SU23 - Our questions to Undergraduate Education officer candidates
Questions to Undergraduate Education officer candidates, Adam Mandeville and Grace Duffy
What’s your number one priority?
Adam: As Education officer, my number one priority will be to organise students so that we can fight for refunds for the lectures we have missed because of strikes. This may seem like an impossible task, but there are actually numerous examples of students succeeding in doing exactly this, including at King’s College London and University College London. There are also a number of examples of universities providing students with ‘goodwill’ payments due to strikes, including Essex University, the University of Edinburgh, Sussex University and Kent University. Every time staff go on strike, the universities save money. What’s more, we already know that Queen’s can afford it - management is making millions in profit every year and lining their own pockets in the process. I’m already part of a campaign to get students refunds, and as Education officer, I will be able to put pressure on the University directly.
Grace: I aim to work hard to achieve each of my manifesto points, however, creating a better academic community would probably be the point closest to my heart. Having a supportive, safe and comfortable academic community is so important for students. It not only improves academic success but also impacts your mental health and well-being. Students should not be afraid of going to class as they have no one to talk to or work with, and the OMNI report has shown that half of all students don’t feel part of their academic community. This is a dire statistic to report, as a strong academic community positively impacts all aspects of a student’s life. Simple steps can be taken in schools to promote a sense of an academic community and I will fight to promote the importance and implement the changes needed to secure a strong academic community in each school throughout the university.
6 months after you start, how will you have improved the visibility of student academic representatives?
Adam: The current student academic representation system needs fundamental changing. Course Representatives are hitting brick walls, unable to make the progress that is sorely needed. We need to decentralise the entire system and provide Course Reps with the power to enact real change. It is also vital to improve connections between representatives at different levels so that there is more accountability and transparency. This will mean Faculty and School representatives will be able to properly engage with Course Reps. I believe that we should also work with RAG to create a Course Rep-based ticket giveaway. Various schools would purchase tickets, which could then be given to Course Representatives who would have the autonomy to create events through which these tickets could be won, overseen by School and Faculty Reps. This would increase the visibility of representatives and ensure that the system works for students.
Grace: To start in September during the welcome back sessions, I would encourage each school to allow Course and School Representatives of that year group to introduce themselves. I would encourage the School Rep to give a small talk introducing themselves, what their role in the school is and how they can help students bring about change in the school via feedback. I would also encourage the Faculty Rep to come along and give a small speech if they were available for this. This will make every student in the year group aware of the course and school reps in their year group from the very start of the academic year. Secondly, I would add the Student Rep profiles onto the Canvas 4000/7000 page briefly introducing themselves, their passions, hobbies, what they enjoy in the course and how to get in contact with them to report feedback. This should remain on the canvas page throughout the year, so students have easy access to this. I would meet with reps as soon as the academic year started to continue from previous years’ work of building a strong rep network and community. I would encourage reps in all schools to attend mixers, well-being and any other events run by their school as much as possible in the first few weeks of term. Finally, I would continue working on the academic hub where students throughout the university can look up who their academic reps are and submit anonymous feedback. Once this hub is set up properly, I would encourage schools to send around an email introducing the academic hub. I would put together a video of how to use the hub and submit anonymous feedback.
What reforms do you want to see in blended learning and what active steps will you take to achieve these changes?
Adam: Many universities across Britain and Ireland have lecture recordings, but Queen’s still falls behind. That isn’t good enough, and as Education officer, I will work with the University to establish lecture recording as common practice across the University. This is the key to blended learning and is particularly important for students with disabilities, commuter students, student parents and mature students who find it more difficult than others to make it to every class. It can also help students for whom English is a second language to check their understanding. I also believe it is vital that students have a stronger voice when it comes to how to improve blended learning, and we can achieve this by providing Course Reps with more power. Feedback is also crucial – I would ensure that each School guarantees timely, constructive, and detailed feedback and work with both staff and students to make that happen.
Grace: Blended learning is still not an option in many courses throughout the University. It is vital that students can access lectures within a guaranteed timeframe and have the reassurance that everything will definitely be recorded. Students shouldn’t always have to query if the material will be recorded – it should be mandatory. I also think students should be made aware well in advance if their class for the semester will be delivered in person or online. Being told that the majority of your class will be delivered online two weeks in advance is unacceptable in this cost-of-living crisis, with students tirelessly trying to find accommodation, paying huge amounts of money for this and then being told ‘you are all online’ or ‘you will be only in two hours a week’ is a disgrace. Many courses have still not moved back to in-person teaching and the OMNI report has shown half of all students prefer to have classes in person. Students are paying for their education and should have the option to choose how they learn, may it be in person or online. To achieve these changes, I would use my position to speak to the Heads of each school and faculty before the term starts to lay out the issues students are having surrounding the current system. I will especially target the AHSS faculty as they are currently lagging with flexible learning. However, my focus would be to continue communication between the UCU and the University around flexible learning barriers and to ensure recorded lectures are the intellectual property of the lecturers, not the university. By reducing these barriers and getting staff onboard with the idea of recording lecturers we can create a system which works much better for everyone involved.
How have your personal experiences shaped your manifesto?
Adam: My manifesto is based on first-hand experience. I’m not asking for refunds for lectures missed due to strikes because I simply want more money – I’m asking because I’ve seen first-hand the stress caused by extortionate tuition fees and a cost-of-living crisis. I’m not demanding the scrapping of the resit cap and fees because I think it will be the most popular policy – I am demanding it on behalf of all the people who have been unfairly held back by the current resit rules. I’m campaigning for the ending of bunched deadlines because, as I sit and write this sentence, I am aware that I have three essays due tomorrow morning. I’m calling for the introduction of lecture recordings because I’ve seen the issues that friends of mine who don’t speak English as their first language or who have chronic illnesses, have faced. My manifesto is not about politics. My manifesto is about students.
Grace: Having been in university pre, during and post-Covid, I feel like my university experience has changed continuously over the past four years and each year has brought a range of challenges along with highs and lows. My manifesto points are things that I personally have felt would be a great help throughout the years and speaking to others and reading articles and reports like the OMNI report has made me realise that I’m not the only one calling out for these changes. My sister has autism, and seeing her struggle so much with the transition into university is really what has shaped my manifesto points the most. Witnessing her struggles has provided me with a greater perspective on university and how different every single person’s experience at university really is. I have spoken to international students, mature students, and students living at home, along with many others, and everyone has shared their own experiences of university with me through interviews or just general chatting and listening around the university. As a result, I’ve come to the conclusion that even though each person has different experiences and challenges, these manifesto points are applicable to every student in the university. As your potential future Education officer, I will be representing the 25,000 students in this university, so ensuring that I am able to tackle academic struggles that we ALL face in Queen’s if I get into office has had the most important influence in shaping my manifesto.
And finally, what three items would you bring to a desert island to pass the time?
Adam: Hurley, a sliotar and Glenfiddich
Grace: Is it too cliché to say my phone - the source of all entertainment? From music to TikTok to chatting with friends and family, I think it could be the only thing that would keep me sane (or potentially drive me insane, who knows!) However, I’m not sure it would work out in the desert...I’d probably need a bottle of water to survive so it definitely wouldn’t hurt to bring that along too. Finally, I would bring a sketchbook (with a built-in pencil so it only counts as one item!) as I love to draw, explore objects, and get creative!
To see all the candidates running, visit the Queen’s SU website