On the 23rd of March we held our fourth Academic Council of the year! It was great to see so many of you once again and I really enjoy being able to chat to you all! 

To begin with I provided a brief update on some of the things I have been working on:

• Scaling 
  • I'm aware that at the Faculty Forums the topic of Scaling was raised on multiple occasions. I have since spoken to the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Learning and Teaching and raised these concerns at Education Quality Standards Committee and Resilient Curriculum. There is work ongoing around scaling, increasing communications as to why scaling occurs and I am also reviewing papers that have been submitted in previous years to committees on scaling. 
• Decolonising the Curriculum 
  • Ruqia Osman, Former Education Officer held a fantastic session on decolonising education. 
  • I had a meeting with NUS about the work we are currently doing as an SU and created some plans as to how we can continue to enhance this work. We also discussed how we can engage with NUS Decolonise Education campaign. 
  • I spoke at the Decolonising our University event alongside Rajani Naidoo, Head of the Race Equality Task Force, Andre Keet from Nelson Mandela University in South Africa, and several fantastic students who are leading Decolonise Architecture. 
• Self Certification of Extensions 
  • An app has been developed for extensions and is beng trialled by some departments. HSS have been using this app for some time and it has been successful. 
  • I raised some concerns about the University possibly reintroducing the need for evidence for extension in future years. I will be writing a paper to EQSC about the need to allow students to self certify and not provide evidence for an extension soon. This is linked to the work that is continuing with no detriment! 
• Exam timetables 
  • Please read this update - Exam Timetables Semester 2 
• 'Kill the Bill'
  • Please read this update - The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 

Academic Rep Review 

The University is currently undergoing a student voice review and as part of this we are looking at the Academic Representation system. At Academic Council we introduced the review and then went out into breakout rooms where the following questions were discussed:

• What is working well and what practices should we keep? 

• What isn’t working well and what should we change or improve? 

• Share any ideas around the election process, training, responsibilities, key meetings, collaboration with staff and recognition and personal development. 

Thank you so much to everyone who was involved in these discussions it has really helped us identify some key areas that need to be considered when we are reviewing the system! We will provide a summary of these areas shortly!