Here are questions for all candidates running for the position of Education Officer:
- What would your priorities be as Education Officer?
- What experience do you have that makes you a good fit for this role?
- How will you engage with the range of students at UCL and represent their academic interests?
- What’s your stance on attendance monitoring?
- What will you do to support the work of the Disabled Students' Network, who recently released a highly publicised report detailing institutionalised disability discrimination at UCL?
- Please explain how would you support students with caring responsibilities, especially regarding flexible working, attendance, course extension opportunities etc.
- Individual questions for Ayman, Douglas, Emer, Kitty and Stephen
1. What would your priorities be as Education Officer?
Ayman: Much of the work undertaken by the Union and its Sabbs is very long term. For alot of the larger projects, it takes a few years to see them come into fruition. With this in mind, I will work on a mix of long term, legacy projects as well as short term wins so we can see tangible change for students. Long term, I will continue campaigning for all modules to have LectureCast - it’s only taken a global pandemic for UCL to get serious about this! Next year,
I want a strictly student well-being focused attendance monitoring system.
Douglas: Initially, I’d prioritise continuing Ashley Slanina-Davies’s very dedicated work in ensuring UCL mitigate as much as possible the impact on our educations of the profound disruptions that continue worldwide due to the Covid-19 outbreak. I would hope to meet with her again, several times, to discuss this in detail.
Further priorities would include: safeguarding your interests whilst sitting on the governing body during the leadership changeover; and, having an open-minded, welcoming ‘open-door policy’ to grasp the diverse concerns of all students when chairing the Education Zone; it would be foolish to claim I already understood what all these interests are!
Emer: One priority would be to break down barriers to education, primarily including finance and accessibility. I would act on this by:
· Switching to an opt-out policy for Lecturecast
· Reducing hidden course costs and unfair fees
· Reforming the Academic Rep system
My main priority, however, would be to listen to students and act on their feedback. It often gets lost in the flurry of manifesto promises, but this job is primarily about listening and advocating. The Education Officer is 1 person representing 43,000 people, so what I want to do doesn’t matter as much as what you want!
Kitty: Transparency, inclusion, and engagement. My priorities as Education Officer would be to make our representative system more effective and accessible for the students. Let students know what's going on so they can be engaged and desirable changes would happen faster. I will also make sure education in more inclusive by focusing on disability inclusion, content diversity and continuing the Mental Health fight.
Stephen: My first priority would be to improve the guidelines for assessment and feedback to ensure fairer and faster feedback by introducing department/faculty specific examplar essay/ coursework guidelines. My Second Priority is pushing for stronger student support services i.e. mental health and personal tutorial to make sure they are better fit for purpose. My third priority is improve teaching to make sure it’s inclusive and increase on one-to-one tutorials across the university. My last priority is to work with the university to expand the study abroad program and short term travel experiences like summer research and travel.
2. What experience do you have that makes you a good fit for this role?
Ayman: I’m currently one of UCL’s delegates for the National Union of Students. This means I’m responsible for debating and voting on NUS policy, ensuring that UCL’s students' views are represented on a nationwide level. I’m also one of UCL’s student ambassadors, representing UCL at HE fairs and open days. Much of the work involves the BME attainment gap, leading academic sessions and masterclasses. For the past 5 years, I have also worked as Centre Manager for a tuition company in London. As part of this work, I led focus groups to make the course more accessible to students with dyslexia.
Douglas: Four years ‘outstanding’ full-time work in secondary education… SPWT School, Mile End, (History/English departments), then History teacher at Plashet School for Girls, East Ham.
Both schools are ‘Outstanding’ (Ofsted’s highest rating).
Most students I worked with in these four years disadvantaged, BME, ESL students, and female. Witnessing students overcome unjust structural barriers to success was consistently a joy!
My personal assessments against the DfE’s criteria - ‘Outstanding’ overall and in 8/9 Teachers' standards at every assessment stage.
Representation: postgraduate law qualification holder; Legal aid immigration/asylum work, MAFS course representative. Led educational workshops on legal rights.
Education-focused dissertation in Term 3!
Emer: I’ve been a Course Rep, a Department Rep and a Faculty Rep, so I’ve worked in the academic representation system at every level. I’ve been a part of Academic Board, Education Committee, Education Zone, the Student Engagement Steering Group, and Governance Committee – so I’ve been part of a lot of high-level discussions about education at UCL.
I also work in the SU coordinating the Policy Zones and Union Executive. Because of this, I could probably recite the Union Bye-Laws in my sleep – not a fun party trick but I’d say it’s an important part of leading a Union!
Kitty: I am very familiar with our SU's system and I'm an extremely dedicated individual. In my years at UCL, I have worked my way up from module rep, to course rep and now the faculty rep for the IOE. I also spent the past years being actively involved in different aspects of our education, from ChangeMakers, faculty-wide policies to being in other education-related committees as an elected member or a volunteer.
Stephen: I have experience as a student rep for 2 years so I understand the needs and desires of student. As a committee member in the AI society and MedTech society, I have developed skills in leadership, critical thinking and problem solving which wold help being an effective education officer. Lastly, as a neuroscience student, I have a scientific approach the role which will help in making informed choices as a leader.
3. How will you engage with the range of students at UCL and represent their academic interests?
Ayman: I intend on holding weekly drop in sessions for all students. When the weathers nice, we can do these in the quad. When it’s rainy (more often than not), these can be held in cloisters. I want to do this so that students from across UCL can voice their concerns to me, and so that I can also offer regular updates on the work I’d be doing. UCL is no monolith, so faculty representatives offer a fantastic sample of the views of UCL students. This is why I intend to forge stronger, more friendly relationships with them!
Douglas: Adaptive practice. As an experienced professional educator (I hope to be a future one too, in higher education!) engaging with the exceptionally diverse UCL student community and representing both their ‘academic’ concerns and the wider ones that affect their ‘education’ is very important to me.
Chairing the Education Zone would be the main way to discover what was particularly concerning them in order to then develop UCLSU policy.
I would be seriously committed to this and to capably continuing the representation already begun, but incomplete, when I took office and probably through Christmas. Ashley told me about that in person.
Emer: I would try to do this on both an individual and a structural level. On an individual level, I would hold drop-in hours in which any student could come and talk to me. On a structural level, I would reform the Academic Rep system.This would involve creating easy, online platforms for student feedback (and the wider roll-out of Unitu), adapting the Course Rep -> Department Rep -> Faculty Rep feedback chain, and changing the make-up of Education Zone to include representatives of different student demographics (e.g. adding a Disabled Students’ Rep, Distance Learning Rep etc.)
Kitty: I think one of the issues with being a sabbatical officer is that you are no longer technically part of the study body, which makes it difficult to get direct feedback. Therefore, I will make sure to a) be as involved as I can, b) make sure students' know of us and c) establish quick, easy & anonymous channels for feedback. For example, QR code linked to a short (one question) feedback form around campus!
Stephen: UCL has a wide range of students from across different countries all studying different things. I think that at the end of the day regardless of background all students want is to be able to have the best educational experience. As a education officer I plan to run a live website that allows students to share grievances and suggestions. This way I can truly understand the different individual voices of UCL students. In addition, I think that working extensively with the department and faculty reps would be a priority to have a better understanding of every student’ perspective
4. What’s your stance on attendance monitoring?
Ayman: One key part of my campaign is to implement a care over compliance attendance monitoring policy at UCL. I want to ensure that UCL’s new attendance monitoring technology (being rolled out in 2020-21) is used with student well-being at its heart. That's why I’ll work with Student and Registry Services to see that the ‘Here to Succeed’ project succeeds. Next year, I want to see it go from 'Your attendance isn't good enough and we can bar you from sitting your exams!’ to 'We've noticed a drop in your attendance - is there anything we can do to help you?'
Douglas: We are adults and should be treated as such. Expecting students to be pro-active and responsible towards their education and to develop their learning practices in a way that works for them, and supporting them flexibly for their learning needs, are all principles that will underlay my work as the most ‘UCL-facing’ Sabbatical Officer of UCLSU.
Some attendance monitoring is currently unavoidable due to governmental insistence that universities ability to grant Tier-4 student visas is pre-conditional on monitoring – we all want international students to enrol at UCL! It should not be time-consuming or inflexible, and mustn’t ignore accessibility considerations.
Emer: Most attendance monitoring programmes are fundamentally discriminatory. They often use the language of welfare to disguise the fact that they’re targeting marginalised groups. While I realise that UCL has a legal obligation to monitor attendance, I believe we should operate on a policy of minimum compliance.
I also think attendance monitoring policies often confuse physical attendance of a class with learning and engagement – we are students in the 21st century and learning looks different now. Remote attendance and participation in Lecturecast should be counted towards attendance. Any minimum requirement on attendance for assessment (i.e. 70% rule) should be scrapped.
Kitty: I think current practices are not ok. Strict monitoring in the name of welfare and, as a result, harsh punishments, are not ok. I stated in my extended manifesto that I think an automated & more accurate system wouldn't hurt, but I believe a) distance/online learning and b) lecturecast should also count as a form of attendance. I will also pledge to abolish harsh punishments that can disproportionately disadvantage students with mental health issues, disabled students, minority students & international students. It will be a long but worthy fight.
Stephen: I think attendance monitoring has its advantages and disadvantages. I think the whole point of university is to encourage students independence so monitoring attendance may not necessarily be the right way to do that. However, when the information is used well ( if students with mental health issues haven’t been to lectures for a long period of time) it can help to avert dangerous situations for at-risk students. I think it’s important to consider all sides and develop a policy that is balanced and fair.
5. What will you do to support the work of the Disabled Students' Network, who recently released a highly publicised report detailing institutionalised disability discrimination at UCL?
Ayman: 58% of students surveyed by the DSN stated that they had been made to feel unwelcome at UCL due to their disability.This is an urgent matter of priority for me. I will:
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Forge a direct and committed rapport between the DSN and the Vice-Provost Education.
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Strive for PACT disability services from the new provost.
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Campaign for students to be able to self-certify illness for up to 7 days.
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Implement a care over compliance attendance policy, to ensure that students with disabilities are never unfairly affected by attendance policy.
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Ensure student well-being is at the heart of the EC process.
Douglas: As a disabled student, I want to thank the DSN for exposing deficiencies in reasonable adjustments practices at UCL – see my answer to the second question about my manifesto pledges for how reasonable adjustments have slipped through the cracks for me also (I have difficulties writing by hand)!
The University should be more proactive in setting up calendar appointments for disabled students upon enrolment/for periodical adjustments review, simultaneously making it very clear that reasonable adjustments are a right, not a privilege. Just a personal view – I defer to the DSN’s expertise and hope to work with them closely!
Emer: Disabled students are one of the most vulnerable groups at UCL and, if elected, I would commit to increasing their support wherever possible. Having spoken with members of the DSN committee about their recommendations, my priorities include:
· Making Lecturecast standard practice across UCL
· Scrapping the 70% attendance rule and opposing any attendance monitoring policies which unfairly impact students with chronic health conditions
· Restructuring Education Zone, including introducing a Disabled Students' Education Rep (in addition to the DSO having voting rights)
· Campaigning for UCL to employ a team to manage the accessibility of education across the university
Kitty: The first step to better disabled students' experience at UCL is awareness. People need to know that disabled students are being mistreated and discriminated against, so far as to have *basic* accessibility issues. I have already started work with the Student Experience Manger at the IOE about establishing a on-campus awareness campaign. Additionally, I propose workshops about inclusivity of disability (similarly to Mental Health First Aid in content and to Academic Writing Workshops in frequency/provision, or something like the Consent campaingn) to students & staff so we know the basics of what to do and we won't be afraid to talk.
Stephen: I believe that more can be done to ensure teaching styles and lecture spaces are inclusive for disabled students. Inclusive teaching practices is a key par of my manifesto so this is something I will passionately work towards. As I am not disabled myself I think the best thing would be to work closely with the network in order to ensure that all concerns are addressed and acted upon.
6. Please explain how would you support students with caring responsibilities, especially regarding flexible working, attendance, course extension opportunities etc.
Ayman: I want to see a robust support system for students with caring responsibilities integrated into UCL Go and Moodle. This would include direct lines of communication with relevant departmental contacts, Student Support and Wellbeing and the Officer for Students with Caring Responsibilities. This forms one part of my pledge to see a complete overhaul of the EC process. Students with caring responsibilities shouldn’t have to fill in this lengthy EC form every time something comes up. Rather, I want to streamline the entire process, giving them the mental head-space and time to focus on their caring responsibilities and studies.
Douglas: Postgraduate students being around 55% of UCL’s student body I’m sure a great many students have caring responsibilities – and from my secondary education experience I am aware that caring is not only the preserve of older persons such as myself and not always parent-child caring!
I hope most students will be receiving course extension opportunities next year for reasons unrelated to caring responsibilities, but in general it would be inhumane not to adjust the educational offer to these students to reflect their caring responsibilities, and is a breach of UCL’s duty of care to all students. I’m no expert – email!
Emer: This is a broad issue that often falls under the remit of the Welfare & International and Postgrad Officers, however this is something that needs to be addressed from every angle.
I would:
· Help lobby for sessional childcare on campus (as the PSO and WIO have done this year)
· Oppose attendance monitoring and lobbying for more flexibility re: remote participation and Lecturecast
· Support the Officer for Students with Caring Responsibilities (excellent) work in developing guidelines for student parents bringing children to university spaces
· Lobby for more leniency re: extensions and reasonable adjustments for student carers
Kitty: Firstly, there is a lack of child-friendly spaces in UCL; even the IOE library has downsized its children's corner in the past year due to the withdrawal of a main supported. It is therefore important that I work with the SCR rep (as well as the PG rep who already has work underway) to secure funding and improve the conditions. Secondly, my stance on attendance applies here: distance learning counts, lecturecast counts, abolish harsh punishments. I admit that I am not the most knowledge in this respect which is why I will do nothing but listen and act accordingly!
Stephen: I will work their officers to ensure they have better support systems.
7. Individual specific questions:
Q: How will you make the UCL academic experience more worth the tuition fees we pay? How will you drive UCL to make these changes?
A: Alongside the campaign for consistent LectureCast for all modules, I want to see year-round access to past papers and worked solutions. Improving the UCL academic experience includes giving students a professional edge too. Therefore, I want to see compulsory modules having greater industry exposure and employer interaction, alongside staff-taught, non-credit professional modules (programming, languages, business skills etc). UCL is not a monolith so I’ll poll the student body and put the results to the relevant committees, mounting pressure on them through student lead campaigns. I’m happy to be pushy in order to see real, tangible results for the student body
Q: How will you make the personal tutoring system more effective?
A: I want to see personal tutors assigned to students based on academic interests, industry experience and even similar hobbies. This would be simple to implement, with a departmental tailored form to be filled out by tutors and students before pairing them up. I would have this integrated onto Moodle and UCL Go, with formalised, goal-oriented regular check ups for a bit of accountability! I would also ensure that personal tutors receive pastoral, mental health training so that they can best support you in your studies.
Q: How will you ensure UCl can improve its ability to quickly adapt to external and internal changes, covid-19, UCU strikes, personal circumstances.
A: You’re correct that this pledge was motivated partly by recent events. This very difficult time for us all has not been helped by the institution’s evident unreadiness to move to remote teaching. Assembling expert panels for these and other risk scenarios to develop clearer plans is what I’ll advocate for.
Flexible, clear contingency plans for epidemics/pandemics should ideally already have been in place to facilitate rapid response; these things are not unpredictable as general events (due to, e.g. intensive farming practices increasing zoonotic disease, or global over-reliance on antibiotics).
Q: How will you ensure that contact hours have maximum utility for students?
A: A general principle that would guide me: students are people, not statistics. The ‘statisticalisation’ of university education and the ‘culture of competition’ in general is what contributes to the use of contact hours for activities that do not actually benefit students. This is why NUS boycotts NSS.
Specific example: in my MA course we have lost roughly 4% of contact hours per module to our teachers coming in, handing over paper evaluation forms and then leaving the room for a quarter of the session. This is needless and I would push to standardise online module evaluation outside of contact hours.
Q: How will you push for the wider use of Lecturecast across departments?
A: The three most important things when it comes to implementing Lecturecast are:
1) Legislative backing
2) Technological infrastructure
3) Hearts and minds.
1) I would lobby UCL (via Student Experience Committee and Education Committee) to switch from an opt-in to an opt-out policy on Lecturecast, so that formal guidance requires Lecturecast as default.
2) I would campaign for funding to increase the number of Lecture-cast enabled teaching spaces (the coronavirus crisis has shown how essential this is!)
3) I would provide Academic Reps with ‘Lecurecast myth-busting’ guidance to use when experiencing pushback on the idea in SSCCs and from staff
Q: How will you support students from all backgrounds and communities?
A: The Education Zone is the Union’s highest education policy-setting body and it currently made up of 2 sabbatical officers and 33 Faculty Reps. I would restructure the Zone so that, while still including faculty representatives, it also included reps from different student groups who are often overlooked: Education Reps from different liberation groups, student carers, mature students, commuter students etc. This would provide a platform for much more representative education-based policy and debate.
I would also establish strong support for and communication with the Liberation Officers – cooperation is the only way to effect meaningful change!
Q: How do you plan to improve inter-and intra- departmental communication? Why is this important?
A: It is important because communicating is how we can best solve issues. Many faculties are facing the exact same issues and we can learn from one another. For actions, I will also propose channels such as group chats as well as catch-up sessions with the Education Officer (maybe me? :D), and encourage reps to work together if they see similar issues, similarly to the work the Student Experience team at the IOE has done this year. With the number of reps we have, we can be a much stronger team if we communicate and work together!
Q: How will you improve the engagement of academic reps and make them more effective in their roles?
A: The reps are not the most effective because students are not engaged with them, because students don't know about them. There needs to be the presence of reps within their courses, within their departments, and within their faculties. Also, have generally more specific guidelines on what a rep can and should do. For example, handovers from previous reps, specific rules on what a rep can or cannot do and detailed procedure guidelines on, for example, how to host events, if someone wanted to. UNITU should also be made more available and its training (online or in-person) should be compulsory
Q: How will you make education at UCL more worth the tuition fees? What needs to change and how will you drive this?
A: Tuition fees will be worth the education at UCL if there is more of a focus on improving the individual educational experience of each student. Currently most students survey coming to UCL based on reputation. As much as the reputation is good, I think that for. what we pay , more can be done to incorporate more opportunities for undergraduate research and summer travel, a better careers service and access for underrepresented groups. It’s important for UCL to focus on improving the quality of education given rather than on expanding.
Q: How will you work with student academic reps to achieve your goals?
A: I will speak to the reps weekly and ask them for the responses/concerns. I think it’s important to listen because they are the ears on ground. In addition, I will also ensure to follow up on the solutions and implementation of solutions to the problem reps raise.