You Said, We Did in 2015

It's the end of semester one,  and it's almost time for holidays! It's been such a busy year so far, and we wanted to take the opportunity to share some of the things we've been working on. RGU:Union is here to represent the views of students, and throughout this semester we have been attending class representative meetings, hosting forums, engaging through social media, and meeting with students. Each time we speak to students to gather feedback, we always try our best to seek action for the changes you are looking for. We've looked to provide a summary of some of the areas we have been working on this semester.

• You Said, that you wanted more events during Freshers Week for those who were under eighteen
• We introduced several new events using a broad collection of venues, included a free film festival, live music event, comedy night, ceilidh, Woolmanhill street party, open mic night, science takeover event, and much more. All of these events used a range of venues and were avaliable to student who were younger than eighteen, and we looked to have a headline all ages event each night during Freshers Week.

• You Said, that we should have more during Freshers Week for students living at home
• We held icebreaker events for each faculty prior to Freshers Week to give students a chance to meet their coursemates before classes started and to mix with students outside of student accomodation. We also held a Living At Home Students Meet Up, prior to events such as pub quizes to make sure that students living alone felt they could particpate and make a team.

• You Said, that we should raise more awareness of RGU:Union and connect with distance learning students
• We held induction presentations and presented them a a huge variety of courses across campus, targeting the majority of first year students. In order to make the information more accessable, we also produced a video version which we promoted online so that students, such as distance learning students, can get the same information.

• You Said, that we should engage more students with sports clubs and publicise their achievements
• We created a weekly sports video bulletin called Purple Wednesdays that reports on all the latest sports news and scores. The video is produced by RGU:TV and e-mailed to all students weekly.

• You Said, that you wanted more events and activities for international students
• We held our annual One RGU, Many Nations Carnival to celebrate international culture and diversity at RGU. The event took place in November 2015, with student run stalls, food, and performances from around the world.

• You Said, that you were unhappy with the building hour changes proposed
• We worked with RGU and Estates to share students views, which resulted in a change to the proposal from Gray's being closed on Sunday, to being open on Saturday and Sunday, with Garthdee House Annex being closed on Saturday and Sunday.

• You Said, that you had lots of issues with First Bus and being able to get to university
• We have continued to work with First Aberdeen and RGU to improve transport. Our Presidents met with the management team at First Aberdeen and worked on various improvements to the service. Changes seen have been increased frequency of buses on the route, the introduction of the 1A direct route, additional coaches introduce to ease congestion, travel stewarts at stops at busy periods to manage travel. There is more to be done, but we have worked hard to do what we can to make travel easier.

• You Said, that you wanted exam dates released earlier
• We have continued to work on this issue. There has been no conclusion to this yet, but we have been in discussions with timetabling to review what is required to get the details released as soon as possible.

• You Said, that the eduroam Wifi network has a lot of issues
• We have continued to with IT at RGU to look at improving and developing the network. IT have conducted a full, university-wide review of IT and relaunched the network earlier in the year with much less issues. We are working with them to develop their communications and inductions around IT services to improve students experience of the service.

• You Said, that you would like cheaper, better quality catering on campus
• We have continued to work with RGU and catering providers to share student feedback on catering. They have developed a range of new offers and are continually developing there service. We are continually pressing for better and passing on student feedback.

• You Said, that you would like more study space avaliable on campus
• We have continued to meet with the university senior management, and have agreed that it is an issue on the agenda. We shall be working with RGU in the coming months to review existing spaces on campus, and to look at redeveloping or investing in spaces to make more space for studying for students.

• You Said, that you would like the microwave in the Sir Ian Wood Building open all day
• We have continued to lobby the university to make this change. We have discussed this issue even at the highest levels of senior management and are finally making some leyway. We have been able to move the review period forward from January/February to December, and hopefully results will give RGU the evidence it needs to open the microwave.

Even though this is a massive list, that is only the tip of the iceberg of the amount of this we have been working on this semester. We are always continuing to develop our services and opportunities to give the best possible experience for students studying at RGU. We are working daily with the university to provide feedback and ensure that they are able to develop the student experience as much as possible. We hope these updates have been helpful, and remember, all students are always welcome to get in touch and share their feedback or ask for an update on any of our projects.

Thanks to all the students who had their say in 2015, and we hope that we can continue to improve you experience at RGU for 2016!