Business and Management - Frenchay
SU Forum Unconfirmed Minutes
Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 3rd February at 13:00-14:00 in 4B021
Present:
Dana Riedener (BM), Tom Mannides (BM), Daisy Lyons (EM, PG), James Charles (BM,
3rd), Brendon Amos (BM), Rebecca Browning (BM), Bethan Broadbent (BM), Mathew
Butt (BM), Naomi Lee (BM (LCO)), Rachel Davies (M, 4th), Priscilla Eke (MC, PG),
Akusu Rukeme (BM, PG), Uyen Nguyen (MC, 2nd), Mohit Mani (BMwM, 3rd), Elly
Bennett (TM, 3rd), Victoria Clubbe (BM & HRM, 3rd), Emma Lader (BM&M, 1st), Emily
Austin (B&M, 2nd), William Fisher (B&M, 2nd), Daisy Roach (B & HRM, 3rd), Kelly
Smallcombe (B&HRM, 1st), Kate Beazley (BMwM, 2nd), Duing Pham (IM, PG), Ruby
Goodship (BMwM, 3rd), Lucy Crodu (M, 3rd)
In Attendance: Sarah Hickie (Secretary, UWESU)
Apologies*:
Muhammad Ahmad, Samira Abokor, Nathan King, Mai Tuyet Le, Charlotte Jackson,
Nicole Graveson
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
021/1415
021.01
Welcome and introductions
Lauren Conen (Departmental Chair) welcomed Reps present to the third and final SU
Forum of the year.
022/1415
022.01
Minutes of the previous meeting
Minutes from previous meeting were agreed.
023/1415
Matters arising from the previous meeting
023.01
Chair explained that VP Education had compiled all the student feedback
gathered from across SU Forums and taken this to Deputy Vice
Chancellor Jane Harrington and the Pro Vice-Chancellor Jo
Midgley. They were grateful for the feedback and it was decided that VP
Education would author a discussion paper. This work is ongoing.
023.02
Reps didn’t have a lot to report back as many SRSFs had not taken place yet.
023.03
However in relation to 015.05 Reps reported the issue had been raised with Jenny
Lloyd.
023.04
In relation to 015.08 this consensus was raised by student Department Chair at
ASQC. BM HoD agreed that this was a format that was useful to students and was
something he would expect staff to be using, as adding comments to a word
document can be quite straight forward. Other staff present did point out that
sometimes feedback isn’t tied to specific sections of writing and is a more overall
comment say about writing style and that on these occasions this format doesn’t
really work.
023.05
In response to 015.09 students got their feedback on time and in time to reflect on it
before the Jan exam, therefore they did not need to raise this issue.
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024/1415
Report from Departmental Committee
024.01
No student Reps present had attended Departmental Committee so not report could
be given at this Forum.
025/1415
Report from SRC and ASQC
025.01
Student Chair of Department gave a brief report on SRC and ASQC which she
attended.
025.02
In relation to SRC she explained that Derek Norris (Deputy Director - Strategic
Business Engagement, ITS) had attended to give an update to students on
developments to UWE IT in response to student feedback. These included reducing
planned maintenance weekends from two a year to four and making these outside
of main term time, rolling out Wi-Fi to all rooms on all campuses and the move away
from thin client PCs through replacing all to thick clients. He agreed more and more
timely promotion of free Microsoft 365 download was needed.
025.03
In relation to ASQC she explained the committee discussed the feedback she raised
on feedback. They were due to discuss APTs particularly in relation to student
retention however this was put on hold to allow for the committee to better align
with VP Educations project and student feedback from SU Forums and take this into
account.
026/1415
Student Communications and Information Provision
026.01
Student Rep from 3rd yr Tourism Management felt that infopoint and Student
Advisors were the first point of call and that students generally knew to go to an
infopoint if unsure who to go to.
026.02
3rd yr Marketing Rep reported that students are very well signposted by course
leaders Jenny Lloyd and Sara Bird. They do brilliant induction talks at the start of first
and second semester and include signposting about where to go in all sorts of
situations whether students are stressed or wanting to change module or need study
support etc. The Rep suggested that as a form of reinforcement this slide/slides
could be included at the end of every lecture – not to be talked through, as they
appreciate teaching time is precious, but to just be on the screen as people leave the
lecture. The room agreed this was a brilliant idea.
Action:
Reps to raise at Departmental Committee.
026.03
Rep from PG Events Management said that students come to her a lot but she is
quite happy signposting them. She is on a small course and felt this might contribute
to the peer to peer approach.
026.04
Rep from 2nd yr Business Management reported she goes to either Dom ?? or their
APT.
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026.05
Rep from Business Management and Marketing said they also generally go to their
APT but have gone to careers for support with placements. They did comment that
they felt they had to ‘ask around a lot’ to find out where to go though.
026.06
A Rep made a point that lecturers are quite overworked and overloaded with
requests for guidance or signposting or support and that they should be more of a
backup option, after students try to find information and signpost themselves.
026.07
A Rep suggested that UWE create a ‘Student Wellbeing’ tab which would link off to
information about and contact details of all forms of student support (not just
specifically the Wellbeing service).
026.08
Another Rep suggested a kind of flow chart or infographic that visually shows what
departments/people/services provide what support and to who and who to contact
them. All Reps felt that these options were of benefit to students who were shyer
and didn’t want to ‘ask around’ or go to their APT or other staff. They also felt this
was good as people didn’t have to come onto campus to find what they need.
A Rep raised that a challenge to making the infographic would be the sheer scale of
UWE and the vast number of support services. However, they felt it was worth trying
to get right as having this infographic would ‘do wonders for students perception of
the University’ as they’d be able to see all the support they do provide in a
transparent way. They felt the infographic should be used as posters behind glass
across campus as would be visible there as well. Reps suggested they could be
tailored to particular campuses or faculties with regards to specifics (such as the ASC
in FBL, or the location of an infopoint etc). They felt only certain bits would need to
be tailored.
026.09
In response to the fact the ASC was mentioned a Rep said she had been to a brilliant
session by the Library but feels they are underused. She believes as FBL students are
fortunate to have the ASC and it is quite clearly marketed they opt to go to there,
when in fact some Library sessions may be more relevant.
Action:
Rep to pass praise to Library Services if haven’t already.
026.10
A Rep from 3rd year Human Resource Management raised the fact that surely your
APT is the first point of contact for any issue as they can then tell you who to go to
about it. The room generally felt this was logical however this then relies on a
student’s relationship with their APT being good and appointments being made and
kept. Some Reps raised they knew students had APTs who weren’t arranging
appointments or they don’t feel their APT is very approachable, there were also
times APTs had been changed a number of times which was challenging for their
relationship with them.
Action:
Feedback relevant to APT to be passed to VP Education to help inform discussion
paper.
026.11
Reps felt support with knowing where to go for support is most important in first
year when new to the university. This was because students don’t know the staff
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team/their lecturer well enough to ask them for advice or they may be less confident
as new to UWE. Often new students don’t feel they can ask someone for help if they
aren’t sure who to ask.
026.12
Generally Reps felt that online communications about support are clear, but noted if
students aren’t proactive they may not find them.
027/1415
Reflecting on the Rep role
027.01a
When asked about the best parts of the Rep roles Reps felt that being in the loop
and very involved was a best bit.
027.01b
They also felt it pushed you to be proactive in all aspects of student life.
027.01c
Reps felt that in their role they get to see a level of transparency that students who
aren’t Student Reps don’t get to see. They felt however UWE needed to work harder
to be transparent for all students.
027.01d
Reps felt good about being able to make changes, especially quick wins. They also
liked being involved in the implementation of changes.
027.01e
Reps like feeling that they are approachable.
027.01f
A Rep raised that they liked being able to post to myUWE. They had only have two
responses but did feel it was of benefit. There was a discussion about the fact they
didn’t feel students check their myUWE announcements as much as Blackboard
announcements and they asked if it was possible to switch to allowing Reps to post
to Blackboard. Secretary explained she believed this had been discussed with the
University as Reps team agreed BB would have been preferable. She said she
believed the University had good reason why this wasn’t possible and she would get
back to Reps after checking what this was.
Action:
Secretary to find out why we were only able to get myUWE announcements for
Reps and not Blackboard announcements.
028.01a
Moving on to discussions about barriers they faced in the role a Rep said a big
barrier was students not checking UWE emails and the fact they aren’t give students
personal emails as a Rep. There was a discussion about use of UWE emails and Chair
explained UWE wanted all students to use their UWE emails and for staff to not have
to email personal ones. Secretary reminded the room that currently Reps aren’t
given all their cohorts email addresses as this isn’t a list the Reps team can access
easily nor are they sure they can give these out due to data protection. Usually Reps
are told to discuss this with academic staff with the caveat that if they do get any
email addresses this will be UWE emails. She also explained myUWE announcement
permissions training was to be used to address this.
028.02
On a different but related note the Chair felt UWE need to do a campaign about
students using their UWE emails, and that this could involve signposting to IT
support is students need help accessing them or forwarding emails on to a personal
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address. One Rep said her course was sold checking UWE emails as all important
comms go there and if they don’t check it they will become out of the loop could
miss assessments and could achieve below their capabilities.
Action:
Chair to discuss with UWE Communications Officer.
028.01b
A Rep felt that their biggest barrier had been trying to get anything improved for
their students regarding timetabling.
028.01c
A few Reps felt that the Rep system needed a bit more standardising, to ensure all
Reps and staff made the most of it. They suggested an example being standing up in
class and introducing themselves as a Rep. They felt rather than suggesting this at
training all Reps should be expected to and academic staff should be expected to ask
them to and or introduce them.
028.01d
A Rep suggested that Reps need help to get their face out there, so students have a
face to a name/email address. They felt including their picture alongside their email
on the Reps tab on myUWE was needed. Secretary advised this may be tricky from
an IT perspective but was on the Reps team’s radar. She told the group about
Department in FET whose staff had made large posters, behind Perspex, with Reps
photographs, programmes and email addresses and installed them in the block
where the courses are taught.
Action:
Reps to raise at Departmental Committee.
028.01e
On the back of the point about standardisation and the example of introductions
Rep suggested that a stock slide for them to use when introducing themselves and
what they can offer students would be useful. This could then be editable by
themselves to be more tailored to their course. They felt including examples of past
Rep wins, especially at local level would be useful but felt this was currently hard
information to get hold of. Secretary agreed this was hard to always track and
capture and that the team were exploring Rep handovers, the 13month Rep term as
options to improve this handing over of successes. Other ideas would be to talk to
staff about Rep wins.
028.01f
A Rep admitted that a barrier she had faced was due to her not always reading all
emails. She had missed out on myUWE training and she felt this might have been
due to her not seeing the email. She concluded this might be because she assumed
the email was in fact from UWE, as she feels she reads emails that clearly have
Student Reps in the subject but sometimes ignores other ones as she gets so many
emails. She suggest Rep team always start subjects with Student Reps or something
else clear.
Action:
VP Education and Student Reps team to consider all feedback on the role and
recommendations made at SU Forum.
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029/1415
Student Rep Conference
029.01
The secretary informed Reps present of the forthcoming Student Rep
Conference. All Reps are invited to this year’s Conference, which will be held
on Friday 27th February in the ECC on Frenchay Campus. The day will last
from 11:00 - 16:00 (although Reps can just attend the morning or the
afternoon) and a free buffet lunch will be provided! There is a choice of 3
workshops to attend. This day provides a wonderful opportunity to enhance
Reps skills and share their experiences of the year so far. Reps can find more
information http://www.uwesu.org/repconference/. Secretary briefly
explained these workshops.
030/1415
Student Rep Notices
The Secretary ran through the rest of the Student Rep Notices…
030.01
Nominations for the Student Rep and Student Led Teaching awards are still
open. Nominations can be made on the Student Rep webpage,
www.uwesu.org/reps along with full details of criteria for each category.
030.02
The National Student Survey (NSS, for final year undergraduates) and Student
Experience Survey (SES, for all other years) are now open. All students are
encouraged to fill in their survey and have their voice heard. In addition to
this, there are prize draws for iPad Minis for those who complete their
relevant survey plus the Students’ Union will receive £1 per completed survey
for your new SU building.
030.03
Secretary explained that myUWE announcement training had been offered
and drop in type sessions run across campuses with mixed success and
attendance. She explained that for next year the team hoped to launch this
training sooner or incorporate within fundamental Rep training. She asked if
this was something Reps would still be interested in and if there was a need
for further sessions. There was limited interest due to the timing of the year.
030.04
UWESU Elections are now open! Any student can run for one of the full time
sabbatical positions or one of the part time office positions in the
forthcoming UWESU Elections. Full details about each role and the
nomination process are on www.uwesu.org/vote Nominations opened on 3rd
February and close 26th February.
031/1415
Student Matters
031.01
A Rep who recently returned from placement now has an APT assigned. However,
this person is someone they haven’t had much interaction with since first year and
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they feel they are at a disadvantage because of this. They feel they know their
dissertation supervisor better and vice versa and asked if there could not be some
cross over, and them have the same person for both.
031.02
A Rep from 3rd yr Business and Management strongly disagreed with this suggestion.
They felt having two points of contact was better than one as doubled the chances
of a student getting on with one of them and feeling able to ask for signposting. Rep
from 3rd yr Tourism and Management agreed as a clear difference is also needed
between roles and if they needed to give feedback on how they are getting on with
their dissertation supervisor they could go to their APT. Secretary asked the Rep who
initiated this conversation if they felt they just wanted more time with their
dissertation supervisor, hence wanting in affect more time with them. They said not
necessarily they just felt they knew them better and also they were assigned one
sooner on returning.
031.03
A Business Management 3rd year Rep felt that it is up to students to initiate contact
and they shouldn’t be spoon fed. However Reps agreed APT as a concept needing
‘pushing more’ at 1st year. A 1st yr Business Management Rep also commented that
this proactive approach is actually at odds with how APT is marketed, as it is
marketed as quite formal and students ‘have access to an APT for a ‘set amount of
time’. Reps felt the allocation of time made it less clear students could or should be
proactive in seeking help.
031.04
A Rep from 1st yr Business and Management was told she was intelligent and getting
on fine so she didn’t really need a meeting. She hasn’t had any contact since this first
meeting.
Action:
Rep to consider raising with Programme Manager.
031.05
Reps felt students needed to be empowered to be able to give feedback on both
dissertation supervisors and their assigned APT, and clearer guidance/signposting on
how to do this.
Action:
Feedback relevant to APT to be passed to VP Education to help inform discussion
paper.
031.06
A Rep who had attended a Faculty focus group raised concerns about staffs
perceptions of students. She got the impression that staff feel students are lazy,
when in fact they may not approach staff as they are shy, don’t know how to or they
may miss things due to legitimate reasons. She felt that at UWE student and staff
relationships, and their perceptions of each other needs ‘working on’.
031.07*
A Rep from Business and Management 3rd yr sent apologies to the meeting
but sent across the following feedback:
Just something to bring up if it hasn't been noted already: the lack of water
points in uni is pretty terrible I think the only place where you can fill bottles
is the library and they were out of order for about 3 days last week..
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Definitely need some more fountains good areas would be outside core 24 by
the vending machines and cribbs b.
Action:
SU President and Green Leader Coordinator to consider and raise with UWE
Facilities.
032/1415
Time and date of next meeting
032.01
Secretary reminded Reps that this was the last meeting of the Academic Year
and explained that she will provide follows up to actions and ask for them
from Reps via email moving forward. Reps can also email with any feedback
and queries – studentreps@uwe.ac.uk
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