May update from your Pro Vice-Chancellor, Education and Student Experience

Read a message from Claire Morgan sent to all students on 16 May.

Dear student,

Yesterday Wendy Larner, our Vice-Chancellor wrote to you about the protest camp outside Main Building. I understand the strength of feeling provoked by the Israel-Gaza war, and we know how important it is to talk to the students involved as well as others, listening to everyone’s concerns.

Our campuses must remain a safe place where everyone is respected and free from harassment. We continue to adopt a zero-tolerance attitude to harassment and discrimination of all kinds. Support remains available if you need it by contacting Student Connect or your personal tutor.

When trying to access buildings like the Centre for Student Life or Main Building you may need to use a different entrance and show your ID card (if you don’t have your card with you, use our Student App).

Last week I attended the annual Enriching Student Life Awards (ESLAs) – we received over 1,300 nominations from students and staff across 17 categories. Thank you to everyone who sent in a nomination and congratulations again to all the winners.

As you know, your feedback is a big part of what makes our university better. I often return to this theme in my emails because it is important you know what changes are being made as a result of your feedback.

Every year the Students’ Union submit the Student View, outlining your priorities for the next year, and I have just received the 2024 Student View from your Students’ Union. In December I told you how we are responding to your feedback in the 2023 Student View, and I can now tell you about the progress we have made against your priorities:

• you can now use a new online resource, Access Able, that provides accessibility information about our campuses
• we kept extended hours for the Centre for Student Life
• more money for our hardship fund, with a more accessible application process
• work has started to improve our exam and teaching timetables to allow your school to plan better and improve your learning experience
• we are making sure that you get useful and consistent academic feedback by providing additional guidance on marking processes to staff

I’ll continue to keep you updated on these improvements and ways you can provide more feedback.