EAUC listens to members

12th December 2019

EAUC listens to its members and is a powerful voice within the wider sustainability sector

Now at a time when EAUC has embarked on its most ambitious and significant initiative – the Climate Commission for UK Higher and Further Education Students and Leaders, it is our core objective to continue to provide our members with exceptional experiences, a dynamic and engaged community, but also with essential tools and resources that make their institutions more successful.

The recent Educational Membership Survey revealed that 87% members are either satisfied or highly satisfied with the range of services and member offers available, with networking, personable support and knowledge sharing opportunities ranking high in the list of benefits members value.

Our members confirmed that the personable support and advice provided by EAUC is invaluable in raising awareness around the sustainability agenda. EAUC was acknowledged as listening to members and being a powerful voice for the sector and providing effective solutions to existent challenges.

The events and training programmes organised by EAUC such as the Annual Conference, Green Gown Awards, member meetings (regional and specialist) were generally outlined by respondents as being either useful or extremely useful.

Regarding specific EAUC programmes and services, the Member Discussion Network (78% satisfied or highly satisfied), Sustainability Sharing Series (57% satisfied or highly satisfied) and selection of webinars available (59% satisfied or highly satisfied) are highly regarded by members as useful information sharing tools. We understand there is room for improvement, therefore it is our core aim to look at developing further these resources and ensure that members are satisfied with the quality and relevance of the programmes and services offered.

In terms of their institutional role and responsibilities, the survey revealed that 67% of respondents have formal remit for delivering sustainability in their institution, while 33% of respondents are sustainability professionals and only 9% are in teaching roles. Regarding wages, the survey showed that 49.8% of respondents earn between £45-50k, followed by 22.1% who earn between £25-30k.

An area of concern raised was in relation to securing funding for sustainability activities with 34% of respondents outlining that is somewhat difficult to do it, while 26% said that is difficult. In terms of job security, a vast majority of respondents (35%) are confident or very confident (18%) in their position over the next 12 months, with only 8% of respondents added that are not confident they will be in their current jobs in the future.

The members voice is crucial and after careful considerations of the suggestions outlined by members in this survey, but also based on our commitment to continue to provide our members with relevant resources, we have created a list of actions that we will be looking at implementing in the future. These are to:

• Continue to highlight how institutions are responding to the SDG Accord - a series of case studies is available here;
• Develop training resources and guides that can be adapted and used within institutions – Given their popularity, we will be scheduling further Carbon Literacy Training Courses;
• Continue to develop guides that highlight how sustainability relates to the curriculum – This has started to be implemented through the Sustainability in the Curriculum Project;
• Continue the cross-cutting work across other regions of the world;
• Ensure that information is better accessible on the Sustainability Exchange;

Thank you to all members who took the time to complete our Educational Membership Survey and please continue to share your thoughts with us at info@eauc.org.uk.