I will work alongside the relevant student reps and colleges to stay informed on the specifics of the issues that different groups face, taking guidance where necessary. This is especially relevant to students on St Luke's where accrediting bodies play a big part in applicable policies, and also for PGR students who again have very specific needs.​

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• Continue to push for comprehensive Covid-19 support, especially for 2022 graduates. I am best placed to continue working on these policies given my work this year with S4AM. All three of these students’ undergraduate years will have been affected by the pandemic, meaning protective policies are absolutely necessary as the situation continues to fluctuate. This also applies to students at any stage of their academic career, both post-graduate & undergraduate – any effect of the pandemic must be carefully considered and mitigated for where possible.

 

• Fight to ensure the in-person education you signed up for stays (safely) in-person.

• Maximise availability/accessibility of recorded content for all. This is especially important for ensuring accessibility; for students with caring or other outside responsibilities, international students at home, those with disabilities or simply for those who benefit from rewinding or re-watching.

• This reintroduces structure for motivation as well as opportunities for questions & discussion. Many students benefit hugely from these opportunities in forming their own opinions and argument structures. The reintroduction of structure will greatly benefit student mental health, as well as helping those students who struggle to organise their time due to lack of self-motivation or other difficulties (including neuro-diverse students).

• Develop safe system for return to face-to-face teaching. While national restrictions may vary throughout the year, the university must priorities student & staff health and safety. We need to develop a system whereby students can safely access face-to-face opportunities: either via a week by week booking system or students are assigned attendance on a rotating basis - depending on restrictions.

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• Improve policies for those with caring responsibilities via an adjustment to student profile similar to ILPs; a one-time check giving them access to extensions/deferrals or alternative assessments when needed. By adding these details to student profiles, this will also be flagged up to personal tutors, enabling more comprehensive pastoral support, linking to my theme on Academic Wellbeing.

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• Work with BAME reps on continuing to decolonise the curriculum & reassess whether modules are diverse enough.

• Build on success of colleges such as SSIS in production of BAME scholars reading lists and lectures.

 

• Academic support for current first years to equip them for second year.

  • Skills workshops or ‘tips’ for second years with no practice at live note-taking or class discussion.

  • Clarifying & streamlining processes around ILPs to make sure these students know what it available to them (this may not have been easily communicated this year and staff may not know of any special requirements these students have.) I hope to clarify and streamline the processes around ILPs for all students; making the process around acquiring them easier/more accessible, and clarifying who qualifies and what for.

  • See develop ‘Academic Wellbeing’ section for more on the role academic societies can play in this increased support.

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• Post-graduate research students: All PGR policies will be discussed with the Doctoral College and in PGR executive meetings.

  • Extensions similar to UKRI-funded students. UKRI-funded students have been given 6-month extensions, but many students need more time as access to facilities & resources continues to be disrupted by the pandemic. This extension needs to be reasonable. Continuation fees also need addressing.

  • Training for supervisors (specific to UKRI or self-funded etc) to familiarise basic policy. There are no glaring issues with the current system, this would just be to maximise the support available to PGR students and their supervisors by familiarising basic policy to maximise access to things like extensions. The Guild could work with the Doctoral College to create a leaflet/handbook in partnership with the university with these tactics to be send to those who request it. Could also be accessible on re-vamped PG Hub webpage, creating a one-stop shop for any relevant information (see Academic Wellbeing section).

 

• Smooth transitions between live & blended learning:

• Help to provide staff with necessary tools to best teach: consistent Wi-Fi, training in use of online systems etc. Staff should have consistent Wi-Fi available to them if teaching is to go back online for any reason. Online workshops or courses could be provided/worked into staff training to ensure this is resolved. At Oxford, student volunteers can gain credits from providing this training so I would like to look into this model. Academic staff can only do their best with the tools they are given under such new & continuously changing circumstances. Some staff still need tutorials on how to share screens, mute etc – this should not still be an issue -- we cannot allow this to affect another year of blended teaching.

• Ensure assessments are compatible with blended education. As we continue to see various restrictions, summative assessments like group projects or presentations are hard to complete to the same standard in some subject areas despite providing necessary skills. There should be alternatives in place depending on the state of restriction we find ourselves in at the time of assessment, or these should be made formative. This needs to be assessed on a subject-by-subject basis, developed using feedback from students and reps. There has been too much missed opportunity this year as the academic world has adjusted & assessment types have lagged behind. The Open University model has had great success – what can we learn from it? Also, the Graduate School of Education is full of educational professionals on both policy & education - this resource of expertise will be invaluable in improving both teaching & assessment methods.

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