Oxford University Student Union (A Company Limited by Guarantee) Registered Charity Number 1140687 Registered Company Number 07314850 ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 July 2023 OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 Contents Legal and Administrative Infomiation Report of the Trustees Independent Auditorfs Report to the Members of Oxford University Student Union Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities 30 Consolidated Balance Sheet 35 Company Balan￿ Sheet 36 Consolidated Cash Flow Statement 37 Notes to the Financial Statements 38 OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 Le al and Administrative Information TRUSTEES OF OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION The trustees serving during the year and since the year end are set out below- Sabbatical trustees Kennedy Aliu Rosalie Chapman Mia Clernent Nicholas Harris Danial Hussain Jennifer Lynam Ellie Greaves Michael Akolade Ayodeji Jade Calder Anna-Tina Jashapara Omortnre Gra Shreya Dua (Appointed 25 June 20231 (Appointed 25 June 2023) (Appointed 25 June 2023) (Appointed 25 June 2023) (Appointed 25 June 2023) (Appointed 25 June 2023) (Vacated Office 13 March 2023) (Vacated Office 25 June 2023) (Vacated offi￿ 25 June 2023) (Vacated Office 25 June 2023) (Vacated offi￿ 25 June 2023) (Vacated offi￿ 25 June 2023) Student trustees Daniele Cotton Edward Jacobs Flora Wilson Uri Sharell Serene Singh (Appointed 25 June 2023) (Appointed 25 June 2023) (Vacated Office 25 June 2023) (Vacated Office 25 June 2023) External trustees Nicholas Entwistle Jacqueline Clements Ben Ward Fay Shorter Chadie Palmer India Jordan Anthony Strike (Appointed 04 March 2023) (Appointed 04 March 2023) {Appointed 04 March 2023) {Appointed 7 December 2022) (Vacated Office 16 February 2023) acated Office 31 September 2023) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1140687 REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER 07314850 REGISTERED OFFICE 4 Worcester Street Oxford Oxfordshire OX12BX ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE Nikki Smith OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 al and Administrative lllformation continued BANKERS The Co-operative Bank 13 New Road Oxford Oxfordshire OX1 1LG Santander Santander House Carfax Oxford Oxfordshire OX1 1HB AUDITOR Crowe U.K. LLP Statutory Auditor Aquis House 49-51 Blagrave Street Reading Berkshire RG11PL SOLICITORS Russell-cooke LLP 8 Bedford Row London WC1R 4BX OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 Re ort of the Trustees Oxford SU has achieved in numerous endeavors throughout the 22-23 aGademiG year, despite the backdrop of changing CEO'S. The 22-23 acadeTnic year saw Kate Dawson leave, moving onto pastures new, an Interim CEO lead the SU for 6 months and the placement of Dom Anderson as the pemianent CEO. Who vacated the role in February 2023. Despite the changes in Leadership, the Oxford SU team has achieved great things in the pursuit of its charitable aims as can be seen below. The board of trustees, who are also the directors of Oxford University Student Union ('Oxford SU"), are pleased to present their annual report along with the financial State￿entS of Oxford SU for the year ended 31 July 2023. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 4 to the financial statements and comply with the requirements the Charitiès Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, and the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice {"Charities SORP FRS 102,1 issued in October 2019. THE AIMS OF THE CHARITY Oxford SU is a students, union within the meaning of the Education Act 1994. The charitable objects of Oxford SU are the advancement of education of the students at the University of Oxford (students, and 'the Universit￿ respectively) for the public benefrt by.. Promoting the interests and welfare of students and representing, supporting and advising students. Being the recognised representative channel between students and the university and any olher e*(ernal bodies., Providing social, cultural, and recreational activities and forums far discussions and debate for the personal development of students., and Furthering all purposes which are charitable in law, and which are incidental or Gonducive to the main objects. These objects are pursued by representing and promoting the interests of its student membership to the University of Oxford, local and national government, the National Union of Students INUS} and other external groups.. providing welfare, support and advocacy services for students experiencing dffficulty or requiring help during their time at university,. campaigning on such issues as may affect the membership of the union,. and the provision of other services as the membership mighl request or require. Oxford SU will seek at all times to: Ensure that the diversty of its student membership is recognised and that equal access to services is available to all its members of whatever origin or orientation., Pursue its aims and objectives independently of any political party or religious group- and Pursue equal opportunities by taking positive action wilhin the law to facilitate the participation of under-represented groups in educational, representative, social and cultural activities. OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 THE AIMS OF THE CHARITY CONTINUED Publlc benefit The trustees have a duty to report on 'publiG benefiv by explaining= the significant activities which are undertaken in order to cary out their aims for the public benefit,. and their achievetnents measured against those aims. The trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17(5) of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 ort of the Trustees continued THE AIMS OF THE CHARITY (CONTINUED) Strategic Development. Oxford SU has been through a period of transition beknen olcl and new leadership during the 22-23 academic year. With this in mind, Ihe strategy has continued from previous years with a new strategy implementation due to take place in 2024. Strategy: Oxford SU is led by students for students Our tèam represents the interests of our members with drive, detemiination and proficiency. Our strategy contains three key goals.. Education We want to SUPPOrt and encourage all students to get the most out of the academic experience at the University of Oxford. Wellbeing We want to work togetherwth students and the Universty to make a welcoming, safe and inclusive place to live and study with an equally high experience for all students. Communities We want to enable communities to connect, develop and grow- to improve the Oxford experience as a whole. We are committed to empowering our members. Oxford SU believes that the University of Oxford must lead the way in creating an environment where current and future students are governed by fairness-, where everyone has an equal opportunity to flourish in their pursuit of education. We believe that education is the foundation for the future. The better the education, the better the future for all of us. Being a student at the University of Oxford brings unique privileges, opportunities and challenges. OxFord SU is committed to empowering its students,. we will ensure that their voice is listened to at every level of the University and is a catalyst for positive change. We embrace the entire student experience, from the grandly institutional to the intensely personal. We are entirely devoted to the wants and needs of all students, current and futu￿. Our current strategic aims focus on- Supporting and empowering Common Rooms, adding value to the College experience. Belng the representative voice of the students of Oxford, guaranteeing every student's voice is at the heart of what we do. Bringing people together, showcasing the comrnunity at Oxford and ensuring students get the support they deserve. We believe in making the Universty of Oxford a better pla￿, to the benefit of our students and society at large. OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Slatements For the year ended 31 July 2023 Re ort of the Trustees continued ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE Su ortin and Em owerin Common Rooms Oxford SU are committed to providing the best possible service and support for common rooms. This ranges from training to welfare provisions and wellbeing event5. It's unique position at Oxford as an SU in the centre with JCRS and MCRS in Colleges means that an off the shelf sector approach will not work. Oxford SU must be innovative if it is to successfully represent all Oxford students. Meet the SU At the start of the year, the sabbatical officers were keen to introduce themselves to students in colleges and introduce the work of the Student Union more broadly. To do this, they devised a 'Meet the SU, session during the Freshers, W&k. Across three days they went to 14 common rooms namely, Balliol JCR, Corpus Christi JCR, Exeter College JCR, Mansfield College JCR, New College JCR, Oriel College JCR, Pembroke college JCR and MCR, Hertford College MCR, Jesus Colleg¢ MCR, Keble College MCR, Merton College MCR, St Anne's MCR and St Hilda's MCR. The events gathered great attendance with Balliol and Oriel JCRS having approximately 100 students each. Common Room Elections Oxford SU provide support to common rooms in running elections for new committee members. This year 49 common rooms used the website to run 261 elections with Jesus JCR running the grealest number of elections. SU Reps At the end of Michaelmas Temi'22, Oxford SU started an SU Representatives Project, seeking to increase the number of colleges with SU reps and improve engagement with them to better support and empower common rooms. To begin with, this project included finding colleges that have SU Reps and introdLJcing them to the SU. By January 2023, the team had engaged wth 13 out of 15 SU Reps across the colleges, including meeting them in person at the SU, providing them with an inforrnation pack and discussing potential ways of collaborating with their colleges. In Hillary Term, it was arranged to have Meet The SU.. Elertions Edition at 4 Colleges (St Catherine's, Merton, St Antony's, and Worcester College) engaging 30 students in the works of the SU and encouraging them to vote in the Leadership Elections. In addition to this, Oxford SU held a Meet and Greet SU Repcom whiGh gave all the reps the opportunity to meet one another. In tum this led to SU Reps being a great help in the promotion of Oxford SU events such as the Clothing Swap, Buy One Give One Free Food Donation Competition and Student Awards within their colleges. Communications to JCR and MCR Presldents One of the priorities of thè Su's sabbatical offi*r team this year was to improve communications to JCR and MCR Presidents on the work the SU does, especially related to the policy work our sabbatical officers do in comtnittees. In order to do this, during Michaelmas term an SU information pack was collated and distribuled for Presidents. This included infomation on shared goals wth common rooms, how the SU can specifically support presidents, how the SU represents students, sabbatical officer manifesto priorities, information on committee work and lots more. OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION An n ual Report and Flnancial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 Re ort of the Trustees continued ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE Communications to JCR and MCR Presidents (Continued) In addition to this, in Trinity term, Oxford SU started putting together a regular'su Policy Updates, 1 page document specrfically sent to JCR and MCR Presidents. which summarised policy updates, where they are not confidential, categorised in sections such as Academic and Access policy, Sustainabilty, Welfare, Equal Opportunrties, Cost of Ltving, UCU (University and College Union), Other). This enabled presidents to see more clearly what the sabbatical officers are working on and shown them who speofir211y to contact regarding different policy matter5. Representstlve Communltles (Repcoms) Representative Communities {RepComs) are meetings which the SU host to bring student reps from dtfferent colleges together. These communities provide ne￿Orking opportunities for the student reps. enabling Oxford Su's sabbatical officers to have their Gommittee work infomed by wider ne￿Ork of representatives, and provide a space for sabbatical Dfficers and SU campaigns to update common room reps on theirwork. The time and space also enable reps to gain insight and advice from each other on varying experiences at different colleges which can inform their own work. Some key illustrations from this cycle of Repcoms are.. Disabled Students campaign - demonstrating that access needs can only genuinely be met at Student Council if it remains a hybrid meeting. JCR Access Reps feeding into VP Access & Academic reports for Admissions Committee on undergraduate interview formats and proposed changes to UCAS admissions pro￿$$. The former helped to shape the ultimate student survey that was sent out by the University, and the latter fed into the Admissions and OLrtreach team's response to UCAS. JCR Access and Class R8PS, the Su's Class Act Carnpaign and VP Access & Academic Affairs building on the wort( started by JCR Presidents to share inforynation regarding the ost of living across colleges. Environment and Ethi¢s Representatives informing the development, wording and tracking of the Su's College Sustainability Demands. Charities Reps collaborating wth each other on Buy One GNe One Free Oxbridge Food Drive Competition and getting SU support on this project. The feedback and follow-up actions the Sabbatical team received from these spaces has 1nf[uen￿d their projects and amplified the student voice. Across this year. Repcoms saw attendance of 720 representatives. Welfare supplies This year Oxford SU has fU￿illed 97 welfare and sanitary product orders. This has encompassed 31 colleges (￿0 thirds of all colleges) and the SU has also started supplying departments who are offering free period product schemes. Rent Negotiation Tralnlng 40 JCRJMCR executive members attended in-person to learn how to get the best deal for their students. The VP Charities and Communities and Student Advice pul together a presentation and support document that provided students with strategies and information to use in negotiation wth their college. Due to the high16vel of inflation in 2022-2023, this was a particularfy important and difficult year for rent negoliations. The SU would like to develop this training further, and is seeking feedback from ¢ollege8 in order to make it as useful to common rooms as possible. OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statemonts For the year ended 31 July 2023 ort of the Trustees continued Achlevements & Performance (continued): Website Training Oxford SU have six training modules which show JCR, MCR, Society and Campaign ¢ommitt88s how to use the SU website - these have been ac￿SSed a total of 1,473 times: How to Add Event Adverts (accessed 192 times)., How to add group infomiation {awessed 83 times)- Updating committee and admins {accessed 458 times)- Message mail lists (accessed 194 times)., Run elections (accessed 342 limes)., Update your profile (accessed 204 times)., Collegewellbeing events These events range from massage, yoga, therapy dogs and craft events. There is also the opportunity to meet and talk with sabbatical offi￿r$ in an infomal setting and leam more about the work the SU does and how to become involved. In Michaelmas term alone, Oxford SU provided wellbeing to 246 students a¢ross 10 Colleges. In Hilary and Trinity terms we focused on supporting St. John's College common room, after identifying them as in particular need of welfare support. We ran massage sèssions at their welfare brunches, helped them organise Capoeira classes, and provided them with therapy dog visits. We have provided wellbeing for around 100 students at St. John's, with rnore events to come this term. Key learning Vvhilst those whD took part in our college wellbeing events enjoyed them, we also have to be clear that numbers were low. We will be ensuring that wellbeing events moving fO￿ard are more focused and in line with what colleges are asking for whilst also acknowledging that sometimes the impact of smaller events can also be worth the investment. Our Sabbati¢al officers have made gr@a1 strides this year in developing stronger relationships wth JCRS and MCRS. As part of the development of the new strategy enable them to have more freedom and be more responsive to the needs they are encountering. We will be expanding our welfaré provisions available to colleges, whilst alsD seeking more lucrative avenues that ènable us to turn a profit to invest back into the provisions available to common rooms and this will be further developed. We are already looking to develop a module around tree speech which we feel wll be a useful resource for our members. OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 Re ort of the Trustees contlnued Achievements & Perfomance (contlnued): Bein the re resentative voice of the students of Oxford Students, Unions exist to be the representative voice of students and Oxford SU is no different. Through listening to students both through fomial channels and via our Sabbatical Officers informal conversations,. we aspire to be the Vol￿ of all matriculated Oxford students. regardléss of college. This has been a difficull year as we have found ourselves experiencing significant staff shortag8S which mean our delivery of key representative projects like our Leadership Elections have not b8en as positive as in previous years. Our Student Council is generally well attended by committed and passionate students. We have had to make some chan9es to how we support this with a hiring freeze in our staff team making it difficutt for full staff support to be a possibility- The steering committee is full of talented people who have embraced the challenge well. It is the case that sometimes motions to Student Council can inadvertently lead to some wntroversy, which is difficult to avoid. Student Councll student Council is the Student Union's decision-making body. There are 12 student councils (4 per term) over the academic year. For each student council meeting, Oxford Su's sabbatical offi￿r$ submit a written repor[ updating on their progress on their manifesto pledges, and any key meetings and events thelve attended. In the meetings themselves, they present verbally on these reports, and any student can come to ask questions about their progress. Our 8 carnpaigns also submit a report to council every term on their progress. Any student can also bring an item for discussion, or a motion for resolution lo council, and this is a key way student engage wth our SU democracy. Students Voted for a referendum on the continuation of the Su's affiliation with NUS (National Union of Students) in January and more recendy some rules that brought about a more streamlined process and autonomy for students. The Chair has facilitated some tense discussions on motions with impressive skill. Our Returning Officers have On￿ again exhibited their capacity to scrLrtinise- during the Easter vacation Student Council rules were fully revisited and amended by Steering, and Council procedures examined. Studenl Council has also been the initiation point for ex￿lIent student projects, such as: Voices from Death Row Art Exhibition: The purpose of this project was to showcase the lived realities of Sufviving death row and raise awareness of the inhumanity and injustices surrounding capital punishment, as well as testify to the therapeutic powers of art. This exhibition saw over 260 attendees. Education Audiocast=The purpose of this project is to provide a platform for expert speakers to share research-based advice and practical recommendations on supporting children's learning and development. Intersectionalising Oxford Event Series.. This event was a panel style conversation exploring the relationship betsveen space and race in Oxford, with a particular focus on th8 histories and experiences of Black students. The event aimed to highlight the hisloriGal contexts of these eXperien￿S and link them to the present to encourage attendees to better understand the cities past and critically imagine its futures. Africa Day 2023: Commemorating the 60th anniversary ofAfrica Day. Africa Day is celebrated throughoLrt the world on 25 May to commemorate the liberation of African countries from decades of brutal colonial rule, and the founding of the Organisation of African Unty (precursor to the African Union) on 25 May 1963. OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For the ye3r ended 31 July 2023 Re ort of the Trustees contlnued Achievements & Perfomiance l¢ontinued): Leadership electlon Each year Oxford SU hosts annual elections to elect our six Sabbati¢al Officers, NUS Delegates and the Student Trustees. The project team this year was more inexperienced than in previous years and the Election Lead role was carried out by a contractor due to personal circumstances within the staff team. It is undeniable that these factors influenced the delivery of the Leadership Elections. However, the conlraclor was very experienced in student union elections and authored robust report for actions, improvements. and deliverables as a blueprint for the 2023 cycle. This year the elections saw 49 nominations across all roles & although below the figure for 2022, it included a diversity of undergraduate and post graduate nominations. The undergraduatelpostgraduate imbalance increased this year from 570h of undergraduates being nominated to 71 %. The withdrawal rate: the proportion of students who withdraw their nomination: was 40°A this year compared with 460/0 in 2022 and the final nurnber of candidates on ballot was 24. The total number of students who voted in the Elections was 2,762 whiGh is a 100/0 total turnout from the student body. Hustings, Results night, and Candidate supportwas organised and delivered in Ihe (temporary) SU building at Hayes House. Turnout was lower than in previous years so to increase engagement and support for students the team held Candidate Academy sessions for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students. This included writing manrfestoslcampaigning, key challenges and effective leadership as a Trustee and representative of 25,000 Universty of Oxford Students. The sessions covered the following topics: 1) Candidate Academy: A day in a life of a sabbatical officer 2) Candidate Academy." Communicating effertÉvely 3) Candidate Academy: Running an effective campaign and how to win an election 4) Candidale Academy.. What candidates need to know about being a Trustee and an effecttve leader Graduate Cost of Living Survey Thé post-graduate cost of living sutvey, designed and run by the VP Graduates, received 1,512 responses. The survey aimed lo assess how graduate students were impacted by the current cost-of-living crisis. The data was professionally analysed and used to illustrate financial need and hardship that graduate students are facing to the University. The VP Access & Academic Affairs developed and disseminated a survey to undergraduate students on their academic experience which received 786 responses. This, alongside the Student Barometer data and the NSS {National Student Sukveyl survey results, formed the basis of the written student submission to Ihe Teaching Excellen￿ Framework forthe University. They also contributed to the Universivs main submission and were supported with guidance from Education Policy Support. The Student Advice and Wellbeing offer free and confidential advice and wellbeing to Oxford University students. We offer a drop in, telephone service Mon- Thurs in term time. as well as email and fa¢e-to-faGe appointments. We can attend College or University meetings with students if we have availability. We attend in a supportive capacity and offer to take notes for the students. Technically. we do not play a speaking part in the meetings, however, we have found that we are increasingly asked to speak by College and Universty panels and commended for the insights and context we are able to offer, and which may have been ovedooked due to the restrictions of Collegeluniversity policy. 10 OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 ort of the Trustees continued Achièvements & PgrfonnanGe (continued): We also help vrith the planning and preparation of statements on.. MCE (Mitigating Circumstances (notice) to Examiners, Appeal applications. Students can consult us on any issue which affects their university lrfe. The main enquiry areas remain as last year- Accommodation. Academic Issues, Money (fees and funding and debt adviGe), University or College DisGipline and Mental Health. We have a total of 1,341 open cases at present. We have worked on a total of 346 cases from July 2022 to May 2023, including 299 new cases during this time. These include complex ongoing cases, such as matters of academic discipline, academic appeals: disability issues. harassment claims, and migration. We typically add work to these cases each week or every other week, depending Dn how the student gets in touch with us. In addition, these cases include general, one-time advice given to parents. prospective students, and students of other institutions who fall outside of our remit. The students we see include undergraduate students, post graduate taught students, and post graduate research students. We have worked with students from 38 colleges and from 2 pemanent private halls in the period of July 2022 to present. We have trained a full-time advice and wellbeing coordinator this year. and unfortunately lost our senior advisor and wellbeing lead, as well as our advice manager. Cornmlttee Impact Our advisors worked with the Officer team on graduate accommodation rent negotiation proposals to take to the University Propety Management Subcommittee. The advisor provided insight based on knowledge of stLJdent accommodation issues and financial stress and aided the VP Charities and Communities in preparing for committee discussions and negotiations. Ultimately, the committee decided on a lower rent increase for graduate accommodation than they would have without SU input. Obseryations Academic issues, including academic discipline, make up nearly a third of the casework we do. students come to us seeking help on navigating the complex University processes of academic appeals, plagiarism interviews. exam adjustments, and dispensation applications. Students (ffien need help understanding what their options are when faod with a¢ademic issues, and our main role is in identifying options for them and clarifying the process. This year. we have worked with the Prodors office frequently to communicate regulations and PrO￿$seS to students. Addrtionglly, we have routinely sought advi￿ from Education Policy Support in order to help students rnake applications for dispensations from the rules to Education Committee. We have also seen a number of students involved in applications for dispensations to the Medical School, and have worked wth representatives.from the Medical School to outline options for these students. Accommodation enquiries have remained high. Students are also struggling to find affordable accommodation and Gome to Student Advice for ideas of where to look, especially when they are unable to rent through their college or the University. Intemational graduate students have a particularly difficutt time finding accommodation, especially if they are required to use a guarantor. While there have been relatively few cases of college migration, this has been an area of growth in knowledge and experience for Student Advice. We have worked with a few students on migration consistently and have developed strategies for helping student achieve migration. Reasons for migration range from wanting a dtfferent academic environment, to disability accommodation problems, to issues with social life. OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 Re ort of the Trustees continued Achievements & Perfonnance (continued): Key Learning It is clear that students need Student Advice's SeNi￿S and support, especially in regard to academic issues. Student Advice provides help to students who are unsure of how to navigate the various University policies, regulations, and processes that impact their academic lives. In future years, it would be good to grow the service beyond our c(Jrrent capacity. Though we have helped a significant number of students with academic issues, they likely represent a fraction of the students who need support. Furthermore, increased capacity in the service would allow us to have longer dropin hours, offer more students meetings, and advertise ourselves more widely. Looking forward, it would be useful for a member of Student Advice to represent the student voice on University Gommittees that help shape policy and procedure on education, academic issues, complaints, and harassmenl. Student Advice is well positioned to cotnment on how students are affected by policies and how they may or may not be easy for students to navigate. Despite our VP Access and Academic Affairs working extremely hard to deliver an SU submission forthe TEF ffeaching Excellence Framework), as an organisation we did not provide enough support. Moving forward the SU would be better placed to employ fixed temi project staff to deliver important collaborative work. This is a strategy that will (budget dependant) be utilised when the SU begins working with the University on the APP (Access and Partlcipation Plan). Our election tumout was poor this year and not in line with our hopes and expectations. This is due to a lack of strategic planning and a gulf in leadership caused by the changes in CEO. This is not acceptable, and our elections must be a University and College wide event that students feel engaged and passionate about. Election 2023 will be an improvement. Brin in eo le to ether Students, Unions are hubs for the student community and whilst at Oxford JCRS and MCRS do an excellent job in bringing togethèr students in their colleges. Oxford SU exists to bring together students from across the University of Oxford. Whether as a social space for socielies, a meeting HQ for Campaign groups orjust somewhere to go when you need a friend., Oxford SU is all of those things and can be so much more. student-Led Campaigns Oxford SU supports eight student-led campaigns" CRAE (Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality), Class Act (campaign for working class students), Disability Campaign, It Happens Here (carnpaign against sexual violence), ISC {Intemational Student Campaign), LGBTQ+ Campaign. Suscam (Suspended Students) and the Women's Campaign. These campaigns are entirely student-led but gain support with funding, training, development, and event planning (including risk assessments) from staff members within the Students, Union. Students stand to be eleded to the Campaign Committees and can also stand to be a Campaign Co-chair, a shared leadership position on the committee. Students are also able to sign up to membership of Campaigns. The SU also support Raise and Give (RAG), the student fundraising group which raises money for charities elected by the student body, and Target Schools, a scheme to broaden appliGations and access to Oxford for all sectors ofthe communty. 2,165 students are currently members of an SU Campaign, and there are 91 students in leadership roles within them. 12 OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 ort of the Trustees continued Achlevements & Perforniance (contlnuedl: Campaigns and Scheme ovènts July 2022- July 2023 Our Campaigns have recently had a huge boost in recruitment. Through our byeryelection. 112 roles filled by 91 unique students on our Campalgn commtttees. most of whom are wtth us until Hilary 2024. Campaign Highlights All our campaigns and scheme5 have delivered excellent events with great engagement. We chose a few to highlight below but see ongoing evidence oftargeted support and campaigning of individual cause from all our student groups. It Happens Here, our anti-sexual violence campaign, have continued to create and support safe spaces and communities offering events to encourage sharing time and positive experiences. They organised events called "Still I write. where students collaborated on wtitten word projects such as poetry and creative wriling or could enjoy the artistic work of others. °Still I Write. is now happening termly, and something that the campaign wants to institulionalise within the SU. It always has a great lum out and they get valuable feedback from attendees. They held a sign rnaking session ahead of the Reclaim the Night event. They have created a safe study space in the SU for suspended studenls and other students looking for a relaxed and friendly place to work where SU staff and sabbatical officers are available for informal chats. They organised Women for Women film screenings and delivered a workshop WEth "Empowered Campus. to reinforce strategies and mechanisms for empowement during daily student lrfe. One of the Campaign Chairs has been heavily involved in campaigning and lobbying at universty. local and national level around the ban Dn NDAS (non-disclosure agreements) in Sexual Misconduct cases. This is a direct continuation of last yearfs robust work by the campaign on this issue. It Happens Here have a seat on relevant working and steering groups organised by Ihe Sexual Violence and Support Service and are Consulting wlth the service the SU on delivery of consént training goin9 forward. IHH were key voices in th8 studenustaff relationships ban which Ihe SU will hold as integral legacy work. LGBTQ+ are One of our most engaged and active campaigns. The Committee are dedicated and committed, and the carnpaign reaches deep into the student body. Last year the co-chairs of the campaign organised a tearful and powerful Trans Day of Remembrance vigil. encouraging key figures within th8 university and colleges lo visit to show solidarity with students. This was repeated this year with significant student engagement. The campaign worked closely with our sabbatical team in terms of consultation and thoughts and input on lobbying. We are particularfy proud of our LGBTQ+ campaign for wtnning a national award at the Student Pride awards this year and for the woth IHH have done and continue to do around consent training with the SU and the Universty. Disabled Student's Campaign (Discam) The Discam committee have continued to moderate their 24 Facebook support groups for students wtth drfferent conditions such as eating disorders, visual impairment. autism, and chronic pain, which Greates spaces for students to interact Wtth other students who have experience navigating Oxford with the same conditions. The Class Act aims to support and raise awareness of the potential barriers around further integrating first generation, low income and state comprehensive students into Oxford and providing support. They host welcome socials, events, and quizlfun nights all with the aim of making the Oxford communty as open and welcoming to all as possible. 13 OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For thè year ended 31 July 2023 Re ort of the Trustees continued Achievements & Perfomiance {continued): Our Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality (CRAE) have had a successful resurgence after a brief hiatus, with two interim co-chairs and having now elected an executive commrttee to reslart activities. These have included 'thinking and drinking, events about racism in academia in response to a high-profile case in the Philosophy Faculty which was attended by 3 of our sabbatical officers and around 40 students. They have also hosted events collaborating with Feminist Society and the Woman of Colour Society, a Film Screening and Q&A with prolific composer Des Oliver forArts Week, and a campaign social dinner. One ofthe co-Ghairs has been particularly active, attending a meeting with the new Chiel Diversity Officer and the head of the Humanities Department, as well as attending and being very vocal about the University's EDI (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion) Roundtable. Student Societies Although student societie5 are independent from us. we do provide some support to them. Our societies directory platfomis over 280 active societies which was visited by 41,797 people over the course of the year. We also offered support to societies in running elections and advertising events on our event's page. Social Action Fair In order to get more students involved with our campaigns, as well as the local community, this year we worked with Oxford Hub to organise a Social Action Fair in St Luke's Chapel in January 2023. This fair offered students the opportunity to find out more about getting involved with the campaigns and volunteBring opportunities around Oxford. We consulted with our Disabilities Campaign to make the event as accessible as possible and resulting actions included having included a quiet hour. With over 200 attendees and 25 organisations (split between student-led campaigns, and local organisations}, the event was an enormous success, and one which we hope to build on and expand in the fulure. Arts Week Our VP for welfare and equal opportunities led on Arts Week which engaged 245 students over the course of the week and opened doors to art, culture, and creativity for everyone. Future events that we are looking fO￿ard to are our new venture around Clothing Swaps in the SU. Currently we have over 200 students registered and the second celebration Student Awards evening forwhich nominations currently ex￿ed 200. 14 OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 ort of the Trustees continued Achievements & Perfom)ance (continued}: Target Schools Staff and committee turnover have meant that the SU has not been able lo Cary out as much work wth Target Schools as planned. The SU typically offer Oxford sludent speakers, student buddies and shadowing days to Year 12 and 13 in community schools. The SU will be focusing more on this in the 23-24 academic year. Wellbeing Events Our SU advice and wellbeing team delive￿d a number of wellbeing events across the year. These ranged from our well-loved dog walks in Christ Church meadow, to massage sessions at the SU, and therapy dog visits. We also ran crafting events, which provided students with a space lo relax. The term dates and attendee numbers are listed below. Michaelmas 2022 Two dog walks, 82 attendees total. A￿ayS our most popular wellbeing event, we re￿1ve consistent feedback on how enjoyed and appreciated Ihe$e walks are. A stsndout piece is from a PGT (Postgraduale Taught) student who is quoted below. °This is the first welfarg event at Oxford which has actually felt like w8lf8re° Term 2023 Crafting workshop at SU as part of Arts Week, 20 attendees. We offered a variety of crafts including painting, crochet, sculpting, bracelet making and scrap booking. and provided refreshments. Feedb8¢k from students included requests for similar events in the future. Hila Trin Tem 2023 Durin9 Mental Health Awareness Week (May 15-21) we held three events, including a massage event, a crafting work shop. and a radio program on student mental hearth. Numbers and details are below.. Five Minute Mini Massages. 15 attendees. This was a relaxed 8vent where students ¢ould drop in, have a tea and refreshments, and then have a five-minute massage from a professional masseuse. Oxide Radio Show: Let's Talk Student Mental health. This featured a discussion be￿een our VP Welfare and Equal Opportunities, the University Counselling Servi￿, and Oxfordshire Recovery College. The Chair of the Universty Joint Student Menlal Health Committee and head of Wellbeing Servi¢es have since asked for il to be circulated within their staff ne￿orkS. Therapy Dogs, Doughnuts, and Mini Massage, 50 attendees. Training Bystander Intervention Training We have run this training online for 16 students, in-person for 40 students on the Oxford Union committee (across 2 sessions). and in-person 84 students in the Said Business school (across 4 sessions). Students were asked to rate how equipped they fett to safely intervene in cases of harassment- they rated this as 2.515 before the session and 414 afterwards. 15 OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Reporl and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 ort of the Trustees continued Achievements & Perfonnance {continued): Class & Cost of Living Training 10 attended live and the slides hav8 been downloaded 409 times Consent Facilitator Workshops 137 students were trained as facilitatOT3, who then went on to run their own workshops. Before the training, students rated their readiness to run a consent workshop as 2.715 on average. After the workshop they rated this as 4.815. LGBTQ+ 101 Facilitator Training 424 students have accessed this training Sustainability training 9 attended live and the slides were downloaded 20 ts'mes. Data Handling Training Online training availabl8 at any time., 204 students have a￿Ssed this. Disabilty 101 Training Online training available at any tim8', 250 students have accessed this. Risk Assessment training Online training available at any tim8,. 182 students have accessed this. Tralnlng In 2022 we re-launchéd the Student Awards. We received 253 nominations acros5 10 categories, and the in-person event was attended by 210 attendees. The departments and colleges of our nominees and winners were highly engaged in ￿lebrats'n9 their students. achievements. The diversity of nominees was exceptional (61 % women, 460k graduates. 200A mature students) and we had nominees from 43 colleges. For our 2023 Student Awards, Monday June 12th, we received 224 nominations from 41 of 44 colleges. The ceremony is a free event open to 250 students as an opportunity to celebrate students making an impact across the University and student-community at large. Oxide 0￿de saw an increase of over 220 followers on social media. 3,937 people tuned into Oxide Radio in the final quarter of the year alone, listening for a total of 632,571 minutes, with unique listeners from over 61 countries. This time last year, there were 18 shows in one week. This number is now up to 55 d(fferent shows hosted in week six of Trinity Term. The Oxford Student Total website views: 2022". 960,140 2023 (so far)-. 696,511 In total.. 9,873,206 The highest views per month ever were recorded in February 2023 (196,560 views) 16 OXFORD UNIVERSIry STUDENT UNION Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 ort of the Trustees continued Achievements & Perfonnance {contlnued}' Top 10 viewed articles in the past year.. 15 minute city plans cause controversy Emma Watson to study at Oxford next academic year For the Love of the Immortal Snail (not published this year) 15-minute neighbourhoods protest Why Straight Men Obsess Over Ryan Reynolds and not Pete Davidson (not published this year) Oxford Union President Ahmad Nawaz Forced to Resign st Hugh's Cancel Ball Riding the Bi-cycle.. The Uncertainty of Bisexualty (not published this year) Oxford thinks woke culture has gone too far Debate.. private schools should be abolished {not published this year) In total. these articles got over 250,000 views this year. Website and Social Media engagement Instagram Current Following.. 8,728 May 2022 Following: 5,768 Increase.. +2,960 Total Post Likes.. 16,006 Post Impressions: 510.229 Facebook Current Following.. 19,415 May 2022 Following: 18,705 Increase.. +710 Total Post Likes.. 644 Post Impressions: 231,009 Twitter Current FOllo￿ng. 13,531 May 2022 Followng.. 13,041 Increase.. +490 Total Tweet Likes: 838 Post Impressions.. 333,772 All social media channels saw net gains in 2022-2023. 17 OXFQRD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION Annual Report 2nd Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 Re ort of the Trustees continued Achievements & Perfomance (continued): Website Following the implementation of the new website in March 2023 alone, the site has received over 122,124 views from 20.800 users, for an average of 5_87 views per user. On the old website, during the period of May 2022-March 2023, Ihe SU received 800,187 page views from 148,099 users across a 10 month span. Freshers, Fair Freshers, Fair 22-23 was a huge success in terms of engagement. The SU saw the attendan increase from previous years to circa 11 k students (vs 9k last year) in addition to a further 2k student stall holders over the 2 days. The overall student survey feedback was very positive with the localion rating highly. Soclal Medla Freshers, online performance was compared and analysed against the same week of the previous month to assess how to the figures compare to a nomial week_ The date range for Freshers, week is October 1 st-october 8th compared to September 1 st-september 8 The days leading up to Freshers, Fair were key at building hype so the SU ran a daily countdown to the event, sharing information and sneak peaks for what was to come. Freshers, week saw an average engagement rate of 5.01•/D across all platforms compared to 3.160/0 forthe same week in September. Post impressions also increased by 400/0 in Freshers, week, allowing the SU to expand theirfallowers by over 250 in just this one week on Instagram alone. Instagram was the key plafform when communicating both the build up and on day comms around Freshers,. This consist@rrt posting allowed a 33QA increase in account reach vs. the same week in September. Engagement peaked on the 6th and 7th of October as expected with the fair being open. Posts shared on these days generated the most likes and highest engagement rates on Instagram. The engagement rate forthese posts was also over 100/9, much higher than the average rate of 5.01 % for the rest ol the week. Website There were over 8,232 new users during Freshers, week, bringing in over 14,000 individual sessions on the website. The Freshevs home page was the most common landing page for students that week. In total, there was 42,791 page views with an average of each session having three page views as opposed to Freshers, Week last year, averaging 2 views per session. student Feedback Student feedback was gathered through an anonymous feedback fonn shared across social media channels and the all-student email to ensure as many students as possible had the opportunity to give their feedback. In total, the SU re￿iVed 85 individual responses. 18 OXFORD UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNIQN Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2023 Re ort of the Trustees continued Achievernents & Performance (continued)., The average score for Dverall impressions of the fairwas 6.5110,. When asked for more information, the most Gommon negative feedback was based on how crowded the fairwas. Many students shared this sentiment. saying they found the fair overwhelming, the crowds "pushy" and even in the quiet hours, some students found the fair overstimulating. On the other hand, there was lots of positive feedback on the organisation of the event and the high number of society stalls. Students said the event was 'very streamlined everyone was lovely and passionate about their club. and th8 fair was "engaging and interesting.. The location of the fair scored very highly, re￿[VIng an overall rating of 8.2 out of 10. From the feedback form the SU sees, the society stalls were the most popular part of the fair, and one of the key reasons, students attended the fair, receiving 65 votes. This was closely followed by Yreebies, which received 56 votes. The Sabbatical Officers The biggest strength at Oxford SU is that every year they get to welcome six highly intelligent University of Oxford graduates into their organisation. As a small charity, this is something that many in the third sector would see as an enormous strength. Their student offi￿rS provide challenge, scrutiny, leadership, and currency to the organisation. This year their officers have dealt with many challenges and organisationally the SU know more must be done to support future sabbatical teams. The SU has reformed officer surnmer training to focus on the trends they have seen over recent years in their teams. Through the people and culture subcommittee the SU are creating an innovative Sabbatical Officer Success Strategy. For Oxford SU to succeed they need their Sabbatical officers to SUC￿ed. This is an organisational priority and will be measured by both the Trustee Board and People & Culture committee as a set of KPIS (Key Performance Indicators). Vice Presldent Access & Academic Affairs Academic Representatives The VP AccAff has, in tandem with the VP Graduates, worf