Improving the impact students have

Cardiff University Students’ Union (CUSU) identified that the work of the sabbatical officers could be more effective if students were more involved in the process. This resulted in the creation of student groups in the form of executive committees that would work directly with the Vice Presidents, providing continuous student input into the work and campaigns that the Officers run, and creating a group of students who could be mobilised to actually deliver events and campaigns, raise awareness amongst the student population, and provide a fresh perspective on the issues students face.

The commitment to having executive committees under the six Vice Presidents also allowed CUSU to achieve increased student leadership. It improved the impact that students could have across the organisation and allowed students to have more influence across the board.

Find out more about student Executive Groups and the application process we use.

Meet our Elected Officers who work closely with these groups.

Overcoming challenges

Evidence of student leadership can be seen across all six of the Execs. The roles of the 8 students on the Societies Exec have been increased over the last 12 months. On top of approving new Societies, the Exec have also taken active roles in the organisation of events and have been leading on multiple different projects. Examples of these include guides for Societies to use when they are organising celebration events and a marketing guide.

The Athletic Union Exec is made up of 7 students and has helped run events such as #ThisCardiffGirlCan and Welsh Varsity. They have also led on the introduction of the AU twitter account, which has gained 421 followers in 3 months.

The Heath Exec has been reinstated and has been reformed so that all Healthcare schools have representation. The Exec has shown leadership through helping organise Medics Varsity, Student Family Days, as well as leading on a project regarding Bike Safety at the Hospital.

The Education Exec includes 3 students from each college. Since September 2016 the Exec have worked on a project on International Students’ transition process, especially in relation to the differences in grades achieved compared with home students.

Instigating change

The newly introduced Postgraduate Exec has ensured that postgraduate students are able to contribute more to how the SU is run, especially in regards to things affecting PGT and PGR students. They have worked with the VP to increase engagement through specific social events throughout the year.

The Welfare Exec, with the Advice Exec and the GIAG Exec which are all made up of students, seven sabbatical officers, eight members of Union staff, two members of Student Support University Staff, two University lecturers and one local authority council representative attended 14 different Halls of Residence during Housing Fortnight and knocked on over 2000 individual rooms. The Welfare Exec were very hands on in assisting with the logistical running of Mind Your Head Week. Hollie, our VP Welfare, has met with the Exec every week where they have guided and informed the issues and campaigns that Hollie has been working on. All members of the Welfare and Advice Execs were chosen through a rigorous recruitment process, mainly drawn from a large body of Freshers’ Week support volunteers and our Student Led Services.

The Student Family Day was the first of its kind, and allowed us to engage with student parents who we are aware don’t interact with the Students’ Union much. These events wouldn’t have been as successful without the help of the Heath Exec and their involvement shows the active approach to getting students involved in leadership roles within the Students’ Union.

Find out about our next Student Family Day that's taking place in March.

Find out about our next Student Family Day that's taking place in March.