Termly Reports 7th Week Michaelmas 2007

Martin McCluskey - President

Rich Hardiman - V-P (Finance)

Louise Randall - V-P (Welfare and Equal Opportunities)

Student Advice Service

We have continued to see a consistent flow of casework through the service and as always this takes up much of my time. Part of our review of the Student Advice Service which is currently in progress has been to undertake a period of ‘SAS Consultancy’ with the University Counselling Service. So far we have been looking at the systems in place for supporting members of the SAS in what is often difficult and emotionally challenging work, and the role of the SAS within the wider University welfare structures.

Having brought a paper on University funding for a Student Advisor in 3rd week, we have been meeting with the Assessor (the welfare arm of the proctorial team) to discuss the detailed proposal we hope to bring to JCC in 3rd week of Hilary.

General Welfare

The University Committee for Student Health and Welfare met in 6th week. We brought to this meeting issues that we have been made aware of by students that need addressing, such as what rights and access to colleges and libraries students on intermission on welfare grounds have. We also raised the need for a Student Advisor.

I attended a very valuable conference run by the Oxfordshire Student Mental Health Network on student depression. It was an extremely illuminating day, and I hope to use the information from the conference to compile a guide for welfare officers and anyone else interested on student depression.

We have been meeting with condom suppliers from Durex and we hope that we will be able to start supplying Durex condoms to interested common rooms as soon as possible. We have also been looking into supplying bike lights to students, but were sadly unable to find any way in which we’d be able to save students money by bulk purchasing.

Equal Opportunities

The Anti-Racism Campaign has seen an enthusiastic uptake, and currently the students involved in the campaign are looking at issues of the campaigns own identity and ‘mission statement’, and we are beginning to look at the work that can be done on areas of access for black minority ethnic students. Do get in touch if you’d like to get involved!

Currently LGBTQ Council are currently looking at issues of lesbian sexual health and LGBTQ mental health. Again, get in touch if you’d like to get involved!

General OUSU

Elections have taken up an awful lot of time over the last couple of weeks, and for the sab team and exec meant a 27 hour day in the office on election day! Congratulations to the successful candidates, and commiserations to those who missed out.

Hannah Roe - V-P (Women)

Ingrid Frater - V-P (Graduates)

First, apologies that I’m in Bristol and missing this last Council of term. 
 
University Committees – I have sat on several of these over the last couple of weeks. Most notably, Graduate Committee of Conference of Colleges (looking particularly at Graduate Admissions and College Advisors); EPSC; Committee for the Language Centre; Clubs Committee; Teaching and Learning Space Review (looking this time at the use of Exam Schools); Centre for Excellence in Preparing for Academic Practice (looking at training for graduate students to teach); MPLS GJCC (a meeting between the Vice-Chairman (Academic) of the MPLS Division and student reps from the departments in the Division); and our JCC. 

International Students’ Campaign is now really taking off. We have a Constitution and a very enthusiastic committee. Their main projects are a handbook, a One World Festival next term, and various welfare clinics. Membership is growing daily. The committee, myself and Dr Heather Bell, the University’s Director of International Strategy, had a very fruitful meeting, going over many of the main issues which affect international students here and in application. 

SAS stuff is continuing. Casework has been slightly less frantic, but there is still quite a bit continuing and new cases appearing. We sorted through our files thoroughly and are continuing to think about how to make the SAS work best – involving lobbying for a Student Advisor, about which we have talked to the Assessor and the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education). 

OSSL projects continue, and we had a full board meeting. 

Elections – like most of the sabs and many exec/CR presidents and many volunteers I helped with counting. We also had a huge tidy of the office – very pleasing! 

Osney Mead – James must take the credit for his hard work on this, writing to all the Councillors. We attended Council yesterday, but sadly the proposal was voted down.

MCR PresCom was held at Magdalen last week, and attended by over 25 people. We had good discussions on such matters as MCR funding, room banding, JRAM, and the Roles of Colleges. 

ox.ac.uk/students is now live. Please use it, spread the word and encourage feedback!

Common Room outreach – I have continued to meet with MCR Presidents and OUSU reps on a one-to-one basis. 

Social Sciences Divisional Board – James and I met with JCC reps to explain where OUSU fits in with academic representation and to establish links between the dept reps and find someone to go to DB. 

James Lamming - V-P (Access & Academic Affairs)

Michaelmas is over – one term down and two to go.  Looking briefly back over the term it has first of all been a lot more fun than I expected, but also a lot more work.  The last two weeks especially.  Quick summary since the last report: interview website up and advertised via interview invites to students; Osney Mead Depository failed to get planning permission but we did write to all the Councellors before hand,; admissions policy has been generating debate in Common Rooms across Oxford; proposal to only give students Prelim retakes under exceptional circumstances sent back to committee for further discussion, and elections happened.   Congratulations to Paul Dwyer who will be taking over from me next June. For those who are not reading any further, I wish you a very Happy Christmas and look forward to seeing and working with you in the New Year.

Targets for the Term reviewed

Hidden at the end of my first week report were the following three targets. In the interests of accountability I draw your attention to them again.  I said:

“The three key projects I hope to finish this term are:
•    Creating the interview website ready for the upcoming admissions process, and provide training for student interview helpers.
•    Set up the new OUSU Education Committee as part of the work to improve student academic policy representation.
•    Complete the Study Skills section on the OUSU Website.”

Project one is completed: there is an interview website with lots of profiles (but I’m still collecting more), I got 13,000 leaflets delivered out to colleges to include in their interview invites and this week I am producing a guide to running interview helpers and doing a mini-training session with the leaders of the different interview helper teams.

Project two is in progress, though I should probably have made more progress this term.  A paper encouraging best practices in student academic policy representation is being brought to Education Policy and Standards Committee in 8th week.  We have also met with some of the Social Science Reps to elect their Divisional Board Reps, but there has been no Education Committee meeting or meetings with other divisions yet.  Getting this running properly will be a priority for next term.

Project three hasn’t happened because it never got high enough on the priority list, though I did run very successful Finalist Form in 3rd week.  I hope to make some progress over the Christmas vacation.

In summary, I think I get 1.9 out of 3 on meeting targets for Michaelmas term.

Since my last report:

Access

Interview Website – Interview website now has lots of profiles, though I’m still collecting more.  Got myself in a little bit of trouble with the RO for ‘threatening’ to hold candidates to their word and publish on my blog just who did send me a profile like they’d promised to do so in Central Hustings.  Thank you to those who did; shame on those who didn’t.  Used the episode as a publicity exercise by getting an article in the Cherwell though.  Printed 13,000 odd leaflets advertising the site (thank you to the captive volunteers who helped do some trimming on Thursday evening), and distributed them around colleges for their interview invites to draw applicants attention to the profiles.

Target Schools 25th Anniversary Reception in the House of Commons – Spoke with John Grogan MP who set up Target Schools when he was OUSU President 25 years ago about hosting a reception in the House of Commons next year.  Now working with University as well to turn this into a big event highlighting all the good work Oxford does on Access.

Oxford Access Scheme – Met with coordinators and discussed how Target Schools and OAS could cooperate in future.

Access Reps Meeting – Discussed draft of Admissions Policy motion currently being discussed in Common Rooms with JCR Access Reps in Kings Arm.  Very productive meeting and look forward to more of them in the future.

Admissions Policy Motion – Attended Merton JCR meeting to discuss motion, and will be at Hertford JCR on Sunday.  Not sure if motion will be discussed today or wait until next term, but pleased that it has generated such debate across Oxford.

Admissions Executive – Big admissions meeting where Common Framework, second BA entry, recent research on admissions comparing the types of applicants Oxford takes and rejects, and what they then achieve in finals, and reported on Target School plans for the term.

Oxford Ambassadors – I am the ‘Key note speaker’ (this might be flattering myself) and then running session on ‘Being an Ambassador’ for new cohort of students on Oxford Ambassadors scheme.  This provides training for students in weaker schools but requires them to encourage friends to apply.

Academic Affairs

Prelim Retakes – Senior Tutors Meeting in 6th week discussed and sent back to committee (in plain English, rejected) a proposal that students would only be allowed to retake Prelim exams under exceptional circumstances.  There is a motion in this weeks Council about this issue and I am chairing a working group of JCR Presidents to look at academic and disciplinary procedures in colleges, with the intention of research a best practice report for adoption by all Colleges.

Intermission – Students who have to take time out due to ill health in the past have been described as ‘rusticated’.  This is very unhelpful as it implies the time out due to ill health is a punishment.  The Senior Tutors meeting adopted proposals to encourage the University to rename such suspensions ‘intermissions’, adopt the principle that each student should be dealt with on an individual basis in a reasonable manner, and that if there are academic conditions set upon return, the student has to be given a reasonable chance of fulfilling them (e.g. by ensuring they have access to libraries).  These are all good things.

Osney Mead Depository – Over the past couple of weeks I’ve written letters to all 48 City Councellors informing them of OUSU’s support and given an interview to Fox FM about the depository.  Unfortunately the Council voted 26 to 15 against granting planning permission due to concerns about the impact on views, the lack of confidence the University had assessed other suitable sites and because it contradicted the local plan to have 20% renewable energy on site.  We will be working with the University and Bodleian Library as it decides what steps to take next.  Thank you to Stefan Baskerville, Laura Ellis and Jessica Jones and (JCR Presidents from Univ, Christ Church and Magdalen respectively) who came along to the Council meeting on Monday.

ICT Sub-Committee – Ingrid and I have been co-opted as student members on the University’s new ICT Sub-Committee.  We’ll be helping the University formulate and implement its ICT Strategy.

University Meetings – These last two weeks, I had Education Policy and Standards Committee (discussed new Access Strategy which is still in draft form and proposals to have more alternative assessments (e.g. dissertations, extended essays, theses) in all undergraduate courses); EPSC Undergraduate Panel, JCC with Student Members and MPLS JCC/GJCC.

Internal Communications – Met with the new Internal Communications Director, Susannah Wintersgill, to discuss how the University has been communicating with students in the past (mixed results) and how it could improve in the future.  She kindly offered to run a focus group on Communications in OUSU to help us improve our own strategies for future terms.

OUSU

SAS Review – Attended hustings at LMH to advocate on behalf of Submission I.  Heavy workload prevented much campaigning, but Ingrid and I got up early on election day to put some posters up encouraging students to support Submission I.  I look forward to the discussions over the next few weeks about how we take it forward.

SAS – Caught up with a lot of casework paper work, did some new casework, and met with Assessor to discuss how a Student Advisor might work, and how the SAS can cooperate with the Proctors and Assessor more effectively in the future.

Elections – Counted votes all night Thursday (and thank you to everyone else who helped out).  That is one part of the job I’m not going to miss next year.  Congratulations to Paul Dwyer, who got more votes than any other OUSU Sabbatical and will be the new VP Access and Academic Affairs next year.  Paul did a sterling job as Keble JCR President and I’m very confident that OUSU has in him a fantastic VP.

And finally…

Thank you to everyone who has helped, advised and encouraged me this term.  Special mentions need to go to Ingrid with all our meetings, Louise for the cake, Martin for pretending to listen and Claire for the sanity breaks.  Honourable mentions also for Prescom who have made me feel very welcome and the Student Funding and Access Office for all their advice and enthusiasm.

I hope you enjoy a relaxing and recharging festive break, and all that remains is to wish those reading this a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Claire Addison - V-P (Charities & Community)

Firstly, apologies for failing to submit a report for last council.  The whole notion fell out of my head completely.

Communities

Mainly I have been working on a formal written report for the Higher Education Active Community Fund division within the university.  This highlighted what I have been doing over the summer and the first half of Michaelmas and was very long and informative and brilliant (hopefully).

I met with Nick Streeter from Fox FM to discuss the Help an Oxfordshire Child appeal, and volunteering in Oxford generally.  We’ve been in touch quite a bit and I’m going to sit on the Fox FM and V Volunteering panel on 11 December to help decide how to allocate £50,000 of funding for local charities.

Along with James (VP Accaff) I went to a meeting about a potential volunteering website to be run by the university, spanning several departments.  It’s at the early stages at the moment but it’s great to see the university engaging with the importance of volunteer work for students and the local community.

Martin, James and I, along with three JCR presidents, went to meet with the Merton Street colleges’ domestic bursars to discuss post-exam trashing.  This was very friendly and will hopefully lead to some positive changes.

I met with Adam from Oxhub and Will from CSV (Community Service Volunteers) to discuss how we could effectively work together.  We’re going to try to get a community committee together to promote volunteering and we’re going on a road trip on the dreaded X5 to see how it’s done in the other place.

I met with Marie Wright from Make a Difference to discuss e-mentoring schemes and the OxDox Film Festival.

I met with the KEEN president Katie about volunteer recruitment.

On Monday of 8th I visited the ACE Centre for children with complex disabilities, which is situated in Headington.  The work they’re doing with I.T is phenomenal and, having had a go myself(!), making an incredible difference to the lives of children and young people with disabilities.  I’m hoping to get lots of student volunteers (particularly physicists and computer scientists) in to help in Hilary term.

In 8th week I’ve also got a meeting with the Oxford Inspires group about White Night in December.

I’m in talks with The Gatehouse about helping out with the redecoration project coming up next month.

RAG

‘In the Pink’ turned into a very successful evening, with performances from The Belles and slam poet Sian Robins-Grace.  Special thanks go to Sarahjane for preparing so much wonderful food, and to Caroline for jumping through all of Wadham’s catering hoops.  This is an annual event to raise money for and awareness of Breast Cancer.

We’re currently working on RAG Christmas cards which will be sold throughout 7th and 8th week.  The two designs look amazing, they’re cheaper than most shop cards and 100% of profit goes to charity (compared to as little as 3% in high street shops).  Please buy them and promote them in your college.

RAG pants orders are away and will hopefully be back in time for the end of term. 

RAG spent two full days on Cornmarket selling poppies for The British Legion.  We sold 8 boxes (2000!!!) and collected 7 very full collection tins. We’ll find out our total at the end of this week

Environment

Daniel Lowe (from the E&E Committee) attended the university’s Environment Panel meeting, in which we spoke about non-sustainable fish in colleges, ways of reducing water consumption in the science labs and student cycling.

Dave Green - OUSU Business Manager