Introduction

 

Bronze Award

The Bronze Award is focussed on ensuring that all groups are operating within the law and without putting anyone at risk while acting in the Students’ Union’s name. Achieving your Bronze Award is compulsory in order to remain as an affiliated Students' Union group.

To achieve your Bronze Award 08-09 you need to:

 

• Attend a STARS Bronze Briefing sessions (President and Treasurer book online)
• Read the Online Handbook
• Complete and return:
  • a committee list
  • a Student Activities profile
  • a Risk Assessment
  • an Equipment Inventory (even if you have no equipment)
  • an Annual Safety Review (AU clubs and risk societies only)
  • the online handbook questionnaire (President and Treasurer)
  • team lists (AU clubs only)

All paperwork is available at www.su.nottingham.ac.uk/studentgroups/stars/handover/ and should be emailed to sustars@nottingham.ac.uk when completed.

Groups that have a website hosted on the University’s server must also attend training run by the University on how to use their webspace and what can and cannot be published on their website.

Clubs and societies failing to achieve their Bronze Award will have their status as Students’ Union groups suspended. This means they will be unable to book rooms or transport, or use their accounts at the Treasury, and will not be promoted by the Students’ Union.
What will you get in return?

In return for completing your STARS Bronze Award 08-09 your group will be identified throughout the Students' Union as a Bronze group online, on noticeboards, at Freshers and Refreshers, and in publications like The Guide.

Silver Award

The STARS Silver Award recognises excellent groups, and is based on your commitment to developing your group by attending additional training. To complete your STARS Silver Award 08-09 you will need to: Attend Development Planning (at least two committee members must attend together) Attend three further training sessions  (two committee members must attend each of the three session, but the session does not need to be on the same day as each other, as long as the same three sessions are attended by two people from the committee)

• Your three further sessions may include STARS training sessions, bespoke sessions you request just for your group, or training you are organising yourself for your committee. If you wish to count your own training for your Silver Award, please email sustars@nottingham.ac.ukfor a Silver training request form, as we will need to check your training meets the STARS Silver Award criteria.
• What will you get in return?
• All of the STARS training sessions are designed to not only give you skills that will help you run your group, but also develop personally. By attending the sessions you will gain vital skills that employers are looking for and gain that crucial head-start in the employability market!
• Your group will receive a certificate, and will be publicised as a Silver group online, on noticeboards and at the Freshers and Refreshers Fayres, and you'll get priority stall booking at Refreshers Fayre. Silver groups will also get priority at the start of the year when booking rooms within the Portland building. Your group will be eligible to apply for supplementary grant funding, and to nominate yourselves for the STARS Gold Award!
  
  
• Book a Silver Training Session
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Gold Award

STARS Gold Award recognises societies that have been outstanding throughout the year.  These are the groups that have really gone the extra mile - achieving very high standards within their aims and objectives and going out of their way to give their members the best possible experience.

 

The proposal:

To achieve the Gold Award you need to nominate yourself.  The Societies STARS Working Group will consider your nomination and, if successful, you will be awarded at the Societies Awards evening or AU Presentation Evening. Please outline why you think you deserve the STARS Gold Award below.

The award:

On obtaining your STARS Gold Award, your status will be published on the Societies notice-board and website; your society will receive a Freshers’ Fayre stall in the Gold Award winners’ area of the Fayre next September.  The stalls will be in the best positions for signing up members and getting the recognition you deserve.  As individual committee members, you will all receive certificates (good for your CV and to talk about with prospective employers) and Gold Students' Union STARS pin badges.

Gold Criteria
 

	Essential	AU Desirable	Society Desirable
Aim & Objectives	Achieved your aims and objectives that you set for your year	Gone above and beyond aims and objectives Performed exceptionally well in the relevant sporting competitions across the board. Gone out of their way to encourage sport for all e.g. holding taster/disability sport sessions Working in the local community/raising money for charity Raising exceptional amounts of money for the club Very active within the AU i.e. present at every presidents’/captains’ meetings, AU Ball etc	Gone above and beyond aims and objectives. Worked outside society with other SU groups. Very strong awareness of inclusion of all students including those on intersites. Held joint events with other societies. Worked in local community or raised for charity. Had an active involvement in SU structures and policy making e.g. Group Meetings/Societies Council/ Union Council.
Training & Development	Achieved Silver Award Shown that the knowledge you have gained, whilst working towards your silver award, has been put into practice.	Level of commitment has exceeded expectation. Shown extremely rapid development in the space of one year. Instituted new large one-off events. Instituted new programmes of events. Helped novices to enter the sport and develop, helped other similar clubs with their training/development. Improved service to members/increased membership size. Trained members to be coaches/referees	Level of commitment has exceeded expectation. Shown extremely rapid development in the space of one year. Instituted new large one-off events. Instituted new programmes of events. Improved service to members/increased membership size.
Lasting Legacy	You have made developments to your group to insure sustainable development and a lasting legacy	Established a training/coaching scheme to see the club through to the future. Left the group in a better financial position/gained sustainable sponsorship etc. Left the club with a coherent structure for performing better in the future on a sporting arena. Established an alumni network to raise funds for the future.	Left group in a better financial position. On the whole leave the group in a better state than when inherited.

Who is in the committee that decides?

Society Gold Award
Societies Officer
Societies Exec Committee
AU Officer
Student Activities Staff 

AU Gold Award
AU Officer
Society Officer
AU Exec Committee
Student Activities Staff