Why Are Students From University Of Sheffield More Satisfied About Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays

Universities Students’ Unions Name Lecturer Course Institution Date As Tang, Nollent, Barley & Wolstenholme (2009, p. 2) argues, students unions are founded with various but almost related vision, goals and purposes. The main purpose is to enhance the students receive education they deserve, help them enjoy the best time as students and prepares them for future career and opportunities. Most engage in proposing and enforcing equal opportunities for students for their education, study situation and influence over lessons. Union constantly acts for inclusion of students’ perspectives which affects their daily life. The goals are promoted through unions’ decisions, planning and participation in on and off campuses issues. A comprehensive scenario determines a successful students union. Students’ participation in deciding on their education matters as well as their daily life is taken as paramount. The union is seen as the platform which creates the rightful environment to encourage members’ participation. Membership services must facilitate and reflect students’ needs in daily lives. The union in various degrees facilitates the resources that are practical means to achieve the objectives of the members. Student empowerment has been and still remains the core objective for established student’s unions. There has been a constant arising issue such as students’ housing and financial situation and the problems people have. The desire for creation of long-term structures for students’ influence has been considered important for continuity and creation of stronger links. A significant number of students are concerned about their education. Union allows them to deal with academic experiences through provision for support, representation and advice on most issues. Students enhance their study skills through the union. In addition, the union ensures that the institution and the management know the student needs such as library opening hours and courses. The student officer works on academic affairs. The team commitment ensure that students’ ideas, requirements, issues are communicated rightly and acted upon on time. Students are provided with various ways to drop their questions, get involved and air out their concerns. In most cases, the education affairs promote participation through inclusion of faculty reps, course reps, academic campaigns and promotion of academic info points. According to Tang, Nollent, Barley & Wolstenholme (2009, p. 5), most universities have been an education hub for national, regional and international students. Students rely on union advice provided through union building for both confidential and free advice related to students’ education, housing, money issues and international matters. Variety of information is thus provided as advice for various issues encountered by students in their surroundings. Students’ advisors ensure that information needed is available through drop-in-sessions and further appointments to discuss those particular issues which the students face. The advice spans from exam issues, information for disabled students, course assessments and result and appeals. The student union advices students concerning housing law, when to vacate the halls, how to find a house and housemates, the problems of private sector and rental agreements. They ensure that students are updated abut loans, additional funding as well as sources, money management, consumer rights and dealing with debts. Nationality and international advice includes visa extensions, working information for international students during their studies (Oliver 2009, p.137). They also advice on welfare supports issues such as health and well-being, security and personal safety, bullying and harassment, homesickness and culture shock. As Brown (2011, p.195) argues, students activities are very core and most students considers the union as the link to various activities facilities and opportunities. There are multiple societies established under students union such as sports clubs, voluntary projects, newspaper, TV channels, and newspaper run voluntary by students. Information is given about upcoming events, meetings and students choose as per their interests. Various workshops promote the development of skills and students learn new skills, build and develop their CV through campus activities (Oliver 2009, p.138). Unions have gone ahead to provide demanded facilities like one-stop-shop for students needs. These are provided within the buildings set for products and services. The reception centre is set for union’s students’ advice and the lounge provided social and meeting spaces for student groups, individuals and external clients. Retail and services facilities exist including malls and various outlets to provide wide range goods and services to the targeted students. Venues and catering facilities are also provided thorough union’s intervention where students get their breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are available nightclubs in campus and outside to cater for entertainment. The union has further provided for little learner nursery for student parents and staff childcare. Representation of the students is a core function of the union. This is carried out by student officer leadership, student-led groups, and part-time officers so that the students’ views and experiences may be addressed. Part-time students’ officers work for the welfare and dedicated support for minority students groups. The student trustees also sit for Trustee Bard. The union provides a democratic platform so that the students may voice and be involved in changing and developing means through which the union will be run. The union is required to remain open for others to find out the way they work, the progress made, motions passed and priority campaigns. As Wainwright (2012, p.1) demonstrates, there is a noted students’ satisfaction from University of Sheffield for their Student Union. Most respondent including 95% of the university students are pleased with union and much established links with Yorkshire’s capital city. Statistics have confirmed that Sheffield is a good place for university students. The compliment has been given to the student governing body whose officials have worked for crucial matters such as working for their degrees and organizing loans for students. The union success has been identified through creation of a community which is capable of winning changes in the university and beyond. The students have actively been involved in activities and experiences which contribute significantly to the local community through the union’s promoted activities. Most students genuinely appreciate the contribution the union has given to them in their time in the university. The greatest point is that the union has bridged the gap between the university and the vast organization promoting quite and capable functionalities and showing that the university is self-sufficient for itself and the city around it. This is a most significant feature to show how the union has worked not only for the community but also by bringing most young people from different parts of the country, and the world. The city preconception has been changed thorough the university’s activities. Through wide representation, the union has linked its needs with the university administration and has increased the funding of their agendas. They continue to be most satisfied through promotion of finances for improving facilities inside the university. The ranking for refurbishment finances has provided excellent facilities which promote an outstanding students experience in the institution. This has also combined with world class teaching and students support which the university has provided in regard to the push by the union. It has followed its mission and goals in providing support, representation, services, facilities, activities and entertainment to the students. The past three year has seen the Times Higher Education’s Student Experience Survey rate Sheffield students’ Union as the best in UK (Wainwright 2012, p.1). The union allows the students involvements, making their issues and raising their suggestions as a collective voice. Physical structure development has been constant and this has boosted fantastic and modern buildings which feature cafes, bars, shops, advice centre, sports and activities where the students are integrated to 300 sports societies and clubs. This gives quite an array of choices where there are different things to be offered even for entertaining purposes. Nightclubs, film screening, theatrical performances, talks and live music are always available for most of the students’ pastime. Communication, participation and interaction have been endeared through accessible website as well as social platforms including twitter, Facebook and YouTube. This promotes interaction, communication and feedback on timely manner as students are alerted and alert others through their clubs, social networks and other relations. The union remains open for every open chance which endears participation as well as monitoring of internal and external activities. The students have promoted their own rules in assessing different groups’ activities and complimenting the most functional and performing ones. The process carried out by the students for the students and the community around are taken with the highest care possible through the role of effective leadership of the union (Adler & Rodman 2012, p.12). The union has promoted activities such as World Week as a website that brings the best international food and launches. There is community projects grants which the union has pushed for through their interaction with Bethan Reeves Community Action. This ensures that students’ projects are funded according to the priority and delivered according to the proposal objectives set by the students groups. Through recognition of globalization impacts, the union organize World Week day where the selected students learn about the world various cultures together with the international students in the university (Yanming 2012, p.1). Environment matters and ethics are well emphasized and students are integrated so that their actions can contribute to change the union and the institution better. This gives students platforms to evaluate their skills and research activities and promote to social agenda as well as impacting on wider community values for better change. The union’s environmental policy has promoted it to educate the members about climate change, implementation of Environment Code and Best Practice and call on their institution to reduce the environmental footprint. They extensively lobby local authorities in order to work towards sustainable Sheffield. Their actions are explicit as they have gone on to ban Nestle products within the union due to company’s exploitation of the third world countries. Democracy is ensured by the union through the constitutional review for every three years. The policies are set to be reviewed and are still open for more frequent review. Students have successfully campaigned for abolition of tuition fee increment, fought for introduction of postgraduate students’ financial support, public investment reinstatement in education, and the social good and against education cuts (Kamola & Meyerhoff 2009, p.17). According to Yanming (2012, p.1), the union has a turnover of £11,000,000 which include its two main bars, 4 club venues, over 250 students societies, Coffee Revolution, student JobShop, shop (for clothing, food, accessories, drink and stationary). The union owns independent pub in Broomhill. Al the facilities provide crucial experiences for students and other community member, music, special events and serve a range of drinks and foods. The bar and coffee shop are among the most well to do investments opportunity and sources of income for the union. The finances from these businesses provide for its objective learning activities support and promote salaries and funding for various students events. Leeds Met Students’ Union has variously represented students in the national higher policy debate for education. It is the students’ decision making body which also provides direct services for the entire students’ community (Poole & Lefever 2009, p.19). The 2012 Student Union survey ranked it at position 39. The difference is quite wide compared to Sheffield University Students’ Union at first position. Comparing both, it is possible to identify critical difference in terms of its various activities, facilities and level of involvement of both its members and the other interested stakeholders in the immediate community. Students’ activities are less proactive in comparison with Sheffield including religious and cultural groups. Apart from the normal interactive groups and societies, there are less societies’ involving groups which might limit wide group of members from new experiences. The Met bar based in Civic Quarter has a capacity of 400+ which compared with Sheffield is much limited to offer the services for various students pastime and entertainment needs. Limited business opportunities consequently reduce its financial empowerment to support more significant activities such as entertainment and students development which require a lot of resources. Students require a facility that is exclusive students to allow their interactions without the influence or fear of the other members of the community. Its Kirkstall Brewery service evens the members in the local residents which might limit students’ experience. Leeds Met Students’ union has not actively promoted the democratic rights of its membership through participation and involvement of the students’ fraternity. This limits members’ opportunities to promote initiatives for furthering the goals of the union. When members are less utilized, they lose touch with most of union activities making it less active and unable to exploit available opportunities. The students are limited to influence the university as well as immediate society’s interaction. Students are limited integrated in inactive societies and those that do not push for external agenda to enhance experiences and skills development. Most students want to feel utilized through participation, challenging opportunities and at the same time develop practical skills for their career and research work (Brown 2011, p.197). There is less obtrusive communication established through the various channels like Sheffield. This limits overall information flow through active updates, alerts and ongoing activities. Activities are less assessed which fails the strategy to benchmark learners’ activities inside and outside the university. The university union has less direct interaction with young people, institutions and community leadership. In such circumstances, the overall achievements through wider stakeholders’ inclusion limit the liveliness of interaction and subsequent benefits from supportive fraternities. Internal and external interaction with the university is a function promoted through unions. The various groups comes together for problem solving, decision making, implementation of programs, review of the outcomes and recommendations which progress future projects and programs (Handy et al 2010, p.503). Recommendations The leadership of the union is very critical for promoting the right balance between activities benefits and outcomes. As indicated, 79% of 874 respondents did not vote for executive officer elections, while approximately 80% of 871 respondents did not know the full-time elected officers in the union for 2011/12. 85% would not consider vying for union executive. 87% do not vote for November referendum. The large number of uninvolved students can be overcome through the union effort to rebuild self-esteem and through high performance teams and societies. The principles of the societies should be tailored according to the students’ needs and jurisdictional priorities. For significant outcomes to be seen, the establishment, funding and continuity of societies have to be promoted through strong leadership, creation of various opportunities to access resources and highest participation possible (Kamola & Meyerhoff 2009, p.19). Multiple informational resources are paramount in such a large fraternity with dispersed groups. The use and awareness of the existing media; Met Air Radio, Met TV, Met Paper by students is rated at 9%, 13% and 16% respectively for 853 respondents. Involving channels are quite unresponsive. Such information addresses responsibilities, students needs and promote sharing. Online facilitative channels are widely used today and provide efficient communication tool for the unions in case the leadership will actively promote it. Special internal and external services and programs will gain more students participation and accomplish various but overarching objectives. The information channels must also ensure that the target groups are included to promote the highest economic and social benefits (Adler & Rodman 2012, p.11). University students ’ unions are objective groups that can bring international organizations, national government and various local authorities together to promote greater advance and community goals. For athletic union and student society membership 84% and 68% respectively were not involved at all from 861 respondents.83% have never volunteered for CALM. The lower rates of involvement can limit possibility of extending activities to the local communities. They are well equipped for advocacy, mediation and enabling procedures which can change the social dimensions, empower individuals and groups and allow collaboration of various sectors to achieve various goals. The progress in such activities results to global, national and regional attainment of social and economic higher quality and developments. The unions should thus adopt, support and follow mechanisms guided by core policies of the union (Tang, Nollent, Barley & Wolstenholme 2009, p.32). It is evident that the union can promote the highest level of interaction between students, immediate and international communities through its functions. This is possible as from the research, of 883 respondents 94% were full-time students who can actively engaged. The activities of the society should therefore pose for public policies. The union should work closely with other stakeholders in the university and outside to create supportive environments. The activities should then strengthen the students and community actions through developed skills and activities performance. New and creative opportunities re-orient groups and societies for different services in promotion of social and economic welfare (Brown 2011, p.197). References Adler, R B & Rodman, G 2012, Understanding human communications. Oxford University Press, Name. Brown, S 2011, Bringing about positive change in the higher education student experience: a case study. Quality Assurance in Education, 19(3), 195-207. Handy, F, et al 2010, A cross-cultural examination of student volunteering: is it all about résumé building?. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 39(3), 498-523. Kamola, I & Meyerhoff, E 2009, Creating commons: divided governance, participatory management, and struggles against enclosure in the university. Polygraph, 21, 15-37. Oliver, D 2009, University student employment and experiences of union membership. Labour & Industry: a journal of the social and economic relations of work, 19(3), 137-156. Poole, L & Lefever, R 2009, The Leeds Met book of resilience. Leeds,, UK: Leeds Metropolitan University. Tang, N, Nollent, A, Barley, R & Wolstenholme, C 2009, Linking outward and inward mobility: How raising the international horizons of UK students enhances the international student experience on the UK campus. London: UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA). Wainwright, M (27 September 2012),The Guardian Sheffield University has the best student union in the UK Yanming J L (05 March 2012), Sheffield University Student Union election triumphs student democracy, JUSNews < http://www.jusnews.net/en/6/politics/404/Sheffield-University-Student-Union-election-triumphs-student-democracy.htm > Read More

Universities Students Unions - Literature review Example

Extract of sample "Universities Students Unions"