Student’s Guild announces major changes
In a statement released on 25 August 2020, the Guild revealed major changes to happen this year.
Following negotiations with Sunday Blake, Guild President) and Liv Harvey, Vice President Activities, the University of Exeter has agreed to add £400,000 to the Guild’s annual block grant, which is the largest monetary increase they have seen to date.
The Students’ Guild is set to become one of the best funded in the country as the extra money will enable the Guild to increase activities and further improve their services. The Guild’s historic debt and large VAT bill will also be cleared by the University.
However, the Guild’s Board of Trustees have decided that all commercial operations previously run by the Guild will be transferred to the care of the University. This will allow the Guild to focus on other areas to improve, in line with the student feedback they received.
Sunday Blake, Guild President, released a statement acknowledging that the decision may be disappointing to some.
“We do not underestimate the weight of this decision and appreciate it will be disappointing news to some; however, the agreement we have made for our long-term financial security with the University, are in the best interests of you, our students. We are excited to work with students to use the additional funding from the University to develop our student services and opportunities, including student representation, advocacy, support and advice, student activities and societies in the future.”
Sunday Blake, Student Guild President
At the time of writing, the transfer is still ongoing. Commercial outlets will remain under the Guild’s control and open as usual until the transfer is complete and the University can take over.
If you have any questions, you can email them to changeproject@exeterguild.com or visit the Guilds page on this project.
