You said: 

1. ‘Campaign for a safety net 2020/2021’ 
2. ‘A Near Miss Policy Is Not Enough’ 
3. ‘Safety net/Near miss policy’ 

Our response: 

We know how much this mattered to those of you who voted, so we welcomed the University’s introduction of a new?Safety Net Policy?to support students during 2020/21, with important information available in this?University blog post?and?FAQs page. 

We are pleased that our own Near Miss Policy proposals contributed largely to the implementation of these measures and that some of these measures will be permanent changes that will benefit students in future years, too.  

We are working alongside all students to provide more nuanced forms of support for those who feel they are not covered by the Safety Net Policy. We hope that by listening to those marginalised communities who may need more individualised assistance, we can provide further reassurances in the future, that alongside these Safety Net measures we can make University systems such as PEC forms and Wellbeing more effective.  

You said: 

1. ‘Better support for staff and students alike’ 
2. ‘Better Training in Canvas for Staff and Students’ 

Our response: 

We hope that the aforementioned Safety Measures will better support students.  

We have successfully lobbied the University to allow for PEC forms to be approved without any evidence. This means that if you submit a PEC form and can explain how your learning has been impacted, you will not have to submit supporting evidence. 

Finally, we have also been raising concerns around Canvas at senior University meetings. If you have specific concerns Canvas training on your programme, we recommend that you contact your Course Rep.  

Your Education Officer and Postgraduate Officer work regularly alongside members of academic staff, including Deans and Heads of School to ensure that they can provide you with the best quality online learning experience. We understand that this has been inconsistent this year in some cases. However, we want to reassure you that we have been listening to both students and staff during the pandemic in order to support them with online teaching and learning.  

You said: 

1. ‘More Info About Exams’ 

Our response: 

The new Safety Net Policy for 2020/21 should provide students with reassurance about how their assessments will be marked fairly in recognition of the impacts of COVID-19 on students. 

The full Safety Net policy will be implemented in time for the second semester assessment period. Assessments have been chosen by schools to ensure that you will not be at a disadvantage compared to previous cohorts. NUSU has been encouraging academic staff to consider the context of the Covid-19 pandemic when marking assessments with a view to keeping assessments fair and in line with what resources students have been able to access.  

From listening to your concerns, we appreciate that the issue of tuition fees is a complex one, especially in the context of the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on your learning experience. We have also prepared a Tuition Fee FAQ to answer the main questions you might have on tuition fees - you can find out more about how we are currently representing you regarding tuition fees by following this link.

Download your copy here.

Academic Representation is a crucial part to your University and Union experience. Our Academic Reps are here to represent your academic interests and work with the University staff to create positive change for our students. Every year, students can apply for these roles, and once elected into the role, will serve as your leading representatives for you to contact about any academic issues you feel students are facing within certain aspects of the academic experience at the University.

At the School and Institute level, you are represented by Course Reps. They gather feedback about your programme and raise it at the Student-Staff Committee, or SSC (in your School or Institute this might be called a Student Voice Committee, or SVC). These meetings are led by a Student Chair, and sometimes a Student Secretary. At the meeting, Course Reps and staff will work together to address the issues raised. Course Reps should feedback to you on the outcomes of these meetings. 

At the Faculty level, you are represented by School Reps. They attend and give feedback to the Faculty Education Committee (for taught programmes) and the Faculty Postgraduate Research Committee (for research programmes) and also feedback to your SSC.

Find out more

Download your copy here.