On Monday 15 October 2018, Education Council met for the first time to discuss a range of issues and topics relating to the Higher Education (HE) sector.
So, what is Education Council?
Made up of School Representatives and Academic Society Chairs, Education Council exists to oversee the education policy prioritisation of the Students' Union and acts as a sub-group of Student Council. The meeting enables its student members to hold the University to account and to campaign on relevant HE issues.
Discussion focused on national policy debates concerning the new regulator of HE (Office for Students), including 'value for money'. In November 2018, the Office for Students will issue a report around the research they have conducted into 'value for money' and what this actually means to students. Members also focused in on challenges closer to home, including learning spaces at Worcester and students' knowledge of the academic representation system at the University.
With the purpose of defining their focus for the academic year, members of Education Council divided themselves into three additional key working groups to focus on three core aims of the 2018-19 academic year.
The Working Groups
1. Change Week
Members of this group will organise and facilitate Change Week. Taking place on the week commencing 4 February 2019, Change Week will be a week of activities with Reps, the SU and the University encouraging students to feed back about everything and anything (e.g. your academic experience, your SU, the student services, the facilities - anything!)
The first day of Change Week will see our annual Course Rep Conference. This is an all-day event, involving skills-based workshops (such as leadership, employability, mental health, sustainability), and a high level panel debate featuring the Pro Vice Chancellor Students, Ross Renton, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Sarah Greer, and the Vice President for Higher Education at the National Union of Students, Amatey Doku.
2. Learning Spaces
With the ambition to improve learning spaces that the University of Worcester offers, Education Council will be going out and asking students about what learning spaces they would like to see on Campus. They will take on board all student feedback and will take appropriate suggestions to University meetings.
As part of this working group, members will also work towards raising awareness of the learning spaces already availiable to students e.g. the 10 computers on the top floor in Charles Hastings, or the quiet study space in Pierson and The Hive.
3. Rep Awareness
Do you know who your Course Rep is? If so, do you know what they do and what the purpose of their role really is? Education Council will set out to answer these questions, raising awareness of academic representation at Worcester and visibly showcasing the impacts that the representation system truly has.
Did you know that your Reps have achieved the following amazing things?
- An Arts Rep implemented a portable camera, creating a more involved learning experience for their cohort
- Reps from across different courses raised the issue that there were no tables in the Cotswold Suite (there are tables in these classrooms now!)
- A Rep requested that lecture slides were sent out in advance of lectures
- A Rep changed a module's assessment timings for the following year's cohort because students fed back that assessments were too close together
- A Rep resolved lighting issues in classrooms by informing the lecturer who passed this on to Facilities
If you have any feedback that you think would inform these working groups, please email the Students' Union's Student Voice Assistant, Jodie, at j.stilgoe@worc.ac.uk.