STUDENTS’ UNION QUALITY MARK

Strategic Context New Approach Principles of new model How it will work in practice Opportunity to shape the approach

5 TH STRATEGIC THEME Build Strong Students’ Unions 1.The way we guide improvement and assure quality in students’ unions will be transformed and made more accessible 2.We will deliver a talent management programme for students’ unions to attract, retain, develop and diversify our people 3.Students’ unions will be stable and financially secure, with high quality strategic support for tackling major strategic problems.

STUDENTS’ UNION EVALUATION INITIATIVE 36% of HE Students’ Unions participated Larger more well established unions Good Outcomes Expensive Labour intensive Committed to delivering for those within the scheme Transferable to new model

NEW APPROACH Not SUEI Lessons learnt but fundamentally different Benefit of affiliation Costs stripped out Online technology

ONLINE SELF ASSESSMENT Each Union will undertake a self-assessment annually. The self- assessment will be split into two sections; Part A and Part B. Part A is a series of quantitative indicators (e.g. election turnout, candidate numbers) measuring the basic health of a Union. Part B is a qualitative self-assessment in the form of a narrative: three core areas of Governance, Leadership and Management, Activities and Outcomes The Union would also complete a ‘next steps’ section to promote continuous improvement Unions would re-visit their self-assessments annually rather than starting from scratch.

AUDIT CYCLE 1.Students’ unions will annually upload information about their union against a core criterion on an online interactive hub. 2.Once accredited a union will have access to a certificate and logo. 3.There will be a 6 year audit cycle. 4.Following accreditation, desk-based audits will take place in the third year. This will include an assessment of the written information from the previous three years, remote telephone interviews with key stakeholders and a report with recommendations. 5.In the sixth year of the audit cycle, a one day on-site union audit will take place to assess the information from the previous audit. This will include interviews with staff, student officers, students and the university.

CORE AREAS

1. GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT I.Strategic Planning II.Relationships & Partnerships III.Policies, Processes & IV.Structures V.Democracy & Governance VI.People

2. ACTIVITIES I.Communication II.Services III.Participation IV.Representation & Campaigning

3. OUTCOMES I.Review and Evaluation II.Context III.Impact

RATIONALE 12 components of 3 core areas Annual – Officer cycle Fully linked to existing standards e.g. IIP = automatic Very good for People Numerical indicators – transparent Qualitative and Quantitative indicators Self evaluation drives self reflection Inline with other recognised best practice e.g. Ofsted

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER 1.do you agree with audit methodology? 2.do you agree with core areas? 3.do you agree with components?