What’s happened since last time?
- I responded on behalf of the SU to a Government consultation on the future of Higher Education and universities (Fulfilling Our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice). My response can be found here.
- I worked on a consultation with the university on changes to the National Student Survey and Unistats, as well as submitting a response on behalf of the SU.
- I wrote and presented a paper to our Deputy Vice Chancellors on the pressures of university life for student carers and the things we can do to make ARU a better place for student carers to be. They agreed to all of my recommendations and I will be working with Student Services on putting this into actions this semester.
- Monday 1st February saw the launch of Peer Mentoring! Sign up on our website to get or give help on study skills to other students.
- This year’s Made a Difference Awards have had the most nominations ever! You can still nominate right now if there’s a member of staff that you think gives or supports excellent teaching.
- We released a statement and video in support of students who may get their NHS Bursaries taken away – and we’ll be doing more this semester too!
- I helped Anglia Learning and Teaching to create the first draft of their Assessment Protocol – it’s looking great, and if you’d like to see it to give any feedback drop an email to myself or to Julian Priddle who works in Anglia Learning and Teaching: julian.priddle@anglia.ac.uk
- Last week I held our first Education Forums in Chelmsford and Cambridge (Peterborough’s will be in March). We talked about what education looks like in ARU and nationally, what the SU should be working on in the education sphere and how our Education Reps are getting on with their projects and feedback!
What’s going on with your policy actions?
After every Student Council or All Members Meeting, the Executive Committee meet up to decide who will implement which policies. Along with some of our Campaign Reps, I am working on Zero Tolerance to Sexual Harassment and Audio and Visual Requirements in Lectures.
I am supporting our Welfare Campaigns Rep, Torrie, in running a campaign on raising the profile of how harmful sexual harassment is and how much it happens in universities. I will be working on a Safe Space policy to bring to the next Student Council and I am speaking to our Democracy and Representation Manager about making this policy a part of our By-Laws so that its fundamentally a part of what we do.
Our Environment and Community Rep, Lauren, is meeting with myself and Peter Crabtree (Deputy Dean of Faculty Science and Technology) about a pilot of Lecture Capture that is so far positive but has little engagement. Lauren is also part of a working group which is looking at digital literacy at ARU and how it can be better.