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Tuesday
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Leadership Team
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Which direction we need to take and what the national changes mean for students.
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Agreed that our main priorities are no detriment policy, extenuating circumstances, rent rebates and wellbeing.
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SMT Members of the University, Director of Student Experience, Deputy Academic Registrar and others
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An initial update on the University's stance on:
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Student 1:1
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Points mentioned in Video on the Student Union Facebook.
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Wednesday
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Lessons learnt from September registration.
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I challenged some issues which occurred in the December registration period and gained commitment that this will not happen again.
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Head of the library
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Extended opening hours for support services, specifically IT.
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COVID Comms Team
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What the University has planned for the coming weeks ahead in terms of student and staff comms.
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I have proofread all student comms r.e. Extenuating circumstances etc and added comments to challenge.
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Thursday
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Update on registration from xmas period
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Input to continuing support for new starters
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HoSE
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Collaborative support for all students
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Joint work on information campaign and resources available both within the university and externally.
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What the £196k hardship OFS money could be spent on
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Argued for more at risk groups e.g student parents, low socioeconomic students and those in digital poverty.
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IT
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Pushed for IT software support and more access to IT services outside of generally accepted working hours. Also began conversations to change the concept of what “working hours” are for students.
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SMT Members
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No detriment
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Updated on current situation and pushed for MORE COMMS for all students and consistency across assignments and assessments grace period.
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Friday
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Student and Uni Staff
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Fallout from video posted on Student Union Facebook regarding Fee Rebate
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Q&A booked in for Thursday and comms planned to put out for the following week.
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Monday
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Released letters to VC and MPs on rent rebates, tuition fees and no detriment. We made a list of demands
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Simon Gwynne, Director of estates and facilities
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rent rebates are under talks to extend. Comms to follow.
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Asked for public support with private landlords, testing facilities to close on campus due to lack of demand- Sideney De Haans is now open and all students can attend there’ explained what students want from the campus NOW, discussed long term plans of moving back onto campus and nursery provision. It is in the strategic 5 year goal for the Uni.
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Senior strategic leaders in the Uni
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No Detriment policy (protecting students’ academic outcomes). Heavily involved in the decision making process and challenged the Uni to think outside the box and create a policy which will directly benefit all students and does not discriminate i.e. nurses.
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I asked that they take another week to think it through properly so there wasn’t a knee jerk reaction. I also pushed for nurses to be the starting place as they are often the ones who come off worse. Meeting again Wednesday.
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Director of Learning and Teaching
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Fully understand the routes of travel or potential.
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Stressed the importance of thinking uniquely and being progressive so NO STUDENT IS FORGOTTEN.
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Worked closely with several members of staff to ensure that face to face and remote services are extended beyond the core hours of 9-5 to mimic students' working patterns. This is now being pushed through at senior levels.
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Tuesday
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Union Staff
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regulations (no detriment) with Union staff and formulated a list of MUST HAVES to ensure students are supported. This included streamlining the process of appeals afterwards, no matter the decision taken.
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NUS Conference
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Which highlighted the national position on tuition fee refunds and rent rebates.
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We are now working hard with NUS to campaign for this nationally.
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COVID Comms Team
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Update from the uni on all comms due to go out.
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Challenge them on thinking about “enforcing” mask wearing in the library and always erred on the students' side, we are adults and we don’t need to be spoken to like children.
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Responded to all 150 emails from students and University.
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Wednesday
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Health and wellbeing
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Student parent/parent learners and how we are and can best support them.
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Campaign for student parents to get 48 hour take homes scrapped. Meeting with the Director of L&T regarding this.
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Spoke about laptop loan scheme and identified a single point of failure which I will now take forward and challenge at relevant meetings
Comms around SWB were also looked at and we committed to working together to make sure students get the right info
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Director of Student Experience and CEO of Union
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Joint working with wellbeing and general sharing of info. Ideas to stop house parties, supporting the Union challenging this and how best to do it. Called on clarity on processes across the uni but specifically izone and SWB.
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Helen Rudd (IT manager)
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Laptop loans scheme to action from earlier meeting.
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To be discussed with the student experience director/head of wellbeing.
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No Detriment Taskforce
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Pinpointed time scale for 1 week. Good outcome so far and the student voice is listened to effectively.
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Thursday
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Registration Oversight Group
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January starters registration figures, how many have ACTUALLY been registered and looking ahead at a 6 week plan for registrations
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Pushed for 100% registering of students by the deadline/start date of courses. Challenged their processes and how students were not being registered before start dates
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Finance and Risk Su Committee
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Ex-officio member of the group, overseeing finances of the Union
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Union is in a good financial position given the climate and issues were discussed around risks e.g. covid and retention
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Project 20/21
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Oversight group of all university decisions on covid inc. academic, wellbeing, estates and wider context.
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Gave an update on student landscape, reference NUS research on mental health and presented the letter written to VC with a list of demands. Updated on SU current works and general student feeling of unrest. Stressed to the University that STUDENTS ARE ANGRY and they deserve better.
Challenged their thinking and decision making on library opening hours, staffed/non staffed services i.e. IT etc and enacted this change. IT will now be open longer during the week and services will ALL BE AVAILABLE AT WEEKENDS.
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Union team
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All Union meeting to discuss issues, support each other and give positive feedback,
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Sabbs presented a “thank you” presentation to staff and rallied them to frame this pandemic as an “opportunity for change and growth” and not an obstacle to be overcome.
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Q&A
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Opportunity for students to feedback to sabbs directly r.e. Big issues
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Positive feedback and lots of helpful and constructive criticism which we can use as a Union to grow.
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Student comms working group
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All University staff to formulate comms for staff and students
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Challenged the University to change their communications approach and move more toward providing resources and information in easy to digest formats, away from events as students have virtual fatigue.
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