Championing students!

• Recommendations have been put together for the introduction of Turnitin next academic year - see www.thesu.com/content/index.php?page=21575 - based on student and staff responses
• I've been helping to resolve student concerns at Marston Road's rep forum, with the power interruption to services, Business rep forum and in Architecture...
• We've been discussing the future of the Students' Union further and identifying areas of commonality in the feedback we receive
• Preparing budgets for next year (finance=fun!)
• Holding Reps Councils to discuss Internationalisation of the Curriculum, semester structure, Turnitin and improving the rep system
• Attended Learning and Teaching Committee to discuss a new model for student support and tutoring, and progress on the Mode of Delivery
• Gave our awards to some outstanding reps at Awards Night!
  

Turnitin - students say...

Student opinion on Turnitin has been collected and will be used to form recommendations on its use next academic year...

Students say:
Use Turnitin on all work
Tell students about Turnitin as far in advance as possible and throughout their time at Brookes
Use Turnitin as a learning tool
Turnitin must be used as a learning tool at all Stages

See more at http://www.thesu.com/content/index.php?page=21575

Cut up

• Spoke to students to encourage them to fill out the Turnitin questionnaire
• Encouraged students to fill in the National Student Survey
• Met with the Careers team to discuss current issues and projects they are working on
• Discussed how courses should be delivered at the Mode of Delivery Task Group
• Met with John Windle from Students' Union Evaluation initiative to identify areas that the Students' Union can improve on
• Did some singing at Staff Day!
• Discussed motions at Union Council
• Met with Janet Beer, Vice-Chancellor, to discuss the rep system

You give me fever

• Got election fever! - well done to all candidates for some great campaigning, particularly for VP:AA with a spectacular amount of votes!
  
• Held Reps Councils at Gipsy Lane, Harcourt Hill, Marston Road and Wheatley to discuss Turnitin, feedback about semester structure and how the Students' Union can deliver its principles
• Met with the themed audit team to discuss how to move student representation forward
• Received a lot of responses to the Turnitin questionnaire!
• Worked on SUEi - gathering evidence of how effective the Students' Union is
  

BEFORE Christmas

WHOA!

The Students' Union has spoken to 225 students at the different campuses AND 106 students filled out an online poll...

87% of students want exams before Christmas

Considerable consultation

• Ran a rep training on CVs with the Careers Centre
• Met to discuss Freshers plans
• Planned Vision 2011 focus groups and ran sessions with halls reps and SU candidates
• Attended Quality and Standards Committee to discuss the variation in degree classifications
• Welcomed Martin Wilkinson, from the University's Board of Governors, to our open Exec meeting - Martin is overseeing the Masterplanning and Mode of Delivery progress
• Spoke to students at Wheatley about becoming a student rep
• Spoke to students at Wheatley about semester structure
• Met with Head of Learning Resources and staff in Computer Services to discuss student issues and how we can work best together - we suggested a new security firm to make sure the new weekend opening hours at Headington can remain
  
• Had a rep forum in Life Sciences

(Total) eclipse

• Asked students at Wheatley and Gipsy Lane - Exams before or after Christmas? Students say before Christmas.
• Met with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) to discuss semester structure and Turnitin
• Attended Research and Knowledge Transfer Committee to discuss Grant Panels and research students' inclusion in Masterplanning
• Finalised the Students' Union principles in light of student and staff feedback

Sharing the love

• Held Reps Councils at Gipsy Lane, Marston Road, Wheatley and Harcourt to discuss the timing of exams, promote Students' Union elections, and the future of the Students' Union
• Visited the Ferndale campus at Swindon to speak to student reps and discuss issues affecting them such as social integration between years, and transport issues
• Attended an alumni event
• Attended Learning and Teaching Committee to discuss progress on the text-matching software Turnitin
• Attended Social Sciences and Law Academic Development Committee to discuss academic issues in the School
• The new School rep for Business held a forum for student reps to discuss issues from the School
• Met with staff from Technology to discuss the recruitment of reps
• Met with staff from Life Sciences to plan the rest of the semester
• Got further into planning the Awards Night to also include student reps
• Had a date with the Union (with free hugs)
• Met with students running for Students' Union positions!
  

Ain't no party

• The Students' Union met with rep support staff from across the University, School reps and the Vice-Chancellor to discuss the student rep system and its potential future directions
• Enjoyed a successful Refreshers Fair!
• Updated notice boards across the University - School rep nominations are happening in Week 3!
• Attended Academic Board to receive an update on the Mode of Delivery, National Student Survey and the Student Satisfaction Survey, and a presentation on assessment
  
• Attended Arts and Humanities student rep forum to discuss room sizes, the quality of lecture rooms, developments in Richard Hamilton building, issues on the Japanese course, type and timing of assessment, and a new Journalism Society
• Watched Bradley performing classic S Club 7!
• Attended Health and Social Care Quality and Standards Committee to discuss policies, and provide an update on student issues
• Attended the Students' Union lecture by Bill Rammell on the role of Students' Unions in creating future leaders and activists
• Met with School reps and other students to discuss the SU elections
  

My computer is fixed

• Held 3 sessions outside Wheatley canteen to make students aware of the need to reference correctly and to give them information about Upgrade
• Met to start planning Freshers '08
  
• Updated student rep noticeboards
• Discussed Oxford Brookes Students' Union Vision 2011 with Executive Officers and Union Council
• Attended NUS South Regional Conference
• Met with the Dean of Technology to discuss reps and the Student Satisfaction Survey
• Was a student representative for 2 disciplinary committees