Marcus Plottel Coordinator, Student Organizations June 1, 2016

The Students’ Union, University of Calgary

SU Clubs

Annual Report

2015 - 2016

Annual Report

2015/16

2

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................... 3

By the Numbers ................................................................................................................................ 3

Clubs by Category .......................................................................................................................... 3

Membership & Fees ...................................................................................................................... 4

Club Events & Spaces..................................................................................................................... 5

SU Clubs Budget ............................................................................................................................ 5

Clubs Committee .............................................................................................................................. 7

Members ...................................................................................................................................... 7

Major Decisions ............................................................................................................................ 7

Events and Programs ........................................................................................................................ 7

Clubs Week & Showcase ................................................................................................................ 7

Survival Seminars .......................................................................................................................... 8

Open ClubHouse ........................................................................................................................... 8

Club Awards Banquet .................................................................................................................... 9

Projects .......................................................................................................................................... 10

ClubHub & Website Updates ....................................................................................................... 10

Re-Branding ................................................................................................................................ 10

Social Media................................................................................................................................ 11

Jr Executive Program ................................................................................................................... 11

Clubs Policy Review ..................................................................................................................... 11

Looking Forward: Goals for 2016/17 ................................................................................................ 12

Annual Report

2015/16

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Executive Summary

This report details all major undertakings of Students’ Union (SU) Clubs during the 2015/16 academic year.

Registered SU Clubs provide undergraduate students at the University of Calgary the opportunity to engage with

their community, their school, and each other. Personal, social, and cultural development results from increased

student engagement and involvement in these autonomous organizations that the SU supports through funding,

services, and creative initiatives.

By the Numbers

The majority of data presented in this report is collected from the 2016 SU Clubs Survey and clubs’ annual

reports1. Records of events, active clubs, funding and service requests, and more come from ClubHub, the online

club management platform (powered by OrgSync), and also inform findings in this report.

Clubs by Category

As of April 20, 2016, 344 clubs were considered active. A further 57 clubs did not renew their registration with

the SU but remained in our records (should they decide to re-register), bringing the total number of clubs in

2015/16 to 401. This total number of clubs represents an increase of over 5.8%, up from 379 in 2014/15.

Out of 75 new club registration requests, 51 new clubs were registered in 2015/16 (or 68%). This represents an

increased number of new club registrations (only 27 out of 40 requests in 2014/15). Clubs may register within

one of ten categories, the distribution of which is illustrated in Figure 1 (below).

Figure 1: 2015/16 Registered SU Clubs by Category

1 Annual report data represents 285 total clubs that completed this mandatory requirement by May 19th, 2016.

Activism / Service

Academic

Interest / Hobby

Provisional Registration

Cultural / Ethnic

Sports / Outdoors

Religious / Spiritual

Sustainability

Political / Ideological

Greek Letter Association

Department

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2015/16

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Membership & Fees

SU Clubs reported a total of 25,943 members in 2015/16, a relatively typical 1.4% increase from 2014/15

memberships. Many students are members of multiple clubs and some clubs have non-student members. In

total, 14,748 students are reported to be a member of at least one SU Club; however, this total does not include

clubs whose members include entire undergraduate faculty populations. This figure also does not account for

clubs that have not yet completed an annual report (50 total). Aggregated annual report data indicates that

78.2% of clubs (223) have fewer than 100 members. Membership distribution is illustrated in Figure 2 (below).

Figure 2: 2015/16 Membership Distribution

In order to establish an operating budget, clubs are encouraged to charge a membership fee which they

determine independently. Figure 3 (below) outlines the range of fees charged in 2015/16.

Figure 3: 2015/16 Club Membership Fees

3

150

70

31

9 8 2 4 1 0 1 4 0 1 0 10

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Nu

mb

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of

Clu

bs

Membership Count

109

131

24

09

2 7 3

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

$0 $1 - $5 $6 - $10 $11 - $15 $16 - $20 $21 - $100 $100 -$500

$500+

Nu

mb

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of

Clu

bs

Membership Price

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2015/16

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The majority of clubs charge $5.00 or less (84.2%), with 45.4% of these being free to join. Outliers include Greek

Letter Organizations (GLOs) and other nationally affiliated groups, which collect membership fees based on

national chapter regulations. Club fees show no statistically significant correlation between memberships or

areas of interest. Rather, larger fees reflect the increased frequency and complexity of events, services, and

activities that certain clubs provide for their members.

Club Events & Spaces

SU Clubs plan, promote, and execute events independently. Event approval is necessary to fulfil the SU’s risk

management requirements, and this falls within the CSO’s portfolio. Figure 4 (below) indicates the increasing

frequency of SU Club events from 2012 to present.

Figure 4: Club Events per Month (2012-2016)

In 2015/16, SU Clubs held 4346 (reported) events. This represents a 34.6% increase in (reported) events from

2014/15 (3229 reported). Variances in event frequency reflect academic schedules and holidays.

SU Clubs may book conference rooms in MacEwan Conference and Events Centre for their events at reduced or

no cost. A new consolidated space booking form for all spaces in MacEwan Student Centre was introduced in

January. Of 136 total room requests using this new form, 119 (87.5%) were approved. Prior to January, 328 of

455 (72.1%) room booking requests were approved. Overall, this represents a 4.3% increase in MSC space

request approval rates. Many of these requests were for multiple days or weekly meetings. Table bookings

remain at a roughly 50% approval rate and data from Den bookings is unavailable at this time.

SU Clubs also have free access to bookable workrooms in the West Clubs Area. The SU’s IT Director re-created

the previously broken online reservation system. In total, 2116 reservations were made since implementation,

representing an 85.3% increase in use since the last available online reservation data (2013/14).

SU Clubs Budget

In 2015/16, the SU provided funding for clubs in the form of Start-Up Grants ($862.73), Food and Beverage

reimbursements ($6,278.03), Special Events Funding ($15,151.41). SU Clubs events ($13,086.10) included

Survival Seminars, Jr. Exec Workshops, Clubs Week & Showcase, and the annual Club Awards and Banquet.

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2015/16

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Over $60,400.00 in special events and last minute funding was requested for 108 events in summer, fall, and

winter semesters (2015/16) combined. This represents a 23% decrease in funds requested and a 22% decrease

in the number of club events requesting SU funding from 2014/15. Of this, almost 35% ($20,869.18) of

requested funds (53.7% of requests, a significant increase from previous years) were pre-approved; however,

only 71.5% of this pre-approved amount was claimed for reimbursement.

The Clubs Committee also approved 5 of 7 (71%) Charity Grant applications, providing free space rentals in

MacEwan Student Centre for clubs hosting fundraising events (a value of approximately $4500.00).

Figure 5 (below) indicates the month-to-month historical and projected expenses (2012 to 2017). A total of 60%

of the overall 2015/16 budget was allocated to special events funding, while 25.4% was earmarked for SU Clubs

special projects, including club awards, the Club Awards Banquet, and Clubs Week/Showcase events. Human

error resulted in March and April 2016 being significantly different from previous years and corrective action

was taken to ensure this would not occur in future years.

Figure 5: Club Funding and Expenses (2012 – 2017)

SU Clubs annual expenses total $33,310.26 of the total $50,000.00 budgeted for 2015/16, resulting in SU Clubs

being $14,416.86 under budget (as of May 19, 2016). Clubs Committee Special Event Funding pre-approval and

club reimbursement processes are being reviewed to avoid this surplus for future years. Communication

strategies will also be reviewed to increase awareness of additional funds and funding options for clubs.

Budgetary anomalies included $2,307.28 in “returned” or “stale” cheques, which is within normal expected

historical averaged (± 6.5%). Additionally, $7,130.71 of “unclaimed” special events funding. This value is within

normal expected historical averages (± 7.8%) of previous years’ unclaimed funding.

$-

$2,000.00

$4,000.00

$6,000.00

$8,000.00

$10,000.00

$12,000.00

$14,000.00

$16,000.00

$18,000.00

$20,000.00

Club Funding Expenses 2012 to 2017

2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 (proposed)

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2015/16

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Clubs Committee

The Clubs Committee is a standing committee created by the Students’ Legislative Council (SLC) to oversee the

clubs system, make policy suggestions, contribute to the strategic vision of the SU, advise the CSO and SU, and

report to SLC on club activities.

Members

Summer Fall Winter

Kirsty McGowan, VP Student Life (Chair)

Megan Kolmatiski Megan Kolmatiski Megan Kolmatiski

Jovey Sharma Jovey Sharma Jovey Sharma

Conrad Jaeger Negin Hemati Conrad Jaeger

Haider Ali Tasneem Zaman Haider Ali

Tasneem Zaman Jen Tokarek Jen Tokarek

- - - Julie Le Julie Le

Figure 6: 2015/16 Clubs Committee Members by Semester

Major Decisions

Ratified new Terms of Reference and Club Policies, available online.

Pre-approved special event funding in summer, fall, and winter semesters.

Pre-approved last-minute special event funding throughout the academic year.

Approved 5 Charity Space Grants in fall and winter semesters.

Created more objective scoring rubrics for Club Awards and Scholarships to standardize scoring.

Selected Eric Lahoda Memorial SU Clubs Scholarship recipients.

Selected of SU Club Awards winners and honorable mentions (except sponsored awards).

SU Clubs Events and Programs

The SU hosts multiple events to promote involvement in clubs, increase the visibility of clubs on campus, engage

and educate club executives, and recognize outstanding club achievements throughout the academic year.

Clubs Week & Showcase

Representing the largest gatherings of SU Clubs, Clubs Week (fall) and Clubs Showcase (winter) continue to be a

primary means for clubs to recruit members and promote their activities to the campus community.

Event Dates Location Attendees

September 14-18, 2015 MSC North and South Courtyards 179 Clubs

January 18-21, 2016 MSC North and South Courtyards 161 Clubs

Figure 7: 2015/16 Clubs Week/Showcase attendance

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2015/16

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Unlike 2014/15, both Clubs Week and Showcase were held in MacEwan Student Centre North and South

Courtyards. This decision was based on feedback from the 2015 Clubs Survey. Results from the 2016 Clubs

Survey indicate that 80.8% of respondents would like to continue hosting a Showcase event in January.

Qualitative data suggests that a January Showcase would still be successful if held for only four days as long as

more advertising and promotion was undertaken leading up to the event.

Survival Seminars

As the primary vehicle for communicating requirements, expectations, and privileges to Registered SU Clubs,

survival seminars are mandatory in-person information sessions held in September and January.

Event Dates Location Attendees

September 21-25, 2015 MSC Conference Rooms (8) & Foothills (2) 261 Clubs

January 27 & 28, 2016 MSC Conference Rooms (4) 43 Clubs

Figure 8: 2015/16 Survival Seminar Attendance

Many of the 14 available sessions were poorly attended, with the exception of the final September session

which was over capacity. In total, 33 clubs did not attend survival seminars and were placed on Provisional

Registration. An extra 2 sessions were added at Foothills Campus in September to accommodate Medical and

Veterinary Medical clubs that could not attend main campus sessions.

Club executive opinion was relatively divided on the effectiveness of survival seminars, with results from the

2015/16 clubs survey suggesting they were neither the worst, nor the best means of communicating club

requirements. Qualitative data from the survey suggested that efforts should be concentrated on raising

awareness of online resources and providing ClubHub training and information at these sessions.

Open ClubHouse

Intended to replace President’s Circle, these events aimed to gather feedback and provide information

regarding uses of clubs space, changes to the clubs system, and addressing overall clubs concerns. Attendance

was poor despite popcorn and cotton candy being offered for free. Visibility of the events was limited by hosting

them in the clubs area rather than on the South Courtyard Stage during Clubs Week and Showcase.

Event Dates Location Attendees

September 14, 17, 18, 2015 Workroom 7 177 Individuals (approx.)

January 20, 2016 Workroom 7 93 Individuals (approx.)

Figure 9: 2015/16 Presidents’ Circle Attendance

Survey respondents were almost equally likely to have attended both (34.6%) or neither (32.7%) fall and winter

Open ClubHouse events. Qualitative suggestions primarily focused on increasing awareness of the existence and

purpose of this type of event.

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2015/16

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Club Awards Banquet

This year marked the 6th annual Club Awards Banquet. The SU and contributing campus sponsors2 recognized

Club success in 14 categories, also awarding 15 honorable mentions. A total 149 Club Award nomination forms

totaling over 367 individual nominations were submitted in 2015/16.

2015/16 SU Club Award Winners and Honorable Mentions

Award Name Winner Honorable Mention

Leadership Award Engineers Without Borders Technology, Engineering and Science Leadership Activities (TESLA)

Community Service Award Muslim Students’ Association Best Buddies UofC Chapter

Quality of Education Award Society of Undergraduates in Economics

Neuroscience Students' Association

Innovation Award* Student Organization for Aerospace Research

Sports Management Society

Student Life Award Indian Students’ Association Outdoor Adventurers

Sustainability Award* Community Garden Club - - -

Alumni Engagement Award* Students of the Arts and Sciences Honours Academy

Indian Students’ Association & Outdoor Adventurers

First Year Engagement Award* Kinesiology Students’ Society Mental Health Awareness

Campus Pride Award* Schulich UAV Model United Nations Team

Advocacy Award Distress Centre on Campus UNICEF on Campus

Collaboration Award Mental Health Awareness NuFocus: Photography that matters

Longevity, Ongoing Vitality, and Engagement

Bear Necessities Unconventional Engineers & Model United Nations team

Best New Club Award Women in Business Robogals UCalgary

Club of the Year Award Model United Nations Team Children’s Health Advocates

Figure 10: 2015/16 SU Club Award Winners and Honorable Mentions

The Eric Lahoda Memorial SU Clubs Scholarship recognizes 10 outstanding club members annually for their

contributions to student life on campus. A total of 43 applications were submitted. This scholarship is made

possible by an SU Quality Money grant that expired in 2016. A successful $100,000 Quality Money application

was made in 2016 to extend this scholarship through 2026.

2015/16 Eric Lahoda Memorial SU Clubs Scholarship Recipients

Lucy Ni Raveen Virk

Tejeswin Sharma Chinmoy Ayachit

Rebecca Ng Vidhya Bavanala

Julie Le Ananya Parasor

Ryan Wallace Maria Servito

Figure 11: 2015/16 Eric Lahoda Memorial SU Clubs Scholarship Recipients

2 Winners and honorable mentions of awards marked with an asterisk were decided by award sponsors.

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2015/16

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Both the Club Awards and Scholarships were announced at the Club Awards Banquet, held on April 6th, 2016.

The banquet was held in MacEwan Ballroom. Attendance rates (169 out of 200 RSVPs, or 84.5%) were similar to

previous years (down 3%). Expenses for this event, including monetary club awards, were $11,207.22, a total of

$242.78 under budget.

Projects

SU Clubs are a diverse and evolving community of organizations managed and supported by students, staff, and

executives. In order to match the dynamic needs of these groups, improvements in communications, online

resources, and clubs policy were recommended. The following projects were undertaken in 2015/16 to improve

sustainability, transparency, and ease of access to clubs’ administrative affairs for students and staff alike.

ClubHub & Website Updates

ClubHub has aided in sustainably streamlining and centralizing club operations and administration. Its use has

allowed for increased administrative oversight, better access to funding and services, and improved resource

management. Over 82% of clubs indicate that using ClubHub has been a benefit to their organization.

Streamlining internal ClubHub portals and public website layouts has enhance accessibility and improved

awareness among current and prospective club members, as well as within the campus community and beyond.

Many forms have been consolidated to simplify club requests. For instance, MCEC and Den management now has access to one centralized space booking form for all of MacEwan Student Centre.

News updates are now posted on the public website, in ClubHub, and sent as a newsletter via email to increase visibility and awareness of key dates, events, and information.

The CSO leveraged resources in the SU’s IT department to learn CSS and HTML coding to ensure that every page on the public website has been linked to a streamlined navigation bar.

The SU’s IT department restored the online workroom booking system to increase ease of access and efficiency.

A Help Page was created with step-by-step walkthroughs for various ClubHub features.

Annual reports are now completed using OrgSync’s built-in portal renewal process.

The annual clubs survey is now a public form that anyone can access without logging in.

Of the 52 individuals who responded in the clubs survey, 38.5% indicated that the clubs website was the most

effective means of finding information about the clubs system. Over 49% of respondents indicated that it was

easier to navigate since updates made in the summer of 2015. While qualitative data suggests that more

training on the use of ClubHub is required, clubs are beginning to see the potential of this software. Several

responses requested integrating ClubHub with the university’s CAS system to reduce the number of different

log-ins required and suggested promoting the existence and capability of ClubHub more widely across campus.

Re-Branding

A set of template elements was commissioned from the SU’s Communications department to standardize the

marketing strategy of SU Clubs events, website, social media, and promotions. New LOOP TV ads, posters, and

online promotions now all reflect this standardized design, including “color bars,” a “call to action,” and ClubHub

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logo branding on all SU Clubs publications. ClubsNews newsletters were also reformatted and standardized with

these new design elements, and a pull-up banner was created to advertise the CSO’s location at SU events. The

clubs newsletter was rated as the second most effective means of communication about SU Clubs requirements

(28.9% of respondents) in the 2016 clubs survey, a major improvement from the 2015 survey where it was rated

second-least effective.

Social Media

Goals from the 2015/16 Clubs Report included establishing a social media presence on Twitter and Facebook

and providing opportunities for club executives to integrate these external platforms with our existing digital

infrastructure. Currently, @SUUofCClubs on Twitter has 205 followers and reaches an average of 140 people

per tweet. Facebook.com/SUUofCClubs has 217 likes and an average audience reach of 230 people per week.

Over 81% of survey respondents thought the SU should continue to use social media to inform clubs of events,

deadlines, and important information.

Jr Executive Program

Kirsty McGowan (VP Student Life) outlined plans to establish a “Jr. Executive” program aimed at recruiting

engaged students, facilitating club executive transition, and raising awareness of services offered to clubs by the

SU. In the first official year of the program 136 clubs officially participated recruiting a total of 245 Jr Executives.

While the format, promotion, and timing of workshops could be improved, the general reception of the program

was positive.

Clubs Policy Review

As part of the SU’s scheduled policy review, clubs procedures were updated to clarify SU’s role in administering

clubs and better align with operational practices. Part of this involved discontinuing the use of the term

“sanctioned” clubs in favour of a more accurate “registered student organizations,” while still colloquially

calling them SU Clubs. Recommendations for updates to policy and terminology were derived from the Societies

Act by the SU’s Policy Analyst. Several months of research, readings, and revisions were required before Clubs

Committee ratified the following changes:

The Student Organization Registration Procedure replaced the Sanctioned Club Agreement and the Club Dispute Resolution, Penalties, and Appeals Procedure ;

The Student Organization Funding and Services Procedure replaced the Club Funding Procedure; and,

The Clubs Committee Terms of Reference were updated.

The operational rules in the Clubs Manual, now formatted with newly designed template elements, were

updated to match these new policies, as was the Constitution Writing Guide. A full report can be found here.

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Looking Forward: Goals for 2016/17

Research and development of OrgSync’s potential uses for SU Clubs is ongoing. Survey responses indicate that

more advertising, education, and streamlining would improve the user-friendliness of this software.

Form streamlining will continue throughout the summer of 2016 with the ultimate goal being a 50% reduction in available forms from 2014/15.

Implementing the new positions feature will allow designated bookers to be visible to all club executives and contribute to the goal of reducing form clutter.

Assessment of the Annual Report process will be undertaken to determine long-term feasibility of using OrgSync’s portal renewal for this purpose.

Ongoing efforts to integrate the CAS login feature will be pursued.

Collaborative digital marketing strategies with the SU, the Leadership and Student Engagement Office, and the

Centre for International Students and Study Abroad did not succeed in 2015/16. Efforts to better engage first-

year and international students and will continue to be explored thoroughly. Club events, including clubs week

and workshops, will be more widely advertised both digitally and through traditional methods.

Our ongoing goals include increasing awareness of SU Clubs events and resources, including increasing the

visibility of the CSO as a go-to resource for club information and diversifying the role of Clubs Committee in

resource development and strategic vision for clubs management.

Survival Seminars will be reviewed for effectiveness, both form and content.

Jr. Exec Workshop formats and times will be reviewed for effectiveness

Online video tutorials will be explored for feasibility of educating new clubs, new executives, etc.

Clubs Committee member roles and expectations will be discussed with the 74th SLC to improve quality of student engagement and feedback.