Arts and Cultural Industries - Frenchay
SU Forum Unconfirmed Minutes
Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 20th October 2014 in 2S611 at 14:00
Present: Yasmin Ghahremani, Charles Hancock, Jimelle Roberts, Craig Evans, Poppy Hayhurst, Megan Clarkson, Peter Attrill, Rachel Fundrey, Lucy Howarth, Jasmin Collier, Victoria Diakou
In Attendance: Edd Burrell (Secretary / Chair, UWESU), JJ Clark (Vice President - Education, UWESU)
Apologies*: Matt Vicker, Alison Moody, Kalei Sutherland, Magda Skubij, Kyle MacBean, Melissa Wilson, Abi Little, Harriet Stanley, Luna Dewey, Kloe cooper, Danielle Vincent, Elly Novick, Daisy Morecroft, Shaiane Gallardo, George Green, Rachel Eames, James Reid, Denise Harris, James Weavers. *- across both Frenchay and Bower forums.
001/1415 Welcome and introductions
001.01 Edd Burrell (Representation Support Coordinator, Secretary and acting chair) welcomed reps present to the first SU Forum of the year. JJ (VP Education) also welcomed the group and explained his role in the representation system
002/1415 Election of Department Chair
002.01 Two members ran for this position, Victoria Diakou and Charles Hancock. Both were invited to give a brief manifesto to the rest of the forum. The forum voted and Charles Hancock was duly elected as department chair.
003/1415 Deputy Department Chair
003.01 Three members ran for this position, Victoria Diakou, Yasmin Ghahremani and Peter Attrill. As above they were invited to give a brief manifesto to the rest of the forum. The forum voted and Peter Attrill was duly elected as department deputy chair.
004/1415 Department Committee members (Three delegates)
004.01 Three members ran for these positions, Victoria Diakou, Yasmin Ghahremani and Poppy Hayhurst. As above they were invited to give a brief manifesto to the rest of the forum. The duly elected departmental committee members were Victoria Diakou and Yasmin Ghahremani.
005/1415 Co-option of Postgraduate positions
005.01 As there was no postgraduate students in the room, the acting chair proposed a co-opt agreement, allowing VP Education to co-opt the final departmental committee space which is reserved for a PG student. This motion was carried by all in the room.
006/1415 Minutes of the previous meeting
006.01 The minutes of the final meeting from the 13/14 round were agreed as accurate by the only member of the meeting who was present.*
006.02 *Due to the St Matthias relocation, the agreement of the minutes were actually in relation to the St Matthias based forum, and therefore the Frenchay based minutes remain un-confirmed.
007/1415 Study Spaces
007.01 VP Education introduced the agenda item and provided an update into the background of the Study Spaces Project and why he is seeking student feedback.
007.02 A rep for L2 English reported that the St Matthias campus had fewer students competing for resources and now they have moved into Frenchay they often struggle to find a computer. She asks if there is there possibility to have more out of hour’s access. Another rep present added that some study spaces are swipe only and reserved for particular courses only.
007.03 A History Rep asked if there could be a provision within S Block for quiet study? The forum discussed the option of the quiet zone within the library, however this is reportedly often full.
007.04 Some reps within this forum who are Fresher’s and those from St Matthias comment that Study Spaces need to be better advertised and their opening hours also easily available. Some reps present were not aware of some of the study spaces available, however most reps at this forum were aware that they could use study spaces in other buildings and faculties (such as the Hive in FET buildings). A rep from English Language and Linguistics Level 3 added that she was only aware of some of the open access computer rooms available by accidently walking past them when she had a seminar in E Block, highlighting the need for advertising.
007.05 A discussion occurred around the Pharos print credit system. It was suggested by reps present that there needs to be a top-up point in S Block, as the B Block top-up point is reportedly in a room that locks outside of core hours, so students who need to print quickly are having to walk over to the Bolland library.
007.06 The following feedback was received by the chair via email ahead of the meeting from an absent rep. The following section was read out to the forum for their consideration,
“I have had a number of student’s comment it would be great to have more clocks in the recreational and study spaces such as the library, large corridors and canteens to help with time keeping. Interestingly students who mentioned this aren't keen to have them in the lecture halls. Do you think the uni could provide these?”
VP Education then asked the forum if they agreed with these comments and the forum on the whole agreed.
007.07 (The following was discussed under Student Matters, item 009/1415 but has been moved here for the purpose of the minutes). A rep raised that there is no places that are designated for quiet or silent study that aren’t the library, where you are surrounded by books and academic objects. There isn’t a clear space for people to go and be quiet away from their studies.
Actions: Vice President Education to collate all feedback on Study Spaces (007.xx) for consideration of the Study Spaces Group where appropriate. The outcomes of this will be disseminated to all students.
008/1415 AGM
008.01 VP Education provided an update on the forthcoming UWESU AGM, to which all student members are invited.
008.02 The forum was informed that the motion deadline for this year’s AGM is November 6th.
009/1415 Student Matters
009.01a The issue with rooms in S Block not being ready for the start of term and that some rooms do not appear to be fit for purpose was mentioned by multiple reps present.
009.01b L1 History rep present adds that they feel that some of the lecture halls haven’t been designed well. An example is 3S710 people where people at the back can’t often see and hear the lecturer. It was suggested that maybe UWE should implement some microphones to alleviate the situation. Another rep added that 3S710 features two projectors, however one of the two projectors don’t always work so some students can’t see. Another rep present commented that a full AV setup is being phased in as rooms were late in being commissioned and so some of this maybe fixed when the full AV kit is in place.
009.01c Room capacity is also an issue, with 2S609 being used for a large seminar for level 1 students. It is reported that students often spent 5-10 minutes having to re-arrange the chairs to create the right set-up for the room and so this eats into valuable seminar time. VP Education informed the forum that the porters (CSOs) should set up the room based on the set-up that the lecturer requests.
009.01d It was also reported that in one lecture (for level 3 film) is in a room which only has 3 tables for 30 students.
009.01e The green swivel chairs were also a point of concern. Although fun to start with, they prove very uncomfortable, especially for students in long teaching blocks of up to 5 hours. This set-up also means that it is very hard to keep a fixed seating arrangement, as some students will move closer to their friends, however this has knock-on effects to other students who in once case couldn’t get to the front of the class to speak to a lecturer as there was no path to get there.
009.01f L3 Film students report that a projector fitted in 3S711 is located near a vibrating vent in the ceiling and so it causes the image to shake making the image very hard to watch. Also some other film rooms do not have DVD players or speakers installed, meaning that they have to run through staff PCs built-in speakers.
009.01g Several reps present report that they feel that their courses have just been “shoved places”, as things were not ready when they arrived and they don’t have their own identity. One example of identity is it was reported that there are lots of educational display boards in S Block and one for History, but smaller courses don’t have any visible presence. (Film reps also report they do have a course noticeboard in room 606, but this room is only used by a small number of students on the course and so isn’t effective).
009.01h One rep added that the picture of St Matthias that has been brought into S Block café is “torturing” those who miss the campus.
009.01i On a positive note, a former St Matts rep informed the forum that some students do find the Frenchay campus actually easier to get to and that the facilities are more plentiful on campus.
Actions: Chair to take this feedback (009.01x) to ASQC for faculty wide discussion around the relocation.
009.02 A rep for Level 3 Film Studies reported an issue with module readers which had missing pages, or lines across the pages etc. and so students feel this isn’t right when you are paying £12 for the book. The rep was advised that this kind of issue should be dealt with at a Student Rep Staff Forum meeting.
Action: Rep to take this issue to their next SRSF Meeting.
009.03 Level 1 History rep informed the forum that their students have to do an RSR for their seminars on a Monday, but they only receive the details on a Thursday and so don’t have enough time. This rep was also advised that this kind of issue is perfect to be dealt with at a Student Rep Staff Forum meeting.
Action: Rep to take this issue to their next SRSF Meeting.
009.04 It was commented that Frenchay students receive lots of emails from UWE that are only relevant to Bower Ashton students only. The secretary replied that during the relocation messages concerning one campus may have had a knock on effect to all students; however communications now may not be so relevant.
Action: Secretary to feed this back to Louise Jennings, Faculty head of Strategic Development.
009.05 A level 2 rep brought up the topic of a lack of cashpoint facilities in S Block, noting that the nearest cashpoint is over in The Hub, which is a long walk for students who need to quickly get cash in short break periods. Other reps added that The Street still don’t accept debit cards, meaning the availability of cash is there.
Action: Comments to be sent to SU President to action further.
009.06a A rep for level 1 History informed the forum that students didn’t feel that the library induction really covered the things that they needed, missing out on details about course related texts and facilities. Another rep (who is also a PAL leader within English) added that leaders are having to re-educate students themselves as the course focus appears to have been passed onto them.
009.06b Another rep (level 1 History) added that faculty / subject librarians need to be advertised better, as he was not aware that they existed. A level 3 film studies rep commented that she only recently discovered who her one was, but that the librarian is really helpful.
009.06c The silent space within the library was discussed by reps present. It is reported that occasionally there are students who sit within the silent areas but who are having Skype calls, therefore distracting those who use the silent area for its true purpose. One rep commented she had experience noise before and used the virtual librarian feature to chat to staff who removed the individuals. However the reordering of the library to include course materials for some courses in this department up on level 5 mean that some students can be seen to be causing a distraction to those studying whilst accessing the shelves. Reps present agreed that there needs to be better monitoring of the silent areas of the library by staff.
009.06d A rep suggested that it would be good if you were able to eat and drink, especially late at night if students are working long hours in the library. VP Education added that students can go out to OneZone lounge seating which is now open 24/7 to have a place to eat. However VP Education agreed to look into this.
Actions: VP Education to collate all library related feedback to pass onto UWE Library Services.
009.07 A rep commented that she feels there is not enough cycling parking available near to S Block and that the B Block facilities are often full. Other reps present added that there is usually space available at the rear of S Block that may be suitable students looking to park near S Block.
Action: Secretary to pass on comment to VP Sport and Health
010/1415 Time and date of next meeting
SU Forum: To be confirmed
Arts and Cultural Industries – SU Forum Unconfirmed Minutes 20th October 2014 Page 1