My first time... blogging

I started my term in office with only my prior knowledge and understanding of the union from which I have received over the previous two years part-time position, as a general committee member and as Clubs’ Officer last year. As you can imagine, there's a lot more to the Union both on the 'public-facing' side as well as behind the scenes with the admin and support systems and services in place to support students.

I've officially been in office now for about two weeks and have been around the office for about a month if you include the handover period. I've been incredibly busy and will hope to expand on what I have been up to in this blog. This will become a regular way in which you can keep up-to-date with some of the things I've been up to as President and also what the Union is working on.

Due to the varied nature of my role, my time is split between determining the direction the Union will progress (with the rest of the Exec aiding this process), dealing with the day-to-day issues that students need help with. It also involves a lot of planning for the future, campus development meetings, freshers’ fair, orientation, etc. There's also a huge amount of time taken up in representing the student view on various boards and committees within UCS and in the local community, as well as on a national level through NUS, generally at events. This included the regional reception which is where all the student officers from the East of England region met for the first time. We hosted it this year, the first time we've hosted an NUS event - it was a great success!

Of course, a lot of my time is also allocated to a variety of educational issues affect UCS students, such as academic appeals, specific student complaints about academic and non-academic problems, and other issues such as tuition fees. A hot topic (in all unions) is the ongoing debate regarding ‘lifting the cap’ http://www.nus.org.uk/en/News/News/NUS-opposes-plans-to-lift-cap-on-fees.

One of the best facets of being the President is that the role is so varied and affects so many different aspects of the student experience. It's always interesting and highly rewarding, this is a brief list of what I got up to during my first month:

• NUS training
• Meet trustees of the Union and discuss plans for the coming year
• Meet many members of UCS staff whom I may have contact with, matching faces to names to make the transition easier when going to meetings
• Attending Academic Board
• Learning the procedures for academic and disciplinary appeals
• Advising students in their academic appeals
• Newspaper and radio interviews
• NUS Regional Reception
• Attend and contribute to the Suffolk Environmental panel
• Review proposals on printing charges and fight on behalf of the students for cheaper rates
• Look at and give the student voice in regards to proposed car parking plans
• Attend the UCS staff development day

Other aspects of the job include a lot of training, usually supplied by the National Union of Students which is a where I learn how to provide the best support for you, the students of UCS. This is also a great opportunity to network with officers at other students' unions around the country and share best practice, again to (hopefully!) improve your experience at UCS.

These are just some of the things that I’ve been working on so far. There is a lot for us to be getting on with whilst we wait for all of you to return and an even bigger list of things to be done over the course of the year. My plan in the short run is to try to plan and predict what the year ahead has got install for the Union and work out how we as a new EXEC will deal with it; looking immediately to freshers’ week and the early parts of the new semester starting in September, as well as looking at the broader scope of the year and what we as the Union want to achieve for you!

If you’ve got any questions or comments on anything that I've been (or haven't been!) up to then feel free to email me at su.president@ucs.ac.uk 

I’m really enjoying getting to grips with the role and getting stuck into the varying day-to-day aspects the role entails. My list of things I want and need to achieve this year is getting longer and longer. However, I'm really looking forward to students returning to the campus! I hope to update this blog weekly so check back soon...