The following letter was emailed to the president (president[
at]udsu[
dot]co[
dot]uk) of UDSU on Monday the 23rd April 2012.
An open letter to the University of Derby
Student’ Union.
As a member of the union for two years, I have
many concerns about the way that it is conducting its operations and business.
I hope that you will be happy to address each of the issues raised in this
letter publicly. The following and any responses received will be published
online.
Being as student fees are part of your funds, I
think it is sensible to take an active interest in how UDSU manages its
finances and how it raises additional funds through commercial activities.
Unfortunately there is a worrying lack of transparency within the union at
present. Even when information is available on request (such as the annual
accounts), they are still only available for viewing through the
president and are not to be reproduced in any way. If UDSU really operates with
its members’ best interest at heart, information like this should be published
and be freely accessible to any union member, at any time.
It is not just the lack of data that is
available to members; there is a general impression that everything at UDSU
goes on behind a closed door, involvement reserved for the select few sitting
at the top. As a member I do not feel that I have any say in how matters are
conducted or that the union wishes me to know. This kind of attitude, no matter
how intentional does not help in engaging members with UDSU or raising loyalty
– it actively pushes members away.
The union’s image needs seriously addressing.
The branding – whilst being consistent and easy to apply to a wide range of
services is bland and un-engaging. Combined with a lack of communication and
interest in its members, students feel detached from the union. With no
personality, students do not feel part of the union or are motivated to become
involved in it – this includes spending in the union’s commercial ventures. I
have found student’s blurring the line between union and university, struggling
to appreciate the difference. For an organisation that exists solely to
represent its members I find this worrying. It is hard to appreciate what
stance the union takes on university affairs because it appears to mirror the
same tone as the university, whilst not being a bad thing – this surely does
not need replicating. The union should be more concerned with finding its own
voice.
The main communication I get from UDSU is emails
advertising events or products. There is zero direct communication regarding
affairs within the union. I would like to see regular updates either online, by
email or by post keeping members informed about what is going on behind the
closed doors of UDSU (as they appear at the moment). I no longer live in
university halls and I would have expected the union to take an interest in my
location for the sake of business analysis and communication (a worthwhile
expenditure would be delivering a union newsletter and/or dusted to members’
households).
It is essential that when changes or decisions
are made within the union, its members are told that the change is happening
and why, and at any possible point the opinions of members should be collected
to ensure that UDSU really is acting in the best interests of its members.
Without openness like this it is hard to empathise with the union for its lack
of representation or presence outside of the university campuses. Something,
which I think, is inexcusable for a non-campus based university such as Derby.
Some areas of the city centre have an incredibly
high concentration of students close together (especially around halls) yet the
union seems blind to their existence – only making an average effort to provide
facilities to students who are in university (a considerable walk away from
these student hotspots). This ignorance to its members coupled with a poor
location leaves me to imagine that there is very little commercial potential
within UDSU at present and that the union is missing out on student cash to
businesses in the centre of Derby, who do not actively have students in their
best interests and have more of a focus on profiteering from this lucrative
audience than providing a fair service to them. Whilst it may not be
immediately financially viable to open a venue in the city centre (near its
members) I think it should be an absolute top priority with a strategy for
raising the required funds over a specified period of time in place.
Derby city centre is a wasteland of empty bars,
pubs and clubs. This could be taken as a sign that it is a hostile market to
enter. But the union should consider cases of dire mismanagement (as seen with
Syn) and failing to capture a reasonable chunk of the student market – which is
lucrative, close and has money to spend. If the union could actively engage
with its members, the loyalty of them combined with sensible management and
promotion of a venue in the city centre would see it operate as a huge success.
Average returns from The Academy Bar at
Kedleston Road are only to be expected when considering that its only
dependable custom is from footfall at the university. A lack of events or
entertainments for students is to me an example of laziness from management as
this is an excellent venue that has much more potential to be exploited, even
when considering its poor location. Areas such as live music could be key in
bringing a more favourable return from the bar.
The recent decision to open The Academy on a
Monday night for a student night (after the closure of Syn) with one day’s
notice to students was ridiculous and I dread to think how much money was
wasted on security and staffing for the night. Decisions like this make it very
hard trust the union in a financial or business sense.
The union is spending a large amount of money on
the athletic union, and whilst investment in the AU is to be encouraged, there
is very little evidence of trying to raise funds within the AU by other means –
e.g. sponsorship of teams and advertising at games/matches. There may have been
various efforts to raise funds by alternative ways already but with the lack of
communication with members it is only possible to make assumptions. And my
assumption is that the union is making little effort to be proactive with
funds, leading to a poorer service for its members and a lack of balance in
expenditure of funds against returns made.
In the last year, two UDSU operated facilities
have closed – Fyzeek gym at Kedleston Road and Rotunda shop at Britannia Mill –
as a union member I would have expected these moves to be explained, detailing
the funds freed up by these moves and how we will see them put back into UDSU
as well as members being given a platform to comment and feed back freely on
such matters.
Recently I completed an online questionnaire
about the union’s shops. This was a rare occasion, as UDSU seems completely
uninterested in the opinions, suggestions and ideas of its members. However, it
soon became clear that the questionnaire appeared only to exist to provide
support for a decision that had already been made. Most of the questions were
focussed around the sale of groceries – this is not a practical way to gauge if
a shift towards grocery items is sensible. Pitch the idea and many students are
likely to believe that it is a good idea regardless of how likely they are to
benefit from it or use it. Furthermore this feedback does not take into account
the business practicalities for stocking such products. Surely when considering
the location of the shop and its audience the union should streamline its
product range to ensure maximum cost efficiency and the best service for its
members.
The stocking of grocery items at Keddies -
particularly perishable goods seems to be an ignorant move, considering that
unless a student actually lives at Kedleston Road campus (which they can’t),
they will be close to a Sainsbury/Co-op/Tesco or other convenience shop which
is guaranteed to have longer opening hours, more product range and better
prices. The notion that students will buy groceries in university is ridiculous
when taking into account the distance they have to travel home with it and the
concentration of convenience stores near to student homes and residences.
The present state of the union is incredibly
disheartening. The union is an organisation supposedly run for its members by
its members and it is upsetting to see it treat its members with such little
interest and apathy. I am not suggesting that the union does not do plenty of
good for it’s members but some areas of the union are inexcusably poor and for
an organisation that should be working to enhance the university experience of
its members I feel let down by UDSU.
I would expect UDSU to have plans in place to
improve the situation and to be actively seeking feedback from its members to
try and salvage the bleak state of its affairs.
I suggest that, if it does not already exist – a
five-year plan is created, specifically focussing on the expansion of
commercial activities and this is published for members to view and provide
comment. If any such plans already exist I find it worrying that the union does
not feel it necessary to share them with their members (as with many other
aspects of the union’s business). The expansion of the union’s commercial
services outside of the university’s campuses, in my opinion should be the
union’s main focus when considering the future. Only then can the union start
making a sensible return on investments and continue to organically grow.
The union should remember previous success that
was seen through its city centre venues in the 1990s. It should not be afraid
to look to other student unions for ideas, advice and guidance – Staffordshire
University Student Union in my opinion is an exemplary union that UDSU could
learn a lot from regarding commercial services, media, representation and
commitment to its members.
I am not directly blaming the elected committee
members for the situation and issues that they have inherited, as highlighted
above. Many other UDSU members share these views with an equal level of concern.
If any of the points raised here are truly inaccurate then I would appreciate
you backing up your response with any available evidence.
I am sending this letter in good faith that the
union has enough motivation and commitment to its members to make a change for
the good. I am sure, that working together we can build a better union that its
members are proud to be part of.
Yours Faithfully,
Oliver Cooper.
Any replies received will be posted here and shared on Facebook/Twitter. Feel free to comment, add thoughts or suggestions.
