Welcome back to another update of my 25/26 elected officer term where each month, I provide an update summarising what I have been up to that month.
February has flown by! I’ve been busy with meetings, weekly activities, campaigns and getting out and talking (GOATing). Thanks to everyone who’s been involved in an activity, and shared some more ideas of what things you want to see. (I know I keep saying it, but your voice helps to shape your student experience.)
February Fall-out:
Areas of focus:
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Campus Consistency: The Aylesbury Community Space is open! It operates on a self-serve honest system and is stocked with refreshments. We are still recruiting for “Community Space Supervisors’. If you are interested in this paid position, check out the job application and apply! We collaborated with the University’s estates team to improve this space based on your feedback. With successes, the proposal wesubmitted for student spaces in Aylesbury was approved and swiftly implemented. You can now find study zones in room A1.10 and the 3rd floor. In room A1.10, you can access computers, and a large projection screen. You can also move the tables and chairs around to suit your needs at the time, but make sure you put the space back to how you found it. The 3rd floor is set with desks and a large projection screen, this space is ideal if you are looking for a space of silent study. Thanks to your feedback, and the survey launched by Kerri (SVO based at Aylesbury), we were able to get this actioned swiftly. A designated quiet space is set up on the 3rd floor of the Aylesbury on the campus. Here you can find resources and signposting to services. If you have ideas for things you want to see in this space, please reach out to me. Myself and Jeanmarc met with the Aylesbury’s MP office to discuss parking options (both on placement and off placement) and we await to hear from there about next steps.
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We have submitted a proposal for a quiet/neuro-inclusive space at the Nottingham Campus. If you’d like to suggest ideas for this space, please get in contact. Following on from feedback raised, I followed up with the campus facilities team on the campus regarding classroom facilities in one of the main teaching spaces. This feedback was raised and discussed at a meeting with the deans and college management (Leadership & Innovation) and this has been rectified with new tables/chairs being acquired for use in the space.
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I am working alongside a SVO (based at Uxbridge) to look at parking options for the campus and this is a topic that has been raised with the university previously (and continuously) to address. I reached out to “The Chimes” parking for more information about their student parking offer and have shared this with the university teams as well to involve in these discussions.
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Mental Health and Wellbeing advocacy: With discussions and reviews ongoing about face-to-face support availability I continue to raise and share feedback to aid these conversations and reviews of services. We are hosting a range of events. Upcoming events include University Mental Health Day (12th March), Money & Mind (9th – 13th March) and Break the Stigma (whole of March). These events take place with an aim of sharing information, raising awareness, and educating. It is also about providing a key space for students to speak to others, build connection and find out support service information.
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Academic Experience: With ongoing discussions with university departments as part of their policy review and development, there has been progress with the personal tutoring policy and already this is being implemented with further discussion and information due to be shared to support keeping you informed about how personal tutoring works. If you have any queries or want to share your feedback, please email surepresentation@bnu.ac.uk.
I am also involved with the working groups for the development of the Artificial Intelligence and how this will impact the student academic experience. I want to ensure that this information is clear, consistent, and easily found to ensure that you are supported.
I have met with the Disability and Inclusion team regarding feedback that you have raised. I remain in strong discussions with them about the feedback you have raised within this area. If you are having any issues or concerns around reasonable adjustments, please get in contact. This is an area that the team are keen to support and improve across the institution so please do reach out.
I have also met with the DTS team around the issues reported with the ‘MyBNU App’ and Blackboard. Regarding the MyBNU App, if you are experiencing problems with this, please reach out to me with information about the issue you are experiencing (e.g. app crashing, not recording attendance, not showing information, the app not working), the device you are experience the issue on and when you experience the issue. I have almost met with the team regarding feedback raised about blackboard and I am working with the team to find solutions to ensure that the platform is used in the most effective way. If you are experiencing any issues, please get in touch with details of the issues you are facing with blackboard.
Activities: Building on feedback received, we have put together a yearlong calendar of events for the academic year, running during the day at the Uxbridge and Aylesbury campuses. You can view these on the What’ On page and your campus specific pages.
I am also working with different departments to expand the current offer, as well as exploring wider options in the local area to work to develop options as well. If you have any suggestions of what activities or events you would like to see, please reach out to surecactivities@bucks.ac.uk or bethany.jackson@bnu.ac.uk.
Taking place at Uxbridge this there is:
Taking place in Aylesbury there is:
Check out the What’s on page for recreational activities happening in the local area as well! If you have any questions or suggestions, email surecactivities@bucks.ac.uk. Some of these activities are:
Aylesbury:
I also wanted to say a well done and thank you for everyone involved in the Bucks SU elections this year! It was a brilliant turn out and a great week talking to you about what the elections are, why it was important to vote, and also signpost to where to vote. A huge well done to everyone who took part! You can check out the election results on the SU news article.
That concludes another monthly update, be sure to check out our socials (@bucksstudentsunion and @buckssuvpew_au) for any quick updates and to see the day-to-day announcement.
As always, if you need anything please reach out.
See ya around,
Bethany