Interview by Elena Conroy Garcia
From your perspective, what is the most serious issue currently affecting the academic experience of students?
“There’s a lot, first the academic experience for commuters. They’re not having a great time with the whole parking situation. You need to get to campus before 8am if you want to get a spot. Especially since half that car park in the Kingfisher is being taken up by the construction. Class schedules could also be done better. Some people have massive gaps but it’s still not worth it for them to go home and come back especially with Galway traffic. AI is also becoming a huge part of college, its accessible everywhere now. I would like to see a more clear-cut policy surrounding it. It can’t exactly be banned but students can be taught how to use it in a way that aids their education.”
Students often say feedback is slow, unclear, or inconsistent. What would you do to improve assessment and feedback across the university?
“Having a clear rubric. It’s annoying when your lecturer gives you a deadline but then there’s no deadline or penalty for them. It would be nice to see them have a clear-cut marking scheme for themselves as well as students. Also giving lecturers set dates for when they should give assignments back and making sure, they stick to them.”
How will you represent students in academic boards and committees in a way that leads to real change, not just discussion?
“I’m on student experience committee and I’m also on the educational excellence strategy development student focus group. We we’re basically a diverse group of students being asked what can be done to improve education in Ireland. So, I have experience in representing students in a way that’s fair and getting all the points across. Sometime annoying people and ensuring you get what you want is the only way to go. If you have an action plan in place its easier for people to believe your plans will actually work.”
What reforms would you push for around exams, continuous assessment, or workload balance?
“People learn differently and different learning methods suit some while others don’t. Some people choose continuous assessment because it suits them better but then all the deadlines pile up at the same time which can be very stressful. I would push for more communication between lecturers to ensure deadlines are more spread out. I would also like reformations in repeat exams and especially the 40% cap on exams, It’s not really doing anyone any favours. Even just abolishing repeat fees completely, It’s so expensive. Also bringing back reading week, they are quite beneficial, it gives you time to catch up on work you might be behind on.”
How will you support students who are struggling academically due to issues like housing insecurity, mental health, or financial pressure?
“I hate the housing in Galway it drives me up the wall. I would like to see more student affordable accommodation. It would be nice to see more affordable housing with a set price it has to be then that would be great. Obviously, that would be for more campus accommodation, but it would still be a great help. I know we have the accommodation office, but the harsh reality is that we simply don’t have enough beds for the students here. I’d also like to improve the counselling; two sessions are simply not enough. A lot of people can’t afford counselling outside of college. I would like to see more flexibility in extenuating circumstances so that people can be more supported by the college and have more flexible deadlines for when they’re struggling.”
