afro Caribbean Society at the University’s Sallis Benney Theatre. RAG raised money for local charities in Eastbourne and Brighton; the Nursing and Midwifery students set up a new group and have held two successful events including a summer picnic and Societies Federation helped with six graduation balls across different schools. PharmSoc had an excellent year with numerous successful events, including their annual ball. The Tsunami Wavettes Cheerleaders went from strength to strength and ended the year with a first in the dance section of the international Future Cheer finals held in Brighton . The Societies Federation Steering Committee, comprised of students elected from current societies and supported by staff, met regularly throughout the year to oversee Federation business, including the ratification of new groups and monitoring of the budget. 22.13 Sports ClubsUBSU is pleased to be a partner of Sport Brighton and has enjoyed a positive working relationship with the staff of the University’s Sport and Recreation service to ensure that the Sports Federation member clubs are professionally supported in their fixtures and competitions across the UK. 22.14 Additional Fee IncomeThe Union is very grateful for the opportunity to advise on the expenditure of a percentage of the University’s additional fee income. This funding has allowed improvements in the student experience in the following areas during 07/08:
1 This total is subject to year end adjustments required for accounting conventions and compliance with Financial Reporting Standards. The official figure for the academic year 2007-08 will be reported in the Annual Report and Financial Statements which are due to be approved by the Board of Governors in November 2008. Directory: reg reg -> Board of Historic Resources Quarterly Meeting 16 June 2016 Sponsor Markers Diversity reg -> Port Cambeltown dated 8th April 1830 Name reg -> Contents september 2009 I. Executive order reg -> In this issue reg -> Reginald irenee vachon reg -> Index for the Register Volumes 72-108 (1974-2010) reg -> A century of ufo sightings and Close Encounters in the Midwest Download 2.04 Mb. Share with your friends:
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