Term One Roundup...

This term has been something of a rollercoaster, to use a well-worn cliche. I'm taking a few days off over to Christmas to relax, recharge and refocus.

What has my term been?

Sociology has dominated my agenda, well before the announcement was leaked by staff back on November the 10th. That doesn't feel like six weeks ago; everything that's happened since feels like it's been enough to fill six months of a normal calendar. Meetings with students, the Student Reps, the Head of College, the College Head of Learning and Teaching, the University Registrar and Secretary, the Head of Finance, one Pro-Vice-Chancellor and his former deputy, the VC himself, Senate, Council, our student Senate reps, internal Guild staff, UCU reps, hundreds of emails from individual students, their parents, sociologists and UCU members from other unis...

Sociology is now in a relatively quiet place. We will hold elections to elect students onto the discussion panels that have resulted from the review process, and these will report back late March... Just need to arrange these elections.

Appeals, College Misconduct Hearings and Fitness to Practice all took so much more time and emotion than I ever anticipated, but was worth every second of it to help those students.

So what about the old manifesto points?

Feedback has made good progress; I sit on a working group looking at exam scripts in feedback and Fab and I have had a lot of input into proposals to improve feedback going through the Uni committees. Just needs a push in the right direction...

Libraries is an area I've had to save off launching myself into until next term, thanks to a certain troubled department.

Access I am also going to have to wait before tackling, there's been so much on this term it's been hard to get going on it.

Student Reps have a lot of exciting developments coming their way this year, including online training, meaning all of you can access it for the first time ever (and have no excuses!), PSA accreditation, and MyStudentRep, a confidential discussion forum you will soon be able to access via MyBham for just Student Reps and those they represent.

.... The Book Exchange is doing great!

So, thoughts so far, any any questions?

New Look

I hate pink and this looks cleaner and marginally more professional, within the confines of the Blogger templates!

New look, new year...

My and Fabian's report from University Council, as sent to Sociologists and MCS students this week

Hi all,

So here is the report from University Council, where Sociology was discussed last week. The choice before Council was not whether or not to close the department, but whether or not to continue the consultation into the future of Sociology at Birmingham. All the comments made at Senate on the matter were presented in a report to Council to inform their decision.

Fabian, the Guild President, and I were called on to give the student view, and we did so, asking for rejection of the report and explaining why, and a long discussion ensued on a number of the points we raised. They were all taken seriously and discussed; but ultimately we were the only ones to put forward the case for outright rejection (although someone else did bring up the possibility of deferring the decision and several expressed that the preferred option was perhaps not the best) and so Council approved that consultation should continue.

The consultation period was a topic of great discussion and Council members expressed a genuine desire that all options remain live. Professors Edward Peck and Cillian Ryan restated their commitment to involve students as they wanted to be, on what they wanted, and will be continuing discussions with myself and your Student Reps as to how this should take place. More details of this will follow in the week.

So I’m afraid it’s as predicted, that part’s over and the consultation will continue: Now it’s up to us to take all that energy from the protests and the campaign and use it to make that consultation good and get what students need out of it. Please remember, the final decision on what to do with the department has not been taken, and all options remain open; it's so important that you engage in the consultation process now.

Thanks to all who have emailled, contacted us and turned up to the big meetings; although there wasn't time to reply to them all we read and listened to everything and used it all to help us argue for you in everything we've done. Please continue send us your thoughts, and contact your Student Reps who will be setting out the process for continued consultation in the near future.

Best wishes

Brigid and Fabian
VP (Education and Access) and President
Guild of Students

Senate Reps report to Sociologists, as sent to them last week.

Dear Students,

Apologies for the delay in this report reaching you, I thought it had been sent to you on Thursday but there were some administrative issues which resulted in its delay.

The protest last week was very impressive, congratulations on pulling it off; the chanting could be heard from the Senate Chamber! We wanted to give you our report of what happened yesterday.

When it came to Sociology being discussed, the Vice Chancellor first clarified the procedure. He stated that the role of Senate was to give its views to Council, and that all views given in the meeting would be passed in a report to Council to inform their decision on whether or not to continue the consultation. He emphasized that no decision on closure or any other course of action will be taken until April.

The Vice Chancellor further stated that should the consultation period continue, all six options considered in the report, a to f, would remain live, as would any others that may arise from the consultation process, and that all would be given thorough and equal consideration if the consultation moved forward and remain on the table for discussion. Professor Edward Peck confirmed that should the paper go to consultation, weekly meetings would be held for all students to attend to discuss aspects of the options, that weekly meetings would be held for the Student Reps to look deeper into certain aspects, and theme groups of students and staff would be set up to address the key areas of concern that you and the staff have raised. He acknowledged that the consultation with students had failed thus far and that the consultation process would have to compensate for this. These guarantees were confirmed to Senate and minuted.

A representative from the Staff union read out a statement on their behalf, and Brigid gave a statement on your behalf, which included all the concerns you have brought to us from the meetings and via email. It was stated that the view of the student body was that the paper must be rejected. Further comments from representatives were critical of the review process so far and the proposals that had been drawn up, and there was some acknowledgement from Senate members that the procedure for the consultation moving forward was now a positive one.

We were happy to see the new framework for consultation be confirmed by the Vice Chancellor and Edward Peck before Senate and these are now guaranteed should consultation go forward.

Please let us know what you think of this framework, and your thoughts on this moving forward.

Best wishes

Brigid, Claire, Hadrian, Simon, Simon and Vicky
Your Senate Reps

In the last fortnight

• I have attended one Fitness to Practice Hearing
• One College Misconduct
• One Appeal
• Three member disciplinaries (I don't like doing these, please stop doing bad things all of you)
• Met with Sociologists and MCS students three times
• Answered and read God knows how many emails from them
• Attended Senate and Council to represent said students and oversee the covernance of the University, both broadly and academically
• Held five college Student Rep Forums, where Student Reps tell me everything that's going on in their worlds and I ask for feedback on what my priorities should be and get them to feed into what I'm doing
• Attended Educational Enhancenent Group, which is a Uni committee of a fairly self explanatory nature, and am now on a sub group looking at improving module evaluation
• All the other little things that I do inbetween, like attend Sabbatical Officer Group meetings, read for the above meetings, negotiate with the Uni and listen and answer the queries of numerous students.
• Seen the Guild Musical Theatre Group production of Sweeny Todd and had to be told it's not a true story, despite its magnificance (well done guys)
• Drunk the new Real Ale in the Guild! A welcome return, yum yum!

So... any questions? :)

Sociology

Why have I been so quiet on the blog?

Sociology has consumed my life.

My involvement in the Sociology affair began on the 28th August when I met with the Head of the Review Group. It quickly became apparent to me that things weren't adding up, and I soon uncovered the fact that students were at this stage unaware of the review and how this had happened. Since then I have implored the Review Group to give students another chance to have their input.




I've been in contact with the students every few weeks to keep them updated on my actions. Since the news broke two Tuesdays ago I've been working more or less non-stop on Sociology. I was at both the meetings where the proposals were explained to students, and straight after each I held meetings between them and the other Senate Reps for them to give us their view and inform our lobbying. I've been in constant contact with the Student Reps.



My line on the protest has been that students can organise that themselves, they don't need my help; I felt my efforts were best concentrated behind the scenes lobbying people I had access to and they didn't. Since that Tuesday I have met with the Head of the College of Social Sciences, the College's Head of Learning and Teaching, departmental staff, the Registrar and Secretary of the University, the Uni's Head of Finance, the Pro Vice Chancellor for Academic Quality and Students, and the Vice Chancellor, and we have drawn up a framework for the consultation period that will follow, with a level of student involvement unprecedeted in its breadth and depth. This framework was confirmed at Senate last Wednesday, where myself and the other Senate Reps made the chamber very aware of exactly what students thought of the proposals and where it should go from here. In addition to this we have had it confirmed that closure will not be the only option the table. We have got to a stage now where all of the six options outlined in the report, from keeping the status quo through to full closure, are now back on the table.


This work was supported by the President who joined me in much of this and lobbied through his channels too.

From here, the proposal to go into consultation goes to University Council this Thursday. The decision on what to do with the department will not be taken until April and there is no certainity that the debate at that stage will even involve closure.
 
COUNCIL WILL NOT BE DECIDING ON THURSDAY WHETHER TO CLOSE THE DEPARTMENT.
 
Hope this clears some things up. If anyone wants more info, please leave me a comment or drop me an email at b.jones@guild.bham.ac.uk
 
Cheers!
 

Hats

It's funny, all the different interactions you have with people and the hats you have to wear in this job.

On the panel with me at the afore-mentioned School Quality Review, was one person I sit on other committees with, and one person I've had to defend students to in appeals, whilst also helping one of her students in another matter. On the other side, being reviewd, were a couple more people I've met in appeal and misconduct hearings and someone I sit on Council with. Wrapped up in this were the students I represent, including a number of my friends who have studied at different levels in the school. All very interesting stuff...

School Quality Reviews

On Tuesday I spent all day sitting on the panel for a School Quality Review of the History and Cultures Department.

"What's that?" I hear you ask!

Well, a School Quality Review happens to every school in the University on a six or so yearly cycle. The school submits a self evaluation about everything they do, and a panel of academics, plus an external academic from another university and a Guild sabbatical office (normally myself, but I delegate when I don't have the time) goes in and questions them on the whole thing. For you sciencey and PhDy types, it's a bit like a viva.

It's a really interesting; you get to look at everything the school does to make sure their procedures are up to scratch. So we looked at things like admissions, welfare provision, quality assurance in teaching and learning, provision of learning resources, and pretty much everything else. We scrutinise everything, and make reccomendations for change and give commendations for good practice.

Just one of the many fun things I do...

Update

It's been longer than I realised since my last blog! What have I been up to?

I've been on annual leave to Rome. It was lovely.

I've been to and am preparing for a number of student College Misconduct hearings and complaint interviews.

I've been picking up casework from you left, right and centre. Keep it coming though!

I've been to University Learning and Teaching Committee, to discuss, well, learning and teaching strategy.

I've met with Library Services and got some great feedback there.

I've been chasing around after the Sociology Review trying to get some student consultation involved.

I've had dinner with Housing and Accomodation Services at my old haunt, the Vale Hub at Shakleton!

... and today I am largely in the office catching up on everything else.

Anything you think I should be doing or looking into?

A Library to Love?

Longer library opening hours has always been an issue of mine, as has increasing the number of core texts and improving access to IT facilities and learning spaces. I have taken up the issue of another short loan machine too from my election opponent.

Is there anything else you think I should have on my library agenda?

A "Typical" Monday

A friend asked me the other day what a typical day with me would involve. I replied, predictably, that there was no "typical" day, but thought to give you an idea of what I do that for each day this week I'd write a blog on my full itinerary. Here is Monday.

I came in at ten to nine to find Sabb Catch-Up had been moved to ten, so I went to my office, caught up on some emails and read the day's Education News on th BBC. I then realised I was block-booked through to three, so went to Spar to buy lunch in advance. Sabb Catch-Up was nice; it's an hour a week we set aside to talk to each other about what we've been up to, what's coming up and just generally get together, as we rarely have a chance to do so in the week.

At eleven I met with Yogi, our outgoing rep on the Graduate School Management Board, to have a de-brief on his year and adress any thoughts he had about the year. This was most interesting and gave me a lot of issues to follow up with regards to Postgraduate education at Birmingham and also within the Guild with respects to how we gather Postgraduate issues.

At eleven forty five I ate a banana.

At twelve I met with two staff who work on the Student Rep system to brief on the upcoming Student Rep Strategy Advisorary Board on Wednesday, and at one I met with two more staff members to discuss said strategy. In between these meetings I grabbed lunch.

At two I left for Muirhead Tower to discuss some problems some students have been having with their courses. They were kind enough to give me a much appreciated cup of tea.

At three I met with Fabian and other Guild staff to discuss the upcoming Town Takeover event, to be held in December. I then took a break, during which time I consumed one coffee and half a bar of Dairy Milk and discussed some Guild matters with Tom Guise.

At four thirty I met with Fabian and the Chief Executive of the Guild to brief for tomorrow's Council Away Day. I then spent ten minutes resolving a health and safety matter.

And now it's six pm, and I'm going to read some papers for a meeting on Thursday and then go home at half past. Stay tuned for more typical days in the life of a sabb!

Perks

Surely none of you can have missed the Vice Chancellor of Buckinghamshire University calling female students a "Perk of the job" and saying that we use our curves to exploit male lecturers.

I bet the millions of women who will go to lectures this week with male lecurers feel really comfortable and secure right now. And I that for a large proportion of them a lot of the behaviour and attitudes they have experienced in their time at Univeristy suddenly make a lot of sense.

Senate Briefing

Right now I'm reading the papers for Senate, the most senior University Academic board on which five students, plus myself, sit, aong with about thirty five academics from across the colleges and a number of others. All academic policy will pass through here, and it sits underneath the afore-blogged-about Council.

All Student Reps are invited to apply to be senators, so if you're interested for next year, pleae stand to be a Student Rep this year...

Building up the Book Exchange

Hey Folks,

The much maladied Book Exchange has been relaunched and is now totally, 100%, really truely problem proofed.

The Guild Marketing Department have been working hard and have sorted out all the problems you have told us about, from the one week expiry time to the login issues. Ex students can now list books with ease and your book will stay up for one year if you want it to.

Welcome Week is just around the corner so this is the time to get your books up and ready for all the new students to buy!

I also want to know if you have any ideas for the future. I'm already looking at having a section for selling non-book related objects, what do people think of a spare room listing?

Brigid Jones's Diary is International Blockbuster

A special hello to my twelve readers in a small town in Brazil who Google Analytics tell me are avid followers of this blog. I don't know who you are or why you read my blog but it's nice that you do :)

Scouting out Council

In the last week I've had extensive training for sitting on University Council, the governing body of the Univeristy. Me and Fabian were sent away to London for a day for a seminar for student governors, which gave us a good overview of the role, and the next day we had a Birmingham specific induction.

Two student sabbatical officers sit on University Council, along with a number of academics and a larger number of external lay members. The board is ultimately responsible for the University of Birmingham, and has oversight on the accounts, appointments, estates, academic strategy, recruitment and research. While most issues are discussed and developed in greater depth in the committees that sit below Council, the ultimate decision on whether to pass their reccommendations is made there.

It's going to be a very interesting year to be on Council!

Help me help you get better Feedback!

What have I done since my last blog?

I've had a "quiet" few days in the office. My time has been spent mostly planning; setting up meetings, chasing up people and planning the "next step" in each of my projects.

Here I will make a call for student input into one of my campaigns!

What is the feedback like in your department? Is it particuarly good, is it bad, does it exist at all; does your dept. have a standard way of doing it or is it left up to individual lecturers?

Any info please to b.jones@guild.bham.ac.uk will be treated confidentially; if you want to send me an example of a feedback sheet you got back I will anonymise it before using it. This information is helping me to map out areas of excellence, mediocrity and absence when it comes to feedback and will help me work to improve the service you get from the Uni!

Well, that's all for now; I'm off to a meeting of the MedSchool's Curriculum and Welfare Committee...

10:10, TT and LSE

On Tuesday I helped a student with a complaint interview, and then caught a train to London for the 10:10 launch. 10:10 is a drive to cut carbon emissions by 10% by the end of 2010, and together with Fabian and Tom I was there to see it launched. So far I have annoyed my housemates by unplugging pretty much everything in the lounge before going to bed (there is no off button on most of the appliances, they seem to only do standby or on!) and taken to turning off my Blackberry over night, so I don't have to charge it so often. I will be also keeping up my record of never owning a car (my lack of driving licence being irrelevant to the importance of this sacrifice of mine). What will you be doing?

Having spent the night in the basic and cheap LSE halls, which were deeply reminiscent of but far more pleasent than my days in Chamberlain (more halls like this please Brum) I attended a planning and training day for the NUS's planned Town Takeover days of action on tuition fees. More information will be coming soon, but if anyone would like the info up front to get involved in planning or delivering, my address is b.jones@guild.bham.ac.uk.

Being rather too tired to watch the West Wing episode I was looking forward to I will now retire to bed.

Aldwych goes to Sheffield

Fabian and I spent Friday and Saturday in Sheffield, at this year's second Aldych Group meeting. The Aldwhych Group is formed of the students' unions of the Russell Group of elite (or elitist?) research intensive instituions and was created as a reaction to the Russell Group in 1994.

So why come together? Well, there are a variety of mission groups operating withing the UK University Sector, such as the 1994 group. These are self formed groups of similar universities, which collaborate and lobby the government. The thing that amuses me about the Russell Group is that its members are actually not the top twenty universities in the UK, but that having declared themselves to be special gives them a collective air of importance that it's easy to buy into.

So, this weekend we talked about the future direction of the Aldwych group and looked at the things we had in common, identified problems and issues particular to RG institutions and looked at ways we could solve them together. We talked about the upcoming fee reviews for Undergrads and Postgrads and how we could best react to that and how we could play our part in shaping them. We looked at the great things we were already doing individually and how we could adapt them to work in our own institutions.

The point of a Union is to come together for the common interest and purpose, and unions that opt out of the NUS are sorely missing out. This was evidenced to me from meeting officers from non affiliated unions at Aldwych; they operated very much on their own, with little scope of the bigger picture. I cannot stress how much seeing how other unions operate and how other officers work has helped me in my job so far; there is no point is us sitting in our isolated unions reinventing the wheel constantly, and there are issues we cannot solve on our own and must come together and fight together. Our Universities sure as hell are, and we are only weaker if we don't mirror them and come together ourselves.

But I digress; it's time for me to go back to my wonderfully relaxing weekend and go cook fajitas with my housemates...

National tragedy, or what you always wanted?

50 000 potential students missed out on a place at University this year, despite having the necessary qualifications.

So why is the right-wing press so upset? They hate the target of 50% going to University! They want children to grow up to be plumbers and builders, not to study Micky Mouse courses and incur massive debts in doing so! Why does the press, which has for so long decried the need for people to go to University now mourn that so many are not getting in?

It's the same old story; it's because it's their kids and their reader's kids that may not be getting a place this year. The hypocrisy on the news stands is making me sick.

How many reps did you say?!

Last year the Guild started a mapping exercise, to find out exactly how many Student Reps we have operating across the University.

It turns out we have 900.

Last week a fair bit of my time was spent on looking at online Student Rep training, and the development of online discussion forums so students and reps can get talking. It's all looking rather snazzy, we'll be trialling the forums next year and hoping for a full roll out the year after. These will be facilitated by the University but be a strictly confidential, private space where you and your coursemates can talk about all the things that affect you on your course, so that the reps can take the issues forward. A lucky few will get to try it out from November, I'm keen to know what you think about it...

Week with the Nus

I've spent the week away in Sheffield on NUS training with Fab and Tom. It's been fantastic meeting so many people and the insight into the student movement and and leadership and organisational skills we've picked up will prove invaluable. More info with pictures when I get back to my laptop!

Right to Appeal

One of the most important things the Guild does is to support students through their academic appeals. This week the officer team have spent a lot of time doing just that.

The ARC has dedicated advisers who help students to put their appeals together. If the appeal goes to a hearing, you can elect to take a sabbatical officer with you, to provide support, make sure you get the hearing you deserve and to help you make the best possible case you can. Some of the team have spent their week helping students in this way, and it's proving to be one of the most difficult and most rewarding parts of the job.

For more information, drop int the ARC or look them up on the Guild website.

Getting Started

Well, me and the rest of the Sabbatical team have spent the last month in training and officially took over on the 1st August. Only 360 days left to make a difference!

I've spent my first few days in office getting up to speed on what's going on. I've been planning action on HE funding, following up casework Student Reps have raised with me, analysing their feedback on the big issues of last year, preparing for student appeals and planning my first steps. I've also been trying to coax back to life the rather dry plant in the corner of my office.

That's all for now- I'll be back soon...