The Student Guild provides students with positive, relevant, and valued services that support them to achieve success in all aspects of their student life.
Contents
Student Guild Board.................................................................................................................................................... 3 The Guild team.................................................................................................................................................................. 5 President’s report........................................................................................................................................................... 7 General Manager’s report................................................................................................................................... 9 Ancillary services......................................................................................................................................................... 11 Student support and advocacy.................................................................................................................... 13 Events, courses and workshops................................................................................................................. 17 Volunteer programs................................................................................................................................................. 21 Sport and recreation................................................................................................................................................ 25 Clubs and societies.................................................................................................................................................... 29 Gold Coast Association of Postgraduates....................................................................................... 35 Marketing............................................................................................................................................................................ 37 Commercial Uni Bar and Function Centre................................................................................................................................................. 41 Uni Fitness Health Centre ...................................................................................................................................................... 43 The Uni Store ............................................................................................................................................................................. 45 Village Café ............................................................................................................................................................................... 47
Financial report............................................................................................................................................................. 49 Corporate partners.................................................................................................................................................... 71
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay respect to the Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
2020 Student Guild Board
Office bearers and committee members PRESIDENT Jordan Jansen (January - October) Kaitlin Bell .(October - December)
VICE PRESIDENT Kaitlin Bell (January - October) Sarah McDonald (October - December)
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Jordan Jansen (Chair) Kaitlin Bell (Chair) Aneez Anver Chloe Ward Faaizah Taiyab J. JD Dumbrell Llewyn Randall Sarah McDonald
SPORT AND CULTURAL COMMITTEE Kaitlin Bell (Chair) Sarah McDonald (Chair) Aneez Anver Ashleigh Cooksley J. JD Dumbrell Kimberley Johnson Laura Shuttle Munpreet Dillon Tania Voser Tori Allen
BOARD MEETING ATTENDANCE Ali Saremi ....................................4/5 Aneez Anver ................................6/7 Anna-Louise Baulac ........................4/5 Bianca Thatcher ............................6/7 Chloe Ward .................................5/5 Emma-Kate Ross ............................3/3 Faaizah Taiyab .............................2/2 J. JD Dumbrell ...............................2/2 Jasper Oberg ................................2/2 Jordan Jansen ...............................3/3 Kaitlin Bell ....................................7/7 Kimberley Johnson .........................3/7 Llewyn Randall.............................. 2/2 Meghna Bhamidpati ......................1/2 Sarah McDonald ...........................7/7
3
Jordan Jansen President
Kaitlin Bell
President, Vice President
Sarah McDonald Vice President
Ali Saremi
Aneez Anver
Anna-Louise Baulac
Bianca Thatcher
Chloe Ward
Emma-Kate Ross
Faaizah Taiyab
J. JD Dumbrell
Jasper Oberg
Kimberley Johnson
Llewyn Randall
4
The Guild team
This is a permanent staff listing only and does not include the wider Student Guild team and valued casual employees.
Jessica Brown
Matt Hoskins
Mila Nowak
Rob Patterson
General Manager
Operations Manager
Finance Manager
Commercial Manager
Victoria Mancini
Isabella Pappas
Linda Gillespie
Brigitte Oschadlin
Marketing Manager
Andrew Hayes Student Support & Advocacy Manager
5
Marketing Manager
Cameron Sherwood Events Manager
Executive Assistant
Michael Brown Sport & Recreation Manager
Finance Officer
April Albertini
Events & Recreation Coordinator
Christina Hickman
Madeleine Storey Programs Officer
Manager Uni Fitness Health Centre
Venue Manager Uni Bar and Function Centre
Chris Thompson
Debby Hague
Sanjay Maharaj
Shaun Edie
Blake Mink
Sarah Magne
Sports Officer
Bar Manager Uni Bar
Stacey Davies Assistant Manager The Uni Store
Manager The Uni Store
Food & Beverage Supervisor Uni Bar
Alex Kolatchew
Manager Australia Post
Team Leader Uni Fitness Health Centre
Bobby Smith
Manager Village Café
Kylee Edie
Retail Assistant The Uni Store
6
President’s report
Kaitlin Bell President
2020. What a year. The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it many challenges, and will be remembered by students at Griffith University as the year of online learning: rolling out of bed to log into class (and somehow still being late); ‘you’re on mute’; bring-your-pet-to-class-day (every day); and trying to send Tik Tok dances viral during the breaks. While the online study environment offered greater flexibility and the chance to stay connected during a time of social isolation, it created challenges for motivation and productivity. So, we had to learn how to do things differently. We learnt resilience, how to connect with each other through our computer screens, and how to navigate digital platforms like never before. The Student Guild responded to this through the launch of online services and the introduction of motivation and productivity seminars and support. These are now skills that we can carry forward into our careers and life outside of Griffith.
7
The Guild also adapted very quickly to support Griffith Gold Coast students by moving almost every aspect of its services online, from student support and wellbeing, to social and fitness based events. The Guild has always had a strong on-campus presence and we are well known for Uni Bar parties, Market Days, and other major events. While we missed those events (big time), the adaptations made in 2020 showcased the many other aspects of the Student Guild. There may not have been a party every month, but there were online trivia nights, wellbeing workshops, and a wide range of support and services that were made available to us, digitally. My personal reflection is that the pandemic strengthened the Student Guild’s close connection with the students of the Gold Coast campus, and highlighted its important role in shaping and improving our student experience. I want to thank the passionate team of Guild staff who care about us and the services delivered. Their hard work and dedication is truly appreciated. The Guild Board’s primary focus during this challenging year, was to ensure the student voice was heard. No matter what student life would look like ‘after COVID’, the Guild’s services would continue to reflect students’ needs. To achieve this, we set an ambitious target of surveying 30% of the Gold Coast campus student population as part of the Services and Facilities Review, in order to identify the key areas for support moving forward. We asked students in-depth questions regarding what they want to see on campus and how the Guild could best support their needs and interests. We reached our target, with 4,611 survey responses received from Gold Coast campus students. Thank
you to those students who participated. Your responses will inform the services we deliver in 2021 and beyond. In addition to continuing to refine our services, the Board will continue to keep the line of communication between students and the University open. We look forward to taking our new knowledge of the online world into the new year, and will strive to deliver diverse, flexible services based on student needs. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all Board and committee members listed on page 3, who volunteer their time to make student life extraordinary at GUGC. A special mention must go to the outgoing President, Jordan Jansen, whose strong leadership and charisma will be greatly missed. Class of 2020, we did it! For those who have now graduated, congratulations and best of luck for your future careers. For those continuing their studies like me, I look forward to connecting with you on campus and online.
Kaitlin Bell President
8
General Manager’s report
our student service, marketing, commercial, and administration teams. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all Guild employees and especially Victoria Mancini, Marketing Manager, and Mila Nowak, Finance Manager, for their leadership and support offered through their respective departments.
Jessica Brown General Manager
The Student Guild’s Annual Report captures the highlights and achievements of our operations, in terms of commitment to our purpose – to support students to achieve success in all aspects of their student life. 2020 was a very different year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the great challenges the Guild and students faced as a result of a rapid shift to online learning and operations. The pandemic certainly emphasised the power of a vibrant and engaged campus in supporting learning, mental health, and a sense of connectedness and belonging. However, it also highlighted the adaptability of students, the Guild, and the University. The Student Guild responded to the early stages of the pandemic by quickly transitioning all services possible to online delivery. This was largely achieved through a transition of the student services team from their traditional position descriptions and portfolios into project based roles. I’d like to commend Matt Hoskins, Operations Manager, on his leadership through this time, and the agility of the Guild’s student services team as a result. These changes and the broader impacts of COVID-19 placed significant pressure on the Guild’s operations including
9
The flagship achievement for the Guild in 2020 was most certainly the successful completion of a comprehensive Services and Facilities Review. This included the undertaking of the largest student consultation project in the Guild’s history, surveying more than 4,600 Gold Coast campus students, and conducting an online study with a further 58 students across all disciplines and study modes. I encourage you to view the findings of this consultation, published in the Guild’s 2020 Student Consultation Report, at gugcstudentguild.com.au. The intention of this consultation was to develop an understanding of what students identified as their priority areas for support in achieving success in their student life. The top three (of 15 support areas ranked by students), in priority order were: support with keeping mentally and physically healthy, managing time effectively, and building capacity to get a job. The valuable student feedback and insights gained through this consultation, along with the subsequent review of all existing Guild services and facilities against this, will inform our 2021 Services Framework, commercial offerings moving forward, and overarching strategic plan. The Guild has two primary business streams - student services and commercial services. Commercial services are designed to support the sustainability of the Guild and includes Guildrun outlets such as the bar, gym and Uni Store, as well as the provision of approximately 75% of food and retail on the Gold Coast campus, thanks to our valued commercial tenants. Of course, COVID significantly impacted all commercial trade
on campus. Acknowledgment and thanks must go to all Guild commercial staff and tenants who persevered through this time in shared pain and partnership with the Guild. Sadly, STA Travel and Bank Australia permanently closed their campus outlets during this time, after many years of successful trade at Griffith Gold Coast. The Guild also made the difficult decision to close Village Café, about which you can read more on page 47. In 2021 we look forward to welcoming new commercial partners who align closely with commercial service needs identified throughout our student consultation. The collective impact of COVID-19 and the Services and Facilities Review influenced change within the Guild’s organisational structure, and subsequently we farewelled some Guild colleagues. My sincerest thanks, gratitude, and acknowledgement goes to Bobby Smith, former Uni Bar and Function Centre Venue Manager; Shaun Edie, former Village Café Manager; Rob Patterson, former Commercial Manager; and April Albertini, former Events and Recreation Coordinator. Thank you for your many years of dedicated service to the Guild and campus, and best wishes for the future. I am very proud of and grateful to the entire Guild team for their positivity and enthusiasm for student service delivery in 2020 despite the ongoing and fluid challenges the pandemic presented. Their achievements are documented in the following department reports. The Guild’s ongoing commitment is to ensure services are of the highest possible relevance to all Gold Coast campus students, and that they provide the best value for money for students, the Guild, and the University. I am very excited to see the launch of our new services in 2021 - stay tuned!
- Campus Life, Griffith Sport, Griffith Online, Corporate Services Experience, the Guild’s Gold Coast Association of Postgraduates Board, and the Student Representative Council. A final thank you to the Guild Board for their strong leadership in an unprecedented year, particularly outgoing President, Jordan Jansen, who has since graduated. While I look forward to the return of student life on vibrant campuses in 2021, I expect that we will also see the continuation of strong collaboration with the University, students and other partners, as well as innovative service delivery.
Jessica Brown General Manager
Thank you to all Guild partners, supporters, and collaborators in 2020, particularly Griffith University including key departments
10
Ancillary services
Administration delivers professional customer service to welcome, inform and to assist students to access Guild services. The Student Guild’s administration and reception team is the first point of call for students visiting the Student Guild, as well as for those with phone, website or email enquiries. The department provides critical assistance to commencing and continuing students, particularly during orientation periods, to help them access accommodation, transport and general information. The Student Guild also fields a large number of enquiries from the public and staff seeking direction to or with questions about Griffith University facilities and services. Linda Gillespie Executive Assistant
The Student Guild reception area had its quietest year in probably the history of the Guild due to COVID-19 and the campus operating remotely during the middle of the year. The Student Guild office was closed from 31 March and reopened on 6 July, with only a skeleton staff on campus for the remainder of the year. In the time the office was closed, reception staff responded to 489 enquires via email and Facebook. The total number of enquires for the year was 5,862, a decrease of 40% from 2019, which included 1,566 (26%) online enquiries. Employment advertising was the only service that was consistent with 2019. Accommodation, go cards, end of trip facilities and lockers all decreased due to students not being on campus. The Student Guild Intercampus Bus service, which offers students direct transport between the Gold Coast and Nathan campuses, saw a significant downturn in total user trips during 2020 as the service was limited both in its ability to operate throughout the year as well as in the capacity at which it could run. This saw the overall service use decrease by 92% with just 455 trips clocked up over the 15 weeks of the year the service ran, compared to the usual 44 weeks in prior years. Of those 455 trips, the study mode background of students requiring the service was 22% international and 78% domestic.
11
Accommodation listings
169
2020
2019
Community sourced: 121 Student sourced: 48 TOTAL: 169 listings
Community sourced: 202 Student sourced: 105 TOTAL: 307 listings
307
Accommodation advertising service decreased by 45% in 2020
Intercampus Bus
455 trips delivered 1 trip = Gold Coast campus to Nathan or vice versa 22% international students
go cards
241 sold
The go card service was down from 2019 (842 sold) due to the office closure and a decrease of staff and students on campus. The total top ups for the year was 126.
12
13
Student support and advocacy
The Student Support and Advocacy department delivers services and programs designed to enhance the wellbeing and experience of Griffith University Gold Coast students. The central focus of this department is to provide students with support and advice regarding Griffith University policies to ensure they understand their academic obligations and entitlements. Student Support also oversees other services including Assignment Help, Justice of the Peace, tutoring, financial assistance, exam support, tax service and legal advice. Through this department, the Student Guild delivers regular events to promote health and wellbeing, as well as the dedicated Wellness Warriors program. Andrew Hayes Student Support and Advocacy Manager
In 2020 the Student Guild’s Student Support and Advocacy department underwent a virtual transformation as many of the formerly in-person services and initiatives converted to a predominately online mode of delivery. This was essential as the organisation responded to the emerging challenge of maintaining engagement with students in the digital space. Although this had an impact on program delivery, the objective of the Student Support and Advocacy department remained the same, with the aim being to continue to provide and equip students with the wellbeing tools and strategies needed to improve student mental health on campus.
In addition to proactively meeting students’ wellbeing needs, the department focused on tackling mental health on campus. In this area, Student Support and Advocacy reacted to student needs as they emerged throughout the year. Actions included assisting 68 students experiencing financial hardship with crisis care packs to pay for basic personal items such as food, hygiene or baby care needs. Additionally, the Student Support and Advocacy department, in partnership with Griffith International and Foodbank, helped provide over 3,000 meals to international students in need of assistance through the free international meals initiative.
In order to achieve this objective, a combination of large online wellness sessions, led by industry professionals, alongside smaller peer to peer run wellness catch ups were rolled out. Topics of conversation focused on many of the relevant global matters faced by students, including dealing with uncertainty, finding your narrative in a changing world, building resilience and reducing the stigma around mental health through guest speakers sharing their own recovery stories of lived experiences.
In addition to these wellbeing-focused objectives, the Student Support and Advocacy department continued to deliver and refine important academic support services. These included advocacy consultations; support and assistance regarding academic policies and procedures; grievances and complaints; special consideration or grade reviews; and financial and residential tenancy issues. This equated to 155 student support and advice matters handled via phone, email and in-person sessions, ensuring student concerns were addressed no matter their need.
Assisted 68 students experiencing financial hardship during the height of COVID-19 restrictions with free crisis care packs containing hygiene products, baby care or food items
518% increse on 2019
In partnership with Griffith International and Foodbank, the Guild provided over
3,000 individual meals
to international students in need of assistance through the free international meals initiative
255 students
and staff participated in
R U OKAY? DAY,
sparking hundreds of meaningful conversations about wellbeing
14
Reviews and appeals - 38%
Other* 17% Marks and grades – 17%
Advocacy support breakdown
Financial support – 12% Academic standing/exclusion – 6% Harassment, bullying and discrimination – 4% Academic integrity – 4% Student misconduct – 2%
*Other includes course related concerns, withdrawals after census date, special consideration and deferred exams, postgraduate concerns, Griffith University policies and procedure concerns, advocacy at meetings, advocacy related to club or society matters.
78% Domestic students
22% International students
Emergency support
2020
2019
Emergency loan
9
15
Crisis care package
68
11
65% Undergraduate students
35% Postgraduate students
Justice of the Peace appointments Students - 25 | Staff - 11 | Public - 0
*Emergency loans decreased by 43% from 2019 *Crisis care packs increased by 518% from 2019
Total = 36
Assignment Help
2020
2019
Legal Service
2020
2019
Total number of sessions
1,109
1,099
Students supported
39
29
*Assignment Help sessions increased by 1% compared to 2019
15
*Increase of 25% on previous year
16
17
Events, courses and workshops
The Events department delivers a wide variety of social and cultural events to provide students with the chance to socialise, interact and relax outside the classroom. Events include market and cultural days, parties, art workshops and life skill courses designed to develop students’ skill-sets and employability. All Student Guild events are professionally delivered and tailored to meet the needs and wants of Griffith University Gold Coast students.
Cameron Sherwood Events Manager
2020 was a challenging year for the Events department. Initially there was uncertainty as to whether O-Week would proceed, followed by the complete shutdown of all face-to-face events from March through to September. The Events team worked hard to meet these challenges by making the move to digital events, before transitioning back to a mix of online and in-person event delivery, in line with new COVID-safe events guidelines from September onwards. The year started strongly with an event-filled O-Week program in Trimester 1. The flagship event again being the O-Week Festival, which took over a large part of the University to create a street party atmosphere full of stalls, activities and live performances. Consolidated into one main day in 2020, the event (for the first time) saw the closure of University Drive to create a dedicated Clubs Zone showcasing 47 club stalls for new students to interact with and join. The dedicated Clubs Zone also allowed additional space for the corporate stalls in Carpark A, resulting in students gaining access to a record number of businesses. The O-Week social program provided students a chance to meet new people, consolidate friendships and generally build a positive rapport with the University. The social program offered eight separate and uniquely different events, providing something for everyone. Prior to the cessation of in-person events due to COVID, only two in-person events were held outside of O-Week, which were Market Day and the Clean Up Australia Day trip. Unfortunately all in-person events from mid-March to September had to be postponed or cancelled. Whilst in-person events were not possible, the Events department adapted some of the planned offerings into a digital format. The team also created completely new events, designed specifically for online delivery and based on the needs of students at the time. Although the move to online events brought many challenges, it also brought many new opportunities. These included reaching students who were unable to come to campus, as well as a completely new group of students who may have never attended an in-person event. Student consultation and feedback indicated that three of the main areas of need for them in 2020 were employment, finance and transitioning to online study. The first online event held was a
productivity session aimed at giving students skills they could use immediately, whilst getting used to the new way of digital learning. To meet student interest in building their employability and finance skills, the Employability and Navigating Finance Webinar Series were created. The Employability Series was aimed at giving students practical advice they could use to help them stand out in the job market; 267 students attended over the series, gaining the skills to get job ready. The Navigating Finance Series wasn’t simply about getting through the COVID period but providing ways to improve the attendees’ long term financial literacy; 135 attendees learned how to reduce their expenses, how to earn more income, basic investment strategies and steps to get into the housing market. The Events department also provided virtual events such as Creative Workshops with home delivered art kits and Trivia Nights featuring Kahoot quizzes held over Zoom. These events provided students with an opportunity to socialise with other students, something they also said they needed during this time. Even after a return to inperson events on campus, virtual events were offered until the end of the year to provide something for those students still working off campus. The easing of COVID restrictions in September meant the possible return of on campus events. A lot of work went into the creation of a COVID-safe event plan to be able to hold events on campus again safely. Although many events had reduced attendance numbers (compared to previous years) the challenges involved were still far greater than if held under normal conditions. Even with the easing of restrictions, unfortunately not all scheduled events were able to be held, such as Uni Bar parties and major events. However, having some activities and events did bring much needed atmosphere back onto campus. Major highlights were the first Market Day after COVID event shutdown, which had over 700 attendees over the course of the day, and Wellness Day in Trimester 2’s Stress Less Week with 500 attendees. In November, the inaugural Careers and Employability Fair was delivered in-person to meet student desire for more employability skills focused services and increased exposure to local industry. The Fair focused on developing students’ abilities to access the job market, and featured career information stalls, resume help, career information sessions, professional LinkedIn photos and career counselling. The event was well attended, with 227 students in attendance.
18
Arts and cultural Market Days
O-Week Trimester 1 O-Week Festival
Attendees 5,377
652
Creative Workshops
219
Sustainability Fair
176
420
Clean Up Australia Day
Rooftop Roller Disco
630
Total
Comedy Night
375
Campus Tours
448 1,000
Intro to Uni Life
280
O-Week Beach Party Float Fest
1,255 250
Twilight Cricket
50
Gamer's Night
65
Total
O-Week Trimester 2
10,150
Attendees
Make Uni Fun (virtual)
85
Intro to Uni Life (virtual)
80
Getting the Most out of Uni (virtual)
48
Sport & Fitness Info Session (virtual)
96
Virtual Trivia
55
O-Week Bag delivery or collection
364
Virtual Campus Tour
163
Total
891
O-Week Trimester 3
Attendees
2,965
Stress Less Week
Dive In Movie
Uni Bar Kick Off
Attendees
Social events
59 4,071
Attendees
Board Games
9
Virtual Trivia
12
Aussie Holiday Celebration
36
Movie Nights
59
Total
116
Life skills courses
Attendees
Productivity Ninja (virtual)
223
Employability Webinar Series
267
Wellness Webinar Series
136
Navigating Finance Webinar Series
135
Careers and Employability Fair
227
Barista Courses
41
First Aid Courses
830
Self Defence Courses
119
Total
Stress Less Week
3,998
Attendees
Getting the Most Out of Uni (virtual)
8
Sport & Fitness Info Session (virtual)
15
Coffee Painting Workshop (virtual)
13
Make Uni Fun (virtual)
12
Manifesting Success Webinar
30
Virtual Trivia
44
Eco Wrap Workshop (virtual)
50
Trimester 1
O-Week Festival
181
Trimester 2
Total
260
Wellness Day Paint & Sip
42
Movie Night: Birds of Prey
17
Total
19
500
652
Orientation
Productivity Ninja
12% attendance increase from 2019 6 sold out events
Virtual session had an additional 200 attendees than initially planned
Uni Bar Kick Off
Clean Up Australia Day
67% increase in attendance from 2019
43% increase in attendance from 2019
Life Skills Workshops
Careers & Employability Fair
200% increase in overall attendance at life skills focused events
Launched a brand new large scale event
61 Total events
19,226 Total attendances
20
Volunteer programs
The Programs department provides unique volunteering opportunities which encourage students to enhance their university experience by participating in extracurricular activities. These life changing experiences allow students to meet new people, explore their social conscience, have fun and build upon their employability skill set through personal and professional development opportunities. Madeleine Storey Programs Officer
Student volunteering in 2020 had a very strong start at Orientation Week thanks to a large group of engaged and enthusiastic volunteers continuing from the previous year. This allowed the program to formalise new Volunteer Leader roles among the senior members of the group to take on a more active role in supporting their peers throughout the week. Split across ‘zones’, these 11 Volunteer Leaders aided the Guild staff in communicating key messages, checking in on welfare and troubleshooting multiple areas simultaneously. The trial was a resounding success with leaders embracing the opportunity to gain higher-level skills and confidence. For the new volunteers this provided strong role models and an empathetic voice to help them get through one of the busiest times of the year. This was great for volunteer motivation and centred around a O-Week Volunteer Hub which was converted from the Athletics Track Club House to provide a central location for briefings, breaks and social catch ups following shifts. These initiatives were very successful in boosting volunteer recognition and satisfaction, and contributed towards the commitment of 640 hours volunteered across 65 students during the event. Not long after Orientation Week COVID-19 restrictions halted most of the Trimester 1 planned activities. This required a great deal of flexibility across the Student Guild as the Guild and its volunteers were uniquely positioned to support and respond to the needs of the students and community. Within weeks the entire volunteer program transitioned online to include weekly Zoom sessions with nursing home residents, virtual peer-led wellness discussions, and a student support assist line. The key objective of these new initiatives was to give students a sense of purpose during isolation and proactively support students experiencing increased strain on their mental health and wellbeing. At an individual level, it also gave volunteers a chance to be inspired, share humour, solve problems, and share their achievements in an uncertain time. Two social coordinators, Mohammed Nour and Kaitlin Bell, led social initiatives online designed to increase student community connection during isolation. These included weekly online coffee catch ups, virtual trivia and movie nights where students would separately watch the same movie at the same time in their homes and connect via social media for a shared commentary. To expand its reach into the broader community the Student 21
Guild partnered with Volunteering Gold Coast to deliver a new program called Cards with Connection. This entailed a series of online workshops where volunteers created over 50 cards with positive motivational messages which were delivered to isolated members of the community in nursing homes and NDIS Support services. This project led to the founding of a new partnership with Henley Lifestyle Resort, an aged care facility, where 55 hours of video conferencing calls were organised with residents who were otherwise completely isolated from external contact during lockdown. As COVID restrictions eased, programming gradually returned to the previous Guild Crew, Community Outreach and Wellness Warrior streams. Mental health support continued to be in high demand and the Wellness Warriors partnered with Griffith Service Learning to support students undertaking a credit point enabled Mental Health Social Wellbeing Project. Many of these students hosted an information and awareness stall at R U OK Day where the Guild also launched new peer-to-peer discussion groups. This support group was led by a qualified counsellor who leveraged the experience of our volunteers to generate authentic discussions on shared experiences, solutions to everyday problems and strategies to promote positive mental health and wellbeing. These continued across Student Guild Market Days which saw a total of 10 volunteers host 30 students across six sessions, with many becoming return visitors. After its inaugural year in 2019, the Community Outreach Program also gradually returned to ’face-to-face’ activities later in the year. Throughout 2020 the program exemplified its values of inclusion, connectiveness and community to continue providing opportunities for students to embrace their social conscience and awareness. The program partnered with a range of rotating organisations including; All Abilities Touch Football, Havafeed Community Relief Gold Coast, Naturally GC, Volunteering Gold Coast and the Henley Lifestyle Resort to achieve over 200 hours towards assisting the recovery of the local community.
22
23
Guild Awards - Volunteer Awards
Volunteer of the Year Sarah McDonald
60
active volunteers
40.5% international students
Most Active Volunteer Joshua D’Costa
1,200+
hours volunteered across all programs
Community Outreach highlights Modified touch football with special-needs children (20 Volunteers)
Havafeed homeless relief (15 Volunteers) and over 100 items donated
Koala tree planting (35 volunteers)
"Community Outreach is a wonderful experience that promotes new founding friendships, supports community involvement and shines a light on the strength of kindness. It is a wonderful experience that everyone should get involved in. Even the smallest amount you put in will make a world of difference. " Lucy Bartho - Community Outreach & Guild Crew volunteer
“Converting to online volunteering not only emphasised how invaluable human connection is but reaffirmed the importance of community and what that means to us as volunteers of the Student Guild.” Sarah McDonald – Wellness Warrior and Volunteer Leader
24
25
Sport and recreation
GUGC Sport delivers and oversees sporting life on the Gold Coast campus, ranging from social sports and general recreation to intervarsity competition. GUGC Sport supports student athletes to represent the University on a local, national and international scale through pathway programs, strong community partnerships, and through administrative and financial support of affiliated campus clubs. The Gold Coast campus continues to be extremely well represented on Griffith University representative teams.
Michael Brown
Sport and Recreation Manager
Key objectives for GUGC Sport at the commencement of 2020 were to increase participation though facilities, sport clubs, competitions and Social Sport. The year started strongly by showcasing new ‘Come & Try’ style events at O-Week for cricket and esports as high growth opportunities. Twilight Cricket hosted 57 students within one massive game for a casual play and networking opportunity that was successful in its objective of launching a new cricket club. The G43 Clubs Room was also converted into Gamer’s Night where over 50 students attended to play a mixture of social and competitive games that generated further interest in representing Griffith at esports later in the year. Elsewhere at O-Week the GUGC Sport Zone provided students with mini game activities as a soft promotion of Social Sport which gained momentum towards a record season of 450 student sign-ups. Unfortunately, this success was halted as COVID-19 forced the postponement and eventual shutdown of the Trimester 1 Social Sport season. Throughout the peak of the pandemic, GUGC Sport remained closed for an extended duration as physical contact and equipment sharing were not compatible with COVID-safe guidelines. Whilst this impacted the majority of sports, focus was quickly shifted to supporting online fan based activity and esports. While this put much of the planned sport activity on hold, GUGC Sport staff were able to adapt and dive into a range of new student support areas such as advising students on new government support systems and supporting community based initiatives to provide international students food packs in crisis. With persistence, the GUGC Sport team was also able to play a fundamental role in assessing the various and evolving COVID-19 safety requirements for each sport and worked towards providing a safe and healthy environment to continue once restrictions began to ease.
The first big breakthrough came with the recommencement of Social Sport in Trimester 2 with 367 registered players (which was near capacity given lower capacities were required for COVID safety). Unfortunately this year the major competition, Uni Nationals, was unable to proceed however following the momentum of Social Sport, GUGC Sport worked diligently to reintroduce intervarsity competition locally. This included the inaugural Battle of the Border competition in which Griffith Gold Coast students sized up against the Queensland based students of Southern Cross University. This competition hosted 94 GUGC participants (46 male and 48 female) across six sports; 3 x 3 basketball, netball, badminton, touch, Oztag and beach volleyball. In a positive result, GUGC Sport won the inaugural event, undefeated in all sports and will look to continue this record into the future. In the later parts of 2020 restrictions had started to ease and most sports were able to return. COVID forced the Sport department to review its operations, and during this time several new initiatives were launched for long term gain. A new online booking system was implemented for court bookings which managed contact tracing but also provided a much more convenient platform for students to secure courts. Over the back half of the year over 262 bookings were made through this system which equated to over 480 hours of activity for hundreds of students. Finally, to close out the year an inaugural summer season of Social Sport was launched which attracted another 356 players and providing the potential to increase Social Sport participation by 50% with the third annual season.
26
Australian All-Star Cheerleading Federation UniSport Championships
Esports Championships
1st and 8th place Dance (Team hip hop) - SILVER Dance (Contemporary/lyrical) - SILVER
5th place
8th place Cheer (All girls team level ½) - BRONZE
27
Overall position: 3rd place
Guild Awards - Sport Club Awards
Sport Team of the Year Cheer & Dance - GU Regency
Sport Star of the Year Ryo Takigami (centre) Beach Volleyball
Best Performance at a Sporting Event Cheer & Dance Virtual QLD State Championship
Sport Club of the Year Badminton
Sport Club Administrator of the Year Ida Kretzschmar Lorenz Outdoor Adventure
28
Clubs and societies
Clubs on campus provide a great way to meet like-minded people, share interests, build networks, find friends and make a difference. On the Gold Coast campus, Student Guild affiliated clubs include academic and professional, cultural, special interest, community service groups as well as recreation and sport clubs. In 2020 there were 67 clubs with 4,730 members. The Student Guild has a primary role in providing all clubs with financial support and administrative guidance, enabling the continued improvement of club structures for the benefit of members and increasing diversity to cater for student needs. Christina Hickman Clubs Coordinator
In 2020, clubs saw the launch of a new management system, Campus Groups, which is a centralised platform for club administration and operation. The many benefits include an online membership sign-on, e-commerce module, event registration and club administration through forms and documents. The Guild hosted four online sessions introducing and training committee members in the use of Campus Groups. This linked to a new club funding model which provided more streamlined access to affiliation funding, to support general club operations. Special Project Grants were also introduced to give clubs more flexibility to undertake unique projects which demonstrated strong potential to enhance member participation and growth. In 2020, two formal grant rounds approved up to $64,902 across 25 successful submissions designed to benefit 1,252 students over 44,273 student interactions. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions not all activity was able to go ahead however it laid a very strong foundation for the new funding model. The success of a club is largely due to work of the management committee. To aid this, the Student Guild delivered its sixth Clubs Conference to 70 student leaders who received valuable resources and advice. Due to COVID-19 there was a shift in club activity transitioning online, therefore support was required in that space. The Guild hosted a four-part virtual Digital Leadership Series to respond to the new challenges facing clubs. This training equipped and developed the club leaders’ novel and adaptive thinking skills, and their ability to deliver services online. As club activity slowly transitioned back to inperson events, the Guild assisted in the training and resource development of COVID Safety Officers, COVID-safe planning and risk management. The New Committee Welcome event introduced and inducted newly elected committee members to the Guild and club operations. The event also featured a Q and A panel of past club leaders with an attendance of over 50 committee members. Clubs are provided with an opportunity to recruit new members at the Sign-On Days held at the start of each trimester and during Orientation Week. In O-Week clubs had a record attendance with 48 club stalls. Trimester 2 Club Sign-On Day was replaced with Virtual Clubs Week to showcase clubs
29
and club activity. Over 23 virtual club events were organised including information sessions, a choir box performance, home workouts, game days, hangouts and Zumba. Stress Less Week was held in Week 12 with over 20 clubdriven events and activities to promote student wellness and support services. Events included physical wellness such as bootcamps, cooking classes and yoga, as well as DIY workshops, performances, dance classes, gaming, climb fit and cultural sharing. In 2020 the Guild also incorporated more club activity across its cultural events such as Harmony Day, Stress Less Week, R U OK Day and Market Day. This crosscollaboration leveraged the Guild’s COVID-safe plans to create smaller pop-up events within the larger events, making COVID restrictions less of a barrier for club activity during a challenging year.
Club highlights Griffith Racing Team designed their first ever electric car
Water Polo was the first club to return to in-person activity through the successful implementation of the COVID-safe events strategy
Griffith EQUALITY delivered fortnightly ‘Colour in Our Community Campaign’ activities themed around the colours of the rainbow to promote awareness and engagement
Griffith University Dive Club hosted 24 students for a stay-aboard dive trip off of Cairns
30
31
NEW
CLUBS
Griffith EQUALITY
Uniglow Social Club
Among Filipinos
Griffith ESports
Griffith Disney Appreciation Society
Griffith University Gold Coast Cricket
Clinic For Kids
Griffith Occupational Therapy Student Association
29 Professional and academic Total clubs:
67
21 Sport and recreation 9 Special interest 5 Cultural 3 Community service
4,730 total club members 268 committee members 260+ club events 16,080 estimated volunteer hours from the management committees
32
Guild Awards
At the annual Guild Awards many outstanding clubs were recognised, including standout club administrators, club events, initiatives and achievements.
New Club of the Year Griffith EQUALITY
Small Club of the Year Serotonin A Cappella
Best Small Club Event Environmental Griffith Students Sustainability Fair
Best Student Support Service Yoga & Meditation
33
Best Event by a Club Serotonin A Cappella True Colours Recording
Small Club Administrator of the Year Serotonin A Cappella Laura Suttle
Best Social Media Presence Serotonin A Cappella
Most Outstanding Club Website Serotonin A Cappella
Most Outstanding Community Initiative HOPE4HEALTH Kingaroy School Outreach
Best Fundraising Event/Initiative of the Year HOPE4HEALTH Sumba Sounds
Recreational Club of the Year Serotonin A Cappella
Best Club Merchandise Griffith Racing Team
Best Professional Development Event Griffith Employment Relations and Human Resources Society (GEHRMS) Resume Rescue
Best Performance at an Event Serotonin A Cappella
Club of the Year Serotonin A Cappella
Club Administrator of the Year Serotonin A Cappella Laura Suttle
Most Outstanding Achievement Griffith Racing Team Electric car build
34
Gold Coast Association of Postgraduates (GCAP)
The Gold Coast Association of Postgraduates aims to create a positive experience for Gold Coast postgraduate students. GCAP provides academic services and support, opportunities for increased social engagement within the postgraduate community, and assists students with preparing for the transition from postgraduate study to the workforce.
Bridie Mulholland President
Kai Robertson President
The Gold Coast Association of Postgraduates, or GCAP as it is more affectionately known on campus, continued helping postgraduate students thrive academically and socially in 2020 despite the restrictions on physical activity. In fact, for many students it was a particularly important time to build professional skills and peer support networks to continue momentum towards achieving their post-study goals. Three initiatives crucial to this were the Employability, Finance and Wellness Webinar Series co-hosted with the Student Guild and attracted 538 students overall. Each theme was unpacked over a fivepart series including valuable topics like time management, communication, managing money in uncertain times, improving cash flow, personal values, self-awareness and self-care.
Byron Bay Brewery Tour
Friday Socials
Roaring 20’s Party
ATTENDEES
ATTENDEES
ATTENDEES
30 (sold out)
35
GCAP’s activities and services helped maintain student confidence throughout 2020. Students particularly benefited from having a strong peer-to-peer network, built through GCAP and their studies, on whom they could seek support and connection. No doubt 2020 was a tough year to create new connections however GCAP was able to provide four social events outside the major restriction period. These provided members opportunities to socialise, informally network, relax and have fun during a difficult time.
150 over 2 events
180
36
Marketing
The Student Guild Marketing department is responsible for developing and delivering the marketing strategies and publications for all Student Guild departments. Marketing communications remain focused on positioning the Student Guild as the primary delivery agent for sporting, cultural, recreational and advocacy based services on the Gold Coast campus. The Marketing department’s integrated approach utilises a number of print and digital channels to successfully push messaging out to students. Victoria Mancini Marketing Manager
Towards the end of March 2020, COVID-19 lead the university to operate all activity remotely. This posed a significant challenge to the Student Guild as it had not previously offered services in an online space.To facilitate the Guild’s transition to online service delivery, the Marketing department developed ‘The World Got Weird’ campaign which ran from 30 March to 29 May, 2020.
This campaign themed each weekday to create a framework for the Marketing and Operations departments to support online service delivery and student engagement. The themes were carefully selected to ensure they catered to the needs of students studying online. The themes were as follows: Support Monday An opportunity for students to seek support, vent frustrations and feel heard. Support topics included renting during COVID, navigating Centrelink, creating a productive study space, Q&A opportunities and tips from fellow students. Talkative Tuesday A light hearted day aimed at sparking conversation, connecting students, sharing ideas and providing opportunities to learn. Content included interactive posts like ‘would you rather’, Spotify study playlists and employability workshops which discussed common stresses students had surrounding the 2020 job market. Workout Wednesday A day aimed at keeping students physically active. Content included a new weekly home workout, tips from personal trainers and more. Thoughtful Thursday A chance for students to turn inwards, practice mindfulness or channel their creativity. The aim was to provide students with a safe creative space to take a break from study. Content included crafts to try at home, self care tips, shareable content for Instagram stories, wellness workshops and more. Foodie Friday An opportunity for students to get creative in the kitchen and try new recipes on a budget. Content included weekly recipes by students and nutritionists. The final week featured a free downloadable cookbook developed by the Guild’s Wellness Warrior volunteers.
37
For the first time ever, the Guild teamed up with the Student Representative Council (SRC) to offer 15 online events available to all Griffith students (not just Griffith Gold Coast). This partnership saw costs shared across both student associations, which enabled the ongoing delivery of employability, wellness and finance workshops while simultaneously increasing audience size and reach. To complement these workshops, a ‘resource hub’ was added to the Guild’s website. Four landing pages were developed (finance, employability, wellness and cooking) to house workshop recordings and additional content produced during the campaign so that students could refer back to it at any time and upskill themselves. The Guild hoped that creating a resource hub would drive students to the website and increase overall engagement levels on the platform. This goal was achieved and growth was seen in total website visits, average pages viewed per session and growth in referral traffic over the course of this 9 week campaign (compared to 2019 figures).
Two primary KPI’s were used to measure the success of this campaign:
1. Maintain ongoing student interactions by securing a minimum of 50 registrations per event until the end of Trimester 1, 2020. A baseline of 50 registrations per event was set from the average on campus attendance rates of 2019’s comparable workshops and keynote speaker sessions. The Guild’s aim was to transfer on-campus engagement levels to an online space, rather than grow registration numbers as this was the organisations first experience with online service delivery.
21 online events
1,326 registrations
Average of 63 registrations per session
2. Grow total website referrals, website social media referrals and new website users by 5% to reach students outside of the Guild’s existing digital audience. Re-creating on campus engagement levels in an online space was the main objective of this campaign. To achieve this, growth needed to be seen on primary digital platforms (like the Guild’s website) to bring online engagement levels up to match previous on-campus engagement levels.
29,572
website page views 82.8% new users +11.6%*
4.57 pages viewed per session +65.6%*
4,684
total website users 8.5% of all web traffic came from social media +63.5%*
16.8% of all web traffic came from referrals +136.6%* >
* Compared to same period in 2019 | > Referrals mean external sites linking to the Guild’s (SRC, Griffith, etc.)
38
Beyond ‘The World Got Weird’ campaign, the Marketing department continued to work on better utilising its digital channels. Prior to COVID, Facebook had been Marketing’s primary tool for engagement and generating ticket sales. In early 2020, Facebook’s organic reach and engagement levels began to drop significantly as the platform altered its algorithms to favour those who ‘paid to play’. As a result, Marketing determined that MailChimp (e-mail marketing) was now its best tool to engage with students. In 2020, e-mail marketing accounted for 54% of all event registrations. A total of 70 campaigns were sent out, up from 48 campaigns in 2019. The student response to weekly promotional e-mails was positive. The Guild’s open rate for e-mail campaigns in 2020 was 33.25% (up from 24.51% in 2019), while click rates increased to 1.58% compared to 1.06% in 2019. In 2020, Marketing’s primary objective with the website was to grow overall referral traffic from both social media and Griffith University to reach a larger portion of Griffith Gold Coast students. To achieve this objective, the Guild trialled a number of new strategies which included partnering with organisations like Griffith Alumni and the SRC to cross-promote workshops, liaising with Griffith’s Office of Marketing and Communications
39
(OMC) to promote Guild offerings on Griffith University’s official social media channels and developing a consistent content schedule for Instagram to build the Guild’s brand outside of Facebook. These strategies proved successful. New users accounted for 80% of the Guild’s web traffic in 2020 and total website views grew by 58,579. In terms of user acquisition, the percentage of students visiting the Guild’s site via website referrals, social media referrals and directly via the URL were all up from 2019. The Guild’s student magazine ‘Getamungstit’ encountered significant challenges in 2020. The magazine’s first edition was released as planned during O-Week. By the time The Vices Edition entered print production, COVID-19 restrictions had just been announced and on campus distribution of the publication was no longer an option. The Student Guild offered a free mailing service for this edition and a total of 24 copies were delivered to students studying online. The remaining print copies were delivered to the Griffith University Village to distribute to their residents. The pandemic prompted the Guild to transform the remaining planned editions for 2020 into digital publications. The first digital edition (The Power edition) was well received and achieved 1,994 page views.
465,349
website views
Website - devices used +14.4%*
20% return users
2020
2019
80% new users
Desktop
Mobile
Tablet
Most viewed webpages 1. Uni Fitness 2. Homepage
Website acquisition
3. Clubs
16.5%
4. Browse Clubs 5. Accommodation
Referral
+65%*
6.9%
Social
39.4%
+38%*
Direct
+19.3%
Student Guild Facebook 2020: 14,365
37.1%
Organic search -28.6%
2019: 13,404
Student Guild Instagram 2020: 2,985 2019: 2,539
* Compared to 2019
Edition
Printed copies
Digital reads
O-Week Edition
2,000
466
The Vices Edition
1,000
459
The Power Edition
n/a
1,994
40
The Uni Bar is an integral part of Student Guild services, providing an essential place for students and staff to co-mingle, host meetings and events, and relax from their busy schedules - all whilst listening to live music, participating in daily games, and enjoying a quality meal or beverage.
Chris Thompson Manager Uni Bar
In 2020, the Uni Bar set out to deliver a greater range of regular interactive monthly bar activities on offer for students. However, the Uni Bar’s priorities and goals changed quickly in light of the COVID-19 related closures and operating restrictions. The Uni Bar was closed from 23 March and reopened 29 June 2020, largely to an empty campus with most students studying remotely for the remainder of 2020. As such, the Uni Bar refocused its goals to provide a safe, compliant and enjoyable service for those on campus and to generate trade beyond the usual student population. Prior to the closure, weekly activities were revamped with Spin to Win making a return (after a year off in 2019) and both Jag the Joker and Spin to Win offering a greater range of prizes available for students to win. Student prizes in 2019 were voucher based, however the Uni Bar sourced a number of major prizes to increase the prize pool in 2020. Due to closures, only one major prize (a bicycle) was given away, with the remainder of the major prizes to be utilised in 2021. The beginning of the year looked promising with successful O-Week events and a number of club and function bookings running through February and the beginning of March. One of the Bar’s biggest successes was the Uni Bar Kick Off held in O-Week of Trimester 1. This event attracted close to 1,000 students, making it the biggest Uni Night Party in recent years. Where Uni Night Parties in 2019 offered live music, the Uni Bar reverted to DJs in order to create the ultimate party atmosphere for students. Outside of the closure dates, the Uni Bar continued to stream a range of live sports daily, and also hosted events and specials for the likes of Superbowl, NBA games and, of course, all three State of Origin games in November. An exciting opportunity arose in late June to expand the Uni Bar offerings of locally crafted beverages from independent breweries such as Lost Palms, Black Hops Brewing, and Stone and Wood. Previously these brands were only offered as packaged drinks so the Uni Bar was excited to supply 41
these popular lines on tap from June to offer customers greater convenience and a more affordable price point. This was a natural progression of the Uni Bar’s 2019 efforts to help broaden the taste buds of its customers’ palates, whilst helping to support small local businesses. While the Uni Bar faced significant challenges from the three month closure, reduced patronage and the logistical challenges of operating a COVID-safe venue for the remainder of the year, the Uni Bar team met these challenges exceedingly well. The team worked hard to keep patrons safe and to adhere with compliance regulations. The Uni Bar is proud of its efforts in
this respect as well as the efforts made to offer a service to the limited number of patrons on campus during the second half of the year, when it may have been more viable to close. The Uni Bar would like to thank its suppliers for their support, especially Amadio, Diageo, Red Bull, Lion, CCA, Stone and Wood, as well as new local suppliers, Black Hops Brewing and Lost Palms. They have all contributed support and understanding through the challenges of 2020. The Uni Bar would also like to add thanks to those suppliers with whom it didn’t get a chance to work as closely with this year, including Burger Urge and The Commons as well as nightclub partners, SinCity Nightclub, The Bedroom Lounge Bar, Havana RnB Nightclub, and White Rhino Bar and Eats. The Uni Bar looks forward to their continued support. Special thanks go out to Uni Bar local regulars and students who came back to campus post-lockdown and supported the venue through uncertain times. Lastly, sincere appreciation is extended to former Venue Manager, Bobby Smith, current Assistant Manager, Blake Mink, and the Uni Bar staff whose continued efforts during a difficult and different year, helped the Uni Bar to reopen, and reset new goals and targets for 2021…. bring it on!
1000 attendees
at O-Week Uni Bar Kick Off
18% of front bar
taps occupied by local independent brewers
27.3% of kegged
beer revenue from local independent brewers
42
Uni Fitness provides health and fitness services on the Gold Coast campus. Operating over two facilities – the Uni Fitness Health Centre (G07) and the Griffith Aquatic Centre and HIIT Studio (G45) – Uni Fitness offers state of the art gym equipment, personal training, and a broad range of group fitness classes.
Alexander Kolatchew Manager Uni Fitness Health Centre
The 2020 calendar year will be remembered as one of the most challenging for Uni Fitness and the greater health and fitness industry, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing widespread shutdown of gyms from March. In the circumstances, Uni Fitness performed well, with effective membership management and a shift to online delivery of health and fitness programs the keys to success. Prior to the March lockdown, the G07 group fitness room received a long awaited make-over, with the objective of creating a multi-purpose area for members. Rubber floors were laid and the stage was removed, opening up more usable floor space with a surface suitable for all types of activity. New strength and functional equipment was added and the completion of the upgrades has made the G07 facility the new go-to space for all types of training on campus.
43
When trading restrictions on gyms were imposed, it was crucial to adapt to changes in the market and find new ways to continue to deliver health and fitness programs to members and the wider Griffith community. Within weeks, Uni Fitness rolled out an online group fitness timetable, with instructors hosting live home-based daily workouts via Zoom. Over a period of eight weeks, attendance averaged 10 people per session, numbers very comparable with those of in-person classes. In addition to live classes, new daily workout routines were added to social media pages, providing members a daily exercise routine and educating viewers about creative ways to use household objects to workout. The daily workouts consistently reached over 400 people and, after receiving positive feedback from members and Facebook followers, have become a staple on the Uni Fitness social media pages, helping those members who continue to work from home keep active.
Facebook average post reach
2020
706
2019
157
Facebook peak post reach COVID-19 closure period (23 March - 15 June)
2020
2,149
2019
557
Member retention
78%
With more people accessing health and fitness resources online, new targets were set for greater engagement on social media platforms in 2020. By creating and sharing more educational and entertaining content such as workout tips, recipes, member profiles and class footage, engagement increased significantly according to data extracted from Facebook. Average views per post in 2020 increased to 55, from an average of 17 views per post in 2019. Organic page reach also increased in 2020 with a peak reach of 2,149 during the COVID-19 temporary closure period, a great improvement on the peak reach of 557 in 2019. More importantly, the average post reach in the months following closure grew to 706, up over 400% on the pre-closure monthly average reach of 171. Naturally, the effects of the lock-down drove much of this increased engagement with more people forced to access online resources, however the sustained increase in average post reach following the closure period is a reflection of the good quality content produced by the Uni Fitness team. One of the greatest challenges of 2020 was the management of over 1,200 memberships when the closure of indoor fitness facilities was announced. The timing of the closure meant that a large portion of members had only recently purchased memberships and with the uncertain future of on-campus classes and international travel, refunds and extended holds were offered to those forced to move from the Gold Coast. The main objective following closure was member retention and this was achieved by servicing the needs of each individual member and offering flexibility around return dates and reinstating of payment plans. This flexibility was a major factor in the retention of approximately 72% of members, with 828 of the 1,150 preclosure members active again by December 2020, the period of the year with the lowest number of active members. This is a remarkable achievement, especially when compared to 937 active memberships in December 2019 where there was no disruptions to operations and activity on campus. In a less than ideal year of trading, Uni Fitness effectively navigated the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, finding ways to deliver cost-effective health and fitness programs to members, while continuing to uphold a high level of customer service. The team is excited to carry this momentum forward into 2021.
(Retained 78% of peak March memberships by December 2020)
Active members December*
2020 – 828 | 2019 – 937 * Active members December = The reference point for the lowest number of active members in any given year due to the high volume of contract expiry dates, membership holds and cancellations that occur during this period aligned with the student life cycle and academic calendar. 44
The Uni Store is an on-campus retail outlet conveniently located in The Link (G07) precinct, servicing predominantly Griffith University students and staff as well as Gold Coast Hospital staff. The Uni Store sells stationery, uni merchandise, cold drinks, snacks, bulk confectionery, various gifts and souvenirs, and phone and tech accessories.
Debby Hague Manager The Uni Store
As with many businesses on campus, The Uni Store faced the challenges of COVID-19 in 2020, with total sales down 53% on 2019 due to a significant reduction in foot traffic. Despite forced closures for a range of industries and businesses, The Uni Store was able to remain open due to the retail services offered, and adjusted to operate in accordance with COVIDsafe requirements. Adapting to the needs of the community and to help keep the campus COVID-safe, The Uni Store began to source and supply basic hygiene items including facemasks, hand sanitiser and toilet paper from March. The Uni Store was very happy to be able to meet customer demand and did not experience any stock shortages during the year. To encourage cashless payments and maintain social distancing, The Uni Store removed the EFTPOS transaction fee. This decision was well received by customers. One of The Uni Store’s biggest achievements in 2020 was the launch of theunistore.com.au in July. The new site offers Griffith University Gold Coast merchandise including apparel, themed stationery, drinkware, and graduation gifts. The site received 57 orders and generated $3,116 worth of sales. Approximately 75% of the online sales were generated via two key marketing opportunities including the launch of the site in July, and VIP Sale for Griffith University students, staff, and surrounding community in December. The key marketing objective was to inform customers of the existence of the online store, with a secondary goal of generating a small number of additional sales. Considering the total promotion spend for the new site in 2020 was just $130 for a paid Facebook campaign, the results are very promising, and The Uni Store looks forward to continued growth of online sales in 2021. One of The Uni Store’s key sales goals for 2020 was to run a successful VIP Sale Day and to exceed sales from the 2019 event. The VIP Sale was held on 9 December 2020 and was very successful, surpassing the 2019 VIP Day sales of $7,083 by more than $1,500, with a new event record of $8,664 45
in sales. This is an important annual day designed to promote The Uni Store to the campus and wider community, including the nearby University Hospital where flyers were distributed to promote the event. The event is also timed to assist with preChristmas gift shopping. The Happy Hour promotion for the bulk lolly wall continued in 2020, which ran from 2 – 3pm daily and served 5,309 customers. Happy Hour sales represented 30% of bulk lolly sales for the year. Other successful promotions included vouchers, which were well utilised again in 2020, with customers redeeming 338 vouchers from the Student Guild O-Week voucher booklet. The vouchers will be relaunched for 2021 as they are an effective way to make new students aware of The Uni Store’s products and services. The Uni Store looks forward to the return of more students and staff to campus in 2021, and the continued provision of products and services that meet and respond to the needs of the campus.
Top selling categories (as a percentage of total sales)
Merchandise 20% Gifts 16.5%
Drinks 15.5%
Merchandise 20.5% Merchandise 20.5% Gifts & cards 18% Gifts & cards 18%
2020 2020 Gross Gross sales sales
Confectionery 17.8% Confectionery 17.8% Drinks 15.7% Drinks 15.7% Stationery 12.5% Stationery 12.5% Technology 8% Technology 8% Groceries 7.5% Groceries 7.5%
Drinks 29.9% Drinks 29.9%
2019 2019 Gross Gross sales sales
VIP Sale Day total sales
$8,664 5.5% increase on 2019
Confectionery 26.4% Confectionery 26.4% Merchandise 19.1% Merchandise 19.1% Stationery 16.2% Stationery 16.2% Technology 7.4% Technology 7.4% Newspaper & magazines 1.0% Newspaper & magazines 1.0%
46
Village Café offers a wide range of café lines including coffee, drinks, sandwiches, burgers and other hot foods as well as convenience items such as snack foods, groceries and stationery. Located across the Griffith University Bridge, Village Café services Griffith University Village residents, international students from GELI and Griffith College, staff from local research centres, and staff and students from Academy of Health Sciences High School.
Mila Nowak
Finance Manager
In 2020 Village Café continued to provide an essential food service to staff and students on the southern side of the Gold Coast campus. The Village Café financial outlook was positive coming into 2020. The beginning of Trimester 1 saw some promising initiatives including a revised menu to support healthy lifestyle and diet choices, value for money pricing, and increased delivery of tasty school lunches to Queensland Academy for Health Sciences students. Having successfully catered nutritious meals to young athletes staying at Griffith University Village (GUV) during summer camp in late 2019, the Village Café received a boost of further catering opportunities on campus. With many O-Week events taking place in February, Village Café secured new catering contracts with the department of Dentistry and Griffith University Village, both received impressive feedback. The positive and profitable trend started in February was, like many university services, interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The entire Gold Coast campus climate changed in March 2020, creating a substantial financial hurdle for the Village Café as it lost its major customer base, predominantly made of international GUV residents and students based at the nearby International Building. Whilst this crisis has brought unprecedented challenges both for students and businesses, the Village Café management developed some inspiring new ideas in response to COVID-19. Firstly, the Village Café supported local students by selling grocery and fresh food packs for students isolated or unable to purchase items from supermarkets. More support was provided by offering specials including buy one get one free coffee, free drinks with lunch, return of $3.00 Iced Coffee promotion and other value for money meal options. Management of the Village Café further supported the community by helping Griffith University with its Food distribution effort by providing freezer storage capacity. result, Village Café was able to assist with emergency supplies to students in need. 47
local Bank As a food
The Student Guild worked hard to support and integrate with Campus Life efforts to reduce the adverse impact of COVID-19 on the student population in difficult times, and the Village Café played a key role in this. The Village Café continued to support the students living at GUV by remaining open throughout the year. Although best efforts were made to keep food service going, it soon became apparent that the Village Café had been put to a big financial test in 2020. With a rapid decline in sales due to COVID-19 (65% down on 2019) and consistently high operating expenses, the impact on cash flow was substantial. Considering an overall loss in 2020 and history of prior years’ losses, the decision to close the cafe in mid-December was inevitable. Other factors contributing to this heavy decision included a loss of over 55% of GUV occupancy, reduction in foot traffic on campus, and with other food outlets remaining open on campus, all proved to be unsustainable for the Student Guild to continue with Village Café operations in its current state. The Student Guild deeply cares about the Gold Coast student community, staff, and GUV residents, and would like to reassure of plans to reinvigorate food services around the southern side of the Gold Coast campus. At the time of writing this report, it is unknown when and what will be offered in substitute of Village Café, however, it is highly certain food and/or convenience services will resume in the future with the aim of being healthier, fresher and more inviting than ever before. The General Manager and staff of the Student Guild would like to acknowledge Shaun Edie, formerly Village Café Manager, for his hard work and dedication to Village Café. Shaun has played an integral part in the success of the Village Café and Village Express convenience store for over 10 years. Specials thanks should also go to the staff of Griffith University Village, particularly Maree Wilson. The Student Guild is committed to working together on restoring food options in The Village precinct.
The Village Café catered for O-Week events for the first time in 2020, supplying healthy meals to Department of Dentistry ($3K sales) and Griffith University Village (250 burgers).
Since the COVID-19 outbreak in late February and associated decrease in foot traffic on campus, the Village Café still managed to sell over 6,500 coffees
The Village Café management reacted quickly to COVID-19 supermarket groceries shortage and efficiently introduced emergency grocery and fresh food packs for students to conveniently purchase at the Café.
48
FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 ABN: 54 543 741 436
- CONTENTS BOARD’S REPORT AUDITOR’S INDEPENDENCE DECLARATION STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN MEMBERS’ FUNDS STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS DECLARATION BY MEMBERS OF THE BOARD INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
Corporate partners The Student Guild acknowledges and extends its thanks to the following valued 2020 corporate partners, for their support and contribution to the student experience.
71
72