annual report
curtin student guild 速
table of contents History of the Guild President’s Report Managing Director’s Report 2008 Guild Executive 2008 Faculty Representatives Council Governance Representation/Educational Issues Food & Beverage Retail Membership Services Events Sport Publications Support Services Council Statement Independent Audit Report Financial Reports Student Services Expenses
2 4 6 8 9 10 12 15 18 21 25 28 30 32 36 37 39 42
A few years after the WA Institute of Technology (WAIT) had been established it was recognised there was a lack of ‘community’ amongst the students. The WAIT decided a student association was required to manage student facilities and bring community life on campus. With approval from the Minister for Education, the WAIT Student Guild was established opening it’s doors for business in February 1969. The Guild started to distribute its first newspaper ‘Aspect’ and other weekly publications, ‘Spectrum’ and ‘Wisgo’. The Guild organised George James Week (named after the St Georges Terrace and James Street WAIT sites), Orientation Week and the Recovery Ball. The Guild also recommended WAIT to implement the common free time all students still enjoy every Wednesday afternoon to this day. In 1971 amendments to the WAIT Act allowed student representation on Council and some boards. In 1972, three years after the official Guild establishment, the Guild Building was finally opened. As a result of the new amenities available to the Guild, the 1970’s was a time of expansion providing more services to the students. A second-hand bookshop, fruit and vegetable market and Guild Emporium were set up, and a full pharmacy established. Bookshop grants were introduced along with student insurance coverage, a taxation advisory service, external student’s newsletter, student radio and the appointment of environmental and homosexual affairs officers. During the late 1970’s, in an effort to subdue student voices in higher education, the WA Government abolished compulsory membership of student associations and compulsory charging of student service fees. In 1979, the Guild President took the
history of the guild extraordinary measure of halting all Guild operations. This led to students becoming more aware of the Guild’s significant role in services and a unified group of 1,000 students protested at the Government’s attempt to restrict student organisations. Although the Guild suffered from financial and internal turmoil in the 1980’s it continued to provide support for students and even extended services through new projects. Commercial services were expanded to include a Guild owned hairdresser (Campus Cuts), a leased health food shop, an optometrist and a health appraisal centre. Guild regulations needed to be changed to suit the new WAIT divisional based system and a policy handbook was developed. In 1994, VSU legislation was passed by the WA Government thereby enforcing a voluntary student services fee. Fortunately, with the ever present threat of the new legislation, the Guild had taken precautionary measures pre-empting the decline of student funding. This included the closing of the Guild Emporium, Guild Shop, the tool library, and suspension of the Emergency Student Loan Service. However the Guild also took over the Curtin Tavern, which was previously run by the Curtin Students Social Club, the Sports Store, set up a Copy Centre and took over catering. To enable the continued provision of a range of free services, the Guild became more commercially focused in these trading areas. When the Guild celebrated its 30 year anniversary in 1999, it was calculated that Guild Representatives had sat on around 19,500 boards and committees, organised over 100 rallies and petitions and written over 10,000 reports.
waive this fee as the University was required, under State legislation, to charge students a compulsory Amenities and Services Fee (ASF) and provide an income to the Guild, so free services could be provided to students. Federal legislation which commenced in 1 July 2006 now prohibits the University from charging a compulsory ASF. However, in line with Western Australian legislation, a student still automatically becomes a Basic Guild Member on enrolment, which grants students limited access to the Guild’s basic services at no charge. Despite these setbacks, the Guild has continued to expand its range of benefits and provide great service and representation to all students. If students wish to enjoy all benefits and services of the Guild in 2009, they should become a Full Guild Member by paying the small membership fee. No University experience is complete without the Guild; students are therefore urged to sign up to ensure they get the most out of their years at Curtin University! Sources: Curtin Student Guild, 1989-2000, Grok [Official Guild Newspaper], Perth. WAIT Student Guild, 1969-1971, Aspect [Official Guild Newspaper], Perth. WAIT Student Guild, 1972-1987, Grok [Official Guild Newspaper], Perth. WAIT Student Guild, 1974-1985, Annual Reports. White, M., 1996, WAIT to Curtin, Paradigm Books, Curtin University, Perth.
In 2002, the Guild stopped charging students a membership fee. The Guild could 3
president’s report Welcome to the 2008 Guild Annual Report. The Annual Report is a publication to better inform our members and wider community on our operations. This document ensures the office bearers of the Guild are accountable to the students they represent, and demonstrates that the Guild office bearers are doing their best to represent the greater student community of Curtin University. The year of 2008 was somewhat of a rollercoaster, with many highs and many lows. But under the leadership of Collette Swindells, the Curtin Student Guild had an overall successful year in its campaigns and projects to benefit the wider student community. Many issues were raised and addressed in the University Guild Strategy Group meeting. One of the main concerns expressed to us by students was the lack of internet quota available for undergraduate students. Through lobbying the University, we were able to get the University to increase the quota by 150% to a more usable 500 megabytes. Another concern expressed by the Guild was the lack of iLectures available for students to access. The Guild argued that it was a supplement to a student’s learning experience and would provide aid for them to help pass their units. Thankfully the University understood our points and decided to implement an opt out policy (where as before it was opt in). So if a lecture theatre or room is equipped for recording iLectures, and the lecturer hasn’t opted out then students should be able to access them. Unfortunately in 2008 the Guild lost control of sport on campus to the University. The University saw fit to take control of sport on 4
campus due to the completion of the new Recreation Centre. The Guild losing sport on campus was inevitable, but I still believe we ran the cheapest social sport program in Australia! During the year, the Guild also distributed $35,000 worth of funding to its regional campuses. This funding was to help promote life on campus as well as benefit their whole student communities. Major regional campuses that benefited from this funding include Kalgoorlie, Northam, Margaret River, Albany and Geraldton. In 2008 we also prevented the shutdown of 1st and 2nd year units in Kalgoorlie for the WA School of Mines. The closure of these units would have been detrimental to the quality of the degree and to the town of Kalgoorlie itself. Thankfully the University realised its mistake after we made it known that they would be in breach of certain regulations. Security was a big item on the agenda for the 2008 Curtin Student Guild Council. With numerous attacks happening on and off campus, it was important for the Guild to work in conjunction with the University to address these issues. Through being on the front line by initiating numerous security audits, the Guild was able to instigate numerous changes to the procedures, protocol and routines practiced by Security and the people on campus. The Curtin Student Guild and its Women’s department were also successful in their events to promote safety on campus and also raise money and awareness on different causes. The ‘Reclaim the Night’ event was a huge success in promoting safety on campus, with a huge turnout for the event. The award winning ‘Vagina Monologues’ play was also run by the Women’s department which
helped raise money for numerous charities. The International Students Committee (a department of the Guild) also put on numerous events which added to the community life on campus including the award winning Pasar Malam. The event had a record number of attendees, and was considered a great success. Thanks to the bonds forged throughout the year, the University received a commendation in the 2008 AQUA Audit for its strong relationship with the Guild. The strength of this relationship helped address major issues that the University was not aware of. I urge you to read on in order to see more of what the Guild has done as we are reaching a time where we will need more and more support from our student body.
Chee Lai 2009 Guild President
Students from all WA universities joined together to rally the government for support on pressing issues such as student poverty and voluntary student unionism.
managing director’s report The beauty of hindsight is that forecasts can be studied with some certainty. 2008 was forecast to be a year of consolidation because the known elements of change had replaced those previously tainted with uncertainty. Membership income was projected with conservatism, the grant for sport was reduced and student services had been aligned with projected overall income which entailed some rationalisation of the minor services and a conservative loss of $177,141 was envisaged. Therefore to close the year with a surplus of $155,371 was a great reflection on the tenacity and skill of the management and staff of the student service areas which create income, namely in our trading areas. The CafÊ and catering services produced a 7% net profit from turnover just short of $8 million whilst the retail division contributed an 11% profit from its $2million turnover.
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We have also achieved significant income through careful use of cash funds and this has been bolstered by our timely locking into interest rates which peaked during the year. We negotiated an offset facility of $900,000 with our major bankers to ensure any immediate capital works we enter into can be funded without depleting our general cash resources whilst minimising our interest exposure. The Guild distributed significant funds to regional campuses during the year with a concerted campaign by Student Council to reunite our support and ties with these campuses. There have been some great initiatives commenced during the year and whilst outcomes are likely to be protracted because of the nature of the projects, all will be actively pursued. A full revamp of the Vege Patch restaurant was put in place and this was completed early in 2009 at a cost of a quarter of a million dollars.
The administration costs were higher than anticipated due to the inclusion of provisions of some $300,000 for adjustments to accruals relating to the closure of the childcare centre and the likelihood of compensation to staff changes resulting from the transfer of the sporting opportunities over to the University in line with their elite athlete friendly focus. It should be emphasised however that we intend to actively work to recoup certain aspects of these expenses and the provision is merely prudent and conservative accounting.
The Guild entered into joint venture negotiations with a major property developer to consider building a 300 bed student accommodation close to campus, as well as investigating a tailored arrangement with Bendigo Bank with a view to setting up a branch on Campus. We have looked at expanding as well as consolidating many student services and entered into negotiations with new student focussed tenants and a major legal firm which will ensure we have the best legal advice available for students.
Our cash resources are strong and we recorded an increase in current assets of some three quarters of a million dollars whilst our current liabilities rose only some $200,000.
2009 will be an exciting year as many of the initiatives we have set in motion should become reality. Our focus for funding the many student services has not been diverted despite the
continual stream of Government rhetoric suggesting a compulsory student levy paid to the Universities, but intended for student amenities. We anticipate that the Universities will act responsibly should the imposition of these fees become reality, but as with the current university grant for which we are always most appreciative, which supports a raft of services, there is no absolute certainly in its continuation. Prudence and commercial thinking are therefore our watchwords to ensure the underlying monetary foundation and income streams of the Guild remain viable, and student services assured. I would like to express special thanks to the loyal and hardworking staff and students who support and operate the complex group of amenities and services we operate and who show extraordinary dedication and resilience to the challenges they face in any year.
campus assured until 2020 at least. Serious provisions for maintenance of assets and replacement of equipment can now be planned with certainty. We pride ourselves on being one of the most focused and successful Guilds in Australia and 2009 contains some significant opportunities and milestones. We close a successful 2008 with enthusiasm and eager anticipation for an even more significant 2009.
Cliff Paget Managing Director 2009
We have some expanded operations too through changes on the campus such as the closure of the University run print shop. Our campus print operations have had to adapt to cater for the additional and considerable needs of the students who previously utilised the University’s printing facilities. The head lease we have from the University which provides us with our core business buildings from which we provide student services and amenities, was due to expire at the end of 2009 and uncertainty existed regarding the equitable take up of the option period contained within the lease. To plan and operate under this uncertainty was untenable and many of our other campus services such as tenanted shops were at risk as no new leases could be offered until the option had been granted. I am pleased to therefore confirm this document has been executed and the Guild’s continuance on 7
2008 guild executive
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Guild President Collette Swindells
Education Vice President Matthew Bowker
Activities Vice President Chris Hassen
General Secretary Arylene Westlake
2008 faculty representatives
CBS Representative Chee Lai
Health Sciences Representative Jana-Lee Moss
Humanities Representative Fendi Liwang
Engineering & Science Representative Emma Smith 9
council governance The following is a listing of all Guild Representatives on University Boards and Councils. In 2008, in line with changes to the University structure Divisional Representatives were renamed Faculty Representatives.
Guild President
ICT Strategy & Planning Committee English Language Competency Group C2010 Steering Committee ARPLA Committee Quality Enhancement Steering Committee AUQA Meeting OHSPC Meeting Quality Enhancement Steering Committee Occupational Safety & Health Policy Committee John Curtin Gallery Advisory Board Vice-Chancellors Excel Awards Committee Commonwealth Scholarship Selection Panel Meeting Uni-Guild Strategy Group Meeting John Curtin Advisory Board Grievance Resolution Committee Monthly Meeting with the Vice-Chancellor Monthly Meeting with Corporate Communications Academic Services Committee Fees & Charges Committee Monthly Meeting with John Rowe iPortfolio Discussion Forum University Council Selection Panel Interviews Student Self-Management Steering Committee ARPLA Steering Committee Academic Board Information Governance Committee English Language Competency Group Meeting Student Self-Management Steering Committee University Council Retreat eServices Committee Meeting University Library Advisory Committee 10
Education Vice President
Plagiarism Working Party Interview Panel for Pro-Vice Chancellor of CBS University Teaching and Learning Committee Fieldwork Working Party (UTLC) Academic Board Courses Management Committee Meeting C2010 and Engaging Learning Spaces Corporate Communications Textbook Working Party Academic Board University Library Advisory Committee
Activities Vice President
Olympic Promotions Meeting (University) Corporate Communications & Guild Lunch Meeting University Guild Strategy Group Meeting CBS Disciplinary Hearing University Library Advisory Committee
General Secretary
Open Day Steering Group Meeting Selection Panel: Director of Curtin English Language Centre University Library Advisory Committee Student Self-Management Steering Committee Meeting CBS Board CBS Disciplinary Hearings Corporate Communications
Business Faculty Representative CBS Teaching & Learning Committee CBS Board Selection Panels CBS Courses Management Committee Academic Services Committee Corporate Communications
Health Sciences Faculty Representative
Selection Panels Teaching & Learning Committee Academic services Committee Courses Management Committee Corporate Communications Faculty Academic Board
Humanities Faculty Representative
Humanities Management Board Teaching & Learning Committee Selection Panels Academic Services Committee Corporate Communications
Hundreds signed our banner illustrating the high levels of debt students are entering into for a tertiary education.
Science & Engineering Faculty Representative
Teaching & Learning Committee Courses Management Committee Selection Panels i-portfolio Working Party Science Board Industry Advisory Board (Mechanical Engineering) Industry Advisory Board (Electrical Engineering) Industry Advisory Board (Chemical Engineering) Academic Services Committee Corporate Communications
representation/educational issues The Guild had a successful year in 2008 with events and campaigns. Education Vice-President Matthew Bowker led the student poverty campaign in 2008 culminating in a big breakfast cook-up at the end of second semester. The Grill the Guild free sausage sizzle on a Wednesday moved to different faculties throughout the semester and as always, was still a hit with students. Over 200 welfare surveys were distributed at various Grill the Guilds throughtout the year. At the Guild, the faculty representatives worked tirelessly to ensure the student voice was heard and recognised at all University meetings. A National Day of Action was held in Semester One at Forest Chase. Curtin Student Guild, ECU Student Guild, UWA Guild and the Murdoch Guild of Students banded together dressed in convict costumes chained to one another and marched down the streets of Perth, demanding the Government scrap Voluntary Student Unionism. In Second Semester, we also held a protest on the steps of the Uniting Church of Perth with the other West Australian Student Guild’s. The mob of angry students finished the march outside Centrelink. Voluntary Student Unionism has seen Student Guilds and Student Unions across Australia stripped of over $160 million in funding. This has meant that student run services have disappeared across many campuses, with universities and outside providers taking over the services. The 2008 National Union of Students campaign revolved around: • • • • 12
Scrapping VSU Save Student Services Save Campus Life Save Our Voice
In early 2009, under the Labor Government, Minister for Youth Kate Ellis proposed a bill for an Amenities Services Fee where students would be charged an amount capped at $250. The money would go towards sports, employment, child care, housing, health care, clubs and societies, sports and recreation and financial services. However, no money would go towards the Guild. The Labor Government only met our demands half way as the money will be controlled by the universities and not by the students. The Universities have the option to choose to support their Student Guilds. The bill has not been passed but the Curtin Student Guild remains hopeful that it will be passed into law and Curtin University will continue to acknowledge the Guild’s student run services and clubs, in turn providing us with funding to grow, sustain and initiate new services. In 2005, Curtin Student Guild conducted its first ever security audit. The results were collated and reported to the University. The Curtin Student Guild has been committed to repeating the audit at least annually to monitor the standards of safety and security on campus. In 2008, the audit revealed a number of concerns. Unauthorised access to buildings remained an issue, Students were able to access a flammable area, as well as valuable equipment (such as computers and televisions) which promotes vandalism, misuse or theft. There were a number of security issues on and off campus in 2008 which received a significant amount of media coverage. We informed the University that we believed it had breached its duty of care towards students, staff and visitors. A further area of concern was the lack of lighting in certain areas of campus which could result in more attacks and posed a threat to the duty of
care to staff, students and visitors. The issues have been addressed but more needs to be done around campus and Curtin Student Guild is working closely with the University on security through the newly formed Curtin Security Action Group. This group is where representatives from the University and community stakeholders come together to make Curtin campuses safer. Recycling has still not been implemented across campus and the University continues to stall on implementing a recycling program. The University has not put any money towards a recycling program despite the Student Guild presenting the University with 600 petitions calling on Curtin to recycle in 2006. The Guild has continued to put pressure on the University as to why they will not implement campus wide recycling in 2009. The Australian University Quality Agency (AUQA) conducted a lengthy and detailed assessment of the practices of Curtin University; Curtin Student Guild was heavily involved in the AUQA process. AUQA commended Curtin University for ensuring and encouraging the active role which the Student Guild takes on boards and committees and in advocacy to improve the student experience at the University. C2010 continues to be steaming ahead with Bev Oliver as the project leader. Many courses have been phased out as they did not have enough students in them and many courses have been changed and are now better than before. The Guild continues to monitor the C2010 and continues to sit on the steering and courses committee. The Guild worked closely with the University in developing the i-porfolio. The i-portfolio is a tool for students and staff to document their learning and university life experiences.
i-portfolio will be launched in Semester Two, 2009. The Guild’s involvement reflects our commitment to making sure students are able to access a range of tools that will enhance their learning experience and employability. At the beginning of 2009 the unit size and viability policy was implemented. Under this policy, an undergraduate unit will not run if the number of enrolled students is under 20, and postgraduate unit will not run if the number of students enrolled is under 10. The students who had already paid their fees for the semester were made to study the units elsewhere. Many students were distressed over this, so the Guild lobbied the University to ensure there was a fair outcome achieved for affected students. The Guild runs five equity departments which continue to make an impact on the lives of students across campus. CUPSA, International Students Committee, Indigenous, Women’s, Environment and Gender and Sexuality Department all worked to better the lives of students on campus. The Women’s Department celebrated International Women’s Day with events at the Tavern and V-day with performances of the Vagina Monologues, highlighting the issues of domestic violence, rape and women’s rights. The events also worked to promote the Guild’s Women’s Department room as a safe place for women on campus. The Gender & Sexuality Department was also very busy in 2008 campaigning for queer rights with events being held for International Day Against Homophobia and Genderf@%k Day at the Bentley campus during first semester. The department was also busy throughout the year assisting in Ally training seminars and hosting parenting seminars in the room. 13
Over 550,000 shots of world class coffee were prepared for the eager consumption of Curtin students & staff in 2008.
food & beverage 2008 was an extremely successful year for the Food & Beverage department. • Over 550,000 shots of world class coffee were prepared by our dedicated team to fuel the campus. We also supplied those who prefer their energy boost in a diferent form with almost 50,000 cans of Red Bull sold! • We reduced the damage of osteoporosis amongst the Curtin community by selling 106,654 flavoured milks. • 21,156 students and staff took advantage of our $4 daily special at the Main Cafe. • For those looking for a quick feed we sold 49,863 cheese sausages, 37,699 hot pies and 57,553 Dim Sims! • The sweetest of tooths were well served by the 4,634 killer pythons and 40,174 chocolate bars sold.
New Addition
Late in 2008, Curtin Student Guild adopted the Noodle House. Opening in a corner of the Main Café it was relaunched as Noodle Corner. Boasting its own kitchen and chef, the Noodle Corner will continue to provide delicious food (which is certified Halal) to the hungry masses. The mainly Indonesian cuisine can be enjoyed by all, and complements the cuisines we are currently serving at the Main Café. With the addition of the Noodle Corner the Main Café has seen an increase in activity during the mid afternoon, serving main meals until 4pm during teaching weeks.
Extended Trading
The Food & Beverage department continued to review trading times and dates in 2008. The Main Café was kept open right up to the Christmas shutdown period and was reopened in early January. Business
was small but steady and great feedback was received in providing these services throughout the year to students and Curtin staff. In recent years we have consistently monitored and increased the trading hours to enhance the service provided to all our patrons with great results.
Halal
Whilst we have been serving Halal food at the Basement for many years now, our official endorsement from the Islamic Council was received in 2008. Later during the year we received the endorsement for the Noodle Corner operating from a distinct kitchen separated from the main kitchen. The Guild is very proud to be able to serve two distinctly different types of cuisine both with Halal certification.
Kirribilli Catering
Increased popularity led Kirribilli Catering to be reorganised during the year to ensure our reputation for good food and reliable service was upheld. We have increased our resources, including dedicated staff and modern equipment, to enable us to cope with the amplified demand for our services. In 2008 Kirribilli Catering provided the catering for Curtin University Graduation Ceremonies held in Alcoa Court through February and March. Over seven nights the catering team served supper to more than 14,000 graduating students, proud families, friends and distinguished guests. Kirribilli Catering also serviced some exciting events off campus in 2008. These included a formal dinner within the creepy surrounds of the Fremantle Jail and a conference at Notre Dame University held over several days with catering at many different sites.
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food & beverage (cont.) Staffing Activity
2008 saw some big changes in staffing for the Food & Beverage team. After five years at the helm, John Kriszyk, our Executive Chef, decided on a tree change and moved to the country leaving room for the introduction of Christophe Jerome. Christophe gained his chef’s qualifications in France then moved on to work in some of the top restaurants in London. He came to Australia in 1993 and settled in Tasmania where he owned and operated several businesses. In 2000 he moved to Western Australia where he worked in several well known restaurants and venues. Since joining the team Chris has made some great changes and has provided us with some fantastic ideas along with some delicious food. Two of our longest serving staff decided to retire at the end of 2008. After 22 years of service Beryl Sciaresa decided to take a well deserved rest from the bustling Basement Café where she was Café Supervisor for a number of years. Karen Coultas retired from her position of Administration Assistant for the Catering Department after nearly 20 years of services to enjoy the beautiful WA outback. During her time with the Guild Karen worked in various cafés before settling in the administrative role and supporting Kirribilli Catering. In general staffing and recruitment were challenging in 2008.
Promotions
Congratulations to the winners of the promotions held in the cafés during the year. Some fantastic prizes were given away including a laptop computer, sound system, printers, bikes, petrol vouchers, movie tickets, Sanity vouchers and plenty of free drinks and chocolate bars.
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The Tavern
The Guild Tavern in 2008 has seen a moderate growth and continued its success in providing students and staff with a hive of social activity on campus. Wednesday student nights have continued to grow through 2009 being an excellent venue for housing students and living off-campus students alike. The extensive crowds and line proving popularity for Tavern events is larger than our maximum capacity. Due to the popularity of Tavern events and lack of space we are continually looking at alternatives to give the maximum number of members the opportunity to attend. Please see page 25 for more information on events and activities throughout 2008.
The Future
Plans were finalised for a major reworking of the Vege Patch. This will be an exciting change for the outlet and will provide some needed extra space. The introduction of a new espresso bar will give the outlet the opportunity to open in quieter times without having to have the entire café operational. Work is set to start in the new year with completion due at the start of first semester. The Guild put forth an expression of interest to the University in late 2008 to operate 3 new venues on campus: the café at the Curtin Stadium, the restaurant at Building 104 (formerly Monties) and a café in the Chemistry precinct being built on Manning Road and to retain the Kirribilli Café. A formal tender proposal was put forward to the University in May, 2009. Basement Café is scheduled to be completely overhauled to keep in line with the proposed improvements that the University is planning in the area. This will create a vibrant hub of activity in the 204 area and planning is expected to begin in late 2009.
Curtin Concept continues to grow its most popular product line in Curtin Wear.
retail Curtin Concept
After having two years of trade under our belt 2008 became a defining year. The previous periods had seen the store trialling different product ranges in order to identify which direction the store would take; this year saw us identify our key product areas with a view to expansion within these ranges. Our key product areas are Curtin Wear, Bonds clothing range, posters and BOCS ticketing. We had previously sold second-hand CD’s through the store, but to allow for the continued growth of Curtin Wear and Bonds clothing we needed to delete these products from the store and transform the floor space into clothing displays. Old CD display bins were removed and slat wall was fitted onto the eastern side of the store. This provided us with 24m2 of display space. This new area allowed us to develop our range of clothing to the stage where we have become the largest independent retailer of Bonds clothing in Western Australia. We expanded our poster range through the introduction of giant and door posters; and the inclusion of 100 new titles into our regular range. These new initiatives have seen the store become the number one retailer of Bluedog posters in Western Australia. BOCS ticketing sales continued to generate interest from both on and off campus consumers. A portion of the increase in BOCS ticketing sales was due to the fact that their agencies have roughly halved in two years making us one of only six outlets still selling tickets to these sought after events.
The Guild Secondhand Bookshop
The Guild Secondhand Bookshop continues to be an integral membership service. A testament to this is the amount of books that we sold on behalf of students. The average 18
sell price of a book is $30.81 and we turned over almost $750,000 worth of books. This equates to a massive 24,306 textbooks sold alongside 821 lab coats and numerous safety glasses. We have introduced a new contract commission payment option. Students may now request that they receive their proceeds of the book sale via electronic payment. Whilst by far the most popular option is to come into the store to collect payment in cash, this new payment option has been extremely handy for international students that previously had to wait up to two weeks for a cheque to be sent overseas. Commission rates were retained at a low 15% for Full Guild members and 20% for all other contract holders.
I.T. Works
The Guild introduced a new computer store in 2008, named I.T Works. It is located in the Guild Courtyard next to the Guild Copy and Design Centre. The store sold notebooks (laptops), personal computers (desktops), printers, paper, computer accessories and software. Through its vast network of computer partners it was able to source most current computer and affiliated products (with the exception of Apple Macintosh products) at very competitive prices within a minimum delay period. The store works on the principal that if we do not have to purchase it into stock (to have it sit on our shelves) then we have no risk and therefore we can work on very low profit margins. So before you purchase your next computer please come into the store and ask for a quote. Full Guild Member discount prices are available. The major success of the store was its computer service and repair centre. Once
again generous Full Guild member discounts were available. Full Guild Members sought free advice from one of our professional staff who completed 196 computer repairs, and attended to 562 enquiries by providing information sheets, advice and/or referrals. The outlets mandate is to offer the Curtin community discount computers and the cheapest servicing and repairs in Western Australia.
Copy & Design Centre The Guild Copy & Design Centre relocated in 2006. 2007 was a time where the shop settled down and students gradually became aware of the changes to the centre as a dedicated copy & print shop. 2008 saw some challenges with an overall sale increase of only 1% . The centre provides commercial/offset quality printing through an external source, Port Printing, of which the Guild is charged a trade price. The Centre charges a small mark-up to cover artwork and administrative service whilst still making a profit. A 780% sales increase was registered due to more external customers becoming aware of this service. The Centre upgraded its small vinyl-cutter (for t-shirt transfer) to a Wide Format Cutter for greater efficiency and less wastage. Instead of just cutting from A3 vinyl sheets, we are now able to cut from a 500mm wide roll to a maximum 5 metre length. Also, no wastage as small cuts at 10mm can be used. The Centre introduced a cut-to-shape stickers and a personalised car decal service. The cutto-shape sticker service is gradually gaining popularity and is mainly used by clubs and societies for their membership cards, and to a small extent, individuals wanting personalised stickers. Unfortunately, the car decal stickers have not gained much interest.
The Guild Secondhand Bookshop sold an incredible 24,306 textbooks in 2008.
retail (cont.) Other successful services include black & white printing (gained 2%); laminating (10% increase); large format printing (growth of 8%) and colour copy/printing (outperformed by 12%) compared to 2007 sales figures. There was however an unusually poor performance in book binding sales of -12%. A key point is acknowledging Curtin Print and Design as a major competitor to the centre. Curtin have elected to close down the centre at the end of 2008 allowing us to offer many of their facilities in house in 2009. These include a recently introduced self-service comb binding facilities, and self service digital printing (including 3 PCs and one Apple Macintosh).
The Spot
The newly renovated, The Spot, had a record year in 2008. Our store turnover increased by 28.2% while our net contribution to the
The Spot, our campus convenience store sold 150% more stationery than in 2007.
Guild coffers improved by some $32,000 on the previous years results. Some interesting facts, figures and achievements about The Spot in 2008 include: • Over half our turnover is made by selling phone credit. We sold in excess of $350,000 worth of phone credit. • Oktoberfest, sold through Spotlight Tickets, sold out in just under 6 hours. That beat 2007 by 3 hours. • We sold 150% more stationery than the previous year. • We sold 150% more drinks and lollies than in 2007. • Our Moshtix ticketing agency turnover was up 300% compared to 2007.
membership services Membership Package
In 2008, we conducted a significant amount of research into what Curtin students and our members wanted in a membership package. After doing so we made a number of key changes to the package to improve both its appeal and marketability to Curtin students and staff. Key changes include: • Lowering the price of a full years membership to $99.95. • Offering a $40 Gift Card to spend in our Food & Beverage outlets to those who sign up for a full years membership effectively reducing the cost of membership to under $60. • Increasing the discount offered on hot drinks at Guild-operated outlets to 20%. • Integrating online sign up within the OASIS student portal to make it
easier for students to sign up, as well as including an option to pay for their membership via BPay.
Discounts
The off-campus discount program is run collectively through the Student Guilds of Curtin, UWA, Murdoch and ECU. Curtin and UWA alternate yearly the duties of coordinating the program and producing booklets, contacting partners and generally coordinating the program for the year. The 2008 booklet was prepared by UWA and was agreed by all parties to be somewhat below the ideal standard of offers that is expected. Thus, it is agreed for 2009 to significantly reduce the number, whilst improving on the quality of offers. 2009 saw Curtin Student Guild coordinate and produce the booklet on behalf of all West Australian Guilds.
Our 2008 “Guild Members Get More” campaign attracted 3,800 members to sign up and support us!
membership services (cont.) Insurance Cover
68 work experience insurance letters were written in 2008. The students most overwhelmingly represented in this area are from the Humanities faculty: predominantly Film and Television students or Journalism students, working at Newspapers, Radio Stations or TV Networks.
Clubs
Clubs and societies are an integral part of university life. Each year, many clubs register with the Guild, representing almost every aspect of campus life. Over 70 clubs registered with the Guild for 2008. 24 academic clubs, 13 international clubs, 11 religious clubs, 6 special interest clubs, 3 issue based clubs, 2 social clubs and 14 sporting clubs made use of the fantastic club services that the Guild provides including equipment hire, use of venues and various funding arrangements. At the 2008 Guild Club Awards presentation, the Curtin Engineers Club were the winners of the Guild “Club of the Year” award and were presented with the title for standing out as the most impressive club overall for 2008. The “Most Outstanding New Club” award went to AniCu – Anime Curtin and the “Best Sporting Club” award was presented to the Curtin University Rugby Club.
Employment Board
During 2008 the Guild Student Employment Service went from strength to strength gaining further exposure amongst the Curtin community with students and employers alike. More and more local businesses and private home employers became interested in using the free service to tap into the pool of Curtin students and hire them for vacancies ranging from administration, labouring, IT, hospitality, child care, tutoring and sports coaching. The Student Employment Board boasted over 200 up-to-date advertisements 22
available to current Full Guild Members to access and apply for.
Guild Recreation
Each semester the Guild provides an opportunity to Curtin students and the wider Curtin community to take time out from hectic work and study commitments through the Guild Recreation programme. The 2008 programme featured 40 interesting and fun short courses incorporating outdoor adventures, dance, sightseeing trips and tours, water sports, sports coaching, health and fitness and certified industry qualification courses at a significantly discounted cost in contrast to what course providers would normally charge. In semester one of 2008, 267 participants enrolled in a Guild Recreation course and in semester two of 2008, we exceeded the previous semester with 394 people participating in courses. The most popular courses for the year were Hip Hop Funk, Bellydancing, Kickboxing, Introductory Bar Course, Beginners Coffee Courses and the Swan Valley Wine Tour & Ningaloo/Exmouth Trip. It is pleasing to note that even a couple of the new courses that were introduced in Semester Two, Chinese Massage and the Property Investment Seminar were amongst the most popular courses with participant numbers at the high end of the scale.
Our Guild Rec program features courses a wide variety of challenging courses, encouraging students to get more than just a degree at University!
Beach Bash gave 1,600 students the chance to kick off the fun of semester one with a few drinks whilst dancing on the beach sand, or taking it easy in the spa.
events 2008 saw a number of new event based initiatives for the Curtin Student Guild. Both O-Day and Guild Day continued to enjoy a solid response amongst students as well as commercial stallholders. In addition, the major sellout Tav events for the year – Beach Bash and Oktoberfest sold out in record time. It was also decided that there was an opportunity for an event that catered for the diverse range of outstanding talent on campus, notwithstanding the existing Curtin DJ and National Campus Bands Competition. Curtin’s Got Talent was designed to fill this void.
Beach Bash
The popularity of this event continues to grow year after year. It is commonly viewed as the Semester One equivalent to Oktoberfest
Beer Appreciation Night
Over 70 beer connoisseurs attended this event, learning all there is to know about a range of beers, whilst enjoying some premium foods to accompany the brews.
Curtin’s Got Talent
With two heats initially scheduled, demand for this event did not quite meet expectations. The number of applications from performers was adequate to create one heat, with a modest crowd at the Tav for this Friday afternoon event. With a greater focus on promotion in the lead up to this event, there is potential for it to become one of the premier Guild events in years to come.
DJ Comp
Held on a Wednesday afternoon at The Tav, the Curtin DJ Comp would have substantially more success if it were held at night. After receiving feedback from competitors about limited crowd interaction, and limited crowd size in general, the DJ Comp will run on a Wednesday night in 2009 to increase the
profile of the event, and to facilitate greater crowd involvement and interaction with the performers.
End of Semester Bash
For both semesters, the Guild managed to secure a number of highly sought after bands, ensuring that the Curtin End of Semester Bash drew a crowd from across Perth, with many students from other universities making the trek to see what Curtin had to offer.
gGames
One the most popular and most accessible events operated by the Guild. Henderson Court was packed with over 100 people taking advantage of a free BBQ, and taking part in light-hearted games including a potato sack race and frozen chicken toss.
Guild Ball
The annual Evening of Elegance continued to attract a large crowd – this year in excess of 350 filled the main function area, plus an overflow room at the Hilton. A new venue has been secured for 2009, The Sheraton Hotel Perth, as this venue has greater capability to accommodate the likely attendance figures in one large ballroom.
Multicultural Week
With over 10,000 people sampling the multitude of food on offer at Pasar Malam, and a similar crowd enjoying the festivities of Carnivale, Multicultural Week in 2008 allowed the Guild to reinforce Curtin’s position as one of the most culturally receptive campuses in Australia.
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events (cont.) National Campus Bands Competition
As part of a national series, with heats at all major University campuses, the Curtin heats in August drew a massive crowd to the Tav in support of our own campus talent.
O-Day & Guild Day
Over 150 University, commercial and not for profit stallholders were on campus for what is one of the biggest events on the Guild calendar. Guild Day, our Semester Two welcome back to students featured some dubious weather however, the conditions failed to keep crowds at bay where we kicked off Semester Two in style.
Oktoberfest
Tickets sold out in record time this year. , with a line stretching down the promenade further than ever before, the ticket allocation expired in just under 6 hours.
Summerfest
Boutique breweries filled the Guild courytyards, while a selection of Perth’s best DJs created the ultimate party atmosphere for revellers in this huge event in the sun of Semester One.
Wicked Wednesdays
These weekly events during semester continued to draw a crowd. Themes for the night included Halloween, and Air Guitar. Jim Beam on Campus also continued to support the evening, with the free BBQ hosted by the Guild maintaining its popularity.
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Pasar Malam: An event run by the Guild’s International Students Committee attracted over 10,000 visitors to Curtin capping off a wonderful Multicultural Week.
sport The Australian University Games (AUG) is Australia’s largest annual multi sport event. Each year, AUG attracts over 6,000 competitors, competing across 28 sports from universities Australia wide. The Games provide a friendly but competitive environment in which to compete and an action packed social program is conducted throughout the week to enhance the AUG experience for all of the competitors. The 2008 Games were held in Melbourne from 28 September – 3 October and a record 75 Curtin students headed across to compete. Our Curtin representatives competed in 9 different sports, including athletics, basketball (men’s and women’s), beach volleyball, lawn bowls, netball (women’s), rugby 7s, soccer (women’s), swimming and ten pin bowling.
Results
There was a fantastic team atmosphere among the Curtin athletes, with many making the effort to cheer their teammates on during the finals matches over the last two days of competition. Some of our exceptional results included: • GOLD: Athletics 4x400m relay (Lyndsay Pekin, Alison Hendrick, Lisa Wolski and Jo Stannard) • GOLD: Athletics High Jump (Ellen Pettitt) • GOLD: Athletics Heptathlon (Lyndsay Pekin) • SILVER: Lawn Bowls (Chris Hassen, Matt Bowker, Matt Grant, Andrew Brennan and Steve Brockman) Congratulations to all of our medallists! Here is a snapshot of how each of our Curtin teams performed throughout the week. 28
Athletics
Our female athletes were far and above our most outstanding performers across the week of AUG. By the end of the week, they had won 75% of our medals. Lyndsay Pekin came home with two gold medals and Ellen Pettit, one, in the high jump event. We also had some relay success, winning gold in the 4x400m relay.
Men’s Basketball
High hopes were held for the Men’s Basketball team, who finished with the Gold medal in Division Two in 2007. After losing some valuable players from last year, the guys recruited some more quality players for Melbourne. Whilst not performing as they had hoped in the round games, the team regrouped well to win their finals playoff in front of many Curtin supporters, to finish 15th overall.
Women’s Basketball
After a silver medal in Division Two last year, the ladies were chasing the gold in 2008. Unfortunately an injury in the first game ended the week of their captain, Jo Stear. The girls rallied on superbly with only 6 players throughout the week to win their finals playoff and finish in fifth place overall.
Beach Volleyball
After Curtin failed to get numbers for an AFL team, four of the guys decided to give Beach Volleyball a go. Whilst Melbourne didn’t turn on the best weather for our two teams, they played some great games against the eastern states universities and finished in 19th place overall.
Lawn Bowls
The Curtin Lawn Bowls team, National Champions in 2007, were out to defend their title in Melbourne this year. Easily
the star performers throughout the round games, they beat West Australian arch rivals Edith Cowan University in the semi finals. In the gold medal playoff, the Curtin team performed admirably, although narrowly went down to the very serious, very ancient and very boring University of New England team. At least our boys knew how to celebrate the silver and the Curtin team there to watch had a fantastic time cheering the team on.
Netball
After flogging last year’s Division Two premiers in their first game of the week, the Curtin Netball team were looking prime for a medal even though they had never played together before. They rallied well throughout the week and only lost by 40 goals to the University of Sydney team; whom everyone else lost to by 60 goals. The girls won their cross pool finals playoff and finished in fifth place overall.
Rugby 7s
Whilst they may have only managed one win for the week, the Rugby 7s team certainly cheered other Curtin teams to victories in the latter stages of the rounds and finals. Each day brought several new chants and songs that could be heard on the sideline where any Curtin team was playing. Special mention must go to their cheering of Curtin athletes at the athletics, basketball and lawn bowls.
Women’s Soccer
The ladies were going for a medal this year, and were looking the goods after the University of Physical Education (and 2007 medallists) failed to turn up for a game and Curtin were awarded the win. After an appeal, a rematch was scheduled, in which Curtin fought valiantly but narrowly lost. After another very narrow loss, the team
The Guild is proud of our contribution to sporting activities on campus at Curtin University over many years
sport (cont.) & publications missed out on the medal matches by the slimmest of margins, but still put in amazing performances to finish 5th in Division Two.
Ten Pin Bowling
The Ten Pin Bowling team were in hot form, polishing off reigning National Champions UWA in the Tertiary Sports WA Championships early on in the year. After forgetting to attend the first two team meetings of the AUG week, it was a bonus for Curtin team management when we heard at the end of the week that the team had not only remembered to turn up for their scheduled games, but had managed to arrive on time as well. Their handy stats no doubt helped them to finish a remarkable 6th overall in Division One.
Social Program
Aside from their magnificent on-field performances, Curtin athletes were also among the best dressed at the themed social events, held at the two sanctioned social venues. Early on in the week, they were seen out in some tight and very bright outfits for the ‘80s and Fluoro’ themed night, before donning the dressing gowns, ugg boots and boxer shorts for the ‘Pyjama Party’. By mid week they were ‘Going Green’, with recyclable Coles bag outfits the flavour of the night. The week culminated in some dazzling (and not so dazzling) ‘Dress to Impress’ outfits for the final night of the program. The Guild is proud of our contribution to sporting activities on campus at Curtin University over many years and looks forward to working with the University to grow sport on campus in the future.
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In 2008 we produced five issues of Grok Magazine, with a circulation of 5,000 copies. Grok is lauded Australia-wide for its features, reviews and interviews all delivered via slick design, with substantial and informative copy. Advertising revenue to help cover the cost of printing Grok has steadily increased 20% since 2007. We have managed to maintain most of our regular advertisers in spite of advertising budgets being slashed nation-wide in light of the global financial crisis. The Grok team in 2009 will be focussing more on on-campus stories to make the content more relevant to Curtin students. Paragon Magazine with content produced by the International Students Committee is focussed on orientating international students to West Australian life. The publication is still in it’s infancy but is quickly growing in popularity amongst Curtin University’s international student population. Two issues were produced in 2008 (with a Movies & Sports theme in respective semesters), with two issues planned for 2009. The 2008 Student Diary has proven to be a highly valuable tool amongst Curtin students. The diary contains vital information about all aspects of life at Curtin University. Students use it day in, day out, all year, often acting as their first point of reference. This information is published alongside advertisements from companies and individuals which contributes to financing the publication of the diary. The Student Diary will be given away both with Full Guild and Associate Memberships in 2009, as well as being sold in retail outlets to widen its exposure. New inclusions in the 2009 Diary include weekly vouchers & specials to be used across our range of outlets on campus, as well as a small fun & games section to pass the time during lectures.
Thousands snapped up our free fact sheets with simple tips to help students face the challenges of university, and growing up!
support services Student Assist
Throughout 2008, the Student Assist department provided a direct service to a total of close to 500 students. The confidential nature of our service imposes restrictions on how we are able to report on the nature of our case load. Further to this, the complex and compound nature of individual cases also increases the difficulties of meaningful report statistics. An example of this might be seen where a student makes initial contact with our dept for support and representation in responding to a charge/ allegation of academic misconduct, e.g. plagiarism. During our assessment of the students predicament, the antecedence to the event often uncover other issues and problems which, although do not excuse an act of this nature, can put it into a context. For example, the charge of plagiarism arose as the student rushed the assignment to complete it on time and was careless with referencing. The haste and sloppy nature of the work could be attributed to the fact that the student was having difficulty in maintain a balance in their work/study commitments with the demands of nightshift work eroding their capacity for study. On deeper assessment, the nightshift work was a necessity for the student to both pay for their study, and to pay off a significant amount of debt. In a case like this, the initial support and representation for the student at an academic misconduct panel expands to encompass housing/legal advice, budgeting advice with referral to a financial planner for debt consolidation, job search, resume writing support and interview skills advice. Not all Student Assist cases are this complex. More straight forward termination and assessment appeals were the most common 32
issues dealt with in this past year with resume advice following as a close second. The remainder of our 2008 case load was as diverse in its nature as the student body itself, with some of the more memorable cases involving issues ranging from social network sites, football accidents, understanding Transperth timetables and landlord disputes to AC/DC tickets For the year of 2008, total number of cases opened was 488. Of these: • • • • • • • • •
169 (35%) came from CBS 102 (21%) came from Humanities 87 (18%) came from Health Sciences 130 (27%) came from Engineering and Science 180 (37%) students were International 57 (12%) were postgraduate students 54 (11%) were welfare related 359 (74%) related to academic matters 75 (15%) were of a personal nature
Bookshop Grants
Promotion for first semester grants started in late January via our website, gNews, poster distribution, to coincide with first round offer enrolments. Application forms were available from this time also from Guild Reception, the University Bookshop and the Guild Website. Applications closed Wednesday, February 20th and the final date for use of the grant was set at May 30th 2008. The initial opening round for the Bookshop Grants was undersubscribed thus we opened the grants for a second round. All bar eight incomplete Bookshop Grant applications for first and second rounds were processed and allocated. Results were as follows • 1st Round: 154 successful applicants,
including 8 distance students • 2nd Round: 86 successful applicants, including 7 distance education students A total of $56, 500 was given out in grants valued at $300 each. Out of concern and interest in the low response to the grants, we conducted an informal, impromptu survey of students around the Guild Precinct. We gathered 30 respondents from students who had not applied for a grant. Their reasons for not applying included: • They did not know about them • Didn’t think they were eligible • Chose not to apply/did not need grant or leave grant for those in greater need • Getting lazy, too much effort, buying books elsewhere, thought it was a loan, share books with others, use reserve. We considered that extending the deadline for applicants might allow time for more people to become informed and submit applications. We trialled this in second semester to determine whether it will be worth implementing in 2009. 295 students applied in Semester Two. 293 students were successful in obtaining a grant to the value of $300. 14 of these were distance/external students. The plan to maintain a later deadline for application in 2009 was decided and we also negotiated with the Bookshop for the possibility that students could redeem their grants up to the end of the year, rather than the end of semester. We also began working with the Curtin Scholarships Office to plan for assistance in promoting in 2009 to improve uptake.
Tax Help
The Guild has for a number of years acted as a Tax Help centre, coordinating and delivering the program from the main reception building. The program is open to all Curtin students who meet the basic eligibility criteria of the program of low income and simple tax affairs. The Tax Help program is an initiative of the Australian Tax Office (ATO) which aims thought the recruitment and training of volunteers to provide a program “designed to provide assistance to an identified target client group (students) , to help them comply with their tax oblations at tax time.” This year, the Curtin program was delivered by a team of 7 dedicated volunteers who in the three month period ( August - October), provided 295 tax help appointments which helped 180 students to lodge a tax return. During 2008 and the beginning of 2009, Student Assist has had contact with three past tax help volunteers who had recently graduated and gone on to secure professional appointments. All three volunteers directly attributed their success in landing their dream jobs to the experience they had gained on the Tax help program.
On-Show Arts Grant
‘On-Show’ is a project of the Curtin Student Guild, which aims to support the artistic and creative projects of enrolled Curtin students. The program recognises that while students produce excellent artwork and have innovative creative ideas, the fulfilment of these ideas is often impeded by lack of time and funding. To encourage and enable the creative pursuits of students, the Guild established this sponsorship program, now in its 33
support services (cont.) second year, to fund a series of exhibitions incorporating the theme “Celebration”, to be shown at the Access Gallery within the John Curtin Gallery on campus. The exhibitions consisted of a one week installation and a three week run, with the winning entries to be shown at the Access Gallery during 2008/09. The On-Show Judging panel awarded a total of $4,500 in grants this year divided evenly between the three winning entries. Two of the winning entries were allocated exhibition time in semester two 2008 with the third being carried over into Semester One, 2009. This year’s winners were (in order of exhibition dates) • Jason Hamsa with an exhibition of Photographic and video work entitled “Abbingahiem” which explored the relationship between architectural space and human life. • Christina Putland & Tanisha Percival collaboration involving ink drawings, acrylic paintings and mixed media and fabric hangings, celebrating the diverse student environment. • Annette Nykiels exhibition of textile works produced in partnership with the Wongi Community, Laverton, These works brought together “women’s craft” techniques from different cultures to create artworks which celebrated culture, country and craft process.
Reboot
The Reboot program has grown in strength since its first introduction by the Guild in 2007. The program first started in 2007 as a result of a University department having a surplus of computers (total of 12 computers) in which the program attracted over 65 34
applicants. In 2008, due to increased demand, a promotion to gain more computers through the help of student representatives promoting the program internally at Curtin resulted in a donation of approximately 30 computers from the Science & Computing department and another 20 computers donated by Student Central. As awareness of the program broadens in the community, we have had a generous donation from the City of Cambridge council who provided 52 computers (out of those 47 were useable). Donations from the general public, although generous have not been fully utilised, as often they are too old for the needs of the program. Due to a number of hindrances such as restrictions in storage space, and availability of students with time to reformat computers, the Reboot program was opened with a limited number of computers available. We had an overwhelming response from applicants to the program with a total number of 43 applicants. An introduction to the Centre of Aboriginal Students made aware of the Reboot program resulted in the Guild giving out 23 computers to Centre of Aboriginal Studies (CAS) students and another 20 computers to local students for 2008. Currently the progress of the Reboot program has been hindered through issues yet to be fully resolved including storage and a suitable work space area. We currently can only give a limited number of computers for ‘rebooting’ to the Commsa club who then take the machines over to the Engineering common room for repairs. A designated work area for the program would resolve this problem as it eliminates the double handling of moving computers around, allowing more computers to be fixed than the current situation. Waiting for a small number at a
time results in the program being delayed in launching. Work is continuing to make more workspace available in 2009. There is a significant need to promote and increase awareness of the program not only in the community but internally in the faculties here at Curtin to help source future donations, as this is an essential component for the program to survive. The launch of the program for 2009 has just opened and already the response has been positive. At this point in time a total of 32 applicants with 14 Centre for Aboriginal Studies (CAS) student applicants. The response from CAS students has been positive and we are often told not only does the individual applicant benefit from receiving the computer but so does the whole community in their town.
Our Reboot program helps those in need by giving away refurbished computers!
council statement In accordance with a resolution of the Council of Curtin University Student Guild we state that In the opinion of the Council: (a) the Income Statement and Cash Flow Statement is drawn up so as to give a true and fair view of the performance of the Guild for the year ended 31 December 2008; (b) the Balance Sheet is drawn up so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Guild as at 31 December 2008; and (c) at the date of this statement there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Guild will be able to pay its debts as and when they fall due. On behalf of the Council
Chee Lai Curtin Student Guild President
Arun Ramdin Curtin Student Guild General Secretary
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independent audit report TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CURTIN UNIVERSITY STUDENT GUILD
Report on the financial report
We have audited the accompanying financial report comprising the balance sheet as at 31 December 2008, and the income statement, statement of changes in equity, cash flow statement for the year ended on that date, a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes to the financial statements, and the statement by members of the Guild Council (the Council) for Curtin University Student Guild (the Guild).
The Council’s responsibility for the financial report
The Council members of the Guild are responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial report in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards including the Australian Accounting Interpretations and the requirements of the statutes of the Curtin University of Technology Act 1966. This responsibility includes establishing and maintaining internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of the financial report that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error; selecting and applying appropriate accounting policies; and making accounting estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances.
Auditor’s responsibility
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial report based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards, which requires us to comply with relevant ethical requirements relating to audit engagements, in order to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance as to whether the financial report is free of material misstatement. An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial report. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgement, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial report, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial report in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstance, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the member of the Council, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial report. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.
Independence
In conducting our audit, we have complied with the independence requirements of the Australian professional ethical pronouncements.
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independent audit report (cont.) Auditor’s opinion In our opinion, the financial report of Curtin University Student Guild is in accordance with the Curtin University of Technology Act 1966, including: a. giving a true and fair view of the Guild’s financial position as at 31 December 2008 and of it’s performance for the year ended on that date; and b. complying with Australian Accounting Standards (including the Australian Accounting Interpretations) and the Curtin University of Technology Act 1966. GRANT THORNTON AUDIT PTY LTD Chartered Accountants
J W VIBERT Director - Audit & Assurance Services
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financial reports Statement of Financial Position as at 31 December 2008 Current Assets
2008
2007
3,652,801.00
2,503,183
Cash
Receivables
209,587.00
611,206
Inventory
264,647.00
206,992
Other
44,786.00
88,498
Total Current Assets
4,171,821.00
3,409,879
Non-Current Assets
Receivables
Property, Plant & Equipment (nett)
3,189,733.00
3,513,789
Total Non-Current Assets
3,189,733.00
3,513,789
7,361,554.00
6,923,668
Total Assets
Current Liabilities
Trade and other payables
1,061,719.00
771,999
Short -term borrowings
-
Short -term provisions
347,901.00
280,460
Total Current Liabilities
1,409,620.00
1,052,459
Non-Current Liabilities
Long -term borrowings
-
Long -term provisions
89,642.00
164,287
Total Non-Current Liabilities
89,642.00
164,287
Total Liabilities
1,499,262.00
1,216,746
Net Assets
5,862,292.00
5,706,922
Equity
Opening Accumulated Surplus
Surplus for 2008
Total Guild Equity
5,706,922.00
6,008,827
155,370.00
-301,905
5,862,292.00
5,706,922 39
financial reports (cont.) Statement of Cash Flows as at 31 December 2008
2008
2007
2,503,183
2,600,182
12,573,347
12,436,178
(11,423,729)
(12,533,177)
1,149,618
(96,999)
3,652,801
2,503,183
2008
2007
Income from Sale of Goods
10,249,971
8,782,729
less Cost of Goods Sold
( 4,522,850)
(3,911,083)
less Other Costs of Sales
( 4,470,049)
(3,262,598)
Gross profit from Sales
1,257,072
1,609,048
1,350,929
1,211,461
( 2,119,728)
(2,662,642)
plus Finance Income
275,518
184,158
plus Other Income
139,699
134,772
less Other Costs
(748,119)
(778,704)
Surplus / (Deficit) before Tax Expense
155,371
(301,906)
Cash at Bank (at the beginning of the financial year) plus Deposits and Interests less Payments Net Cash Flow for Year Cash at Bank (at the end of the financial year)
Statement of Financial Performance as at 31 December 2008
plus Services Income (Membership/Uni Grant) less Cost of Services
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Details of Operating Expenses as at 31 December 2008
Student Services
2008
2007
Representation, Advocacy & Advisory
289,316
309,956
Student Support (Student Assist)
154,320
175,889
Membership Services
490,285
531,521
Student Discounts
158,531
237,451
Student Publications
129,033
122,445
Sport & Recreation
175,323
170,393
Student Housing
Second Hand Bookshop
687,282
643,417
Other Student Support Costs
781,404
709,021
Sub-total Student Services
2,865,494
2,900,093
-
-
Trading Costs & Overheads
Trading services
8,081,051
6,936,230
Student Council & NUS
132,798
64,710
Guild Administration
781,404
713,994
Sub-total Student Services
8,995,253
7,714,933
11,860,746
10,615,026
Total Expenditure
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student services expenses Second Hand Bookshop - $687,282 (24%)
This represents the money paid back to students who have sold their books through the shop, as well as the costs of running this service (this cost is matched by income from the sales).
Student Support - $154,320 (5%)
Costs for delivering welfare and grievance appeal support.
Representation & Advocacy - $289,316 (10%)
Costs directly associated with the running of the departments dealing with issues relating to disadvantaged and special interest equity groups (CUPSA, International Students Committee, Women, Indigenous, Gender & Sexuality) and includes funding provided to regional Centres and covers the cost of projects such as the ‘Excellence in Teaching Award’s, ‘Alternative Handbook’ and student surveys. .
Student Discounts - $158,531 (6%)
The value of discounts claimed by students at Guild outlets.
Membership Services - $490,285 (17%)
Expenses in this category include Student Accident Insurance, costs associated with running Guild membership stalls, Student diary, Membership Pack (carry bag, pen, pencil, pacer, stapler and highlighter).
Student Publications - $129,033 (5%)
Costs of producing student publications such as Grok & Paragon magazine.
Sport & Recreation - $175,323 (6%)
Expenses include the costs from O Day and other orientation week activities and events, grants and sponsorship provided to clubs and societies., the costs associated with the running of campus and intervarsity sports. as well as costs associated with our Guild Recreation coures.
Other Student Support Costs - $781,403 (27%)
These include the cost of providing finance, administration, information technology & communication support services to the above areas as well as other infrastructure costs such as public liability and other insurance. 42
Student Services Expenses
24% of total expenditure
Revenue Breakdown Interest Revenue $275,518 (2%)
Retail $2,379,148 (20%)
Other $27,741 (<1%)
Membership Fees $600,929 (5%) University Grant $750,000 (6%)
Catering $7,982,781 (66%)
2008 guild staff listing Guild Representatives
Collette Swindells Guild President Matthew Bowker Education Vice-President Chris Hassen Activities Vice-President Arylene Westlake General Secretary Chee Lai Business School Rep Jana-Lee Moss Health Sciences Rep Fendi Liwang Humanities Rep Emma Smith Science & Computing Rep (Sem 1) Arun Ramdin Science & Computing Rep (Sem 2) Amy Caruana Councillor David Cantoni Councillor Gerard Gill Councillor James Hancock Councillor Owen Altham Councillor Sally Obst Councillor Bethany Doherty Councillor Colleen Treloggen Project Research Officer
Guild Departments Manish Jhowry Lynda Wright-Coles Karl Williams Jessica Short Emma O’Hara Elizabeth Clinch
ISC Convenor CUPSA President Gender & Sexuality Officer Women’s Officer Women’s Officer Indigenous Officer
Finance & Administration Cliff Paget Sylvia Hahn Karen Rennie Joanne Alvey Hanna James
®
Matthew Kenworthy Member Benefits Manager Luke Healey Events & Marketing Coord Corinne McGrade Membership Officer Rozanna Johnson Graphic Designer Rochelle McKee Sports Coordinator Scott Bennett Sports Development Officer Elle Dignan Sports Development Officer Claudine Gueho Receptionist Ann-Louise Newton Grok Editor
Student Assist
Mandy Middle Simon Roy Juliana Desker-L:im
Snr Student Assist Officer Student Assist Officer Student Assist Officer
Retail
Brent Penberthy Retail Operations Manager John Hew Copy & Design Manager Shayne Steenholdt IT Coordinator Susantha Jayawardene IT Assistant Diane Anderson The Spot Supervisor Rod Howson Curtin Concept Supervisor Helen Bartlett Second Hand Bookshop Maree Reed Second Hand Bookshop
Food & Beverage
Managing Director Finance & Admin Manager Management Accountant Finance & Admin Officer Accounts Clerk
curtin student guild
Member Benefits
Francois Leuenberger Food & Beverage Manager Kelli Knight Food & Beverage Assist Mgr Ann Maree Foran Functions Coordinator Karen Coultas Catering Clerk Christophe Jerome Executive Chef Tanya Della-Santina Tavern & Bistro Manager Rory Sheridan Tavern & Bistro Assist. Mgr Kay Ireland Main Cafe Supervisor Sarah Searle Kirribilli Cafe Superivsor Jaye Yates Concept Cafe Supervisor Heike Kaehler-Oshea Cafe Angazi Supervisor Caroline Southall Bookmark Cafe Supervisor Bernie Bergmans Vege Patch Supervisor Beryl Sciaresa Basement Cafe Supervisor
Building 106F, Curtin University Kent St, Bentley WA 6102 Phone: (08) 9266 2900 Fax: (08) 9266 2996 Email: reception@guild.curtin.edu.au