CUBO ANNUAL REVIEW 2013/14
Content Chair s welcome Strategy report from Executive awayday Activities 2013/2014 Financial position Executive members Folio Section
CUBO ANNUAL REVIEW 21 Chair s welcome This is the first Annual Review since I took over as Chair and I am delighted to introduce this report. Since my appointment a rather depleted Executive has worked really hard to continue the excellent work undertaken under Geoff Pringle s leadership. We were very sorry to see Geoff step down in December last year after more than three successful years at the helm, we now intend to build on those successes. The Executive and I intend to continue to develop CUBO into an association its members can be proud of and which holds a sector place as a leading voice on the many issues that are close to us all. To do this we will focus on engaging with members in an open and transparent way and build on new and existing partnerships, in particular those at a national and international strategic level. Some progress has already been made in these areas: the launch of a new CUBO website; CUBO s involvement with the Committee of Management for the National Codes for Large Student Developments; CUBO s representation on the British Property Federation (BPF) student accommodation committee; CUBO s involvement with the BPF joint reception at the House of Commons; CUBO attendance at the Sodexo symposium; continued copy in University Business magazine; and the recent growth in members taking advantage of strategic international partnerships through Acuho-I and AACUHO. At the Executive strategic away day held in May we agreed to focus our attention in certain areas and more information is given on this later in the review. As part of the process we will re-visit the strategic themes that gave a previous Executive such focus. This year a number of key people stepped down as members of the Executive. We wish Geoff, our outgoing chair, every success in his role as chief operating officer at Exeter. Mel Loizou stepped down in December after organising our summer conference at Royal Holloway and Peter Church and Catherine Anderson have also left the Executive in the past twelve months. Peter did such fantastic work in reenergising marketing and communications and introducing the hugely successful CUBO Awards; and Catherine was a very worthy winner this year of the CUBO lifetime achievement award in recognition of her long-standing contribution to the CUBO executive and to the sector. We wish them all every success as they continue in their new ventures. Finally, remember www.ebi from this year s conference, what worked well, even better if... I am very keen to hear from you in how we are doing in any aspect of CUBO s work, so please do get in touch with your comments. Frances M Stone MSc MIH Chair Chair s Folio welcome Section
2 CUBO ANNUAL REVIEW Strategy report from Executive awayday The appointment of a new chair usually signals a review of activities and CUBO is not exempt. The CUBO Executive met in May and an intensive session resulted in many actions for Executive members. Present at the meeting were the current Executive: Frances M Stone, Chair Emma Furnival, Executive secretary Pat McGrath, Knowledge-sharing Richard Kington, International Alison Smith, Partnerships The Executive recognised the need to review current roles and strengthen as appropriate. There are number of vacancies on the Executive following recent departures, plus the addition of two new posts: Quality assurance and Research, now separated from the International portfolio. Portfolio vacancies: Marketing and communications - it is proposed that this vacancy is filled by the Chair of the Marketing knowledge-sharing group; Benchmarking it is proposed that this vacancy is filled by the Chair of the Finance knowledge-sharing group; Research; Quality assurance; and Sustainability. Membership It was agreed that growth is essential to further the strategic aims of the organisation and other models for membership should be considered. A proposal to carry this forward was raised at the business meeting during the July conference which further consultation with members has confirmed. Further discussions are to be had around corporate memberships. Conferences CUBO has held two conferences each year with the autumn event traditionally receiving fewer delegates. A discussion was held around the structure of future conferences, the proposal being that the autumn conference is preceded by a training day. Engagement Engagement is critical for CUBO s survival, ensuring that the membership grows and our members are fully engaged. The Executive intend to explore how we can keep members engaged and we will be looking at how we can continue building engagement through our website, through on-line communities and through social media. Research CUBO needs to be at the forefront of research and will need to re-position itself to establish credibility in this sphere of work. Symposium CUBO plans to invite the chairs of partner associations to an annual symposium in order to understand common issues and themes that affect all parties. There may follow some collaborative initiatives that could benefit the members of all associations. UUK Code of Practice Communication with the UUK Code of Practice has fallen off recently and re-engagement is important. The Code administration contract, undertaken diligently by Newcastle University, expires in March 2015. The Executive is responsible for appointing the new administrator and this will be a priority for the holder of the Quality assurance portfolio. The next joint forum of the two codes will take place in London on 4th December 2014. The CUBO Chair previously sat on the Committee of Management for the National Code of Standards for Large Student Developments, this role will in future be held by the Quality assurance portfolio holder. The Executive felt that the strategy away day was really helpful and found the actions agreed a valuable starting point for re-energising the Executive team. Strategy report from Executive away day
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4 CUBO ANNUAL REVIEW Activities 2013-14 Knowledge-sharing Knowledge-sharing continues to be a very active area for CUBO members especially through its three groups: marketing, finance and training and quality. CUBO marketing group This year has seen the highly successful launch of a new knowledge-sharing group, the CUBO marketing group, following strong interest from across the CUBO membership to form such a group. The group has held two one-day conferences, both with attendance of over 30 professionals in the HE commercial, hospitality and accommodation sectors. There are two events held per year, usually in March and October. Members identify hot topics and the one-day conferences are then put together by a steering group made up of seven volunteer members. The events are hosted by a different institution each time and have seen presentations from senior colleagues from the host university, as well as from external companies, such as Campus Life, Great Ideas Group and the Holman Group. Steering Group members contribute on the day by presenting on projects they ve been involved in and the knowledge gained, as well as leading workshops. Within a very short time, the CUBO marketing group has become well established and is highly valued by its members, for the knowledge that is shared, the peer-topeer training and networking. As one member summarises: A supportive group for an industry that can feel a little isolated within the sprawling structures of a larger university environment. CUBO finance group This group is now in its fifth year and has become a firm fixture in the CUBO calendar with two meetings per year, held at different institutions. Over the past three years, the day conferences have been co-ordinated by a steering group made up of five members. The group is highly valued by its members who find it invaluable to meet up with colleagues from other universities across the UK and to hear presentations on current HE commercial and accommodation finance topics. Key speakers include senior university colleagues, colleagues from external companies and other HE associations. This is very much a business-focused group, which this year has seen the group consider current hot topics such as the Office of Fair Trading s warning to universities on academic sanctions for non-academic debt. CUBO training & quality group CUBO is keen to support training and development in the sector and launched the CUBO training & quality group in 2012, following feedback from colleagues. This group holds two events per year, which are organised by a steering group made up of five members. Presentations have been given to address hot topics within the training and quality areas. This year s event hosted speakers from Customer First, Starbucks and the National Apprenticeship Scheme. Members value these events finding them informative, enlightening and all in all, a valuable training and networking opportunity. The group strategy for the coming year focuses on how learning and development is managed within the private sector. Direct approaches will now be made to organisations that are successful across the sector to present and share their knowledge at future events. Activities 2013-14
CUBO ANNUAL REVIEW 5 Communications Website development The new CUBO website was launched in September 2013. The contemporary site brings all of CUBO s online presence into one place and provides a new online networking space for members. The top-level information pages are accessible to all, aiming to share much of CUBO s work and event information with the public and peers in the sector. The news and blog pages provide up to date information about CUBO activities. The interactive pages are only open to CUBO members. A central aim of the website is to promote the sharing of information and members are making increasing use of the message board facility to share concerns and seek answers to common problems. Member profiles, individual messaging and a file sharing facility also assist with the exchange of information. e-newsletter The CUBO e-newsletter was launched in October 2013. It is designed to keep members up to date with CUBO business as well as highlighting key issues affecting the sector. It is published every other month via email with click-throughs to further information on the CUBO website. The newsletter has been a great success and readership is higher than expected. The total number of readers far exceeds the number of CUBO members on the circulation list, showing that is it being shared and forwarded to colleagues outside of CUBO and often outside of the UK. A location analysis shows that as well as the UK, it is being read in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Italy and Spain. Plans to develop the newsletter content include greater member involvement, more information from partner associations and further articles from professional advisers. The group facility in the members area enables the growing number of knowledge sharing groups to have their own space to share documents, details of events and converse on their own group message boards. Behind the scenes development work has continued and a phase II version of the website launches in November 2014. It releases a number of improvements to the members message board, notifications and conference pages along with much improved administrator access. CUBO will continue to review and develop the site. Members are encouraged to make use of the new improved members area and all feedback is gratefully received. Activities 2013-14
6 CUBO ANNUAL REVIEW Activities 2013-14 Events Annual summer conference The 2014 summer conference took place at Royal Holloway, University of London. The theme Aspiring to Excellence driving individual and business performance followed up on the popular coaching theme introduced at the winter conference 2013. The conference included presentations and coaching sessions about leadership, creating impact and how the complexities of our personal interactions can influence performance. Feedback from the conference showed that the coaching and leadership theme proved popular with members. Attendance levels remained high with over 50 different institutions represented this year. The new CUBO website gives members better access to summer and winter conference information and sponsors and exhibitors have gained greater visibility. It further enables easy access to conference materials after the event. CUBO awards The CUBO awards were launched at the summer conference in 2012 and have since become a successful annual event. The awards are designed to celebrate the achievements of those working within the higher education industry, to highlight best practice across UK higher education institutions and to raise the profile of CUBO. Most importantly the awards help to raise the profile of both winners and entrants, highlighting their achievements among key stakeholders, including Vice-Chancellors and university governing bodies. In 2012 the awards launched with six categories. An additional category has been added each year bringing the current number of awards to eight. The categories are: Commercial University of the Year Excellence in Student Sport Experience (added 2014) Business Manager of the Year Best Student Housing Best Catering Service (added 2013) Innovation Award for Excellence in Student Experience Business Partner Award Lifetime Achievement Award The awards are open to all UK HE institutions. Entries are actively encouraged from non-member institutions and business associated with CUBO s areas of activity. CUBO welcomes the involvement of sponsors who provide revenue to fund the awards along with the opportunity to enhance relationships between CUBO its supporters. The number of entries has grown year on year and tickets to the event (limited in 2012 and 2014 by venue capacity) have sold out in advance. The new awards added in 2013 and 2014 proved the most popular categories each time. Future plans include continuing to grow the event by adding new awards and enhancing publicity to showcase best practice across the sector. Activities 2013-14
CUBO ANNUAL REVIEW 7 International CUBO continues to reach out and provide opportunities for members to learn from our international colleagues, many of whom of course will be our competitors in the international market. Acuho-I CUBO has now been affiliated to Acuho-I for over four years. The number of CUBO members who are now members of Acuho-I has risen to 22. From those institutions, 93 members of their teams receive information and benefits direct from Acuho-I. Attendance at International study tours and conferences continues to grow. This year a number of CUBO members benefited from the study tour and conference organised by AACUHO in and around Adelaide, and that organised by ACUHO-I in Washington. Our second winner of the jointly sponsored Acuho-I New Professional was able to experience and learn from her trip to Washington. Class of 2020 CUBO is currently exploring partnership opportunities with the Class of 2020, a Dutch based organisation formed from those involved in the European commercial student market. They are in the process of broadening their scope and wish to look at research opportunities, information exchange and conference participation. Richard Kington will be representing CUBO at their forthcoming conference. Study tours The first CUBO study tour, prior to the CUBO summer conference in 2013, was very successful. As a result of contacts made on the tour, CUBO are now arranging a study tour with Studentenwerke in Germany, planned for the spring of 2015. Studentenwerke is an organisation that provides accommodation for the majority of Universities in Germany. They work on a very different model to the UK and so the tour represents a tremendous opportunity to learn more from them. Richard Kington became Chair Elect of the Acuho-I membership committee following the Washington conference and has also been asked to join the Executive Director Transition Committee to represent the International members. EBI Residence assessment survey CUBO s involvement with Acuho-I has also led to the trialling of a UK version of the US EBI Residence Assessment Survey. With more members strengthening their Residence Life activities it is important that we have a way of assessing our effectiveness. This year three UK universities ran the survey and now that data protection issues have been resolved the way is clear for other CUBO/Acuho-I members to benefit from this valuable tool. Activities 2013-14
8 CUBO ANNUAL REVIEW Activities 2013-14 Partnerships Lobbying In response to the concerns of CUBO members, Alison Smith and representatives from ASRA met with UCAS media to discuss the Livingatuni website in October 2014. Members of both organisations were deeply concerned by the inaccurate information the site displayed about their institutions when it launched in July. While UCAS Media were not prepared to surrender the project, the group s concerns were received in a positive manner and a number of agreements were made. A steering group is to be formed which will meet three times per year to discuss the site. Initially this group will be made up of UCAS Media, ASRA, CUBO and the NUS. University Hospitaliy Seminars (UhS) UhS continue to offer very well received courses and training events throughout the year. It plays a valuable role in supporting CUBO training and has input from CUBO through its advisory board. Mentoring The personal mentoring partnerships continue to be on-going with CUBO members acting as mentors and mentees to further career development. TUCO CUBO continued its sponsorship of the TUCO Food Service Award at their annual chefs challenge in Blackpool and it was pleasing to see TUCO colleagues hosting a stand at our summer conference at Royal Holloway in July. Frances appointment to the CUBO Chair s role in February signalled the time to step down from the TUCO Board in May. She had represented the CUBO Executive on the TUCO Board since May 2011 and had involvement with the merger of TUCO Organisation Ltd and TPL to create TUCO Ltd. The TUCO Board has now decided that membership on the Board will not continue automatically for the holder of the CUBO partnership portfolio. They will shortly be opening up invitations for two new additional Board members. Activities 2013-14
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10 CUBO ANNUAL REVIEW Financial position CUBO continues to maintain a healthy financial balance sheet for 2013/2014, ending the year with a small profit. The majority of income is fed back into the running of the organisation, administrative support and the development of services for members. Similarly any profit is held for projects designed to support and enhance members experience. A new membership fee structure was adopted in August 2014 designed to broaden the membership of CUBO. The new fee structure makes it better value for an institution to have multiple members and it is hoped that it will also encourage new institutions to join the organisation. Financial Position
CUBO ANNUAL REVIEW 11 Executive members Frances Stone Chair Director, Residential and Commercial Services, University of Leicester Frances has spent the bulk of her career in higher education, having worked at Goldsmiths, St Andrews and Aberdeen universities before joining the University of Leicester. She was appointed Director of Residential and Commercial Services in 2008, having previously been Acting Director. Frances first became involved with CUBO in 2006 and was a member of the Executive Committee, partnerships portfolio, for three years before taking over as Chair earlier this year. Emma Furnival Executive secretary Assistant Director, Hospitality and Accommodation Services, University of Wolverhampton Emma has been at the University of Wolverhampton for 10 years where she has responsibility for catering, events, hospitality, conferences, accommodation and an on-site nursery. She enjoys the variety of a role that is always changing to meet the needs of students, staff and visitors. She has a BA Hons in Hospitality Business from the University of Huddersfield and previously worked for a number of contract and event caterers. Emma is married with 2 children and lives on a dairy farm. Richard Kington Executive member (International affiliations) Director, Accommodation Services, University of Edinburgh Richard has been Director of Accommodation Services at the University of Edinburgh since 2003. Richard is the lead for International Affiliations on the CUBO Executive and was instrumental in CUBO affiliating with Acuho-I in 2010. He became Chair elect of the Acuho-I Membership Committee in July 2014 and at the 2014 annual Acuho-I Conference in Washington DC received the Roelf Visser Global initiatives Award. Pat McGrath Executive member (Knowledge sharing) Director of Accommodation & Commercial Services, University of Sheffield As Director of Accommodation and Commercial Services Pat is responsible for the teams who provide services and facilities to staff, students and visitors across the University of Sheffield. Pat played a vital role in The University of Sheffield s Student Residences Strategy and in setting up a special purpose vehicle, UNICUS, a wholly owned subsidiary company of the university. Before moving to Sheffield Pat worked in higher education, hospitals and hotels in London. Pat is driven by her passion for excellent service and continuous improvement. Executive Members
12 CUBO ANNUAL REVIEW Executive members Alison Smith Executive member (Partnerships) Phill Vergnano CUBO Executive officer Depute Director Property and Facilities Services, Edinburgh Napier University Alison began her career in university catering and residences with Heriot-Watt University. She later moved into commercial catering taking a role with Gardner Merchant (Sodexo). Following the birth of two daughters, Alison joined Edinburgh Napier University in 1996 as Catering Manager. In 2002 she was promoted to the role of Depute Director, Property & Facilities, incorporating management of university operational and commercial services. Alison also gained her Masters degree in Business Management with Edinburgh Napier University. Following a 20-year career in the Royal Air Force, chiefly spent managing catering operations, Phill joined Northumbria University in 1997. His prime areas of responsibility included residences, catering and conferences, which later expanded to include retail and facilities management. He joined the CUBO Executive in 2008 overseeing the benchmarking portfolio. He continues to manage this area as CUBO s Executive Officer, a role he took on after leaving Northumbria University. www.cubo.org.uk comms@cubo.org.uk admin@cubo.org.uk Executive Members
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