Campaigns and initiatives based on Education have fallen away in Priority for the Union. Instead campaigning is simply directed at welfare. Welfare important but we cant forget the importance of strong student focused educational campaigns such as study skills and Grind etc.

Early Module Registration & Timetabling
Registration has traditionally taken place at the very start of academic year. This starts the annual scramble for subjects, rooms, tutorials, and course materials. Planning is made difficult by little notice to administrative office of demand on resources. Online registration, though it has had its problems, provides us with a number of opportunities.

Lobby for a move towards earlier registration (at least to for statistics likely take up of classes)
Learn lessons from past efforts at Web registration
Advertise support services who find online registration daunting or for those who simply find web registration hasn’t worked for them!


Digital Submission of Essays
I would like to see the Union press the college to encourage digital submission of continuous assessments such as essays across the board. Facilities already exist and many departments are open to it but this should be encouraged to cut down the hassle and time wasted by ‘handing up’ essays.

Teaching & Learning
As a University we must improve the quality of teaching. Module appraisal is essential – the way to have staff take it seriously is to make it part of staff promotion and development schemes. Tutorials are also an important issue relating to teaching. Lack of resources has forced the cutting of tutorials across the disciplines. The idea is simple; Postgraduate should be funded and trained to give undergraduate tutorials. Postgraduates would then gain teaching experience while undergraduates receive a far better degree. The lobbying to get this put in place will take work but it is certainly worth being prioritised by Unions.

If Semesterisation becomes a University priority we must ensure that student life in the form of extra curricular activities does not suffer. We must ensure that a system is in place where the extra credit modules are extended to a properly accredited system. This should not form part of your academic degree but it should be recognised as an achievement. Societies and Clubs activities give students practical skills such as organisation and leadership. They cannot be allowed to die out.