News

Student Council last night was fantastic, one of the few times that we can actally say that Council has really made a difference in the student experience at the University of Leicester.

Several proposals were discussed and passed, that I feel will really enhance the Union and move us forward into 2010. Most notably were the creation of a Hong Kong Students Association and steps to intergrate course reps and academic societies.

For those of you that don’t know, the University of Leicester has a MASSIVE distance learner (DL) population of 10,000 students, which is the largest in the UK with the exception of the Open University. Hence, half of the students at our University do not study on campus but all over the UK and other parts of the world, such as North America, UAE and Hong Kong.

Distance Learners are part-time students doing a postgraduate course and normally mid-carrier professionals. Although studying elsewhere in the world, and probably never setting foot in Leicester they are still full members of the Students’ Union and we should do all we can to make sure that they have the “best student experience” whilst studying with us, just as we try to do with our on-campus students.

Myself and Alex Smith, the Academic Affairs Officer, have been working tirelessly this year to try and reach out and engage the DLs, something that the Union has never really tried to do before. The task has not been easy as there are obvious logistical problems involved, but the University have given us tremendous support to help us learn about the wants and needs of these students, normally in fortnightly intensive three hour meetings! However, last night significant steps were made to engage our DLs in Hong Kong.

Student Council last night passed a proposal to create an Association for Hong Kong students. This will enable the Union to create a Satellite Union over in Hong Kong, run by the students out there and report back to the Union Executive here in Leicester. They will be able to use our branding, establish societies and sports teams and promote the academic representation we offer in the Education Unit. The Union is finally becoming relevant some of our DLs. The plan is to trial this system with a fraction of our DLs (although this is still thousands of students) and then hopefully create more Associations like this in all major hubs of DL students across the globe.

Secondly last night Council also passed a proposal to link course reps up with academic societies, which is a very sensible idea in my opinion. This will make the Union’s role as an academic representative much more efficient and far more relevant to a greater number of students. Hopefully is something that both the course reps and academic societies agree with us on, as only with their cooperation will we get the full potential from this scheme.

In addition, Council also last night scrutinised the spending of the Union in various areas, which is very healthy and shows that students care about having a good and sustainable Union.

If you have any questions or comments about the goings on of Council feel free to get in contact - campaign.involvement@le.ac.uk