Volunteering Recognition Scheme

We have created an SU-wide reward scheme for students volunteering both internally and externally to encourage you to engage with the online volunteering platform!

The more hours you log the further up the volunteer scale you go. These can be cumulative over the course of their time being a student rather than resetting at the end of each year. If you are in multiple roles and logging hours for each of them the hours are totaled between all the roles. If you have already logged hours under the old system you will still be eligible for rewards.

What will my hours logged mean?

The volunteer recognition scheme is a way for your SU to recognise the voluntary work you’ve been doing within the local community. To engage with the scheme you’ll have to log the hours you’ve done using our timesheet function. How well you’re recording the volunteering you’re doing will impact the prize draws you’re entered into.

As you log your hours, you’ll automatically be entered into different prize draws and if you win a prize draw, we’ll get in touch with you via email letting you know what you’ve won and the T&Cs of redeeming your prize. So what are the prizes…

Hours Logged	Reward
3 hours	Free hot drink at Coffee Hut
5 hours	Win a gift! You’ll be entered into a prize draw for a £25 Amazon voucher
10 hours	Bronze Award – students get a certificate   At this point the respective staff member who oversees volunteers can act as a reference on a job application
15 hours	Free pizza of the month at Atmosphere
20 hours	Silver Award – students get a certificate   the SU will endorse you on Linkedin for the skills you’ve logged you hours under
25 hours	Win a meal! You’ll be entered into a prize draw for a £50 restaurant voucher
30 hours	Sport Centre Day Pass x 3
40 hours	Entered in to a prize draw for an Atmosphere Black Card (25% off) – 2 students chosen every month
50 hours	Win an experience! You’ll be entered into a prize draw for a £150 Virgin Experience Voucher
60 hours	Gold Award – students get a certificate   Automatic Nomination for volunteer of the year award   Free SU award ticket
75 + hours	Win a holiday! You’ll be entered into a prize draw for a £300 Airbnb voucher

Please Note

Monthly prize draws will be drawn on the first working day of each month. Prizes will be drawn from September to June.
Timesheets that are for periods over a month, will not count towards the hours needed to be entered into prize draws.
You can log timesheets for whichever academic year we are in – you’re unable to log hours for volunteering you did in previous years.
The recognition scheme resets at the start of each academic year, so hours you logged in previous Uni years won’t count towards the total for this year.
You can log hours for multiple roles to be totaled together.
Any training you attend to become a volunteer are hours you can log as part of the recognition scheme.
E-certificates will be issued at the end of each term.

How to log hours

Once you’ve registered for a voluntary role on the SU website and been approved as a volunteer, you can start logging timesheets for that role. These timesheets aren’t a way to get you to do more volunteering but rather a space for you to record the volunteering you would be doing anyway. We recommend logging your timesheets at least once a week. Timesheets that are for periods over a month, will not count towards the hours needed to be entered into prize draws for the volunteer recognition scheme.

In your timesheets you’ll be writing about what you’ve done, what skills you’ve gained, and you can reflect on what went well and what you could do differently next time.

Step 1

Make sure you’re logged into the SU website. Click ‘Account/ Profile’.

Step 2

Go to ‘My Volunteering’. If you’re registered in more than one voluntary role make sure to select the role you’re logging hours for. Click ‘Timesheet’ then ‘Add Timesheet’.

Step 3

Log the number of hours you did, and briefly describe what you did during that time e.g. During this time I met with my lecturer to pass on student feedback.

Step 4

Select the Skills you’ve gained and provide evidence for each.

We would recommend structuring the evidence using the SSTAR method

What is the SSTAR method - SSTAR is pneumonic device you can use which structures how you should be writing in cover letters and talking in job interviews. Using it now means when it actually comes to apply for jobs you’ll be an expert at it.

Situation - Begin by placing the example you are using into some kind of context for the reader, i.e. when and where the event took place.
Skill – What specific skill has this situation helped you develop.
Task - Describe what it was you had to do - what was the overall objective? Where there any constraints acting upon you as an individual, or as a group, e.g. budget.
Action - Describe what you did to complete the task. NB: even if you are describing a team situation, describe how you made a difference to the outcome and role you took within the team.
Result / Review - What was the outcome? What did you learn from the experience?

Step 5

Wait for you timesheet to be approved.

If you’re volunteering with the SU, your timesheet will go through to the SU member of staff who oversees your volunteering to approve. If you’re volunteering externally with one of our partnered charities, this will go through to their volunteering coordinator to approve. Make sure to be honest and accurate with the hours you’re logging to avoid having your timesheet declined. We recommend logging your timesheets at least once a week. Timesheets that are for periods over a month, will not count towards the hours needed to be entered into prize draws for the volunteer recognition scheme.

You can log timesheets for whichever academic year we are in – you’re unable to log hours for volunteering you did in previous years. We would recommend logging hours close to the time they happen. The person approving your timesheets will be more likely to do so if they can remember what you’re talking about and there are monthly prize draws you’ll miss out on if you just log your hours at the end of each term.

I'm an International Student logging volunteering hours

If you have a Student Visa, there may be limitations on the number of hours you can volunteer and work. The home office makes a distinction between volunteering and voluntary work – volunteering will not count towards the maximum number of hours you can work per week, whereas voluntary work is viewed as a form of unpaid work and so it will.

University's Guidance for International Students