The SU has delivered an incredible amount across the academic year, from 532,000 transactions at the Union Shop to c. 90 drop-in sessions hosted by the Advice Centre - it's been a busy one! A round of applause for all the teams who work tirelessly to make sure you're having a great time at Royal Holloway.
Every year, teams across the SU work tirelessly to make sure you have the best possible experience at Royal Holloway.
We've delivered an incredible amount over the academic year, from 532,000 transactions at the Union Shop to c. 90 drop-in sessions hosted by the Advice Centre to thousands of you turning out in our various elections, and that's just the tip of the iceberg! Safe to say, it's been a busy one! Keep reading for some of our highlights!
Finance
Our Finance team has processed 2,422 expenditure transactions for student groups, which equates to a total of £560k. Similarly, they processed 2,766 income transactions for a total of £535k.
Alongside our Human Resources team, Finance also ensures that our staff team gets paid on time every month. We’re delighted to share that we've put £691k back into 467 students' pockets from August 2022 – May 2023.
Thanks, Finance! And, shout out to our amazing student staff team, we couldn't do it without you!
Student Voice
Research
This year, our Student Voice team has headed up several student-focused surveys, reports, and campaigns - working with you to get your voice heard. Led by your 2022/23 President, Maia Jarvis, the SU Security Review captured responses from 1,249 students over two academic years! The final report was informed by 850 Rate Your Union 2022 responses, 376 responses to the SU Security Survey (January 2023), and 23 unique Speak Week submissions (February 2022).
Our research doesn't stop there! We've also been investigating the postgraduate taught (PGT) student experience at Royal Holloway, inviting PGT students to take part in three surveys at different points in the year to share feedback. Whilst the third and final survey is open now, the running total engagement is currently 236 students.
Across the year, you've shared your opinions with us in plenty of different ways. The Rate Your Union survey (May 2023), which focused on Students’ Union services and the University’s Wellbeing services, received 710 unique student responses. Back in January, we collected 248 responses from students during Speak Week. You fed back on loads of areas including SU services, campus facilities, and student support services.
Elections
Alongside our research, it's been a whirlwind year for elections!
Student Voice takes the lead on the various election periods throughout the year to elect your student leaders. From sabbatical officers to academic reps to community officers, it was all down to you! The SU Elections saw a 20.7% voter turnout with 2,833 students taking part. Giving us a total of 11,269 individual votes with over 30 candidates standing for election.
Finally, our Bright Ideas platform received 22 submissions, with work starting or in progress for 12 of those ideas. Last year's VP Education, Shrijeet Shrey, successfully lobbied the University to re-establish an in-person careers service as a result of a student's Bright Idea.
Student Opportunities
Turning to our sports clubs, societies, and media groups, this year our Student Opportunities team supported 112 active societies and 38 sports clubs. Across our groups, there were 3,060 society members, 1,882 sports club members, and 112 media group members. These groups were run by 610 society committee members and 270 sports club committee members. The Student Opps team has been a truly unstoppable force - dealing with thousands of student group events, requests, and of course, Freshdesk tickets. Well done, guys!
Back in May, 1,351 student group members voted in 556 new committee members. Fast forward to Student Group Training, 270 newly elected committee members attended five sessions to get ready to kick start another year of epic student group activities.
To recognise the hard work and dedication of our student groups, Society Awards, and Colours Ball returned for 2022/23. Overall, 726 students attended, and 131 awards were handed out.
Union Shop
At the Union Shop, over 532,000 transactions have been processed since August 2022. Most importantly, the Union Shop has remained competitive despite the current cost of living crisis; their meal deal option has only risen by 5.7% since 2021 compared to 30+% rises at some well-known supermarkets.
They also sold in excess of 315,000 items at a discounted price saving customers over £239,000 since August.
Venues and Trading
As ever, this has been a busy year across our venues including Medicine, The Packhorse, Tommy’s Kitchen, and the Union Venue. Throughout the year, we held a whopping 781 events. 58,135 pints were enjoyed at The Packhorse with Two for Tuesday unsurprisingly their busiest night of the week. At Medicine, 17,823 VKs were sipped, and 4,959 burgers were munched at Tommy's Kitchen. Lastly, 67,411 jungbombs were downed at the Union Venue. Every penny spent in our venues is reinvested into our services - money well spent!
The biggest night of the year, Summer Ball 2023, was attended by 3,400+ people with infinite memories made for Royal Holloway students.
Advice Centre
Over in the Advice Centre, 871 new cases were opened during the academic year. To ensure you got the advice and support you needed, our advisors held c. 90 drop-in sessions for students. 77 students were supported through academic misconduct cases, with 25 cases opened in March alone. The Advice Centre has shared over 40 blogs, giving you guidance on almost every issue which could impact you as a student. They're here for you!
Thank you
Of course, everything we do is for Royal Holloway students, so we want to say a massive thank you. Thanks for taking part in our surveys, dancing the night away at our events, joining student groups, and so much more. Bring on 2023/24!