New changes to the way you're represented at UCL

The final part of a long-term project to improve the way you’re represented at UCL has been completed. In 2019 we launched a democracy review which led to the introduction of new forums to discuss and debate ideas and policies, helping you make change happen. In 2020 our focus turned to the roles and responsibilities of those you elect to represent you, and this week a new structure and set of responsibilities for the officer team was approved by the Union’s Executive. 

 

We know that we can represent you more effectively and make it easier for you to make change at UCL. And we need to make it easier for you to hold those you elect to account, and influence their actions. We also know there’s more we must do to improve the support available for liberation officers – students who work tirelessly to represent the views of those often disadvantaged in their experience of UCL.

 

Since the last full review of the Sabbatical and Part-time Officer roles in 2015, the responsibilities carried by each role have become significantly heavier, and at times, more constrained by a continuously growing list of obligations. Some Sabbatical and Part-time Officers have taken on detailed casework as part of their work, creating a legal risk as well as an emotional burden over and above the responsibilities they were elected to carry out. We also needed to address the issues raised in our recent Governance Review which highlighted risks to compliance with the 1994 Education Act. The Act states that major Union office holders (Sabbatical Officers) must be elected by all students, rather than a self-defining group. Ultimately, we needed to refocus the roles of elected students on representing you, making sure they’re structured to deliver the most amount of student influence on UCL.

What we've done

Last term, we commissioned the governance consultancy MiraGold to lead a consultation on representation at UCL. They worked with students, current and previous elected officers, and the people at UCL that students and officers are seeking to influence. MiraGold are experts in their field and focussed around Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. They invited all students to take part in the consultation, through surveys and focus groups in term one this year. Their research report was presented to the Union’s Leadership Team in December and was developed into a set of proposals for the Union’s Executive Committee, made up of elected Sabbatical and Part-time Officers, to consider. 

 

On Monday 18 January, after an extensive Union Exec meeting in which the proposals were discussed, debated, and modified, a new Officer structure was unanimously approved. 

 

The decision made at Union Exec means that:

• We’ll introduce a new role to the Sabbatical Officer team - an elected, full-time, and paid Equity Officer.
• A new Equalities Unit, made up of trained and specialised staff, will be established in the Union, to provide more support for campaigns, casework, and student-led projects to tackle racism, discrimination and harassment, and provide the support our liberation officers have lacked in recent years.
• The Women’s Officer and Black and Minority Ethnic Students’ Officer positions will become part-time positions and work alongside other part-time liberation officers like the Disabled Students’ Officer. The new Equity Officer will take on any responsibilities of the current full-time liberation officers not carried forward into the part-time positions.
• The roles of the Sabbatical Officers will be streamlined, and the team will go from seven to six full-time posts, but because of a rebalancing of responsibilities, sabbatical officer roles will become more manageable.

 

Introducing the Equity Officer and Equalities Unit enables us to give the part-time liberation officers the support they need to make substantial change to the way students experience UCL. Tackling discrimination, decolonising our curriculum, improving the accessibility of campus, being actively anti-racist. The additional resource made available by this change enables us to introduce a trained and specialised staff team and support structure for our liberation officers, supporting all student-led efforts to achieve equality at UCL.

 

Making the Women’s Officer and Black and Minority Ethnic Students’ Officer roles part-time is a significant decision. The current experience from those communities at UCL, and globally, demonstrate why these Officers are and will always be necessary, and why, most importantly, they need to be robustly supported. We’re confident in the work that has gone into making this decision; the research, consultation, scrutiny, debate, and democratic vote to implement the change give us a good foundation to build on. We’ve created a structure that will ensure that our liberation work is sustainable, fully supported, and sets us on a positive path for the future. 

 

During this process, we also revised the roles of other Sabbatical Officers. The Welfare and International Officer will become the Welfare and Community Officer. The Democracy, Operations and Community Officer will become the Union Affairs Officer. The Activities Officer will become the Activities and Engagement Officer. Details on the changes to the Sabbatical Officer team are outlined in the table below.

What happens now

These changes will make a difference to everyone at UCL. They’ve been approved in time for the March 2021 Leadership Race and the new Officers will start in post in July 2021. With your help, the new Officer team will hit the ground running, and continue the essential work of student leaders at UCL - helping our entire community recover from the impacts of Covid-19 with students at the heart of every decision. 

 

We’re always looking for ways to improve and make life better at UCL. Your feedback on the way you’re represented has been crucial to getting us to this point, and your continued feedback throughout your time here will help us continually grow. Keep sharing your ideas, keep feeding back, keep telling us when we should be doing more for you. It really does make a difference. 

If you’re interested in taking on a full or part-time leadership role next year – let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

 

New Sabbatical Officer Structure

 

Sabbatical Officer role	Key UCL Issues and Committees	Union responsibilities	Part-time Officers they support
Activities and Engagement Officer	Employability and Careers Student Experience Committee Global Engagement	Chair of Activities Zone Societies Sports Student Development Volunteering Global Engagement and Partnerships	Arts Officer Sports Officer Societies Officer
Education Officer	Academic Policy / Regulations Libraries and Study Spaces Teaching, Learning and Assessment Student Fees Academic Board UCL Council Education Committee Additional education-related sub-committees and working groups Nominations Committee	Chair of Education Zone Rep Network NUS delegation lead	Faculty Reps
Equity Officer	BME Awarding Gap Equity and Inclusion Student Support and Wellbeing Support Student Experience Committee	EDI Supporting Student Communities and Networks – BME, Women’s, LGBT, Disabled Students Educating Students about Equality and Inclusion Issues – e.g. Black History Month, International Women’s Day, LGBT History Month	BME Students’ Officer Disabled Students’ Officer LBGQ+ Officer Trans Officer Women’s Officer
Postgraduate Officer	Academic Policy / Regulations Doctoral/Research Education Libraries and Study Spaces PGTAs Academic Board Education Committee Research Degrees Committee	Vice-Chair of Education Zone Postgraduate students issues	Faculty Reps Research Students’ Officer
Union Affairs Officer	UCL East / Satellite sites UCL Finances UCL Council Finance Committee (Observer) UCL Estates Sustainability Steering Group UCL East Operations Board Health and Safety Committee	Commercial Services and Strategy Communications and Engagement Democracy (Elections and Referenda) Union Events Union Finances Union Governance Chair of Union Executive Union Strategy Sustainability National policy issues	Sustainability Officer
Welfare and Community Officer	Accommodation / Housing Mental Health Student Support and Wellbeing International / Immigration Student Experience Committee	Advice Service Student wellbeing Project Active Chair of Welfare and Community Zone Local Community Relations Supporting Student Communities and Networks – Mature and Part-time Students, Students with Caring Responsibilities, International Students’ Network	Mature & Part-time Students’ Officer Officer for Students with Caring Responsibilities Accommodation Officer International Students’ Officer Community Relations Officer