Committee Training Booklet - University of Surrey's Student Union

Timetable
5pm
Introduction
AP 3+4
6pm
Leading a
Club/Society
LTD
Understanding
Finances
LTE
Administrating a
Club/Society
LTG
Engaging your
Membership
LTB
Marketing,
Sponsorship and
Publicity
AP 3+4
Organising Events,
Trips and Socials
Safely and
Effectively
LTL
7pm
Leading a
Club/Society
LTD
Understanding
Finances
LTE
Administrating a
Club/Society
LTG
Engaging your
Membership
LTB
Marketing,
Sponsorship and
Publicity
AP 3+4
Organising Events,
Trips and Socials
Safely and
Effectively
LTL
8pm
Leading a
Club/Society
LTD
Understanding
Finances
LTE
Administrating a
Club/Society
LTG
Engaging your
Membership
LTB
Marketing,
Sponsorship and
Publicity
AP 3+4
Organising Events,
Trips and Socials
Safely and
Effectively
LTL
7-10pm
Networking/Social
Living Room
There will be additional training on the use of ‘Skynet’ (the new Union website) at another time.
Please look out for further details.
1

Committee Training Evaluation
The Students’ Union is always keen to receive your views on the training we deliver. The feedback you give allows us to
continually adapt training to better suit your needs. We would appreciate it if you could spend a few minutes filling in this
form before you leave (please hand it to your trainer when you have finished).
Role: __________________________
Faculty: FAHS / FEPS / FHMS / FML
Are you a: Sports Club/ Society
Degree Course: ______________________________________
Level : 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / Placement / PGT / PGR
Overall
Poor
Excellent/ Useful
Overall Verdict
Training Structure
Training Content
Session Length
Trainer(s)
Venue
I had fun
I learnt something useful
I’m glad I came
Y/N
Y/N
Y/N
Introduction
(Please Tick)
Excellent Good Average Poor
What did you like/enjoy about it
What could be improved
Other comments
2

Session 1
Title:___________________________________
(Please Tick)
Excellent Good Average Poor
What did you like/enjoy about it
What could be improved
Other comments
Session 2
Title:___________________________________
(Please Tick)
Excellent Good Average Poor
What did you like/enjoy about it
What could be improved
Other comments
Session 3
Title:___________________________________
(Please Tick)
Excellent Good Average Poor
What did you like/enjoy about it
What could be improved
Other comments
If you don’t mind, please could you give us a little more information about yourself
Gender: Male/ Female / Prefer not to say. Age: 16-21 22-30 31-40 41-50 51+
Status: Home / EU / International Student
How did you hear about this training ___________________
3

Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 6
Who’s Who in the Union ................................................................................................................................. 9
Signatories Agreement .................................................................................................................................... 12
Guidelines for Insurance ................................................................................................................................. 13
Health and Safety............................................................................................................................................ 14
Pub Crawl Policy ............................................................................................................................................. 20
Fundraising Legally, Safely and Responsibly .................................................................................................... 21
Sports Club Code of Conduct ........................................................................................................................... 22
Society Grading ............................................................................................................................................... 24
Effective Handover ......................................................................................................................................... 29
Using Email ..................................................................................................................................................... 32
Accreditation and Awards ............................................................................................................................... 37
Employability .................................................................................................................................................. 41
Volunteer Policy .............................................................................................................................................. 44
Other Policies ................................................................................................................................................. 49
President Training ........................................................................................................................................... 50
Secretary Training ........................................................................................................................................... 62
Engaging Your Members ................................................................................................................................. 70
Events, Trips and Socials ................................................................................................................................. 83
Fundraising ..................................................................................................................................................... 86
Marketing and Sponsorship ............................................................................................................................ 89
4

Introduction
Welcome to your Committee Training for 2011/2012. We hope that you all enjoy running your Club and/or Society
this year. If you ever have any problems or questions make sure you get in touch with your Sabbatical Officer or
relevant staff member.
Here are some things that you will need to know when running your Society or Club:
What is the Students’ Union
The University of Surrey Students’ Union is a membership-led organisation. Our chief purpose is to represent the
interests of our members to the University and wider community – and to excel while doing so.
Without the University of Surrey, there would be no University of Surrey Students’ Union, so although we are
independent from the University, independent does not mean separate. A large part of our funding comes directly
from the University, and our trading activities are supported indirectly by the University.
The Students’ Union is a limited company and (will shortly be) a registered charity, and through being a charity we
receive a number of tax benefits – but there are also obligations, mostly regarding the money we are given and how
it is spent.
As a signatory of a club, society or group you are in charge of a group that has its own finances, constitution, aims
and objectives – however just like the link between the University and the Union, without the Union there would be
no clubs and societies (and vice versa). Clubs and societies are independent but not separate from the Union.
Provided you are fulfilling the aims and objectives of your group, and operating within the Union by-laws, you can
run your group however you see fit; Committee Training is here to help you.
What are the benefits of being a Society/Sports Club
There are many benefits to being a society/club within the Students’ Union:
Funding
Your Society/Club is entitled to submit a Budget Request Form. More information is in the Finance Training Section
of this guide.
Free Room Bookings
As a Society/Club you are entitled to book central teaching rooms free of charge. This is a benefit only available to
Students’ Union Clubs and Societies. To book a room go online to www.ussu.co.uk and follow the links.
(Note: Please make sure you book your rooms at least a week in advance).
Minibus Hire
As a Society/Club you are entitled to hire the Students’ Union minibuses at a subsidised rate. To book a minibus you
will need to make sure that you have a driver who has passed the Students’ Union’s minibus test to drive for you.
Remember that minibuses are not free to use. For more information about Minibus testing please contact Leonie
Short, Students’ Union Receptionist at information@surrey.ac.uk
Freshers’ Fayre Publications
Your Society/Club will be able to submit some text about what you do to advertise to the Freshers’ in our Guide to
the Students’ Union that will go out to all Freshers’ when they arrive next year. You will be asked for this blurb within
the next few months, so make sure you keep an eye on your Society/Club e-mails! If you have any queries please
contact Lisa Sweeney, Communications Coordinator at l.sweeney@surrey.ac.uk
5

University Email Account
All Clubs and Societies are provided with a group surrey.ac.uk email address. These are the email addresses which
we publish in all of our welcome guides. The login details and passwords are available from the Activities office if you
need to know them.
Website
All Clubs and Societies are provided space on the Students’ Union website for you to add updates about your
activities, your committee, photos – anything you would like your current or prospective members to know.
Come to the ‘Skynet’ training session to find out more!
Post Pigeon Hole
Any Club or Society can get post sent to Union House. There are a limited number of pigeon holes for post in the
Activities Office. If you are expecting a large parcel then it will be stored in the larger storage holes on the left hand
side. Make sure you check your post regularly as any post which has not been collected for two months will be
returned to the sender. Pigeon hole requests will be emailed to your club account and the allocations later.
Staff Support
Societies and Sports Clubs have one full time Sabbatical Officer and one full time member of staff dedicated to them
to ensure everything is running smoothly and to be there if you have any questions or queries. We have lots of other
members of staff who can help make sure your society/club runs as efficiently as possible.
In-house banking
Our in-house banking system means that you can easily withdraw and bank money for your Society/Club. It also
means that when you have a new committee take over from you, all the signatories for the accounts can be
transferred easily. Although groups can operate how they like, they are still a part of the Students’ Union and the
Students’ Union is the registered charity, not the group.
Every year we must prepare a submission for the Charity Commission which explains where our money came from,
how we spent it and how this meets our aims and objectives. If you take group own funds and divert them to a
separate bank account you are then running the group outside of the by-laws and are no longer protected by the
Students’ Union. The limitation on liability no longer applies, nor does the insurance policies, or the exemption on
tax provided by the charity registration. That’s why you must never open your own bank account. If you operate by
the rules we will defend you to death, but if you don’t, you are on your own, sunshine!
Insurance
As a Students’ Union Society/Club you are covered by our Public Liability Insurance. Therefore as long as you follow
the correct procedures, any activities that you carry out will be covered by our insurance should anyone/thing get
injured. See Insurance Guidelines for details.
Volunteer Policy
As a committee member you are a volunteer, and therefore you are all covered by the Students’ Union’s Volunteer
Policy, which you can find in this pack or online. It outlines what you, as individuals, can expect from the Students’
Union to ensure you are getting the most out of your time as a Society/Club committee member.
Accreditation and Awards
This is covered later in this handbook.
6

What are Societies/Sports Standings
Sports and Societies Standings are meetings held once a month (during term time) and at least one representative
from each Society/Club is required to attend. This could be a signatory, non-signatory committee member or even a
Society/Club member who the committee have delegated to represent your Society/Club. These meetings are your
chance to make sure that Societies and Sports Clubs are being run the way you want, and will allow you to vote on
decisions that will directly affect your Club/Society.
The kinds of things that are usually discussed and voted on in these meetings are the ratification of new groups,
funding requests and any other items that you want to bring for discussion. A register is taken at each meeting and if
your Club/Society isn’t there on two consecutive occasions, without apologies, then your group benefits (see above)
will be frozen.
What are the Societies and Sports Executive Committees and what do they do
These Executive Committees will be elected in the Sports and Societies Standings. Any student can stand for the
positions on the Sports/ Society Executive Committee, regardless of whether or not they are a committee member
or not. This Committee is in regular contact with the relevant Sabbatical Officer, helps to run the Standing meetings
and have more insight into Sports or Society projects and tasks. They will also be the sounding board for ideas which
will then be bought to Standings.
Positions available include:
Sports Exec (SE)*
SE Chairperson
SE Conduct Officer
SE Communications Officer
SE Development Officer
SE Events Officer
+ Other SE Positions
+ Project Leaders
*These positions may change.
Societies Exec
Chairperson
Treasurer
Secretary
Arts Officer
International Officer
Departmental Officer
Special Interest Officer
Faith and Religious Officer
The Sports Executive system was re-structured in 2010-11. For more information about the Sports/Societies
Executive contact your VP Sports/Societies.
Other Important Documents.
In this guide you will also find some other documents which contain some important information.
Guidelines on Insurance.
This shows you exactly the kind of activity that would be covered by the Unions’ Insurance and what you need to do
to make sure that any social/trips/activities that you organise are covered, should anyone get injured.
Risk Assessments Template.
You will need to risk assess any activities that you are doing to make sure they are covered by our insurance. If you
have any questions about these see Helena Vardy (Activities Coordinator) or Kara Glassborow (Activities
Administrator) and they will be able to help.
Signatories Agreement.
At your AGM you will have signed the Signatories Agreement. Remember that you need to stick to everything in the
agreement you have signed.
7

Who’s who in the Students’ Union
Here is a list of people who you may need to contact whilst you are running your Club/Society. Most peoples’ office
hours are 9am-5pm and they are more than happy for you to pop in and have a chat with them – otherwise send
them an e-mail!
Sabbatical Officers:
Name/Position/E-mail Address
Contact them if you have queries about:
Malcolm Hunt (Osama Salih From 1 st Aug 2011)
President
ussu.president@surrey.ac.uk
Stef Jones (Sam Ratzer) From 1 st Aug 2011)
Vice President Education
ussu.education@surrey.ac.uk
Georgie Hancock (Dave Halls From 1 st Aug 2011)
Vice President Welfare
ussu.welfare@surrey.ac.uk
Osama Salih (Jake Willis From 1 st Aug 2011)
Vice President Societies and ID
ussu.societies@surrey.ac.uk
Trung (re-elected)
Vice President Sports and Recreation
ussu.sports@surrey.ac.uk
The Union in general and democracy
External Media enquiries
Any issues within your course or
department (especially important for
Departmental Societies)
Any welfare issues/concerns that may
arise within your Society/Club.
Anything Society related.
Any problems you are having with
regards to your Society.
Booking AGM’s/EGM’s
Society Events/Activities
Anything Sport related.
Any problems you are having with
regards to your Club.
Booking AGM’s/EGM’s
Club Events/Activities
What are Sabbatical Officers and what do they do
The Union Executive comprises of five full time Executive Officers who take a year’s sabbatical to take office. Their
roles are President and Vice Presidents in Education, Welfare, Societies and Individual Development and Sport and
Recreation. There are also eight part time Executive Officers – Union Chairperson, Communications Officer,
Community Officer, Equality and Diversity Officer, Ethics and Environment Officer, Events and Trading Officer,
International Student Development Officer and Postgraduate Development Officer. As a group they cover the
representation of all students on campus and take responsibility for overseeing the Union. Each position is elected
by the entire student body in cross campus elections. The full time posts are elected in spring and the part time
posts are elected in the summer.
8

Staff you may need to contact:
Name/Position/E-mail Address
Helena Vardy
Activities Coordinator
h.vardy@surrey.ac.uk
Kara Glassborow
Sports Coordinator
k.glassborow@surrey.ac.uk
Natalie Ferguson
Finance Coordinator
n.ferguson@surrey.ac.uk
Jade Johnson
Entertainments Manager
jade.johnson@surrey.ac.uk
Lisa Sweeney
Communications Coordinator
l.sweeney@surrey.ac.uk
Emma Beauclair
Volunteering and Training Coordinator
e.beauclair@surrey.ac.uk
Leonie Short
Receptionist/PA to the President
ussu.information@surrey.ac.uk
Contact them if you have queries about:
General Society enquiries
Merchandise
Risk Assessments for Events
Help fundraising for Charity
General Sports queries.
Fixtures and Matches
Sports Kit
Room Bookings
Funds in your account.
If you have budget and how much.
Putting money into your account.
Taking money out of your account.
Booking an event in Rubix.
Booking an event in the Living Room.
Hiring a DJ.
Printing/Selling Tickets
Promoting your events using student
media.
Press Releases.
Getting accreditation for time spent
running Club/Society
If your Club/Society would like training in
any specific areas.
Your Club/Society wanting to take part in
a community/volunteering activity.
Minibus booking
Minibus driving tests
Aaron Salins
Marketing and Communications Manager
a.salins@surrey.ac.uk
Marketing your event.
Promotional materials.
Other members of staff:
Director of the Students’ Union - Bob Anderson – b.anderson@surrey.ac.uk
Finance Manager - Debra Cody - d.cody@surrey.ac.uk
Membership Services Director - Alan Roy - a.roy@surrey.ac.uk
Commercial Services Manager - Ben McCauley –b.mccauley@surrey.ac.uk
Human Resources and Staff Development Manager – Caroline Royle – c.royle@surrey.ac.uk
Membership Services Development Manager (inc casework) - Kath Jones – Katherine.jones@surrey.ac.uk
Retail Manager - Jacqui Hollis – j.hollis@surrey.ac.uk
Business Support Services Manager– Alex Tolley – a.tolley@surrey.ac.uk
Technical Manager - Ian Lipp – i.lipp@surrey.ac.uk
Service Technician – Tom Dyer – t.dyer@surrey.ac.uk
Finance Coordinator – Berlinda Wiltshire – b.wiltshire@surrey.ac.uk (on maternity leave)
Chancellors Assistant Manager – Hector Meza-Gonzalez – h.meza-gonzalez@surrey.ac.uk
Commercial Assistant - Harry Hole – h.hole@surrey.ac.uk (until summer)
Head Chef - Katy Jackets – k.jackets@surrey.ac.uk
9

My
Responsibility
10

Group Signatories Agreement
GROUP NAME:
DATES OF OFFICE: FROM: TO:
Please read the below terms and conditions of being a group signatory very carefully. By becoming a signatory of
your group you agree to abide by these terms. Failure to do so may result in the freezing/dissolution of the group
and/or disciplinary action.
We, the undersigned signatories for the above named group of the University of Surrey Students’ Union agree:
1. To abide by the group’s own constitution.
2. To abide by the University of Surrey Students’ Union constitution and any other Students’ Union Policies.
3. To ensure that the group is represented by at least one committee member at the standing meetings, status
meetings and any other group meeting deemed compulsory by the Students’ Union.
4. To ensure that all committee members attend compulsory group training, as provided by the Students’
Union.
5. To keep an updated record of memberships and to ensure that this record is passed onto the Students’
Union at least once every 2 months.
6. To present the group accounts to group members at a General Meeting at least once a year.
7. To provide relevant paperwork for any monies taken out of the group’s account/s, and to ensure that 2
signatories undersign any given transaction.
8. That no more than £100 can be removed from the group’s account/s as cash in any one day, and only when
undersigned by 2 signatories. If a larger sum of money is required then 2 working days notice must be given
for the money to be taken out and this must be undersigned by 2 signatories. When any cash is taken out of
an account, the accounts will be frozen for future purchases until receipts and change is brought back into
the Students’ Union.
9. To understand that as an account signatory I can be held personally and severally liable for any debts
incurred by the group through negligence. I also understand that any finances not dealt with through this
system are the sole responsibility of the individual/s concerned.
10. To not enter into any contracts (i.e. sponsorship) with external organisations without the prior approval of
the relevant Sabbatical Officer.
11. That use of the Students’ Union branding will not be permitted on any promotional materials without the
prior approval of the relevant Sabbatical Officer.
12. Not to use any company’s and/or organisation’s logo without written permission, including those of the
Students’ Union and the University of Surrey
13. To abide by the Students’ Union Code of Conduct.
14. To ensure that the Students’ Union is informed of any changes to personal contact details given below.
11

Guidelines for Insurance
Limits
Public Liability £10 000 000
Employers Liability £10 000 000
Products Liability £10 000 000
What is insured
What does that mean
Activities that are risk assessed
Risk assessments should be submitted a week in advance of the activity to ensure that
insurance is able to be arranged.
Items listed on your inventory
Accidents that occur whilst carrying out an activity
adhering to the risk assessment
What is not insured
Activities for which a risk assessment has not been
submitted to the relevant member of support staff
Items brought by societies, clubs or the Students’
Union that you have not included/added to your
society or club’s inventory
Items brought by societies, clubs or the Students’
Union that are taken off site
Loss of personal belongings
Activities defined as being outside of normal student
activity
Students having money that belongs to a society or
club in their possession
Students making personal gain from or using to their
personal advantage the activities of their society or
sports club, e.g. a member of a society (including
committee members) running an event or hiring out
services which they (as individuals) make a profit from.
Fundraising events off campus
Events involving hazardous activities e.g. high risk
sports, firework displays, use of inflatable’s
Events with a capacity of more than 500 people
(excluding Rubix)
Event cancellation
Hired-in equipment where you are responsible for
insurance. e.g. marquees, sound & lighting, generators
etc. Equipment from Stage Crew is covered by the
Students’ Union’s insurance.
If items are lost or damaged (and you wish to claim) you need to tell your member of
support staff asap
Make sure the activity is risk assessed and that you carry out any resulting actions.
What should you do
Submit a Risk Assessment a week before an activity to your support staff
Keep you inventory up to date
Keep your inventory up to date. Tell your support staff the total replacement (as new)
values of the equipment, period off site and security arrangements
Ensure that your personal items are insured through your own insurance and kept safely
If you are doubt or are planning to do something you should check with your member of
support staff
Bring money in to the Union and pay it in as soon as possible
Any money made through running an event or hiring out equipment/services must go to
the society or club, not individuals.
If you wish to run an event or hire out services (e.g. take photographs and get paid for it)
you will need to organise your own public liability insurance (as well as consider other
things e.g. tax).
Further insurance will need to be arranged, so you need to submit a Risk Assessment a
week before an activity to your support staff.
Further insurance will need to be arranged, so you need to submit a Risk Assessment a
week before an activity to your support staff.
Further insurance will need to be arranged, so you need to submit a Risk Assessment a
week before an activity to your support staff.
Plan events carefully. If you are planning a large scale event please talk to your support
staff about this.
Further insurance will need to be arranged. You need to tell your support staff the total
replacement (as new) values of the equipment, the value of the most expensive item,
period of hire and security arrangements
12

Health and Safety
Extracts from the Health and Safety Policy (2004)
25. The Union believes that its members are entitled to make their own decisions about whether or not they
choose to participate in a particular activity. They are also entitled to expect to be able to make such
decisions on the basis of full and accurate information about the risks involved.
26. The Union has a ‘duty of care’ to ensure that all reasonable precautions are taken to provide and maintain
safe and healthy conditions for participation in student activities.
.................
28. These statements outline the responsibilities and obligations of each Club and Society in terms of safety:
All club/society members must fill out a Membership Form.
All club/society members must read and sign the Activities Participation Statement and sign to say they
understand it, and agree to abide by it.
Each club/society will have an elected committee to oversee the running and operation of the club/society
and all its activities as stated in the Constitution.
Each club/society will designate a member (who may or may not be a committee member) to be responsible
for health and safety.
Where necessary clubs must affiliate to the appropriate National Governing Body (NGB).
Each club/society must submit a Code of Practice, which must be accepted and agreed by USSU before
activities can take place.
Each club/society will be subject to an annual safety review.
Clubs and societies must abide by the guidelines and procedures set out in the University of Surrey Students
Union ‘Student Activity Safety Policy’.(in progress)
All club and society activities are covered by the Endsleigh Sports Shield Personal Accident Insurance policy.
.............
Travel and Transport
30. Students and Staff are tested for driving competence before being allowed to drive student union vehicles;
drivers also have to satisfy further requirements. Keys are only issued on production of a driver card
31. Each Driver (upon completing their test) are issued with a minibus handbook giving details of what is
expected of them and of what to do in an emergency. Further copies of the minibus handbook are available
in each vehicle
32. Prior to departing the driver or trip organiser must complete a trip registration form with details of those
travelling, destination and expected return etc.
33. Vehicles are checked for safety by the drivers and regularly inspected by the Facilities supervisors. A log is
kept of all inspections...
34. The safety of the vehicles, drivers and passengers is overseen by the Minibus committee.
.................
53. All staff and students working in Union House or taking part in Student Union organised activities should
be familiar with the Student Union Health and Safety Policy and co-operate with its implementation. They
should take care of their own safety and the safety of others and assist the Student Union so as to enable
it to carry out its own responsibilities successfully (i.e. Wearing protective clothing or asking for advice
when in doubt).
Accidents should be reported on Accident forms available at Union Reception.
13

Risk Assessments
GENERAL RISK ASSESSMENT Assessment Ref:
Date assessment issued: Description of area or activity being assessed:
Planned review date:
Retention period:
Summary of assessment: The activity has been assessed against the existing control measures. The assessment has identified (number) issues and made (number) non-H&S recommendations. These
findings are detailed in the action plan.
Signature of assessor (you) ………………………….… Name (print) Date:
Managers Approval:
I have reviewed this risk assessment in consultation with the assessor and accept the issues identified. The actions defined in this risk will be taken in order to reduce residual risks to a level that is as
low as reasonably practicable.
Signature of manager (staff) …………………………… Name (print) Date:
Subsequent assessment review: Risk assessments require review and in some cases revision to ensure the assessment continues to reflect current working practices e.g. a review should be initiated in
response to significant changes to the area / activity or if an accident / incident has occurred.
Review undertaken on: Comments:

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY or FACILITY AND ITS USE
Use this area to describe the area and/or the main activities to be covered by this risk assessment;
SAFETY RULES AND GENERAL COMMENTS
Key Findings:
Key Comments:
Note: see detailed assessment and actions list below

HAZARDS
Identify significant hazards relevant to this risk assessment
Flammable / Explosive Hazardous Waste
Storage / Housekeeping Temperature Travel Health
Substances
Disposal
Ionising / Non-Ionising Discharge / Spill Falling Objects Humidity Stress
Radiation
Exposure to Hazardous Slips, Trips & Falls Machinery / Power Tools Lighting Out of Hours Working
Substances
Biological Hazards Electrical Safety Hygiene Noise Personal Security
Cryogenic Hazard Manual Handling Welfare Vibration
Chemical Storage Working at Height Pressure / Vacuum
Systems
Access / Egress Display Screen Equipment
WHO IS AT RISK
Identify groups of individuals who need to be considered as part of this risk assessment
Staff Contractors Visitors Others Higher Risk groups
Employees Cleaners Visitors Neighbours Young Persons
Temporary Staff Maintenance Engineers Customers Members of the Public Disabled Persons
Operatives Security Delivery Staff Environment Children
Academics Catering Staff Wildlife
Pregnant & Nursing Mothers
Students Contractors Lone Workers

ASSESSMENT OF RISK
Assess the risks against each significant hazard group identified
Significant Hazard Perceived Nature of Risk Existing Control Measures Residual Risk
Further action required
Low/Medium/
High
Y/N
ACTION PLAN
Develop a prioritised action plan to support the risk assessment
Action to be taken to further reduce risk Person responsible for
completing action
Target completion date
(Prioritized on risk)
Action closure
Date Priority Signature Date

RISK MATRIX
Use the risk matrix to classify the perceived level of risk and to prioritise the action plan
SEVERITY
LIKELIHOOD
Very Likely
(Common occurrence)
Likely
(Easily foreseeable)
Possible
(Foreseeable under unusual
circumstances)
Unlikely
(Unlikely sequence of events /
unplanned event)
Slight
(First aid injury)
Moderate
(Medical treatment injury)
Severe
(Lost time accident/major injury)
Low Medium High High
Low Medium Medium High
Not Significant Low Medium Medium
Not Significant Not Significant Low Low
Very Severe
(Long term disability or fatality)

Pub Crawl Policy
Background
1) A pub crawl is defined as an organised tour of three or more licensed venues for a social purpose by any
group constituted as part of the Students’ Union
2) It is recognised that pub crawls have long been a tradition of student social activity, and a mainstay of many
Club or Society social programmes
3) Pub crawls can be an enjoyable way to introduce new students to Guildford (or other towns) along with their
peer group
4) The nature of pub crawls are such that there is a risk over participants drinking too much over a shortened
period of time. This policy is intended to mitigate that risk and the resultant effects
Policy
5) Any organised pub crawl must be advertised for a purpose of a social gathering and not for the explicit
purpose of drinking alcohol.
6) Alcohol pricing offers must not feature as the headline advertising for any pub crawl event
7) If any discounted price is negotiated with individual licensed premises, the offer must extend to an alcohol
free variant
8) Events with prescribed drinks and venues (e.g. ‘Pub Golf’) must include either
a. A non alcoholic option every third round and
b. A wholly non-alcoholic card for the entire event
9) Any participant who is opting for a non-alcoholic option must not be pressured into taking an alcoholic
alternative
10) ‘Speed drinking’ games (e.g. boat races) are not to be conducted during the event
11) ‘Fines’ or ‘forfeits’ during the event must always have a reasonable non-alcoholic alternative
12) There must be at least 1 sober individual for every 15 people participating in the Pub Crawl.
13) Participating members must respect the authority of the abstaining committee member throughout the
event
14) The abstaining organiser must tally the participants at the beginning of the event and tally the group on
leaving each venue
19

Fundraising Legally, Safely & Responsibly
Fundraising as a Society/Club is a great way to get everyone together and do something fun for a worthwhile cause.
Surrey RAG (Raising and Giving) is the committee associated with charity fundraising, however a Society or Club can
also fundraise. Surrey RAG can lend you resources e.g. buckets and advice about how to fundraise effectively, safely
and legally.
Surrey RAG appears to be separate entity; however it exists to support all students in their fundraising efforts. You
can raise as much money for any charity as you like. However, the money raised then has to be put into the RAG
account. This is because the Union is a registered charity so all money going out of the Union to other charities
needs to be put in the same account. RAG doesn’t get to claim this as money they have raised. It will be put into the
account under “Your Society/Club Name”. This is because of the new Charity Law.
Things to remember:
Seal all buckets and make sure the charity number is visible.
Make sure you risk assess events.
Money can only be counted with an authorised member of Union staff e.g. Full time staff or a House Officer.
Be clear where the money is going. On marketing materials or buckets make sure it is clear whether the
money is proceeds or profit (profit - where after initial costs of running an event are covered the proceeds
go to charity, proceeds - where all the money goes to charity).
For more info email info@surreyrag.co.uk or ask the Activities Coordinator Helena Vardy – h.vardy@surrey.ac.uk
20

University of Surrey Students Union Sports
Club Code of Conduct
The University of Surrey Students Union maintains a Student Charter and a Student Code of Conduct within the
Constitution Rules (A.1 Student Charter and A.2 Student Code of Conduct). This document aims to put the Student
Charter and Code of Conduct into the perspective of Sports Clubs to make planning your events as easy as possible
and to help avoid any problems you may encounter. It should not be considered an exhaustive list, for full rules
please refer to the Constitution Rules.
As members of a University of Surrey Sports team you are ambassadors for the Students’ Union and the University of
Surrey. This is not restricted to your activities on the pitch. You are obliged to follow the Student Charter and the
Code of Conduct whenever you represent the University; this includes training, travelling to and from matches, trips
and whenever you are in University of Surrey or Students’ Union branded clothing or equipment.
The Student Charter (A.1) states that ‘University of Surrey Student’ Union members can expect a safe, inclusive and
stimulating environment and opportunities to engage in sport and recreational activities’.
As committee members, it is your responsibility to ensure that you uphold the Student Charter in all aspects of your
Clubs activities. This includes:
i. Ensuring that it is each individual’s choice whether or not they attend any social event.
ii. It is each Club’s objective that all its members have an enjoyable time.
iii. No peer pressure should be placed on any member (both on and off the pitch) to do anything they may not
enjoy.
iv. An individual’s attendance at any social event should have no bearing on their participation in training
sessions and competitions. To ensure that no pressure is placed on individuals to attend, (where possible)
Clubs should hold training and selection before any welcome socials are held. Selection must be based
purely on dedication, ability, skill and fitness criteria.
The Students Code of Conduct (A.2) is a document which all Students’ Union members are expected to follow; it is
based upon respect for individuals, property and the environment. If a complaint is made on any of the grounds
listed in the Charter, an investigation will be carried out and (if appropriate) disciplinary action will be taken. The
most common problem Sports Clubs encounter is ‘Behaviour which brings the Students’ Union or University into
disrepute’. While planning any socials it is important to speak to staff at the Union to ensure that what you are
planning is acceptable and does not breach any other aspect of the Students Code of Conduct.
21

Developing
My Group
22

Grading
Through the year, a grading system has been discussed with both Sports and Society Standing Committees and
worked on by both Executive Committees. They differ slightly between Clubs and Societies but the general principle
is the same. The idea was generated to encourage Clubs and Society members as well as committees to strive to
become an even better Club or Society, develop and grow. Regular assessments will take place to enable Clubs and
Societies to improve their grade.
There is no penalty for being the normal grading, as your Club/Society operations will remain the same as in any
other previous years but a higher grading may mean your Club/Society may be looked on more favourably in things
like grants requests and other benefits.
More on this at your relevant Standing Committee Meeting.
Club Benchmarking
The proposed table below was discussed at Societies Standing recently.
Foundation
Criteria Element Measure
Attendance to
Meetings
Sports Standing
Proportion of meetings
attended
Following
Constitution
Following Union
Rules
Status Meetings
Committee Training
Union Core
By-Laws
Group
Union Policies
Finance Rules
Attendance to meeting, and
committee engagement
Proportion of signatory
committee members
attending training
Acting within constitutional
requirements
Acting within Students’
Union by-laws
Acting within group
constitution
Observing Union policies in
letter and spirit
Adhering to finance rules &
procedures
23

Positive Impact
Criteria Element Measure
Running Activities Wider membership
The size and frequency of
events or activities for wider
membership
Achieving targets &
ambitions
Setting targets &
ambitions
A balanced set of realistic
targets & ambitions agreed.
Progress (at status
meetings)
Evidence of achieving or
working towards targets
End of year progress Evidence of targets achieved
Good Club
Complaints received &
Member conduct
reputation
management of complains
Good
Accuracy of website content,
Updated website
communication
accessibility of website
Communications with
Club members
Frequency and suitability of
member communication
Frequency, accuracy and
Updating VP Sports
relevance of
communications with VP
Sports
Updating Results to
Union
Punctuality & accuracy of
sending Results.
Holding General
Meetings
Amount
Holding Committee
Meetings
Frequency of meetings
Media articles/presence
Level of presence in student
(or wider) media
Innovation
Doing something in a
new and better way
Evidence of innovation
Sustainable
Criteria Element Measure
Financial
Appropriate & healthy Amount of money in group
finances
account
Accurate & sensible
budgeting
Budget submission with
supporting evidence
Generating funds for
club development
Effort in fundraising
Membership Rising membership Membership numbers
Accurate membership
Registered members vs
actual attending
Introduction for new
members
Evidence of introduction
method & results
Committee Training
Handover to new
Evidence of appropriate
committee & role
handover material
descriptions
Inventory
Maintain accurate and Accuracy & promptness of
up to date inventory group inventory
Inventory planning
(replacement
Budget submission
equipment)
24

Possible Benefits
Higher priority for Freshers’ Fayre stand
Greater prominence in Membership Guide
Higher priority in annual budget allocation “Pecking Order”
Fast track Grants applications
Higher priority to Students’ Union 202 Locker/Pigeon hole space allocation
Early-bird Colours Ball Tickets
Early-bird Minibus bookings (Non-BUCS)
Eligibility for Club to become a performance sport
+ more...
Benefits to the Union
Why are we doing this
Better Clubs & Societies = a better Students’ Union overall
A more diverse and involved student community
Give groups something to work towards
Better links between the Students’ Union and its members
Better links between Committees & members
Other Notes
Marked with discretion
External / Independent Chair
Can tie in with Awards
Society Benchmarking
The proposed table below was discussed at Societies Standing recently.
Foundation
Criteria Element Measure
Attendance to Meetings Society Standing
Proportion of meetings
attended
Status Meetings
Attendance to meeting, and
committee engagement
Committee Training
Proportion of committee
members attending training
Following Constitution
Union Core
Acting within constitutional
requirements
By-Laws
Acting within Students’ Union
by-laws
Group
Acting within group
constitution
Following Union Rules
Union Policies
Observing Union policies in
letter and spirit
Finance Rules
Adhering to finance rules &
procedures
25

Positive Impact
Criteria Element Measure
Running Activities
Internal (members only)
The size and frequency of
events or activities for
members
Wider membership
The size and frequency of
events or activities for wider
membership
Achieving Targets & Ambitions Setting targets & ambitions
A balanced set of realistic
targets & ambitions agreed.
Progress (at status meetings)
Evidence of achieving or
working towards targets
End of year progress
Evidence of targets achieved
Good Society Reputation Community engagement
The size and frequency of
specialist events or activities to
the wider community
Member conduct
Number of complaints or
disciplinary actions
Volunteering
Number and scope of
volunteering activities
undertaken by membership
Collaboration with other
Societies
Scope of working with other
groups
Good Communication
Updated website
Accuracy of website content,
accessibility of website
Communications with Society
members
Frequency and suitability of
individual communications
Updating VP Societies
Frequency, accuracy and
relevance of communications
with VP Societies
Media articles/presence
Level of presence in student (or
wider) media
Innovation
Sharing best practice
Evidence of presenting or
acting upon techniques or
methods from other groups
Doing something in a new and
better way
Evidence of innovation
Sustainable
Criteria Element Measure
Financial
Appropriate & healthy finances
Amount of money in group
account
Accurate & sensible budgeting
Budget submission with
supporting evidence
Generating funds for society Amount of money raised
development
Membership Rising membership Membership numbers
Accurate membership data
Membership data submitted in
appropriate format and
maintained at appropriate
intervals
26

Innovation
Sharing best practice
Doing something in a new and
better way
Evidence of presenting or
acting upon techniques or
methods from other groups
Evidence of innovation
Sustainable
Criteria Element Measure
Financial
Appropriate & healthy finances
Amount of money in group
account
Accurate & sensible budgeting
Budget submission with
supporting evidence
Generating funds for society Amount of money raised
development
Membership Rising membership Membership numbers
Training
Inventory
Accurate membership data
Positive ratio of full to associate
members
Handover to new committee &
role descriptions
Induction/introduction for new
members
Development of noncommittee
members
Maintain accurate and up to
date inventory
Security of equipment
Care of equipment
Inventory planning
(replacement equipment)
Membership data submitted in
appropriate format and
maintained at appropriate
intervals
Ratio of full to associate
members
Evidence of appropriate
handover material
Quality of
induction/introduction material
Evidence of succession planning
& longevity of membership
Accuracy of group inventory
Amount of equipment losses
Number of unexpected repairs
or replacements
Budget submission
Possible Benefits
Higher priority for Freshers’ Fayre stand
Greater prominence in Membership Guide
Higher priority in annual budget allocation
Fast track Grants applications
Overdraft facility
Priority facility bookings (Rubix & Living Room)
Reduced bar deposit
Devolved committee training
allocation of VIP access to specified events
Locker/Pigeon hole allocation
Benefits to the Union
Why are we doing this
Better Clubs & Societies = a better Union overall
A more diverse and involved student community
Give groups something to work towards
Better links between the Students’ Union and its members
27

Effective Handover
This section is designed for outgoing committees, but hopefully by giving it to you now you can build up a folder of
useful information to give to those that take over from you. Also if there are things here that you aren’t sure about,
talk to your predecessor before they leave!
What is a handover
A handover happens when a newly elected committee is prepared for their roles by the out-going committee.
Usually this combines meetings, written documents and shadowing.
TOP TIP
When you encounter a problem during the year, make a note of it. It is likely your successor will encounter the same
problems unless you tell them how to avoid them or if they are inevitable, how you dealt with them. Also it is good
to share it with the relevant Sabbatical Officer, so we can then ensure that common issues form part of the
Committee Training next year.
Why is a good handover important
Continuity and long term planning/development for your Society/Club
Making sure the work and achievements of your year on the committee are not lost
Fully preparing the new committee to take on responsibility for the group
Making sure you don’t repeat old mistakes
Making sure new committees don’t waste time trying to rebuild things or find out information
Warning new committees of likely pitfalls and dangers so the new committee has details of important
training dates and grant deadlines
A copy of any signed contracts or commitments the previous committee had in place
TOP TIP
Why not spend a bit of time creating a Society/Club handover file, wouldn’t that make life easier
Things you could include:
All the info in this guide
Details of individual committee roles
Calendar of the year in the life of your Society/Club – i.e. a timeline of what committees need to do and
when
Reviews of events/activities you have run
Minutes of committee meetings & AGMs
Information/handouts used in training
Copies of flyers/posters used
Brief evaluation of Freshers’ Week
List of achievements and awards that your group or committee have achieved
Annual Report – including problems encountered, learning points and budgets/finances
28

How to do it
There are a number of ways to do a handover and it will depend on the type and the size of your committee on
which one suit you best.
Shadowing of outgoing officers by their successors
A handover meeting between the outgoing and incoming committees
Individual meetings between outgoing and incoming officers
Meetings with relevant contacts to introduce the new committee
A written handover file
A social for the outgoing and incoming committees
IMPORTANT
The outgoing committee needs to make sure the new committee has:
Read and understood the Society/Club Constitution
Got your email and webpage passwords
Provided the new committee with the knowledge, skills, training and contacts they need
During this period the new committee needs to learn:
The Society/Club’s Constitution & how they fit in to the Students’ Union
Processes for running core activities
How you communicate with members
Successful ways you promote your group
Your account – how much money you have and what it is (and isn’t!) for
Details of any sponsorship or any external deals
Regular events
Relevant historical information – via meeting minutes
Who their VP is and what their role is, and other useful contacts
TOP TIP
Put yourself in the position of your successor. Think back to how excited and nervous you were when you took over,
write down all the things you were worried about and all the things your predecessor didn’t tell you that made your
life harder. You’ve just started your handover!
How long will it take
This depends on the size of your Society/Club, committee and most importantly the amount of time you spend on
the Society/Club each week…or day! There is no definitive answer.
If you spend a great deal of time on your Society/Club then it is likely that you will have more to handover than a
Society/Club that is virtually self running. If you have a Society/Club with 90 members, a committee of 6 and regular
meetings and events then a handover will need a bit more effort than a telephone call with the new chair!
29

TOP TIP
All committee members (old and new) should be involved in a handover and you should all work together to make
sure you are all confident that the Society/Club is going in to safe and well informed hands!
Think about having one, or a series of meetings, with all, or individual committee members and then a period of
about two weeks shadowing, during which time either the new committee shadow the old or vice versa (particularly
if the new committee already have a lot of relevant experience).
However, if your Society/Club only meets once a month and there is little to do between meetings, then a two week
handover period is pointless and you will need to arrange something more suitable, such as the new committee
shadowing the old at one meeting and then the old shadowing the new at the next, with a couple of meetings in
between!
DO
Think about (or find out!) the specific experience and knowledge of the person you are handing over to and
tailor your handover accordingly
Write down and handover any knowledge that currently exists only in your head.
Clarify what is definite, and what is your personal interpretation: “the role of the secretary is to… I chose to
do this by…”
Acknowledge that it is up to the new committee if they choose to do things differently or take a different
direction
Once the handover is complete, stand back and let them get on with it! Don’t breathe down their neck - you
can always be at the end of a phone if they need help
DON’T
Leave it to the last minute, you will forget the important information and the hard work you have put in over
the last year will be lost. A good handover is not done in five minutes with a drink in Chancellors!
Disappear after the handover, there is bound to be things you will have forgotten and the new committee
will need to contact you.
Panic - Handovers can be stressful, but with a bit of careful planning you will be fine…
…and don’t be afraid to ask for help, we enjoy it!
Email your VP for any further questions or help.
30

Emails
As a Club/Society you will have ussu.highschoolmusical@surrey.ac.uk email address. Your username will be
something like’m00125’ and a password to go with it.
You can log on to your emails at http://email.surrey.ac.uk using your login information. If you don’t know what yours
is, talk to the outgoing committee or to your VP.
If you are not using your ussu._____@surrey.ac.uk email account, please setup a redirection.
Here is how:
1. Log in to your emails at http://email.surrey.ac.uk and click ‘Options’ in the top right hand corner
2. Click ‘Rules’
31

3. Click ‘New Rule’
4. Click ‘Create a new rule for arriving messages’
5. Set options ‘If my name is...In the To or Cc box’ ‘Do the following....Forward the message to people or
distribution lists’
32

6. Click on ‘People or distribution lists’
7. Type in the email address you want the emails sent to in the ‘To’ box and click OK
8. The Rule should appear on the ‘Rules’ list.
33

Email 3
Aug 08
An Introductory Guide
for LISTSERV® List Owners
This Help Sheet outlines how common list owner tasks can be completed using the University of Surrey
ListServ Mailing List System.
Requesting a Mailing List
To set up a Mailing List, you will have to fill in Form 2 Request for creation of a new Mailing List available from
the IT Services User Support Desk.
Accessing the ListServ Mailing List System
All list management tasks are most easily completed via the ListServ web interface. This removes the need for
remembering technical list commands and lessens problems caused by typing errors when sending commands via
e-mail. The interface can be accessed by going to: http://listserv.surrey.ac.uk/ and selecting Mailing List
Management Interface. The figure below highlights the Mailing List Management Interface home page upon
which all list owner tasks can be completed.
New Users
New users must first register for a ListServ account by using their University of Surrey e-mail address and a
chosen password. This password is the password that is used for validation of list owner identity when required.
It is also possible for List Owners to e-mail commands to the system by sending an e-mail to
listserv@list.surrey.ac.uk with the relevant command and listname entered into the body text of an e-mail as
illustrated in the figure below. Note: If this option is taken, users must take care to ensure all e-mails sent to
ListServ are in plain text format and no auto signatures are used.
34

About Me
35

Accreditation and Awards
Accreditation
Those aged 16-25 can gain accreditation for time spent volunteering (i.e. carrying out committee roles). There are 2
nationally recognized certificates you can gain for the hours you spend volunteering:
V50 – for 50 hours of volunteering
VImpact – for a further 100 hours in a specific role
You can include much of what you do as a committee member e.g. checking your email, meetings, event planning,
sorting out transport or a team for a fixture. These are all things you do to improve the student experience for
others. Things like performing, playing a match, attending socials, attending events, practicing etc should not be
included.
As a committee member your hours will quickly build up. The example below shows how this can happen, and let’s
be honest; this is probably the minimum that any respectable committee member would end up doing.
Came to Committee Training (3hours)
Met up with old committee for handover (2hours)
Filled in Budget Application (1hours)
Had committee meetings alternate weeks for the year (15hours)
Checked emails and updated Facebook page at least once a week (20hours)
Societies/Sports Standing (9hours)
Total = 50 hours
For more information email e.beauclair@surrey.ac.uk or check out the Volunteering Section of www.ussu.co.uk
Awards
The Student Awards
The Student Awards are presented every year in May – students nominate each other to receive awards and they
recognise achievements of Societies and individuals.
The award categories are below:
Personal and professional development awards -
Student Trainer of the Year -given to the student who has stood out as an inspiring trainer
Volunteer Awards -Volunteering England awards – see above
36

Society Awards
Best President – Awarded to a Society President with outstanding qualities expressed in student nomination
form. Qualities such as excellent leadership, examples of activities beyond the normal call of duty, conflict
resolution skills, examples of President leading the Society to connect with others outside of the Society
either in the community or on campus.
Best Committee Member – As above but in relation to any other elected person involved in a Society –
examples of activities beyond normal expectations, teamwork and communications skills and examples of
this person going out of their way to develop the activities of the Society.
Most Active Society Member –A person who is involved in a Society but does not sit on the committee, who
is enthusiastic to a whole new level about the Society and invigorates and influences the committee from
outside.
Society Improvement/Development Award –Change does not have to be in terms of size but the focus
should be on development. Examples of Societies who have recently reached out to attract new members
through new activities.
Special Interest Society of the Year – each of the sections below –a Society which stands out compared to
others in the same category. Examples of Society connecting or reaching out to others, informing others
about differences in culture, interest or activities, and getting others involved. Successful/innovative events
also taken into account, quality of the organisation of the committee, teamwork in the Society.
International Society of the Year (as above)
Faith and Religious Society of the Year (as above)
Arts Society of the Year (as above)
Departmental Society of the Year (as above)
Student Run/Student Support Service of the Year
Society of the Year (including Student Run Services) – All of the above qualities with added testimony
explaining why the Society stands out in terms of achievements, innovative activity, positive action,
sustainability and improvements to Society activities.
Individual Achievement Awards:
Best Newcomer – Examples of students who have in the last year become more connected with the
Students’ Union, recognisable around the Students’ Union or who are a new addition to a Society and have
made some great changes. Students who hadn’t previously taken an active role in Union activities but have
become well known recently.
John Hoborough Award for Volunteer of the Year (or The Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award) -
suggested qualities include: commitment, enthusiasm and positivity, promotion of volunteering to others,
organising specific volunteering events.
Student Media Award – Given to a stand-out student who plays an active role in one of the Students’
Union’s media groups. Include qualities such as media skills, support and connections made with the Union,
can-do approach to requests from others, improvement to organisation/promotion of media service.
Student Academic Rep of the Year – Nominated by students (advertised to Academic Representatives to
pass onto their cohorts), suggested qualities including good communication skills, willingness to pass on and
37

collect information, communication with the Students’ Union, attendance of training, commitment and time
given to role.
Academic Staff Member of the Year – Suggested qualities to include excellence at engaging, motivating and
inspiring students, going the extra mile to support students and willingness to give up time to answer
questions and see students. Positive attitude to teaching and learning, innovative and interesting teaching
practices, availability to students on programme, willingness to give up time to answer questions/see
students, ability to enthuse students and others about subject area.
Student Run Event of the Year – Award for a student or group of students leading an event, either as part of
a society or other Students’ Union project through volunteering or student activities. Suggested qualities –
enthusiasm towards event, excellent planning and organisation, connection with Union and use of staff
expertise, communication with others about event, promotion of event, innovative qualities of event, final
outcome or success of event.
Fundraiser of the Year – Given to an individual who has stood out as an excellent fundraiser either as part of
their Society or alone. Qualities could include good promotion of the cause, sustained commitment to
fundraising, ability to enthuse others around them, and amount raised. Societies are also eligible for this
award if nominees have been working within a group.
Outstanding Contribution to Representation and Wellbeing - An award for a student who has gone above
and beyond the call of duty in representing students within the University and Students’ Union on wellbeing
issues. This involves working with the University and Students’ Union in being innovative and creative in
completing a project.
Outstanding Contribution to the Student Community –A student who fulfils many of the qualities
mentioned in each of the categories above, but is a general ‘stand out’ student and possess the ‘x-factor’ in
terms of the whole student experience and have done something ground-breaking as well.
Sports Club/Individual Sporting Awards – presented at Colour’s Ball
Gold Awards
Awarded for outstanding individual sporting achievements; including representing your sport at National or
International level or playing for your country whilst at University or winning a BUCS title in senior sport for which
there is a BUCS Divisional Championship
Sue Jupe Plate
Awarded to the person who has made the greatest contribution to the participation and organisation of a number of
sports
Leggett Trophy
Awarded to the most outstanding sports person of the year.
Sally Edie Trophy
For an outstanding contribution to coaching
Mayors Trophy
Awarded for Outstanding Community Commitment to Student Sport
38

Ede & Ravenscroft Award*
The Award of £1000 is made for excellence in sport and academia by the University gown makers ‘Ede &
Ravenscroft’.
Best Club Committee Member
Awarded to committee member who has made an outstanding contribution to their club and sport
Colours Ball Club Awards
Caroline Newman Trophy
Awarded to the most successful Club of the year.
Warden of Colours Trophy
Awarded to the best administered Club.
University of Surrey Trophy
Awarded to the most improved Club
The USSU Cup
Awarded to the most successful Club in non-BUCS competition.
The SE Award
Awarded to the Club member who has shown the greatest commitment to the Club over 3 years.
Steve The Stag Award
Awarded to the Club who has raised most money for charity and/or have provided their services for charitable
causes
Investors in Club Award
Awarded to the Club with the most effective and sustainable own funds & finance.
39

Employability
So you are volunteering, but how does that make you more employable
73% of employers said that they would rather employ someone with voluntary experience than someone
without (Timebank)
72% of employers ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that volunteering can have a positive effect on an individual’s
career progression (v, 2009)
However, for this to be so, it is essential that you make links between what you gain from volunteering and what
employers are looking for. The following pages are adapted from Volunteering England’s ‘The Art of Crazy Paving’
(2005).
Translating what you do in to CV speak
When writing about the volunteering you have done, you need to presume that the reader has no understanding of
what you are talking about and is reluctant to employ you.
Step 1
Make a list all the roles you have held
e.g.
Football Team Captain
Treasurer of the Politics Society
Academic Rep
Trainer
Community Volunteer
Step 2
Break down what each role involves
e.g.
Football Team Captain
Sort team to play
Captain team
Trainer
Run training session
Work with co-trainer
Treasurer of the Politics Society
Manage budget
Keep record of money
Community Volunteer
Run youth group for kids
Sort out any problems that
come up
Academic Rep
Represent students
Talk to department
40

Step 3
Think about the skills that you have used
e.g.
Football Team Captain
Sort team to play
o Organisation
o Fairness
o Communicate
effectively
Captain team
o Leadership
o Team work
o Motivation
Trainer
Run training session
o Present confidently
o Organised
o Sensitive to others
needs
Work with co-trainer
o Team work
o Communication
Treasurer of the Politics Society
Manage budget
o Negotiate
o Trustworthy
Keep record of money
o Consistency
o Organisation
Community Volunteer
Run youth group for kids
o Responsible
o Leadership
o Consistency
o Team Work
Sort out any problems that
come up
o Manage and resolve
conflict
o Listen
o Take advice
Academic Rep
Represent students
o Approachability
o Communication
o Listening
Talk to department
o Negotiate
o Diplomatic
Step 4
Add some magical words
Skill
Leadership
Teamwork
Customer care
Communication
Self-awareness
Self-promotion
Initiating
Networking
Problem-solving
Project management
Business Acumen
IT/Computer Literacy
Specialist skills e.g. technical
You are…
Dynamic, Motivator, Influence, Visionary
Supportive, Tactful, Diplomatic, Tolerant
Welcoming, Constructive, Helpful, Concise
Humorous, Empathetic, Deliverer, Listener
Perceptive, Honest, Reflective, Articulate
Positive, Proactive, Confident, Ambitious
Entrepreneurial, Resourceful, Creative, Disciplined
Inquisitive, Personable, Trusting, Responsive
Methodical, Astute, Versatile, Analytical
Reliable, Punctual, Committed, Competent
Competitive, Enterprising
Progressive, Adaptable, Knowledgeable
Able to communicate ideas to others
Application Forms
“My role as treasurer for the Politics Society involved setting and managing the committee’s annual budget by
negotiating with members. I needed to be well organised in order to keep accurate records.”
41

‘As a voluntary team leader at a youth club, I was entrusted with the safety of children when the parents left. I learnt
to resolve conflicts through mediation. I also needed to adopt a professional approach to troubleshooting by liaising
frequently with and actively listening to other team members’
CV
President of Computing Society, University of Surrey Students’ Union
2009-2010
Skills gained:
Leading a team of people
Liaising with the Students’ Union’s Officers and other Society Presidents
Promoting the Society to recruit new members
Weekly visit to home for partially sighted, SeeAbility
2009-2010
Skills gained:
Communicating with and listening to people with partial sight
Working in a team to complete the daily routine efficiently
Learning and putting health and safety procedures in to practice
Computing
Written Communication
Oral Communication
Teamwork
Business Awareness
As the IT Officer for the Hockey Club, I gained a good knowledge of
Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, as well as managing the
website
I developed writing skills through producing articles for the student
newspaper, The Stag.
As a member of the Students’ Union’s training team, I gave termly
presentations about the training available to students and facilitated
training sessions on key skills such as assertiveness.
I worked as part of a team organising the Guildford Sport Relief Mile
2010.
At University I spent a week volunteering in the Fundraising Office of a
local children’s hospice, where I liaised with small and medium-sized
businesses.
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Volunteer Policy
1. Introduction
1.1 Policy Aims
This policy aims to demonstrate the University of Surrey Students’ Union’s commitment to our volunteers and
volunteering opportunities by setting out how volunteers should be treated, what they can expect from the
Students’ Union and what we expect from them.
1.2 Scope
This policy applies to all University of Surrey Students’ Union student volunteers who are volunteering for the
organisation.
This includes:
Community Volunteers on student-led projects
Executive Committee Part Time Officers
Freshers’ Angels
Sports Club Committee Members
Sports Executive Committee Members
Society Committee Members
Society Executive Committee Members
Stage Crew volunteers
Student Trainers
This policy does not apply to student volunteers volunteering with host organisations (e.g. charities and community
groups) where responsibility of these volunteers resides with the host organisation from the point of referral unless
otherwise agreed.
This policy should be available to all student volunteers engaging in the activities described above.
1.3 Policy Objectives
To ensure all volunteers are treated on an equal and fair basis
To ensure all volunteers are properly supported in a safe and inclusive way
To ensure all volunteers contributions are recognised and rewarded
To provide volunteers with high quality service and support to make sure they get the most out of their
volunteering experience
To ensure all Students’ Union staff, officers and volunteers fully understand why volunteers are involved and
what role they play in the organisation
1.4 Definition
Volunteering is defined as ‘an activity that involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims to benefit the
environment or someone (individuals or groups) other than, or in addition to, close relatives’. (Source: Compact
Volunteering, a code of practice, 2005, pg 4)
1.5 Organisation Mission Statement (as of April 2011)
The University of Surrey Students’ Union exists to represent, unify, support and develop the students of the
University of Surrey.
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1.6 Value of Volunteering to Students and the Students’ Union
The Students’ Union provides students with volunteering opportunities to allow them to:
Make a difference to the local community (including the student community)
Gain new experiences and develop their skills
Meet other people
Follow their interests
Support causes they care about
Increase their employability
Enhance the student experience
Volunteers will only be used where it is appropriate and where roles have been specifically designed for volunteers.
They will not be used to replace paid staff.
1.7 Expectations of the Students’ Union and Volunteers
1.7.1 Volunteer Expectations:
Volunteers will not be expected to undertake any tasks they do not feel comfortable with, or be asked to give more
time than they feel able to. If they feel that pressure is being placed on them to undertake tasks they do not feel
comfortable with, then they should approach the appropriate member of support staff within the Students’ Union.
Volunteers are expected to act responsibly and take reasonable care to ensure that their own safety and the safety
of others are not at risk whilst undertaking voluntary duties.
1.7.2 Students’ Union Expectations:
Volunteers will be expected to undertake the relevant training needed for their role; work within the Union’s values
and visions; be polite, professional and inclusive to those who work within and receive a service from the Students’
Union; complete the relevant feedback and monitoring forms; comply with the relevant policies and procedures
highlighted to them in their training. If a volunteer is unable to continue their volunteering or will be absent from
volunteering for a significant time, they should make their supervisor (e.g. relevant Executive Officer or Support
Staff) aware of this as soon as possible.
1.8 Equal Opportunities
The Students’ Union undertakes to ensure that no less favourable treatment is given to any group or individual on
the grounds of age, colour, ethnic or national origin, race, caring responsibility, sex, marital/partnership status,
religion, sexual orientation or identity, socio-economic status or background, physical/mental disability or special
need, HIV status, student status, political belief or trade union activity (this is a non-exhaustive list) and
independently of any political organisation, except that positive action may be taken to aid any disadvantaged
section of society. (Students’ Union Constitution 3.4.10)
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2. Recruitment and Selection
2.1 Recruitment of Volunteers
Prior to recruitment it should be made clear why a volunteer is wanted for a role. A role description should be
compiled and made available. It should include an outline of duties, training requirements, support provided and any
restrictions affecting who can take on the role (e.g. CRB Check).
Volunteers should be guided on the aims of the project or organisation, the volunteer role and the level of skills,
experience and commitment expected for the role. The academic commitments of students should be taken in to
consideration within the recruitment procedure. If a volunteer finds a role is, or becomes unsuitable, they will be
supported to find an alternative opportunity if possible.
Information collected through the recruitment process will be used to ensure it is as diverse and accessible as
possible. Volunteers have the right not to disclose information that is not essential to their volunteering placement
(e.g. equal opportunities monitoring information).
2.2 Application Process
Students may be required to complete an application form, stand in an election, attend an interview, provide
references, attend a selection meeting and attend specific training before being recruited. This will be decided upon
an individual project basis, dependent upon the nature of the project and the role of the volunteer. The recruitment
procedure should be made clear in individual volunteer role descriptions.
If an applicant is unsuccessful in their application, feedback will be given upon request.
If it becomes apparent that a student is unsuitable for any role then they will be invited in to discuss issues and
attempts will be made to resolve the situation to an extent that is of benefit to the service users and volunteers.
2.3 Screening of Volunteers
The Students’ Union has a duty of care to protect its volunteers, participants and staff involved in the projects that
our students volunteer for throughout the Students’ Union. The screening criteria for the volunteer role and the
reasons for that criterion will be made clear to volunteers.
2.3.1 References
References will usually be requested where volunteers are working with vulnerable adults and/or with young people
(under 18). They are required to have known these referees for two years or more. The referees must not be family
members or personal friends. A formatted reference form and cover letter are sent to all referees.
2.3.2 CRB Checks
All volunteers working with vulnerable service users will be required to complete a Criminal Record Bureau (CRB)
form. Some volunteers may be allowed to start volunteering once the check has been sent to the bureau; others
may have to wait until the check is returned. This is dependent on both the internal and external organisations
requirements. Volunteer role descriptions will state if a CRB check is required.
2.3.3 Recruitment of Ex-offenders
Volunteers with a criminal conviction are not automatically unsuitable to become a volunteer as only a small number
of convictions would prevent a volunteer from involvement. See policy on the Recruitment of Ex-offenders.
3. Induction and Training
Volunteers will be expected to follow the induction and/or training programme for their specific activity. This may
include information on health and safety and other policies or procedures and support on specific issues applicable
to the role/project/activity.
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Students’ Union staff will seek to ensure that, either through the Students’ Union or the group(s) with whom they
are volunteering, volunteers receive adequate training for the specific tasks they have been asked to perform.
Ongoing training will often be available and is sometimes required by volunteering opportunities. These
requirements will be made clear before volunteers commit to a project.
4. Expenses
Volunteers will only be reimbursed with out of pocket expenses with the prior permission of the relevant Sabbatical
Officer or staff member.
5. Supervision and Support
It is the role of the Project Coordinator, Sabbatical Officer or member of staff to monitor the welfare of their
volunteers, either face to face or via regular emails. Should there be any issues, volunteers have the options to
contact their coordinator, Sabbatical Officer, Chair of Committee or staff member.
Attempts will be made to gain evaluation and feedback from all volunteers involved in Student Union volunteering
roles. Once evaluations have been received conclusions and recommendations for the future will be made.
6. Insurance
The Students’ Union has Employers Liability Insurance and Public Liability Insurance which covers normal activities
carried out by volunteers. For any unusual activities further insurance may be required and arrangements will be
made if reasonable. Any exceptions to this should be communicated to all involved in those activities prior to the
activity taking place.
7. Health and Safety
The Students’ Union expects volunteers to co-operate with those responsible to ensure a healthy and safe working
environment for themselves and others. Individuals are required to abide by rules and requirements of the Students’
Union Health and Safety policy to ensure that themselves and others do not come to harm whilst carrying out their
roles.
8. Transport
If a volunteer is using a Union Vehicle they must abide by the Minibus Policy and have met the necessary
requirements before using the vehicle.
The use of public transport should be considered and used wherever practical. Reimbursement of travel expenses
for using public transport should be agreed in advance with the relevant member of support staff or officer.
If a volunteer is using private transportation it is their responsibility to ensure that the vehicle and driver are
suitable, road worthy, adequately insured for business purposes and comply with relevant legislation. The Students’
Union will not be held responsible for any consequences occurring as a result of the vehicle’s use.
9. Grievance and Complaints
If a volunteer wishes to complain about the behaviour of another volunteer or the Students’ Union they should refer
to the Union and Social Club Complaints Procedure as laid out in the Constitution Rules.
Grounds for complaints include a member (or group of members) of the Union:
Acting in a way that is or could be detrimental to the social life or good standing of the Students’ Union
Verbally or physically abusing or harassing another person in a wilful manner
Seriously and knowingly contravening the Constitution, Rules, or Policy of the Students’ Union
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For complaints about the conduct of a staff member refer to the Student/Staff Protocol in the Constitution Rules.
Complaints regarding the behaviour of an external party or by a member of an external party against a volunteer (or
group of volunteers) should be handled in accordance with the Students’ Union and Social Club Complaints
Procedure.
10. Disciplinary Procedure
Volunteers are expected to abide by the Student Code of Conduct as laid out in the Constitution Rules which states
that the following actions may lead to the instigation of disciplinary procedures:
Conduct which constitutes a criminal offence (e.g. assault, theft, fraud, deceit, deception or dishonesty)
Violent, indecent, disorderly, threatening, intimidating or offensive behaviour or language, sexual, racial or
any other form of harassment.
Misuse, misappropriation, theft or damage of property
Action, likely to cause injury or to impair Health and Safety procedures.
Failure to respect the rights of others to freedom of belief and freedom of speech
Behaviour which brings the Union or University into disrepute. (e.g. such conduct as abusive, antisocial or
discourteous behaviour, inconsiderate noise, disregard of the Highway Code, causing litter and especially
criminal damage to private property, highway signs or vehicles)
Disruption of or interference with the academic, administrative, sporting, social or other activities of the
University
Obstruction of or interference with, the functions, duties or activities of any student, member of staff, or
visitor of the University
Misuse or unauthorised use of University premises
Disciplinary Procedures are laid out in the Constitution Rules.
11. Confidentiality
In accordance with the Data Protection Act the Students’ Union will not pass any sensitive or personal information
about a volunteer on to any third party without the volunteers consent.
All files and data pertaining to volunteers will be stored securely.
12. Policy Review
This policy will be reviewed by the relevant staff and officers, before submission to the Executive Committee.
Date of policy: Mar 10
Date of review: Mar 13
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Other Policies
Expenses
As a Society or Club Committee member you should not be out of pocket whilst carrying out your role e.g. paying for
posters from your own money or hiring a venue with your own money. Make sure that you in your budget request or
from other funding sources you have included such costs.
Full policy available at www.ussu.co.uk
State Benefits and Visa Restrictions
If you receive state benefits or are an international student please check your relevant paperwork (e.g. your visa or
benefits guidance) as there may be restrictions on the time that you spend volunteering or you may need to inform
the relevant authorities.
Volunteering does not count as ‘work’ so should not usually be included in the 20 hours a week restriction -
“Voluntary activity should not amount to either employment, or job substitution. There is a fundamental difference
in the nature of the activity itself and the specific exclusion of work (whether it is paid or unpaid) as defined in the
individual passport, should not include voluntary activity where it is clearly undertaken as such.” (UK Border Agency)
Offering Advice and Helping Others
Remember - as a committee member you are often seen as a responsible person that a student in need can turn to.
It may be related to their course (e.g. a course termination or being accused of academic misconduct) or a personal
situation. By coming to you it doesn't mean that you are the right person to help them, have to solve their issue for
them or be on call to help them. There are trained professionals around the University that can help you e.g. Student
Advice (for finance or legal issues), the Centre for Wellbeing (including counselling), the Student Health Centre
(sexual health), Guildowns Medical Centre (Doctors Surgery) or the Students' Union (for academic related situations
or complaints against the University). If you would like support in this area, or a student does come to you and you
aren't sure what to do or say contact katherine.jones@surrey.ac.uk or VP Welfare - ussu.welfare@surrey.ac.uk or
come by the Union's Support Office, or suggest that they do.
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President
Training
49

President’s Training
These are your main responsibilities as President of your Society/Club –
Overseeing all areas of running the Club/Society.
Call Society/Club meetings.
Chair meetings.
Delegate tasks.
Take on tasks if the relevant person is absent.
Act as a signatory on your Society/Club’s account.
Ensure the Society/Club adheres to all Students’ Union policy.
Work closely with your relevant Sabbatical Officer and support staff.
Engage your membership and ensure they know what the committee is doing.
Make sure a representative turns up to Society and Sports Standing.
Keep up to date with any changes that may affect their Club/Society and make sure they reported back to
the Club/Society.
Skills
Assertiveness
There is a difference between being aggressive and assertive. Think about how you’d like to be treated by your
President, and what would make you actually do something as oppose to just saying yes. The model below will help
you think about how to get others to do things.
1. Describe the situation:
As a committee we have decided to run a cake sale and have divided up the roles evenly amongst us.
2. Express your feelings:
I feel that the workload is not being carried out evenly across the team.
3. Specify what you want:
By Friday I want to see the posters up on campus, costings for the cakes, the risk assessment completed, and
the Lecture Theatre Concourse booked.
4. Consequences:
Otherwise this event will not go ahead and we won’t be able to buy the new banner.
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Working in a team
Forming
•Introductions, first meetings
•People likely to feel uncertain, apprehensive, enthustiastic, excitement
Storming
•Testing out boundaries, challenges, non-participation
•People likely to feel fear, anxiety, loss of control
Norming
•Reaching agreements, safeguarding, defining the real agenda
•People likely to feel relief, stability, certainty
Performing
•Undertaking task
Mourning
•Leaving early, ending, hanging on
•People likely to feel sadness, joy, anticipation
Tuckman’s Model
This model shows the processes that any team goes through. Different teams go through it at different speeds and it
is possible to go backwards as well as forwards. Most committees get stuck at ‘Storming’. This is a crucial time for
you as a President to ensure that people are following through with actions and sorting out any problems that may
arise. It is also important that you do not become complacent as this will influence the team.
Leadership
Being President does not make you king/queen, unfortunately, you need to earn the respect and following of your
committee and Club/Society. It is important to remember there is a distinction between leading and managing, as
outlined below:
Leadership
Power by influence
Focus on people
Inspires trust
Long term focus
Originate
Management
Power by position
Focus on system
Relies on control
Short term focus
Initiate
To be a successful President/committee member, you need to focus more on leading than managing. Don’t worry
though, life is a learning experience and you will make mistakes and get things wrong. It’s how you move forward
that effects the degree of success achieved.
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Kurt Lewin developed a model of 3 types of leadership:
Autocratic
•Tell others what to do
•Limits discussion on new
ideas/ways
•Lack of feeling of teamwork
•This is most effective with an
inexperienced, unfamiliar team
with a short time to complete task
Democratic
•Involves group at each stage
•Asks before tells
•Promotes a sense of team
•Most effective when some sense
of team and some sense of skill
Laissez-faire
•Gives little/no direction
•Keeps opinions to themselves
•Doesn’t seem to be in charge
•Most effective with highly skilled
team undertaking a familiar task
You need to decide which type of leadership the people on your committee and in your Society/Club require. We
recommend that you start with the Democratic style of leadership and go on to judge for yourself what they need
next.
Remember:
Lead by example
Treat others like you want to be treated
Be polite – ‘thank you’, ‘please’ and ‘well done’ go a long way
Delegation
As President/VP you do not need to do everything yourself. Common reasons for not delegating and the action you
can take are outlined below.
Reason for not delegating
Not trusting others to do the job as you would have
Fear that they might do it better, making you feel
redundant
Not being kept in the loop
Not being involved in important decisions
What can you do
Think about why you don’t trust them. Is it you or them
You can give them a small task to do and work up to a
bigger one. Remember to check progress regularly.
If they do it better than you would have done it –
congratulate them. The best leaders identify the
strengths of their team members and utilise them.
Think about which tasks you delegate and ask for
updates regularly
Some people get enthusiastic about new tasks and forget
to keep others informed, so make sure you check on
them regularly, and if there are important decisions to
be made then make sure you are aware of when they
need to be taken, or delegate tactically
When starting a task there are a few things to think about:
Do you have time to carry out the task effectively
Does the task fall within your role
Is there someone else with the skills/contacts/interests that match the task better than you
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To delegate effectively:
1. Define what you want them to do and by when – make sure there is a reasonable time to complete the task;
don’t wait until the last minute.
2. Explain why you think they are the best person to complete the task.
3. State how involved/independent you want them to be and if there are any times you want to hear from
them.
4. Remember who will be accountable if the role is not carried out to the required standard.
5. Be available to answer any questions.
6. Focus on the results not the method – everyone does things differently but will end up with the same result
if your definition is clear enough.
7. Avoid upward delegation – if there is a problem, work with them to find a solution, and don’t simply take it
on yourself.
Useful website - www.mindtools.com
Chairing meetings
Key points -
Stick to the agenda - The Chair needs to be conscious of the amount of time available and ensure time is
spent wisely. Control the pace of the meeting; ensure it doesn’t get bogged down on minor points.
Keep order in the meeting - Generally it is easier to start a meeting fairly formally (e.g. all must raise hands
before speaking and be selected by the Chair) and then relax a little as the meeting progresses.
Keep participants on the topic - Let people know when discussion has drifted. Occasionally repeat the topic
under discussion.
Don’t forget early contributions! Go back to anyone who didn’t finish developing an idea.
If you are discussing any problems, state them as issues and problems, not as though someone is at fault.
Give problems and questions to the group, not answers -Try and break large problems into workable pieces
and deal with them separately.
Remain neutral - If there is a subject you feel passionately about, then see if someone else will Chair the
discussion.
Summarise what has been agreed - End a meeting by reminding all what has been agreed and who will be
doing what, and by when.
Prevent one or two people dominating by ensuring everyone gets a chance to speak - Ask “Is there anyone
who hasn’t spoken who’d like to” and ensure you pause long enough.
Liaise with the Secretary - before, during and after.
Make sure the minutes are clear - and that the Secretary has got the key actions noted and that minutes are
produced as soon as possible after a meeting.
Clarity in voting - Ensure everyone is aware of the exact matter to be voted on. Check your Constitution to
see if the Chair has a vote and a casting vote.
Ask if there are any questions.
Take five minutes at the end to recap on the main points of the session.
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Society/Club FAQ’s!
As president of a Society/Club you might find there are situations that arise and you’re not totally sure how to deal
with them. If this ever happens remember that your VP Sports and Societies are always there to have a chat with you
and discuss the best way to deal with any issues or concerns that may arise. To give you a feel of some of the things
that have arisen within Societies and Clubs in the past few years, we thought we’d put together some FAQ’s for you!
FAQ Topics:
1. Own Funds Debt
What to do when your account has been frozen because your Secretary and Treasurer has taken out cash
from the Club/Society account. What to do
2. Pub Crawls
What to do if you Club or Society are organising a big pub crawl. What you need to know about organising it.
3. Night in Rubix
What to do if you’ve organised a night in Rubix/Living Room and with 2 days to go, you’ve barely sold any
tickets What should you consider
4. Transport
What to do if you’ve damaged a vehicle and you are away from Campus. Who do you contact
5. Committee Falling Out
How to help resolve the situation and work towards the aims of the Club or Society
6. Membership not Engaging with the Club/Society
What to do and the best actions to help solve this.
7. Inheriting Society/Club Debt from Previous Committee
How to best get out of the situation.
8. External Media Reporting
What to watch out for when external Media want to report your Club/Society
9. A Problem with your Order.
What to do if there is a fault with merchandising/clothing you have ordered, which is not your Club/Society’s
fault.
10. Signing Contract with Companies/Venues
What to consider before signing your Club/Society away... for example hiring Venues.
11. Controversial Marketing Material
What to ask yourself before ordering materials that are on the funny/offensive line
12. Your Booking has been Moved
Who you should contact if your booking has been moved for other organisations at Surrey Sports Park.
13. Fundraising for Charity
What you need to know when you are looking to fundraise for charity, remember the Students’ Union is a
charity itself bound by laws. Find out the process you need to go through, it’s easy!
See the topic details on the following pages...
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Society/Club FAQ’s!
1. My Treasurer and Secretary have taken £100 out of the account. They took the money out in cash and therefore
all our Society benefits have been frozen until the receipts are given in for the amount. What do I do
Talk to them about it and find out why they took the money out, what it has been spent on. Also check that
they have kept the receipts for anything that they have purchased.
Hopefully they will have taken the money for a genuine reason, in which case ask them to take any change
and the receipts back to the Finance Controller in the Students’ Union so that your account will no longer be
frozen.
If they have taken this money out and spent on things that are not for the benefit of the Society/Club then
you will need to look at:
o
o
o
Informing your members
Vote of No Confidence
Union Disciplinary
Why do this
The money the Students’ Union receives from the University, and then allocates as a budget to Clubs/Societies is
Public Money (i.e. from the Government) and so there must be a paper trail of how the money has been spent. This
is so it can be proved that money was spent in the interest of the students. ‘Own funds’ are yours as a Society/Club
to do with as your members see fit, within your aims and objectives, so ensuring that receipts are given in for
money spent means that committee members can use previous funds to budget for the next year.
2. My Society/Club wants to organise a Pub Crawl. We are aiming to sell 100 tickets, how do we go about
organising this
Make sure you do a Risk Assessment
Ensure there is no pressure on anyone attending to consume alcohol if they don’t want to
Give out a contact number in case of an emergency
Ensure there are visible reps from you Club/Society that are sober
Make sure that your pub crawl follows the Unions’ Pub Crawl Policy.
Why do this
Risk assessments are something we all naturally do in our head e.g. when taking a baking tray out of the oven we use
an oven glove instead of just reaching in and grabbing. A risk assessment is simply a case of writing it down so the
information is shared and to prevent things going wrong. If you need help completing one, please ask for help from a
member of staff or Sabbatical Officer.
Remember that everybody thinks that nothing will go wrong on their event, but things do and have happened –
search ‘student pub death’ if you don’t believe us.
Not everybody drinks alcohol or is used to drinking alcohol when they come to University. By pressurising people to
drink more than they have ever or normally would drink, they can easily get into trouble as their bodies cannot cope
with the influx. This is not because they are ‘soft’ or need to ‘man up’, it’s just biology.
55

3. My Society/Club has an event in Rubix in 2 days time, but we have only sold 47 tickets in the bookshop. What do
we do
Go and see the Entertainments Manager, Jade Johnson, in the Students’ Union and discuss the options that you
have.
These may include:
How you could push more ticket sales, such as going door to door, selling tickets.
Moving the event to a smaller venue
Worst case scenario would be cancelling the event, and making sure that you publicise clearly how people
can get refunds.
Why do this
If we do not cancel security and staff by lunchtime the day before the event, they will still need to be paid. As your
Club/Society have booked the venue to be open, these costs need to be met, so you will need to pay the Bar Tab if
you cancel the booking later than this. If you choose to go ahead with the event you will obviously need to reach the
Bar Tab.
As there are approximately 50 bookable nights a term and 3 times as many Societies and Clubs, if you cancel the
event a week or more beforehand we can offer it to another group.
4. My Society/Club has taken a minibus out on a day trip. On the trip the driver has caused damage to the vehicle
that was his/her fault. We are not close to the University. What do we do
Look in the minibus handbook and follow the steps:
Check that everyone is OK, and call 999 if the emergency services are needed, giving your exact location
to avoid delay
When you are involved in a road accident you must stop your vehicle immediately
Be careful what you say. Don’t admit fault, liability or apologise. If you admit blame the Students’ Union
insurance company may refuse any claim made on your behalf
NEVER admit to it being your fault - Don’t lie, just say nothing
Take down all the relevant details of the vehicles involved.
Provide the other driver/s with your details
Call the Students’ Union on 01483 689223 (09.00-16.00hrs) or University Security 01483 682002 (16.00-
09.00 hrs) to alert them to the situation. You may also text: 07624 805349 starting the message with
‘BUS’ at any time
Can you get home safely in the vehicle - If not, call the breakdown service number in your vehicle log
book
If you are ever questioned by the Press NEVER give any comments. Ask them to call the University Press
Office on 01483 689314
On your return you will need to complete a University Incident & Accident Report Form (available
from reception in the Students’ Union.
On your return you will need to come to the Students’ Union in person and speak to Debra Cody,
Finance Controller in order to complete an insurance claim.
There may be a charge for this which is payable by the driver (this may also involve a retest)
In the event of an accident where the driver is shown to be at fault, he/she will be fined
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Why do this
Our vehicles are insured for accidental damage and in order to make a claim we need to know your side of the story.
If we don’t have it, we can’t tell what happened so cannot make a claim and so the vehicle will remain damaged.
5. There are 2 people on my committee who have fallen out – they refuse to work together within the team and it
has got to a point where meetings are being unproductive because of the constant conflict. What should I do
Find out why there is conflict between them.
If it’s something that you think you can resolve as a committee then sit down and have a meeting with the
two people, and try and be the mediator while they discuss any issues. Be careful not to take sides.
Make your relevant Sabbatical Officer aware of the situation.
Consider a ‘Vote of No Confidence’ if the situation requires it. – Ask your VP if you aren’t sure what this
means.
Why do this
The students have elected you to lead and run their Club/Society. If the committee is not acting in their interest, as
the President, you need to step up and sort it out. We are here to support you, so if you have problems, get in touch.
6. My committee have planned lots of events and done lots of promotion for them, but our membership just
doesn’t seem to be engaging with us and don’t seem to be attending our events. How do we engage with our
membership more
Have an open meeting and find out what people want to get out of the Society/Club.
Looking at other factors such as if your events have fallen during exam time.
Is your promotion reaching your membership
Look at other ways that you can engage your membership:
• Talk to people face to face
• Make people feel like they have ownership
• Look at how you are perceived as a Society/Club
Consider combining the event with a similar/complimentary group
Why do this
If you are not engaging with the group that elected you, you need to take action, otherwise when it comes to the
next AGM there will be no one to take over from you and your group will die out.
7. I have just taken over the committee for a Society/club and they are overdrawn. What do we do
• Look at how you could raise funds:
• Membership Fees
• Selling Merchandise to your members with a mark up. (make sure you get orders and money
beforehand)
• Fundraisers
• Sponsorship (remember to get advice from the Students’ Union before signing contracts)
• Look at your inventory and see if there is anything (e.g. hoodies and t-shirts) you can sell without causing
long term loss for short term gain
• Think creatively but ensure the risks are not too high
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Why do this
This is always a tough one, as it isn’t your fault that the previous committee were not as careful and responsible with
their accounts as you would have hoped. The important thing for the Club/Society to do is to get out of debt and
move on in order to keep being a strong group.
8. My Society/Club has an event happening next week. A journalist for a national paper has contacted you for a
quote.
• Tell them that you will have a statement to give them at a later date.
• Inform the VP Societies/Sports of the newspaper, and what they have asked you about. Make sure the
quote is cleared by the President of the Students’ Union and the University.
Why do this
Journalists have a tendency to twist words and spin stories, and so to protect you, the Students’ Union and the
University, it is important that you seek advice before giving quotes. If you were to give a quote (without seeking
advice) and that then reflected badly on the University or Students’ Union, you could be subject to disciplinary action
for bringing them in to disrepute.
9. My committee has bought some T-shirts from a company who were offering a great deal on t-shirts for all our
members – however when they arrived they have spelt the name of our Society/Club wrong. We are sure that this
is the company’s fault so haven’t paid for the for the T-shirts – and we have now received a letter saying that the
company are taking us to court for the money we owe them. What do we do
• Collate proof of correspondence between you and the supplier.
• Make sure you inform the relevant Sabbatical Officer or staff member in the Students’ Union of the
problem so they can seek legal advice if needed on your behalf.
• To avoid this problem, that societies/clubs have had in the past contact the Union for suppliers who we
use and know we can rely on. Contact Helena Vardy on h.vardy@surrey.ac.uk for more information on
merchandise.
Why do this
When ordering anything ensure that there is a purchase order form. This means that the Students’ Union is
committed to paying the money. If something does go wrong we can help you. If however, there isn’t a Purchase
Order, you are on your own, as the agreement to pay was made between you and the company, not the Students’
Union and the company.
We work hard to ensure that we have suppliers that can give you value for money, and can often get discounts due
to repeat custom e.g. hoodies, banners.
10. We are planning an event at an external venue and need to sign a contract. What do we do
• Bring the contract in to your VP to look at and sign. If you sign it in your own name and do not follow
through with the event or something else happens, it is you that will be held personally liable by the
company and not the Students’ Union.
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Why do this
Contracts signed in your own name, are agreements between you and external organisation. The Students’ Union
also has staff that can look through the contract and ensure that unreasonable or unfeasible demands are not being
made.
11. One of our committee members has designed some flyers for Freshers’ week. The images used are a little bit
controversial. What do we do
• Have a good think about the image it projects of the University and whether you think that the Senior
Management of the University would appreciate the humour/controversy
• Think about its effectiveness – did you join a Club or Society because of their crude tagline Or did you
join it because of what people said to you face to face
• Ask a Sabbatical Officer for their opinion
• If you are not convinced, then don’t do it. If they arrive and are thought to be unsuitable, they may be
confiscated.
Why do this
If you are seen to bring the University or Students’ Union in to disrepute you could face disciplinary action and we
don’t want that to happen, so any action we take will be to protect you.
12. You have space booked at Surrey Sports Park. Before the session you are informed that your booking has been
cancelled due to an external booking. What do would you do
Why do this
• Firstly, inform the club members that the session has been cancelled. Next, if the informant is the VP
Sports or Activities Administrator then liaise with them to book another training slot, if possible. If the
informant is someone from the Sports Park then let VP Sports & Activities Administrator know via email.
The Sports Park has to balance student needs, elite sport needs as well as the needs of their public members.
Training sessions will be cancelled, it is inevitable. However, the Sports Park should endeavour to provide Clubs with
enough notice of cancelled training. This is usually done at the beginning of each term and the Activities
Administrator who will send out a sheet of club training times with dates of cancelled sessions. Now and again,
training may be cancelled at the last minute but alternative sessions should be offered.
13. You have an external speaker coming to campus to make a speech. What do would you do
• Put this on the room booking request form and provide further details if asked.
Why do this
If any Club or Society is holding an event on campus where externals will be invited to speak, the Students’ Union
needs to inform the University, in line with the Code of Practice for Freedom of Speech
(http://www.surrey.ac.uk/about/corporate/policies)
The University believes that a culture of free and open discussion is essential in its role as an academic institution.
However, this culture can only be achieved if all concerned behave with necessary tolerance and avoid needlessly
offensive or provocative action or language. The University expects all persons taking part in its activities to respect
its values, be sensitive to the diversity of its community and to show respect to all sections of that community.
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14. Your Club/Society wants to fundraise for charity. What do should you do
• Talk to RAG and/or the Activities Coordinator (Helena Vardy – h.vardy@surrey.ac.uk) for advice
Why do this
RAG are trained to raise money effectively, responsibly and legally. They also have contacts and resources (e.g.
buckets) that you can use.
The Students’ Union is becoming a charity and it will be the legal entity that you raise money for. This means
fundraising activities carried out by Clubs/Societies will come under the microscope. Money can only be sent to
charities through the RAG account.
Look out for more details on this as the new Constitution and by-laws come in, along with the Fundraising Policy.
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Secretary
Training
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Secretary Training
The Role of a Secretary
The Secretary is one of the most important roles within any organisation or committee. The
Secretary is central to bringing all the parts of the team together to get them working effectively;
like the central cog in a machine – without it the machine would grind to a halt!
The main role of a Secretary is to look after all of the administrative tasks of the group.
This normally includes things such as:
Record keeping :
o Meeting agendas
o Meeting minutes (taking and circulating)
o Inventory list
o Membership list
Room bookings
Minibus bookings
Looking after incoming and outgoing communications:
o Checking and responding to emails
o Checking post
o Writing letters
o Updating website
This list of duties is not exhaustive, and in each Club or Society there may be other tasks which the
Secretary may have to fulfil, depending on what the Club or Society does.
Meetings
As a Secretary it is your responsibility to make sure that your Club/Society meetings happen, and are
effective in their purpose. Every meeting should have a purpose, whether it is a general committee
meeting, a meeting with the membership of your group or a meeting with the Students’ Union. An
organised Secretary will make sure that every meeting has an agenda and has minutes taken.
Agendas
The agenda defines the purpose of the meeting - and gives a ‘map’ of the meeting, for all involved. It
can be very basic and just contain a list of items to discuss, or it can be set out with different
headings and subheadings.
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Here are some basic headings you may wish to include on an agenda:
Date/time/location of meeting
Any Apologies for Absence (from someone who is supposed to be there but has told you in
advance that they can’t be)
Previous minutes (everybody should have received the minutes from the previous meeting
and be able to agree that they have seen them and that they are an accurate record of the
meeting)
Matters Arising (if there are any matters outstanding from the previous meeting that you
want to discuss. This is normally any unresolved issues, or things which may not be in the
rest of the agenda)
Items for Discussion (this is the main part of the meeting and the part where you would list
all the individual things that need to be discussed at the meeting. These could be listed in a
number of ways, for example, order of importance, in order of what may take the longest
time to discuss or just in order of when they were submitted)
Any other Business (this part is for anyone to mention anything they want to discuss that
hasn’t been talked about in the Items for Discussion part of the meeting – this section is
useful for any issues which may have arisen after the meeting agenda was circulated)
Date/time/place of the next meeting
Taking Minutes
The minutes of a meeting provide a record of the meeting and should be taken for any number of
reasons, whether to show people who were not at the meeting what was discussed, or so that
people who were at the meeting remember if there is anything they need to do in time for the next
meeting! Taking minutes is something which lots of people worry about, but it is a skill that is quick
to learn, so don’t be worried!
The most important thing to remember when you are taking minutes is that you don’t need to write
everything down – be selective about what is important and what is not. People can say around 120-
150 words per minute so you will never be able to write everything down.
The best thing to do is to summarise each discussion point into Subject, Viewpoint and Action when
you are actually in the meeting taking the minutes – you can always pad them out later when you
are typing them up.
These are the important things to remember:
Subject
o What/Who is the item about
Viewpoint
o What is the general opinion about the item
Action
o What is going to happen about it
If there is a long discussion about a particular point you may want to write down some of the key
questions/viewpoints into a brief summary when you are typing up the minutes.
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For example.....
In a Society meeting there is a long discussion about what kind of event to do as the end of term
celebration.
Jane, the President, wants to hold a barbeque but Tom, the Social Secretary, would rather arrange
to go into town for a meal at a restaurant. Tom thinks that a barbeque would be too complicated
with costs, having some vegetarians there who would want their own barbeque to cook food on and
with who would do the cooking as no one has a Food Hygiene Certificate.
Jane thinks that more people would want to have a barbeque as it would be cheaper than going to a
restaurant. Alex, the Treasurer, thinks that they shouldn’t do either and should hire Rubix instead.
There is a long and heated debate about what to do.
How would you, the Secretary, go about minuting this discussion point
Subject
o End of term celebration event
Viewpoint
o Restaurant - easy to organise – more expensive tickets
o BBQ – cheaper tickets – who would cook No FH Certificate
o Rubix – could make money for society – could lose money if flops – quite expensive
to organise – would be same week as Foam Party
Action
o Tom to speak to SU about Food Hygiene Certificate and where could hold a BBQ
When you come to type this up you could pad it out as follows:
End of term celebration Event
The committee discussed the different possibilities for the end of term celebration event. It was
agreed that an event in Rubix would be too high risk as it would be costly to organise and would be
the same week as Foam Party so might not go down too well. It was felt that going out to a
restaurant may be easier to organise but the tickets would then be more expensive for members.
The committee also discussed the possibility of a barbeque which would be cheaper, although there
were concerns about who would cook the food and how vegetarians would be catered for. Following
a discussion about the possible options, the committee decided to look further into the possibility of
holding a barbeque for members and discuss it further at the next meeting.
Action: Tom will speak with the Students’ Union about getting a Food Hygiene Certificate and
where a barbeque could be held.
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Things to Remember:
Be clear and concise when typing up minutes
Leave names out of discussions – ‘who said what’ is not relevant and may cause issues later
Type minutes up soon after the meeting whilst it is all fresh in your mind
Circulate minutes around to everyone so that even those who weren’t there, know what was
discussed
Make action points stand out so that the people who need to do them can clearly what they
need to do
Room Bookings
There are a number of different spaces on campus which you can book out for your Club or Society
to use.
Rooms in the Students’ Union
The Students’ Union has 2 meeting rooms which you can book for a meeting by speaking to the
Students’ Union Reception (ussu.information@surrey.ac.uk).
You can also book The Living Room for non-club night meetings and activities. For this you would
need to speak with the Entertainments Manager, Jade Johnson (jade.johnson@surrey.ac.uk).
If you want to book The Living Room or Rubix for a club night, then please make sure you look at
the information on Hiring a Students’ Union Venue.
Central Teaching Rooms
One of the benefits of being a Club/Society is that you can also get access to free room bookings in
the Central Teaching Rooms, including the Lecture Theatres, the Teaching Block and the
Management School. There is an online Room Request Form on the Students’ Union website for you
to complete for activities in these rooms. You can request a room for a one off event, a monthly
event or a weekly event. These bookings are done on a term by term basis so for weekly bookings
you would need to resubmit a request at the start of each term. There are some terms and
conditions to using these rooms, which can be found on the request form itself. The most important
one is that you cannot take food or drink into the teaching rooms, so if you want refreshments
during your activities you would either need to book a foyer space, such as the Lecture Theatre
concourse, or find an alternative venue.
Wates House/University Hall
Venues such as Wates House and University Hall are operated by Hospitality and Catering Services. If
you are interested in using these spaces then you will need to contact HCS.
(cateringbookings@surrey.ac.uk) Please be aware that there may be a charge for using some of the
HCS venues so always make sure that you check.
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Minibus Bookings
The Union has a transport fleet consisting of 1 x Car, 1 x Transit Van, 2 x 9-seater split van/buses, 1 x
13-seater minibus, 2 x 15-seater minibuses and 1 x 16-seater minibus. These vehicles can be used by
students, lecturers and staff, subject to them undertaking (and passing) the Students’ Union Minibus
Test. There are certain requirements for driving the above vehicles and you can find this out at the
Students’ Union Reception.
The Secretary is responsible for booking minibuses for trips and socials. Alternatively, if you have an
elected Trip Officer or equivalent, this can be delegated to that individual.
How to book a Minibus
On the Union website there is a Minibus Booking Form which, on completion, is sent to the
Students’ Union Reception. Minibuses can be booked up to 1 month in advance.
IMPORTANT: If you are a Sports Club wanting to book transport for a Wednesday afternoon sports
fixture (BUCS or SESSA) then there is no need to book ahead; the Activities Administrator, Kara
Glassborow, allocates all transport for competing Clubs on this day.
Inventory
An inventory is a list of all the items and equipment which is owned by your Club or Society. This list
will contain important information about the items including:
What it is
How many of them you have
When you purchased it/them
How much it/they would cost to replace
When you think it/them may be due for replacement
Where you store it/them
Your inventory needs to be updated whenever something changes, so if an item gets lost, broken or
if you buy something new, then you need to update your inventory and make sure that the Students’
Union knows.
Whilst keeping the inventory updated is an all year job, the Students’ Union will check over the items
on your inventory with you once a year.
Your inventory is important as we look at the most up to date copy of the inventory for your Club or
Society that we have when we are looking at setting budgets, so if your inventory is not up to date,
you may not get the full budget allowance that you think you are entitled to. If your group has
broken/lost an item before its expected replacement date and you haven’t told the Students’ Union
about it, then you won’t be allocated any budget to replace it and you will have to pay for it
yourselves!
The Activities Administrator, Kara Glassborow, will have the most up to date copy of your Club’s
inventory and Helen Vardy, the Activities Coordinator, has the current Societies inventory. If you are
not sure what your group should have then make sure you come and get a copy of it from the
Activities Office.
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It is important that you understand that items on a Club/Society inventory do not belong to anyone
as individuals but to the Club or Society, which is part of the Students’ Union. If your group goes
dormant then we will take over responsibility and storage of items until the time that the group is
reactivated or until the items use expires.
Storage
There is limited storage space for items available within Union House in Room 202 which is fitted
with lockers of various sizes. If you would like to store anything there then you will need to apply for
a locker with the VP Societies or VP Sports.
Membership Lists
There is a slight difference in how students can join Societies and Sports Clubs -
Societies
Society memberships are all online, so anyone wishing to join a Society can do so on the internet.
Students need to register with the website first and are then able to sign up to as many Societies as
they choose. You will need to think about what membership charge (if any) you want to charge your
members.
Sports Clubs
Those wanting to join a Sports Club can do so according to which club they wish to join. Clubs are
currently split into ‘Sports Park Clubs’ (those who train at SSP) and ‘non-Sports Park Clubs’ (those
who train outside of SSP). This will be changing next year due to the Sports Strategy, VP Sports and
the Students’ Union’s new website. More on this will be explained at Sports Standing.
Communications
Email Address
Every Club and Society has a Surrey email address. It is this email address which we put in all of our
published material so it is important that you check it on a regular basis. The email address can be
checked on the Outlook internet access in the same way as your personal Surrey email account. The
URL is http://outlook2003.surrey.ac.uk. If you are unsure of the password and login name for your
account then all you need to do is ask in the Activities Office.
Website
Each Club and Society has space on the Students’ Union website which they should use to promote
their Club/Society. It is very important that this information it is kept up to date as it is one of the
best ways to inform other students about what it is your Club/Society does.
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Post Pigeon Hole
You can receive post for your Club or Society by having it sent to Union House. All group post is kept
in the Activities Office where each group has a post pigeon hole. We try to keep the pigeon holes in
alphabetical order but sometimes, when we have new groups ratified; they may be out of order so
please check carefully for your group’s hole! Larger parcels are stored in the ground level parcel
holes on the left hand side of the unit. Please make sure that you check and take your post regularly
as any post left uncollected for 2 months will be returned to sender.
If you want to get something sent to Union House then this is the address:
YOUR GROUP NAME HERE
University of Surrey Students’ Union,
Union House,
University of Surrey,
Stag Hill,
Guildford,
Surrey
GU2 7XH
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Engaging your
Membership
69

Engaging your Members and Developing
your Society/Club
20-30 Societies/Clubs go dormant each year. This session will help you not to
be one of them.
The first step to developing your group is remembering why you exist (i.e. aims/objectives
of group laid down in your Constitution) and then identifying areas that you could develop.
The Development Plan Templates should help you do this, but if you need any help please
get in contact with your VP. Remember to formulate an action plan which you regularly
refer back to, evaluate and review. You may be asked at you Status Meeting how you are
developing and the plans you have to develop further.
The first question you need to ask is....
WHY DO YOU EXIST
Once you can give an answer to that, we can move on to getting people to engage with your
Club or Society.
Why aren’t people engaging
Perception
• Everyone already knows each other
• Not being able to afford to spend as
much money as they do
• Members are all experts
• Not drinking alcohol or not being from
same area
Lack of organisation
• Activities planned at very short notice
• Members unsure about what is going on
• Signed up at Freshers’ Fayre and never
heard anything
• Don’t know that they exist (e.g. not in
Freshers’ Guide or at Freshers’ Fayre)
What could you do about it
• Beginner sessions
• Varied socials
• Look at costs involved in taking part
• Plan ahead
• Termly Planner
• Review communications methods
• Regular activities
• Introductory activities soon after start of
year
• Make sure the Union has text to use in
Freshers’ Publicity
• Make sure you book a stall at Freshers’
Fayre and ensure your stall stands out
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Society too much of a clique
• Don’t welcome new members
• Don’t advertise events widely
• Have events but don’t give enough
detail (time, date, place, how to get
tickets)
Limited opportunities to engage
• Only have one event a term
• Event not relevant to what I thought the
group was
Ineffective communication
• Not replying to emails
• I don’t know what is going on
• Website out of date/lacks information
• Email bombardment
• Relying on Facebook
• Make an effort to make new members
feel welcome
• Buddy scheme for new members
• Tell all members about what is going on
• Freshers’ Rep on the committee
• Organise regular events
• Make sure that you are doing what your
Constitution says
• Make sure you reply to your emails
quickly and with a useful response
• Keep your website up to date with what
is going on and what has happened
• Remember you have a
ussu___@surrey.ac.uk – if you don’t use
it redirect to one you do use
• Don’t rely on one method of
communication. On Facebook the
Students’ Union only has 9000 fans, but
there are at least 14000 students. Explore
other methods e.g. text messages, phone
calls, posters, Union plasma screens, The
Stag, GU2 and MADTV.
• Face to Face is the most effective way to
engage someone.
3 steps to more active students
Step 1 – Attracting students
Have a clear offer i.e. what’s in it for them
Find your unique selling point i.e. how are you different
Make it easy to find out more info
Know your competition
Balance the ask and give
Step 2 – Keep them coming back
Welcome new people
Create a community
Use individuals talents
Give people ownership
Share your achievements
Be open to change
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Step 3 – Good communication
Recognise the achievements and hard work of members e.g. internal awards and
saying thank you
See above - ‘ineffective communication
Other tips:
• Everyone can learn from the good practice of other clubs and societies (see later
sections)
• Look at/contact other similar groups at other Universities
• People need to see something on average 7 times before they take action.
Remember:
• You will lose the majority of potential members before they come to a meeting/social.
First impressions really do count, so make sure that their interactions with you are
positive.
• Most barriers come down to communication
• If you don’t know who your members are, why should they care who you are
• There is no foolproof measure to increase membership and prevent dropout.
Society/Club Initiatives
The next few pages give some ideas of what others are doing to retain their members or engage new
ones.
Freshers’ Reps
Training experienced members to coach new ones
Running one off beginner sessions through the Trips and Activities programme – contact
Helena Vardy, Activities Coordinator - h.vardy@surrey.ac.uk
Weekly training, meet ups or workshops
Newsletters
Program of events for the term, produced in advance
Week long campaign targeting different groups, with different activities
Staying on top of organisation
Working with relevant industry to provide links for future
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Things to think about
What are your objectives and how do you meet them
How many people signed up at Freshers’ Fayre, and how many have come to activities
Communication
How do you communicate with your members
How can your members contact you
How can non-members contact you
Who is responsible for checking your ussu.society/club@surrey.ac.uk email
Marketing
Do you currently have an easily recognisable name and logo which your members and new
students recognise and understand How do you know this
Do you have a website If so how often do you update it, who is responsible for updating it
How is your Club/Society described in the Students’ Union guide Is it accurate
How else do you advertise your Club/Society and events How effective have these methods
been How do you know this
Recruitment and Retention
Do you have a stall at Freshers’ Fayre What does it consist of How effective is this
How do members sign up after Freshers’ Fayre if the miss it
How do you get members involved once they have signed up
How often can your members meet the committee to pass on ideas and feelings
What do you do to make members feel like they are part of your Club/Society
How do you give members ownership over the Club/Society
Representation and Effectiveness
How often do you have committee meetings
What could you do to make them more useful
Do you know what is going on in the Students’ Union and changes that will affect you How
could you find out
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Sports
What is your current position in the relevant leagues
How many BUCS points have you earned
What competitions does the Club currently compete in What would you like to compete in
e.g. BUCS, Local South East University Leagues), public championships (County or National),
local club tournaments, own Club tournaments, etc.
What competitions does the Club currently host What competitions would you like to host
What training do you currently offer members What training would you like to offer
members What scope is there for this
How do you/will cater for beginners as well as the elite
What coaching do you currently receive What coaching would you like to receive and what
options for this are there
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Case Study - Organisation
Name of Society/Club
Rowing Club
What did you do
1. Kept our members informed of training/events/socials/general rowing info
2. Maintained a very healthy bank account
3. Weekly committee meetings
4. Group emails
5. Held a squad meeting every term
Why did you do it
1. We did it so that people would know when to turn up to things and so we had a record of
what we had told them.
2. So we would not need to go to Grants Committee and take money from other Clubs and so
we could easily and quickly cover repairs and buy small items of equipment that we needed.
It also meant that when our repairs budget was used up, we could use our own funds.
3. So we all knew what was happening in the Club and we could plan the week ahead.
4. During the week before or after committee meetings things might change and need an
urgent response, therefore it was imperative we had a good communication network set up.
5. This allowed us to get feedback from our members and also give them information about big
events e.g. BUCS and training camp and be able to get an idea of availability.
How did you go about it
1. We continued to maintain our internet forum which has different sections for different bits
of information
2. Many ways:
Organised a non-stop million metre Ergo challenge to raise money for the Club and we also
shared the proceeds with The Parkinson's Trust and had rowing machines about campus and
a Tesco's in Brooklands
Renting our boats to another Club when we weren't using them over the summer
Pennies make pounds… our club does not get kit provided for competition or training, our
guys buy all their own kit. So when we do a kit order and the price of a jacket costs £67.80
we round that value up to £70, which means £2.20 profit goes to the Club. Most students
don’t mind that we round this value up as it’s only the price of a pint etc. and it makes it
easier to hand over exact values of cash.
Set up a fundraising sub-committee to seek out sponsorships and organising fund- raising
events such as the Boat Club Christmas dinner in Chancellor's
3. We have a weekly whole club training session, so the committee either meet before training
or afterwards, as everyone will be there we can know numbers and people’s availability etc.
4. In a similar manner to our committee meetings, if people don’t reply to the group email
between the committee then their voice/opinion doesn’t get heard.
5. We posted on our forum a date and a place with enough space for all our members and had
the coaches and squad captains chair the meeting.
How effective has it been
75
1. Highly, people know on a Sunday night what they are doing the following week so they can
plan their time around training. We choose to only put one week up at a time as otherwise

etween the committee then their voice/opinion doesn’t get heard.
5. We posted on our forum a date and a place with enough space for all our members and had
the coaches and squad captains chair the meeting.
How effective has it been
1. Highly, people know on a Sunday night what they are doing the following week so they can
plan their time around training. We choose to only put one week up at a time as otherwise
people forget and don’t organise time efficiently.
2. Very
Million Metre Row-raised £2000 overall so were able to give £1000 to the Parkinson's trust
and then use the remainder to invest in new equipment for the Club.
Renting of Boats – We managed to raise £600 by lending our boats to someone else when
we weren't using them.
Kit – When we order 20 jackets (20 x 2.20 = £44) multiple that by 4/5 items = £176 profit for
the Club. That helps to cover the minibus fees that we get through.
Fundraising sub-committee- raised £400 from the Christmas dinner and have set up a series
of contacts for sponsorship that we didn't have last year.
3. Having a meeting is effective as long as people turn up. If people don’t then their voice is not
heard and their opinion won’t get taken into account. However, because it’s a Club training
session, they should be there anyway!
4. By sorting it out amongst ourselves we haven’t had to bother VP Sports with our problems
5. Same points as 3 however it did allow us to gauge early on what we needed to do for the key
events of the rowing calendar.
What advice would you give someone else wanting to do something similar
1. Think about how your Club operates – squads/socials/info given out and base forum sections
around these.
2.
Get the whole Club involved and get as much promotion as you can, as the more people that
know about it, the more they can donate. By combining the rewards with a charity, more
people are likely to give you donations, than if it was just your Club.
Speak to other Clubs in your area if you have equipment that can be lent out
Don’t round up too much, be fair to your guys, a couple of quid is ok though.
3. Over at the sports park it is easy to just sit around on some seats somewhere to have a
committee meeting before or after training.
4. The people on our committee are all there for the right reasons. We want to make our club
the best it can be, so everyone goes out of their way to get things done properly and quickly.
You need committee members who want to help the Club, not just because they want it to
look good on their CV.
The reason our Club is organised is because we have people on the committee who want to be there
for the right reasons and they can be bothered to get off their arses and do something. We use our
initiative rather than running to the VP Sports with every problem. We come up with new ideas for
socials and fundraising, we actively seek out sponsorship and ways to promote our Club in a good
light to the public. The committee should always be going beyond the call of duty to make their Club
better.
Would you be happy to talk to other Club/Societies about what you did
Yes
Name: Fraser Cossens
Email: fc00028@surrey.ac.uk
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Society/Club Initiatives
Name of Society/Club
Law Society
What did you do
Law Ball Secretary – Organise the Annual Law Ball
Why did you do it
I chose to run for this position because I love organising events, and knew that doing this would
make me more focused within my degree as I would have to effectively split up my time between
organising the event and my work.
How did you go about it
The first thing I did was a timeline of events. This was so beneficial, as it organised me and set
deadlines for myself. I planned when things need to be booked, when tickets needed to go on sale
etc, which meant that I had split everything up into manageable chunks, so it wasn’t quite so
daunting and focused my mind on the job. I also tried to delegate things throughout to ensure that
the Society was involved.
I had to ensure I was focused and kept on top of all issues. The first hurdle was funding for the
event. This meant negotiating with heads of faculty to try and arrange funds for the event and
presenting a business plan. I also had to liaise with other members of the committee on a regular
basis, for example the treasurer and I came up with weekly budgets to keep up to date with
expenditures. It is really important to think about the small things such as keeping copies of invoices
and spreadsheets of accounts and sticking to deadlines of payments etc.
We had to do things as cost effectively as possible, so this meant lots of research and trying to use as
many University and Students’ Union resources as possible i.e. using the Students’ Union to help
with things like the DJ, catering and hospitality and to find out about things like draping and
chocolate fountains and Uniprint for posters and invites.
I also kept a folder split up into sections to keep myself organised, and I also kept copies of
everything to ensure we had proof of payment for everything. When it came to invites and table
plans, it is really important to keep ahead of time and do everything as early as possible. The later
you leave things the harder it gets! It was also really important to have a vision of the end goal so
you know what you’re working towards, for such a large event.
How effective has it been
I personally thought the evening was a huge success, and I gather that everyone really enjoyed it.
Everything came together on the night and ran without any hiccups!
What advice would give someone else wanting to do something similar
I would say plan, plan and plan. Make sure you plan everything nice and early and have a goal at the
end. Split everything up into chunks so that it’s more manageable – so possibly begin with a
timeframe/timetable so that you know when to do things. Delegate to the rest of your society so
that you are not left with everything on your head. Also try to not let it impact on your studies too
much; make sure you have allotted time slots for organising so that it doesn’t take over your degree.
Would you be happy to talk to other Clubs/Societies about what you did
Yes
Name: Justine Kharbanda
Email: jk00097@surrey.ac.uk
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Society/Club Initiatives
Name of Society/Club
Law Society
What did you do
I was the Client Interviewing Officer and I organised the Internal Client Interviewing competition and
co-ordinated participation in external ones. Client Interviewing is a competition aimed particularly at
students who want to become solicitors and involves interviewing clients in a effective and
empathetic manner, in order to extract vital information needed to build a court case.
Why did you do it
I thought it would be interesting.
How did you go about it
I coordinated with the relevant members of staff, booked rooms, organised judges and people to
play the clients.
How effective has it been
50 people participated, of whom 8 got through to the final. The winners won prize money sponsored
by RHW solicitors in Guildford.
What advice would give someone else wanting to do something similar
You have to be very organised, but it is a fun job to do.
Would you be happy to talk to other societies about what you did
No
78

Society/Club Initiatives
Name of Society/Club
Law Society
What did you do
As President of the Law Society my role was to ensure all of the activities and events open to law
students were well run and coordinated.
When a committee member quit just before their event I took the decision to run the event as
students were expecting it to happen. It was the first year we ran an internal negotiating
competition and I took over the organisation of the competition enlisting the help of other students
and members of faculty staff.
As a Law Society we ran events ranging from a Law Book Swap to a Pro Bono Dinner to careers
events and bar crawls. It was important to offer a wide range of activities for Law Society Members
to take part in.
We had a successful Fresher’s Fayre with over 100 new members joining and throughout the year
more students have joined the Society to be able to take part in some of our activities.
Why did you do it
I took on the role of President as I have been involved in the Law Society and Law Society activities
since my first year and as Secretary. In my third year I wanted to be able to further influence the
running of the Society and take it forward.
How did you go about it
I attended most of the Law Society events and activities to support the committee members running
those activities.
I organised committee meetings for when action needed to be taken and issues needed to be
decided on. This was also a good way to organise who was running each activity and for new ideas to
be generated.
I am ensuring that a proper handover pack is given to the Society next year as in previous years the
committee has had to start from scratch with little or no support or understanding of the things that
went well in previous years and things that did not.
How effective has it been
I believe that the Law Society has been the best society this year. With everything that we have
achieved. The traditional internal mooting and client interviewing competitions were held this year
and for the first time we ran an internal negotiating competition. We had a lot of interest in the
competitions with over 100 students participating in all the competitions. Through the external
support and sponsorship given to us, four students won mini-pupillages with Pump Chambers,
Lincoln’s Inn and a further four students gained work experience in Isleworth court. We were given a
mini-pupillage at Guildford Chambers and a week’s work experience at RHW Solicitors as prizes for
our Law Ball Raffle which helped us to raise over £200 for the National Centre for Domestic Violence.
In the external mooting we reached the second round in the ESU moot and in the OUP and BPP
moot we reached the fourth round narrowly missing out against Cambridge University. In the
external Client Interviewing we came 2 nd against the College of Law and Kingston, and 9 th in the
National Client Interviewing competition.
79

In the National Negotiating competition I was part of the team who reached the finals following the
regional heats.
We have been working with the careers service this year to help arrange a number of careers events.
We assisted with the set up of the Law Careers Fair and as a Law Society we have hosted a large
variety of presentations and talks as part of our aim to build links with legal professions and the bar.
We have been fortunate to be able to attend trips to several of the Inns of Court through contacts
that have been developed over the last few years.
One of our best social nights out this year was our ‘Lawyers do it at the Bar’, Bar Crawl at the
beginning of the year and it was lovely to see so many of our Erasmus and international students
there.
The Society has so much potential and although we achieved a lot this year there is so much more
than can be done through the Society.
What advice would give someone else wanting to do something similar
As President of a Society a person needs to be able to manage a group of people effectively,
delegate, oversee and ensure that people can do their jobs, offering support and help when
necessary. It is very important to be able to manage your time and prioritise. Communication is also
a key element of running any Society and a lot of what we achieved this year would not have been
possible without the help of lecturers at the University so it’s always worth asking for help.
I would recommend keeping a note of all of the events organised throughout the year, with
feedback from each so that it is easy to formulate a handover pack for the next Committee and show
what your Society has achieved.
I think that the contacts and links that a Society can make within the University, for example careers,
and with outside bodies, organisations and professionals, is very important. As well as retaining
many of our links previously made this year the Law Society has made new links specifically with BPP
Law School who offered sponsorship, RHW Solicitors and Invenio Research who assisted with the
client interviewing and negotiating and many other professionals.
Would you be happy to talk to other Clubs/Societies about what you did
Yes
Name: Katherine Rattle
Email: kr00019@surrey.ac.uk
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Society/Club Initiatives
Name of Society/Club
Law Society
What did you do
Legal Professions Officer. My main objective was to organise trips to the Inns of Court and Law
schools as well as guest speakers from all the legal professions to visit the University.
Why did you do it
I believe that to decide whether someone should follow a career path, one needs to make an
informed decision. The best way to do that, in my opinion, is to see and hear first hand experiences
from barristers, judges and solicitors.
How did you go about it
I helped to forge and build upon professional links between the Inns of Court and Law Schools, by
contacting representatives directly. The University was then invited to dinners and seminars
thereafter.
How effective has it been
Depends what effective means Were my events well-attended Yes. Did those who attended find
the events informative and enjoyable I have had positive feedback from many people. So
hopefully my tenure as Legal Professions Officer has been effective.
What advice would give someone else wanting to do something similar
When dealing with professionals and peers, it goes without saying that, politeness,
professionalism, reliability and availability to be contacted are imperative.
Would you be happy to talk to other societies about what you did
Yes
Name: Sophia Goodall
Email: sg00099@surrey.ac.uk
81

Society/Club Initiatives
Name of Society/Club
RAG
What did you do
RAG Week 2011: Safer Sex Ball, London Mega Raid, Headphone Disco, Film Festival, Touch It!,
Jailbreak 2011.
Why did you do it
RAG Week is an annual event at the University, and this year the aim was to make it bigger than
ever before. We included Rubix nights, non-drinking events, prize-winning events and the everpopular
Jailbreak in an attempt to raise as much money for charity and heighten awareness of
RAG on campus as possible.
How did you go about it
Most committee members were placed in charge of an event or an aspect of the week, such as
sponsorship of a night. Committee meetings were used effectively to ensure all members were
working to the best of their ability.
How effective has it been
RAG Week 2011 was very successful, and final totals for the week are still to be announced. It
was extremely rewarding for all the committee and an attempt to broaden the scope of the
Society.
What advice would give someone else wanting to do something similar
Make sure that you are working within what your Society is realistically able to achieve. It is
alright to have aims and objectives that transcend past boundaries, but by setting farfetched
targets it can lead the event off-course. Ultimately, running a week of events requires a lot of
pre-planning, a lot of marketing and a lot of manpower.
Would you be happy to talk to other Clubs/Societies about what you did
Yes
Name: Jake Willis
Email: jw00188@surrey.ac.uk
82

Events, Trips and Socials
Nearly all Clubs/Societies host a variety of events, trips and socials to engage their members and to
socialise. This session will help to you plan, budget and promote your events to make them as successful as
possible.
We hope to help you to think practically about the planning and delivery of a variety of events and provide
you with the necessary contacts and recommended procedures for running your event.
Plan:
Anything that is organised by a Club or Society, outside of what a student normally does, needs to be risk
assessed. Some people just see this as a hoop you have to jump through in order to run your event.
However, this is one of the most important parts of planning. Obviously some events pose more risk than
others but all activities/events must have a risk assessment. If it is an event that your Society or Club does
on a regular basis you can just do one risk assessment and use it over again (as long as it has been
approved, you are following the actions you’ve stated and it is reviewed every 12 months). We have had
some serious injuries in the past that may have been avoided easily if the activity had been risk assessed.
Ask the Students Activities Coordinator, Activities Administrator, VP Sports or VP Societies to check your
risk assessment for you. If you are struggling on how to write a risk assessment they can help you to
complete one.
It is important to be aware that if you are holding an event off campus, the venue/company will probably
want you to sign a contract. You should ALWAYS ask a member of the Union staff to read over the contract
and check it before you sign it. This is because sometimes companies put in extra little charges that can be
avoided. It is worth thinking about holding an event on campus (see venue booklet) to avoid these
problems.
Think about who will fulfil each role on the night. E.g. for a pub crawl you should have some sober
committee members.
Think about where and how you will sell your tickets for an event.
If you are running an activity away from campus, and you plan to do on a regular basis, then it might be
useful for a member of your committee to take their minibus test and have access to the Union’s
minibuses (Pick up a minibus handbook from the Students’ Union).
Budget:
Use the Financial Planner, which will help you to work out your income and expenditure depending on how
your ticket sales work out.
If an event is not selling don’t be afraid to cancel it. It’s much better to do this than for your Society or Club
end up in masses of debt.
Promote:
Promoting is easy on campus; just use the resources that we have i.e. The Stag, GU2, Plasma Screens,
Posters, Fliers and Facebook (for more details see the Marketing and Publicity section).
83

Evaluate:
Use the Event Evaluation Form we have provided as a guideline to review your event and improve them for
the future. Or if it’s appropriate in your activity/event hand out some feedback forms.
Exercises
Your group is thinking about organising a pub crawl event after Freshers’ Week. What steps do you think you
would need to follow in order to plan and hold this event If you have time, try and fill in the Risk Assessment
form.
• Pub Crawl Policy
• Promotion
• Sober group organisers
• When/Where - Risk Assessment
• Welfare – Students’ reminded to take care, that they are over 18 and therefore responsible
for their own actions. Some committee members need to stay sober.
• Welfare – Loosing people. Have someone to count numbers when moving on to another
bar/pub.
Your group is thinking about organising a club night in one of the Students’ Union venues. What steps do you
think you would need to follow in order to plan and hold this event
• Venue Hire Information Booklet
• Speak with Entertainments Manager to book
• Promotion
• Ticket Sales – how will you sell them: where and when
• On the night roles
• Don’t be scared to cancel events that aren’t selling well!
84

Your group is thinking about holding a fun sports event on PATS field. What steps do you think you would need to
follow in order to plan and hold this event
• No organised events on the field unless approved by University
• An events pack will be available which will include:
– Event registration
– Rules and regulations
– Disclaimer for organisers to sign
• Risk Assessment:
– Temperature- check the weather and remind people to dress appropriately.
– Personal security – remind people to look after their personal belongings
– Welfare – have Security’s number to hand in case something goes wrong.
Your group is thinking of organising a social trip to Thorpe Park. What steps do you think you would need to
follow in order to plan and hold this event
• How are you going to get there
– For minibus regulations and costs please see the Minibus Handbook.
• Where are you going to get the tickets
• Promotion
– The Events Manager at the Union can print tickets for you.
• Selling tickets
• Risk Assessment
– Welfare - Students in an unknown area should be given organiser’s contact number in case
of an emergency.
– Travel Health - follow minibus health and safety or if using a coach that is hired check their
health and safety measures.
– Personal Security – Students briefed and reminded to take care of themselves and their
personal possessions.
85

Fundraising
Fundraising as a Society is a great way to get everyone together and doing something fun for a
worthwhile cause. Surrey RAG (Raising and Giving) is the committee associated with charity
fundraising, however a Society or Club can fundraise too. Surrey RAG can lend you resources e.g.
buckets and advice about how to fundraise effectively, safely and legally.
Surrey RAG appears to be a separate entity; however, it exists to support all students in their
fundraising efforts. You can raise as much money, for any charity, as you like. However, the money
raised then has to be put into the RAG account. This is because the Students’ Union is a Registered
Charity so all money going out of the Union to other charities needs to be put in the same account.
RAG doesn’t get to claim this as money they have raised. It will be put into the account under “Your
Society/Club Name”. This is because of the new Charity Law.
Things to remember:
Seal all buckets and make sure the charity number is visible.
Make sure you risk assess events.
Money can only be counted with an authorised member of union staff e.g. Full time staff or
a House Officer.
Be clear where money is going. On marketing materials or buckets make sure it is clear
whether the money is proceeds or profit (profit - where after initial costs of running an
event are covered the proceeds go to charity, proceeds - where all the money goes to
charity).
86

Event Evaluation Form
This form is here to help you evaluate the different events and activities which your society/club has done. By
completing it and keeping a record it will help you and future society/club committees to develop and
improve future events for your group.
Club/Society Name:
Event Title:
Event Date:
Venue:
Theme (if any):
Attendance:
What contacts did you make during this event which may be useful in the future:
What do you think went well with this event:
What do you think could improve if you did this event again:
How many posters did you print for this event
What was your general marketing plan for this event
How well did it work and would you change anything about promotion for an event like this in the future
How many people were involved in the planning of this event
Is there anything you would change about the number of people involved in planning for an event like this in the
future
87

Club/Society Event Financial Planner
Club/Society:
Date of Event:
Name of Event:
Venue:
Ticket Income (Variable)
Sponsorship Income (Fixed)
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
INCOME
Expected Attendance:
Upper Ticket Price: £
Lower Ticket Price: £
Attendance Level
50% £
65% £
100% £
Ticket Income
(based on expected attendance and lowest ticket price)
Variable
Company
Total Sponsorship
Income:
Amount
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
Cost based on each attendance level
Cost per person 50% 65% 100%
Food £ £ £ £
Beverage £ £ £ £
Other (Specify) £ £ £ £
Sub Total £ £ £
+ VAT (17.5%) if applicable £ £ £
Variable Costs Total £ £ £
Fixed
Venue/Facilities
(including bar tab)
Cost VAT (17.5%) Total
£ £ £
Ticket Printing £ £ £
Publicity Printing £ £ £
Publicity Distribution £ £ £
Transport/Travel £ £ £
Band £ £ £
DJs £ £ £
Other Entertainments £ £ £
Equipment Cost £ £ £
Security/Stewards £ £ £
Decorations £ £ £
Other (Please Specify) £ £ £
Fixed Cost Total £
Attendance Income Expenditure Profit
50% £ £ £
65% £ £ £
100% £ £ £
Add up the variable and fixed income/expenditure from above and complete the box
88

Marketing and
Sponsorship
89

Marketing & Sponsorship
The Audience
Which demographic of students / externals are you targeting with your Society, Sports Club, event or campaign
Understand who they are and how they would like to interact with you.
Research
What has been employed previously here and at other Unions Did it work and to what effect Can you copy a
similar technique based upon your findings and adapt it to your own marketing or sponsorship platform
What is employed externally that is similar to what you are thinking of promoting or suggesting Can you adopt or
use any professional help that already exists to aid your membership, society, club, event or campaign
Planning
Brainstorming for a good clear idea for the event or poster – Explain your initial ideas, concept and brain
storming thoughts, what is possible and costs Paint a visual picture or write down your thoughts in a logical
way to so your committee understands your ideas and brief. Keep it simple, not too much text, and make
sure the visual is relevant!
Investigate other Unions / websites / student surveys - Pick up the phone and call other Unions / try and
set up a peer to peer system with other SUs in your field to help share good ideas and practices with other
Sports Clubs and Societies.
Costs – Ensure you have a bearing on all cost factors way before you anticipate new ideas for events and
campaigns – No point anticipating a new type of event or method of marketing if they are extremely
expensive and you do not have enough money to pay the supplier.
Text and Imagery – How much is needed Keep it simple – Pictures always help and are far more eye
catching on a poster. Always use visuals when possible.
Support and structure –Investigate prospective costs / realistic turnaround times and committee support if
you need flyering around campus and need to push ticket sales.
Environmental and Ethical - Consider the environment at all stages of planning / development / production /
and marketing. Waste reduction going into landfill and reducing your carbon footprint is of extreme
importance today and in the future. Try and ensure paper has been sourced from eco and socially and
sustainable forests if possible. Please make sure it is on your radar when initiating all new and existing
projects, as it looks good in the eyes of your members and prospective members too.
90

Online and Offline Planning - Timeframes
Offline
Plasma Screens –
SubTV and SubInfo – Chancellors (6 x 42in) Bookshop (1 x 42in / 2 x 22in) Reception Union Shop - 3 x 42inch.
Ask Aaron Salins (a.salins@surrey.ac.uk) for timeframes for advertising your Society or Sports Club events –
856 x 480 pixels (full screen) / 216 x 480 pixels (side panel)
Again less is more – Not legible if too much text / each static slide ONLY on for 10-12 secs on SubTV and 3-4
seconds on SubInfo screens.
The Stag Newspaper
2.5k colour tabloid Newspaper – 5 days from proof
Any editorial or advertising needs approval from the Editor, at least a week prior to the Friday that the team
sends to proof.
The earlier you inform them the better. Email all stories, photos and copy to ussu.thestag@surrey.ac.uk
½ page Colour advert : 245mm (w) x 170mm (h) – Please supply high res jpegs or PDFs
¼ page Colour advert : 115mm (w) x 170mm (h) – All jpegs or high res jpegs or PDFs
Branded Clothing and promo items – Please refer to costing sheet.
Print – Postering and Flyering on campus
Utilise the white boards across campus, high visibility in high footfall areas. Print prices are variant
depending on size of publication / quantity / finish etc. Some costs are on the following sheets. Turnaround
is dependent again on spec and quantity.
If you need a Union stag logo incorporated onto your posters then please email Aaron Salins |
a.salins@surrey.ac.uk
Please gain spec quotes from Aaron Salins direct – Please refer to glossary details at the back of the
handouts for extra printing terms and details.
Online
Website pages. Utilise your web pages and email Lisa Sweeney at the Students’ Union if you require any help -
l.sweeney@surrey.ac.uk
Do make sure you look after your own areas online individually and ensure new areas or pages are as frequently
updated as possible to ensure people keep coming back and use your site.
Sponsorship
Businesses may provide the following types of sponsorship for Sports Clubs and Societies: Funding for your
Club or Society, kit, equipment, travel, scholarships, coaching.
The sponsor benefits from increased media coverage and contact with your members.
91

Possible Sponsor Requests -
Adverts on website with links to their site.
Full colour printed adverts in Club or Society pages of The Stag newspaper
Half page colour newspaper advert : Spec is 260mm (w) x 150mm (h) File : high res PDF
Promotional or media stall in the Students’ Union Freshers’ and Refreshers’ Fayres.
Possibility and opportunities for sponsored talks at future training sessions or your events.
Printed posters or flyers with their logo incorporated
Monthly half-page advert in a committee or membership newsletter
Marketing Agreement and Sponsorship Contract essentials -
1) Ask the sponsor to put the agreement together, if not then use the following elements as a format to be signed
off.
2) Pop in to see Aaron Salins, Marketing and Communications Manager, (a.salins@surrey.ac.uk) before you sign any
agreement of contract, especially if you need verification if a potential sponsor is paying you the right amount, or if
you have any issues between you and the client.
3) Ensure the contract or agreement clearly states who the relationship is between on the first page i.e. the
sponsor’s name, address and point of contact and your Club or Society.
4) Ensure the commencement and term of the agreement is stated. Do not sign anything that is over a period of your
term in office.
5) Please ensure all artwork and payments are made before commencing the agreement, and that the client has all
rights and obtained all necessary licenses or consents such as copyright in respect of material contained in all
marketing areas within your agreement.
6) Signatures signed on behalf of both parties involved.
7) The full marketing plan and agreement stated that you are fully happy. You must deliver all elements for the
sponsor, otherwise the sponsor has a get out clause to not pay you in full, or ask for a refund. Ensure you deliver
what you say you have agreed upon. Do NOT promise or sign off anything if you are unsure or cannot honor to the
sponsor.
8) Ensure the marketing fee is stated within the agreement and that it outlines method of payment, the fee exclusive
of VAT, and the deposit date that it needs to be cleared.
9) Check that the agreed amount has come into the Students’ Union account before you begin any terms within the
agreement.
92

Marketing Costs for Print & Promotional items
Useful Contacts:
Print - Indigo Press – Litho / flyers - Mick Richardson - 0800 6527299 – mick@indigo-press.com
Print - Big IQ – Large format and small / Digital - Kane Delamont – 01483 484113 – kane@iqlaserpress.net
Includes: Posters – All sizes / Leaflets / Flyers / Newspapers / Business Cards / Letterheads / Brochures
Colours: Various / Finish / 24 hours up to 2 weeks depending on format and finish. Cost: Size / Quantity
£150.00 for 5k A5 flyers / £35 for 50 A3 posters / A5 Recycled Booklet – 2k - £380.00
Keyrings - BH1 Promotions / Chris Witt / 0845 2261702 – chris@bh1promotions.co.uk
Colours: 7 Colours available Turnaround: 10 working days after personalisation proof has been faxed.
Code and Cost: Code – 710410 – Circular – 1000 = £0.31 Code – 710409 – Rectangular – 1000 = £0.32
Button Badges - BH1 Promotions / Chris Witt / 0845 2261702 – chris@bh1promotions.co.uk
Colours: 1 Colour on white Turnaround: 10 working days
Code and Cost: Code 707501 / 25mm - £0.15 / 32mm - £0.20 / 38mm - £0.18 / 55mm - £0.20
Bio-Deg Plastic Bags - BH1 Promotions / Chris Witt / 0845 2261702 – chris@bh1promotions.co.uk
Colours: Coloured Polythene Carrier – 1 Colour on 1 side Turnaround: 12 working days
Code and cost: Code – 707205 – 250mm x 250mm centred – 1000 = £0.13
Recyclable Pens - BH1 Promotions / Chris Witt / 0845 2261702 – chris@bh1promotions.co.uk
Turnaround: 10 working days
Cost and code: Code – 700801 – 1000 = £0.15 Cost and code: Code 700804 – 1000 = £0.30
Fruit of the Loom and Jerzees T-shirts - BH1 Promotions / Chris Witt / 0845 2261702 – chris@bh1promotions.co.uk
Turnaround: 10 working days from personalised proof sign off –
Sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL (+ 15p for XXXL)
Cost and codes: Code – 712701 / White – 1000 = £1.29
Coloured – 1000 = £1.75 Costs are subject to plate settings.
Stag Branded Hooded Tops and T-Shirts – For all Society and Sports Club merchandise please contact Helena Vardy
(Activities Coordinator) on 01483 683920 or email h.vardy@surrey.ac.uk
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Press Release Form and Amenities
Please contact Lisa Sweeney (Communications Co-ordinator) if you would like help regarding writing a press release
or just need some tips.
Alternatively you can contact The Stag, GU2 and MADTV individually.
The Stag
E: ussu.thestag@surrey.ac.uk
W: www.thestagsurrey.co.uk
GU2 Radio 1350AM
E: manager@gu2.co.uk
W : www.gu2.co.uk
T : 01483 681350
MADTV
E: MAD_TV@live.co.uk
W: www.madtvsurrey.co.uk
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Eye Tracking Research - Ents Committee Poster
Nearly all respondents saw the ENTS committee (95%) and date and venue (91%) within the 6 seconds
exposure.
Most people also saw the body text (86%) and associated logos (82%).
Perhaps because of its format and relevant position on the page, only a quarter of respondents (27%) saw
the Union logo and on average it took over half of the exposure time for people to first see it (3.8 seconds).
This may have impacted on the effectiveness of the poster as the Union logo may have been key to some
respondents understanding the association and role of the ENTS committee fully.
The people silhouettes, partly because of their striking design and central position attracted a lot of
attention and whilst they were relevant to the subject matter, they may also have distracted attention from
other key information on the page.
The ENTS committee was one of the most popular of the Students’ Union adverts and many respondents
commented that they liked the design and images used.
Column 1
Column 2
% looked at
Average time to first fixation (in seconds)
ENTS Committee 95% 0.2
Date and Venue 91% 1
Body text 86% 3
Associated logos 82% 3.2
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Eye Tracking Research - Semester Plasmas
Nearly all respondents saw the “Change to Semester Dates 2009” (95%) slogan which is the overall key
message of the advert.
Only around half of the respondents which is less than might have been anticipated saw the key date details
in the image although the size of this may mean that it was seen in the periphery when students were
looking at other aspects of the advert.
Whilst only just under half of the respondents saw the “Monday 5th October” phrase in the text (45%), the
repetition of the message in the first body text paragraph which was seen by most respondents (82%) as well
as the image means that the message probably reached most respondents.
The advert had a lot of detailed information for just 6 seconds of exposure and few respondents saw the
second hand column of text perhaps because they didn’t read that far on.
The Change of Semester date was one of the most popular adverts and many respondents felt that it was
well laid out with a good use of image.
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Column 1
Column 2
% looked at
Average time to first fixation (in seconds)
Monday (image) 50% 2.4
5th (image) 55% 2
October (image) 23% 2.5
University logo 41% 2.3
Important announcement 23% 2
Change to semester dates 95% 0.8
1st paragraph 82% 1.9
Monday 5th October 45% 3.3
2nd paragraph 32% 3.3
3rd paragraph 23% 3.9
URL address 0% N/A
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Here are some other eye catching designs for plasma screens adverts designed by the Students’ Union for events,
shops and services.
Any Questions
Please do pop into the Students’ Union offices if you have any other questions or queries at a later date or drop me
us an email Aaron Salins, Communications and Marketing Manager - a.salins@surrey.ac.uk or Lisa Sweeney,
Communications Coordinator - l.sweeney@surrey.ac.uk
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