This October, your Elected Officers, have been working hard to make sure you’re loving life at Herts. Here are this month’s updates…
From Your President
On student finance, all Canvas blocks are now cleared and a new rule means returning students with under £5,999 outstanding won’t lose access. I’m also working with the Finance Team on a fairer payment plan. For campus safety, broken streetlights are being fixed and awareness of support services like Speak Up is growing. I’ve also been gathering your feedback on teaching quality to push for better lecture access, engagement and monthly check-ins with Student Reps.
Transport and commuting have been big focuses too. After collecting your feedback, I met with UNO Buses to demand real solutions and follow-up meetings are planned. Remember, intercampus travel is free with your student ID! I also spoke with the Vice-Chancellor about commuting students’ needs, including better bus timings, affordable foo and short-stay accommodation options.
I’ve been working to boost community and belonging. Plans are in motion for new Semester B events like a Model UN, Science Fair and cultural festivals. I’ve met with Aramark about better food options, supported improvements to multi-faith spaces and helped run WTF is Herts SU week.
From Your Part-Time Officers
Your Part-Time Officers have been busy creating, amending, and finalising their action plans. Please see below a summary of the action plans they have created, or you can find the full report here.
Ritvik, Business Students’ Officer
Ritvik is still in the process of finalising actions but is interested in:
- • Increasing placement opportunities for students to increase employability and graduate outcomes
- • Reviewing academic support of students through personal tutor relationships
Judith, Creative Arts Students’ Officer
- • Create initiatives to target the cost-of-living crisis faced by students
- • Work with relevant teams to facilitate more tailored employment opportunities for Creative Arts students
Lorena, Disabled Students’ Officer
- • Review accessibility training that is given to staff with the goal to improve the standard of teaching given to students
- • Look at how pre-arrival information can be improved for disabled students
Mariangel, Health, Medicine & Life Sciences Students’ Officer
- • Represent the student voice in the delivery of the Access and Participation Plan published by the Widening Access and Student Success team
- • Deliver a student leadership campaign that promotes the benefits of student leadership roles at the university and SU
Hassan, Race Equity Students’ Officer
- • Review and improve current engagement with university and SU support services of Black and Mixed Ethnicity students
- • Collaborate with wider staff and student groups to increase diversity of events to increase Black and Mixed Ethnicity students’ participation
Shafquat, Law & Education Students’ Officer
- • Work with relevant teams to facilitate more tailored employment opportunities for Law and Education students
Nibir, Physics, Engineering & Computer Science Students’ Officer
- • Work to improve retention of students in SPECs, creating a sense of belonging students in the school
- • Improve the commuting student experience, responding to UNO Bus feedback
Shruti, Women Students’ Officer
- • Review and promote the Speak Up reporting function at the university
- • Lobby to increase Women’s feelings of safety on campus
Next month, your Part-Time Officers will have had some time to get started on their plans and will be able to share updates on what’s been done so far!
Best wishes,
