Welfare Officer

The Welfare Officer is charged with actioning activities relating to students' welfare. Much of the, work is done in conjunction with various University departments, particularly the Welfare Services which administer creche, councelling services as well as running accomodation and employment services. S/he also sits ex officio on the VUW Council's Committee on Welfare Services.

While this work is Important there is more to the job than merely trotting along to committee meetings and holding discussions with Welfare staff. The Welfare Officer is expected to work in with other SRC officers where their interests over lap (e.g. with the EO in the field of bursaries).

There is also a lot of work that the Welfare Officer can set up off his/her own back. Aside from working to extend the range of Welfare services available on campus to include such things as optometry and dentistry, there are things like setting up a Poverty Fund for broke students which would be a valuable addition to the Association.

Although some of this work involves some, amount of research, a liason with the NZUSA Research Officers will make this part of the job easier. Many of the welfare plans that VUWSA wants to see introduced are also things that NZUSA is working on, but the initiative and the drive must come from the Welfare Officer.