CitySA is the Students’ Association that exists within City of Glasgow College that is run for students, by students. We organise campaigns on behalf of students on key issues within the College and ensure their voices are represented within key committees. You might have seen us working with Class Reps to help improve the learning experience or working on various charity, environmental or mental wellbeing activities and events.

 

As soon as a student enrols with the College, and providing you are aged 16 or over, you are automatically a member of the Students’ Association. This means you have constant representation throughout the year and can engage with our volunteer and paid positions.

First and foremost, our students inform our work! We gather ideas and feedback from students throughout the year and wherever possible put them into action. Our students can influence our work through the Class Rep System, by using MyVoice or simply by emailing a suggestion to our inbox. The student voice has been used to outline our Strategic Plan for the next three years and steers the direction of CitySA’s Operational Plan each year.

 

As we work in partnership with the College, our work is also underpinned by their aims and objectives, be it through our contribution to the College Strategic Plan or the completion of Student Experience Strategy aims. Everything we do is measured against the Framework for the Framework for the Development of Strong and Effective College Students' Associations in Scotland, a best practice tool for Students’ Associations across the country.

As already mentioned, we work closely with the College to improve the student experience and have a well-established Student Partnership Agreement that guides much of this work. We have student representation across a variety of Working Groups and Committees here at the College, including the Board of Management, allowing us to influence change at all levels.

 

We are very fortunate to work with some amazing external partners across the sector. The National Union of Students work to campaign on nationwide student issues through the creation of policy and lobbying of governments. Sparqs are the sector lead on student representation systems and provide us with consultation and training opportunities every year to improve our Class Rep System. We also work closely with other Students’ Associations and Student Unions including those that attend the Glasgow Student Forum, all working on improving the lives for every student in Glasgow.

Improving the lives of others: All of our roles work to promote and enable the work of the SA, where the core aim is to improve the student experience through championing the student voice. Be it supporting students to take part in social activities or encouraging students to feedback on their learning experiences you will work towards making a real difference in students’ lives.

 

Building up Work Experience: Whether it’s areas of your chosen career or simply a chance to improve your core skills - engaging in the SA is a fantastic way to build on your Work Experience and improve your employability for the future. If you have a particularly area of work you would like to develop let the team know and they will strive to accommodate your request.

 

Making Connections: Working with the SA is a fantastic way to not only make friends for life but also to make key network connections for your future endeavours. Make sure to engage with team activities wherever you can and keep an eye on your email for further networking opportunities (such as conferences or events).

Every Student Staff member, Student Officer, and volunteer is assigned a point of contact, or coach, to support them throughout their time working with CitySA. Your coach will meet with you on a regular basis to discuss your progress, what you need help with and agree short term actions for you to complete.

 

In addition to support from your coach you can expect to receive guidance from everyone at CitySA, we are always happy to assist you and encourage you to stay in regular contact with us. Make sure to join in our Coffee Mornings when you can, in order to meet and get to know the wider team.

You should expect to receive on the job training throughout your time with us, with support offered by your coach and the wider CitySA Team. You also have access to our Knowledge Hub which includes an expansive set of “How to Guides” designed to make you more effective in your role.

 

Additional training opportunities are made available over the course of the year, delivered by in house team members and external colleagues. Training in the past has included; Mental Health First Aid, How to run effective meetings and Group Work Facilitation skills. Training dates are sent through email so make sure to check regularly for updates.

The success of CitySA is built on its great reputation for working with others and providing a thriving environment for innovative new ideas. In order to continue this success, CitySA has its own Code of Conduct which all Students’ Association representatives are bound to uphold.

 

It is your responsibility to make yourself aware of the standards set out in this Code and to adhere to these at all times. Whenever there is any doubt, you should seek advise from the SA Coordinator. You can read the CitySA Code of Conduct in full by clicking here and scrolling to Schedule Five on page 19.

Every piece of work carried out by the SA has its own work plan which outlines; a timeline for completion; who is doing what and what is hoped to be achieved. If you are leading on a piece of work, you will be expected to update your own work plan and share it with those involved who will be expected to offer updates on progress. There are guides on how to create and manage work plans in the how to section of the Knowledge Hub. If you are every unsure as to what you are doing or why you are doing it check the work plan or ask your coach to go through it with you.

 

Due to the amount of work undertaken by the SA every year this is split up into designated teams called project teams to manage. There are also often working groups set up to run short term projects such as LGBT History Month. All of our teams and groups then feedback into the Student Parliament on progress and seek necessary approval where relevant (e.g. spending money).

 

All work is included within the operational plan which is agreed by the presidential team at the start of each year and drives our work. This means any new pieces of work, over the course of the year, also needs to be approved. In the first instance this would be done at a project or team meeting then taken to Student Parliament for final sign off. Just like existing work, all new work requires a work plan before it can be approved.

 

If you ever have questions on how we work, please contact the Students Association Coordinator.

To manage how we use our resources effectively there are several SA and College procedures that are used such as: requesting catering, booking spaces, requesting promotional materials, etc. All of these are outlined in our How To Guides but if you require further assistance you should ask your coach for support.

 

As far as working within the team we currently meet remotely using a combination of Microsoft Teams and Zoom and will typically meet during office hours. All of our work plans are stored in a shared drive for multiple members to access and are saved on excel spreadsheet. If you require access or are having problems accessing, please ask you coach for assistance.

If you are unable to undertake your role as expected (due to illness or an emergency) you should alert the Students’ Association as soon as possible and no later than an hour before you are due to start. Please contact your coach and citysa@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk with an update.

 

If you require time off in advance please agree this with the SA Coordinator and your coach at least one week before you wish to be off, this is to allow us time to arrange cover for you.

If you ever come across a challenge that you are unable to overcome yourself, you should contact any member of the team for support. This could be something small like missing resources for setting up an event or something a bit trickier such as managing a student complaint, the team will always help you.

 

If you require immediate assistance contact the SA office on 0141 375 5322 or come straight to one of our offices (if possible). Regardless of who helps you at the time, please update your coach with what happened, at your next meeting so learning can be recorded for the future.

Our SA Spaces are typically always staffed so you should be able to access face to face support during our opening times, which are Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

 

We have two Office Locations, one based at City Campus and one at Riverside. The best way to get in touch with us is by emailing us - citysa@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk or by calling 0141 375 5322.