Priority 8 Update: President

Hello everyone, I am going to be doing my update a little different this time and give you are term one round up 😊 

More Financial Support for Students: 

• Matthew, the University's Money Advice team and I ran Financial Support Week on the week commencing 10 November packed with practical tools, expert advice, and resources to help students manage their money. Each day had a different theme related to financial support: ‘Money Talks Monday’, ‘Budget Tracker Tuesday’, ‘We’ve Got You Wednesday’, ‘Tips and Tricks Thursday’, and ‘Future Friday’. 

• We also launched a Cost-of-Living survey on 'We’ve Got You Wednesday' and gave out 10 cash prizes to students who completed it. This received 850 responses, and we are currently working on recommendations and infographics that will come out in January.  

• The most exciting thing that happened regarding this priority for me was the launch of ‘Community Cupboards’ on 'We’ve Got You Wednesday'. These are pantry-style cupboards filled with non-perishable food and household goods, stocked by RHSU, the SU Shop, and the University, which students now have free and unlimited access to. We launched four cupboards: one in Tommy’s Lounge in the SU Building, one in Windsor Student Lounge, one in Wettons Student Lounge, and one in Shilling Student Lounge. We also hosted a donation drive for this where students, staff and communities got involved. All the communities that donated received a ‘We donated to the Community Cupboards’ icon on their webpage. 

• On 14 November Matthew and I were asked to speak at the Westminster Higher Education Forum policy conference in their session entitled ‘Financial sustainability and long-term funding of UK higher education’. More specifically, we spoke about immediate priorities for sector financial sustainability and stability, including the rising cost-of-learning crisis, the Post-16 Education and Skills white paper, maintenance and tuition fees, etc. 

• Social media content has been posted surrounding financial support, Blackbullion and the Money Advice Team.  

• Emma Mayhew (Pro Vice-Chancellor Education & Student Experience), Poppy Coates (Women Students' Community Officer 2024/25) and I ensured the number of on-campus locations offering free period products increased from 4 to 12. New locations include Bedford, EWD, Founders East, International, Katherine Worth, Moore, Shilling, Sports Centre, Queens, Windsor, Wettons Annexe, and the SU. This was starting in Freshers' so there should be free period products in these locations now. 

• Free fruit is now a permanent feature in all three of the student lounges.  

Check out the full and updated action plan here : More Financial Support for Students 

Improve Parking on the Egham Campus: 

• Starting 1 December, there was a new Royal Holloway Park and Ride introduced for permit holders that introduced 80 more spaces. This operates from Huntersdale car park, and it is completely free. All students and staff have to do is park their car, and a bus comes every 15 minutes at peak times and every 30 minutes throughout the rest of the day, from Monday to Friday during term time. Students and staff are also able to claim a free hot drink for every three return journeys. 

• Based off student feedback and lobbying the university they are currently coming up with a plan for further short-term solutions and long-term solutions, including options for a possible multi-story car park.  

• I worked with the university to ensure students with permits can officially park in ALL of the car parks on the Egham campus.  

• Delilah, the Commuting Students’ Community Officer, and I ran a focus group/key chain making event surrounding parking. 

• Based off data gathered last academic year we developed a busy times infographic for all the car parks which can be found on the Parking Priority 8 page.   

• I produced social media content to show you where all the car parks on campus are and raise awareness about the different types of permits you can apply for. 

Check out the full and updated action plan here : Improve Parking on the Egham Campus 

As always  If anyone has any questions or any ideas for my Priority 8 please do not hesitate to get in contact with me either by email or pop me a message on Instagram.  Have a lovely and well deserved break!