Interview by Elena Conroy Garcia
From your perspective, what is the most serious issue currently affecting the academic experience of students?
“Definitely housing and accommodation. I know so many people who are commuting or having to move halfway through the year and how are you meant to focus on lectures and assignments when you’re doing one of the most stressful things several times in an academic year, it’s awful. One of the best parts of college which helps with academics is extra-curriculars and how are you meant to do that if you’re commuting or don’t have somewhere to live.”
Students often say feedback is slow, unclear, or inconsistent. What would you do to improve assessment and feedback across the university?
“Something I’m quite interested is universal standard, basically means the university operating under one thing. Some lecturers need to be better communicated with that they have an obligation to correct things.
“I saw a first year show me their work and they said is this a normal thing for a lecturer to write. The lecturer said, ‘You’re speaking nonsense I can’t believe I have to correct this’. That’s not helpful, that’s not constructive it’s just rude.
“I’ve had experiences of speaking to staff in my own disciplines and chasing up feedback. People say it all the time that staff should have more training, some are used to doing things the way they always have”
How will you represent students in academic boards and committees in a way that leads to real change, not just discussion?
“It’s hard to get anything done in a year but it’s all about getting stuff on the agenda. I’m lucky that I have experience talking with staff. In Children’s Studies I have been invited to talk to staff about things they could change with the course and other reviews. Talking to lecturers is always very different, a lot of them will be open to change and open to hearing it. Others aren’t they prefer to keep things as they are.
“You must come at it from a very tactical way. You must be critical, and you must be compassionate. You must bring this perspective of yes, you’re advocating for students, but you also must talk to the lecturers’ level, it is hard for them as well.
“Obviously, I’m coming from my own experiences, but you must speak to them in a skilful way. You must get your point across; you can’t just come in with ideas you have to have facts and statistics and plans and win them over.”
What reforms would you push for around exams, continuous assessment, or workload balance?
“Something I notice a lot is timetabling. Some people will be in lectures for five or six straight hours, or they have unconventional times which isn’t realistic especially for people commuting. Same with exams, some people have two exams in a day which is not feasible. I know there are exceptions for people who have DSS.
“There are certain things that I want to see across the board, not just for people with DSS but for everyone. Continuous assessment is an odd one because every lecturer has a different idea in their head on what to expect. Some expect a high standard while others expect less. I’d love to see that communicated more clearly, especially with groupwork. Groupwork can be so frustrating because you’re not always graded individually so you don’t get individual feedback. Sometimes you see continuous assessment in the module outline but there’s very little detail.
“I think some people would love to be prepared and know exactly what to expect when they’re going into it. Some people would prefer continuous assessment only two find out its two big essays rather than something more consistent. I know STEM have labs which are more consistent but again they last hours and you’re relying on a partner. I think more realistic hours would be lovely.
How will you support students who are struggling academically due to issues like housing insecurity, mental health, or financial pressure?
“I know it’s something the SU always does; they open office and people come in and talk. I think people need to know that it is available, some people need a bit of pushing. It’s just about having that knowledge of who to contact. Some people might know there is support like the financial aid fund or the DSS but don’t know how to go about accessing them. They might not even know the full scope that is available to them.
“I think there’s some myths about counselling, some people think it’s expensive or that they won’t let you keep going which isn’t exactly true. I think supporting students and academic is intertwined with their welfare. You must think realistically about it, you can’t just focus on grades or exams, you must look at the wider picture.
“Some students do try and I don’t think lecturers see that when they see grades go down. Some students are trying but they just don’t have the same opportunities that they would like.”
