DSU Elections 2009—IT COULD BE YOU ...

Student Rep newsletter

D E M O N T F O R T S T U D E N T S ’ U N I O N

Issue 3

February 09

DSU elections 1

Academic Practice Officers

2

External Examiners reports

3

IT survey 2008 4

What’s going in the Students’ Union

6

What’s Involve been involved in

7

Faculty Rep shout out 7

Technologies and learning

8

StandOut update 8

Calling all joint degree

students

9

The graduation year-

book

9

The National Student

Survey

10

Demon FM needs you 10

Dates for your diary:

The Student Rep Con-

ference

Accreditation and the

Student Rep of the

Year submissions

Elections

11

Inside this issue:

Feel that you could improve your Union? Wish to enhance your CV? Want to gain in-

valuable experience and improve your skills?

The nominations for the DSU elections are now open and want you to become an inte-gral part of the team. We are looking for those eager to make a difference and to repre-

sent students in a variety of areas.

As well as the more familiar full-time Executive positions, this year we will also be elect-ing Student Officer posts, Student Trustee places and NUS delegates. Recent changes have been designed to make your participation in decision making easier whatever your course or mode of study. We are especially keen to see students who do not fit tradi-

tional 18 -21 full-time undergraduate profiles engaged in our democratic processes.

The positions available include:

Executive Officers

President, Deputy President Education, Vice President Media and Communications, Vice

President Student Activities, Vice President Welfare

Student Trustees

Academic Board Representative, Chair of Student Council, 2 Open places

Student Officers

Campaigns Officer, Charles Frears Officer, Communications Officers, Community and Involvement Officer, Diversity Officer, International Students’ Officer, LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Officer, Mature Students’ Officer, Men’s Officer, Post-graduate / Research Students’ Officer, RAG (Raise and Give) Officer, Societies Officer,

Sports Officer, Students with Disabilities Officer, Women’s Officer

Student Council—8 Open Places

NUS Conference delegates— 5 NUS delegate places

If you need further information about any aspect of the forthcoming elections or the posts available you can also talk to Colina Wright, the Democracy and Representation Co-ordinator, on 0116 2555576 ext 305 or ccwright@dmu.ac.uk. Alternatively you can

contact one of the current Executive Committee.

What have you to lose? It could be you!

Students’ Union elections

For more information go to www.demontfortstudents.com/vote. Voting takes place from Friday 27th Feb (10am) until Thursday 5th March

(midnight). To vote go to my.dmu.ac.uk

The University have produced a number of resources explaining what bad academic practice and academic offences are and how to stay away from falling into this trap. The University has now created a new structure of dealing with students who have committed these offences. In the light of this change DSU wanted to inform students of these new

changes. Eugene Critchlow, the Academic Registrar, and Marcus Warren, a lecturer in the Business and Law Faculty, were

asked the following questions regarding the introduction of the Academic Practice Officers (APOs)

What was the system before? Eugene explained that this was a two tier system where if a student was suspected of an academic offence they would then be sent to the Head of Department. Within 10 days the Head of Department alongside another member of staff would interview the student. In the first instance it could lead to a failure of the module or component and if more

serious it would be sent to a university panel.

What is it now? In cases of bad academic practice, the student will be spoken to by either the module leader or the Academic Practice Officer (APO) and in some cases given a warning. A warning will be issued after a second incident if you are a first

year and straight away if you are a second year, third year or postgraduate student.

A second case of bad academic practice for second or third years or postgraduate students will be dealt with as an

academic offence.

If the student’s Faculty believe that the problems in the students’ work are such as it is appropriate to treat the matter as an academic offence, they will investigate the matter at the meeting and a decision on the case will be reached by the APO. They can only do this if it is a first instance of an academic offence. All second offences will be referred to an Academic Offences Panel hearing at which point it is advised that students seek advice and guidance from the Stu-

dents’ Union.

Examples of bad academic practice are a lack of referencing or the use of poor referencing or passing of ideas. Exam-ples of academic offences are plagarism, cheating, collusion, copying work and the reuse of your own work; this is not

an exhaustive list.

Why was the system introduced? The introduction of the Academic Practice Officer was introduced in the hope of creating a more coherent, consis-tent, preventing system. Eugene explained there may have potentially been an inconsistency in the treatment of stu-

dents and all cases may have well been dealt with differently in different departments. Oxford Brookes have something similar called the Academic Collusion Officers, seen as a good practice, from which

the new DMU APO system was modified and established.

How is this working in Faculties? In the Business and Law Faculty Marcus Warren said that he views the new system as more effective and a tool not to

penalise students but to inform students.

He said that there were 3 APOs in Business and Law. There is also a guide issued to staff to prevent plagiarism as well as conducting inductions that are relative to the issue of plagiarism and bad academic practice. In particular he recog-nises the importance of how being accused of an academic offence can have on the impact of potential employees in the field and recognises staff need to be playing a more preventative role than a policing and punishing one. In which Marcus feels that a consistent approach to dealing with cases is another result and that each case is different and the APO’s will help develop this relatively new system but not at the cost of students. Marcus Warren also lectures in China and India where students are studying DMU courses, He hopes to provide this information to them considering

that the learning culture at Leicester is different to that of students overseas.

Academic Practice Officers

Page 2

Page 3

External Examiner Reports

This article was submitted by Alison Cork, Head of Department for Academic Quality.

This article provides additional information about external examiners and what it is that they do, we hope that more Student Reps can be involved in contributing to external examiners reports. If you are interested, get in touch with

Alison.

Why do we have external examiners and what is their role? The University cannot make any awards without an external examiner participating in the assessment process. Their role is to ensure that our awards are comparable in standard to awards granted by other universities, confirm that

the awards comply with national threshold standards in subjects and to check that the assessment system is fair.

What is the purpose of an external examiner report? After your results have been ratified at the assessment board, external examiners are required to submit a written report on an annual basis to the University. Each report should cover key areas including comments about the aca-demic standards and student performance, delivery and support and module assessment. The purpose of the report is to assure the University that the programmes are of an appropriate standard and also to offer guidance to pro-

gramme teams on any changes to the programme including any future developments.

What happens to the report? The reports are discussed at the relevant programme management board. It is the responsibility of the board to con-sider any good practice, any issues raised and to determine an appropriate course of action. Student representatives who are members of a management board will see the reports and be able to participate in the discussions. After the board, the Chair will write to each external examiner to inform them of the discussions that have taken place and any actions that will be taken forward. On a University level an annual summary overview report is made to Academic

Standards and Quality Committee to highlight trends and common themes arising from external examiner reports.

What do student representatives do with external examiner reports? As a student representative it is hoped that you will be able to make a contribution to the proceedings at the pro-gramme management board to express student views and also to pass on any information to your fellow students. It should be noted, however, that external examiner reports are written in confidence to the University and all pro-gramme management board members are required to respect this. For the University to get maximum benefit from external examiner feedback it is important the examiners record their views fully and frankly. The reports are written to serve an academic purpose and for consumption by an academic team and are not for publication, for example, on web sites. You will only be able to post the full report on noticeboards if it has been authorised by the programme

management board Chair.

How do student representative at a partner institution get to see the reports? Where external examiners have commented on collaborative provision, student representatives in partner institu-tions will have the opportunity to see and discuss the reports, and any response, at the next FCC / programme leader

visit.

If you would like more information on this subject please visit one of the advisors at the Welfare and Education Cen-

tre, situated in the Students’ Union, Level 1 of the Campus Centre Building. Their opening times are 9.30 am - 3.45 pm (Monday to Wednesday), 9.30 am – 6.30 pm (Thursday—term time), 9.30 am - 3.45 pm (Thursday, holidays) and 1pm – 3.45pm (Friday). You can contact the Welfare and Education Centre on

0116 2576307 or visit the website, www.demontfortstudents.com/welfare/

For more information on Bad Academic Practice and Academic Offence view the online regulations: http://www.dmu.ac.uk/aboutdmu/services/registry/aro_plagiarism.jsp or

http://mle.dmu.ac.uk/regulations/general/index.html

This article was submitted by Roy Adam, Director of ISAS

First a big thank you to the 1,021 students who completed the questionnaire and to the DSU for their help in publicising it. Information Services and Systems has carried out a survey on sat-isfaction with University IT services, the use of IT facilities and equipment, both provided by the University and student owned since 1997. The survey operates in the last four weeks of the Autumn term and the outcomes are used to drive our improvement plan. The iPod was won by

a first year Business student.

Analysis of the 2008 survey data indicates that satisfaction with provision in campus IT laborato-ries declined slightly compared with 2007. In the case of core student IT services, Blackboard, myDMU, e-mail and the network satisfaction remained similar to, or rose slightly, compared with previous years. There continues to be growth in the number of respondents with access to a computer off campus rising to 98% in 2008 with 98% of these having access to the Internet off

campus.

Some aspects of provision scored below 85%. In the case of Faculty facilities these related to the sufficiency of com-puters, broken machines, printing services and laboratory opening times. The highest scores were for Faculty staff

solving problems 89%, being helpful and friendly 91%, and computers being powerful enough 88%.

For central computer provision provided through Library Services the areas that scored below 85% were; suffi-ciency of computers and access to software. The areas that scored highest were staff solving problems 90% and being helpful and friendly 90%, followed by hours of opening being sufficient 89%, and computers being powerful

enough 88%.

Core central services, e-mail, network, myDMU and Blackboard scored 85% or above in all areas.

What we plan to do as a result The departments improvement plan has been updated taking into account the data from the survey and we have started work on this as you can read below. The outcomes of the survey will be reported to the University Infor-

mation and Technology Strategy Committee and are being reviewed by Faculty Executive committees.

IT Laboratories Feedback from students analysed by Faculty has been made available to Deans so they can include this information in planning. In the case of Library Services the decline in satisfaction with the number of computers compared with the previous year can be directly attributed to temporary changes in the Kimberlin Library during the development of the new Eric Wood facility which opened for the start of the Spring 2009 term. The additional capacity and ac-

cess to software provided will offer a much enhanced service.

Software There was a question on the software users wanted that they currently had problems accessing. Most of the re-sponses were about software available in faculties that could not accessed when these laboratories are closed. The new Learning Zone in the Eric Wood Building is now providing some of the software requested. See the Library

web site for further information and opening hours.

http://www.library.dmu.ac.uk/Services/Computers/index.php?page=387

IT survey 2008 – the Outcomes

Page 4

Roy Adams,

ISAS

Page 5

Shared services Users commented that e-mail is still not integrated with single sign on through myDMU although Blackboard is. Sorry, but we had this implemented throughout the previous session and it worked well, but as use grew early in this session there came a point where at peak times and in certain conditions the link between the systems could fail and so we withdrew it. Our suppliers have identified the problem and a new version of the software should

solve this issue. However we do not plan to implement this until mid 2009.

More support off campus The vote for the most important project showed more off campus services to be the most popular by a wide mar-gin. All new systems are web enabled and we will ensure that as these come on stream users are made aware of

them.

To support off campus use we have extended our Always On 24 hour every day technical support service to cover

other problems with IT users may have. For more information on using – Always On IT Support follow this link;

http://www.dmu.ac.uk/study/student_services/isas/reporting_service.jsp

Core central services.

E-mail Satisfaction with e-mail has grown to 85% in the last year with further improvements planned as a result of feed-back from the survey. Some users do not like the web interface and so we are working with a small group of stu-dents to test an end user client to see if this could be offered as an alternative. We hope to be able to assess the results of these trials by late spring 2009. Some students said that there was insufficient storage on the e-mail sys-tem. We will be expanding storage soon. We are currently looking at how we provide e-mail and messaging in the

medium term and will be consulting on this.

Blackboard Blackboard continues to be valued with scores of between 90% and 96% for various aspects of the service. The comments we received on problems with Blackboard included some about logging on, although the overall score for availability was 96% satisfaction. It can be challenging to determine why users have problems particularly when connecting from off campus. If you have problems on campus we suggest you immediately ask local technical sup-port for help. If off campus at night and at week ends support is available through our Always On service. http://

www.dmu.ac.uk/study/student_services/isas/reporting_service.jsp

Some students made comments on variations in module content and the way content was displayed. We have

passed these on to faculty e-learning co-ordinators.

My DMU While myDMU is the most highly rated IT service your feedback and some recent Focus Groups on myDMU have shown us how we can make further improvements. We will work with colleagues in the Timetable unit to see if we can improve the presentation of this information. We also plan to provide an opportunity for myDMU users to

have more control over the layout and content of their individual myDMU interface.

Wireless network There were comments about the lack of access in every building. Work has been delayed although we have only a few areas to complete now with the whole project scheduled to be finished by February. Information on the cover-age within buildings is available on the University web site; http://www.dmu.ac.uk/study/student_services/isas/

wireless_network.jsp

What’s going in in the Students’ Union

Page 6

DVD rentals now avail-

able at the DSU HUB

DVD rental is now available at the DSU Hub, situated on the first floor of the Campus Centre. There is a wide selection of DVDs in stock. Top titles cost £2 per night and other titles are available for 99p per night. The new service is open to both students and staff and it’s easy to register and use. Please pop up to the Students’ Union and speak to Kate

or Sally on reception for further details.

DVD rentals

New printing service in

the shop

New printing service

DSU has introduced a new printing service for 2009 in its Copy Shop on the ground floor of The Campus Centre. We are now able to print a variety of items with your own de-signs including, for example, t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs and plates. Printing can be done in

colour or black and white and can be printed from your USB stick or a disk.

We are able to print small numbers of items including individual items. Prices start at £3.00 per item for batches and £6.00 for individual items. More details are available from

the Copy Shop.

The DSU Print and Copy shops offers the following:

• National Express bookings

• Mobile phone credit

Tickets for

Sporting events such as … Football Varsity, Rugby Varsity, Leicester City Football Club events

Social events such as … Liquid (Funky Penguin), Big Bad Cheese, Kinky, Univibe, Supa Dupa

Transport including … First Bus Day Pass, First Bus 10 Journeys, First Bus 30 Journeys and First Bus Term Time

Tickets and services

That time of year is nearly upon some of you, with the stress of getting your final course work ready for that

dreaded deadline.

Although we can’t help you with the content, we would like to take the stress out of getting it bound. At The Print

& Copy Shop we offer a full dissertation binding service with a wide selection of binding covers to suit your needs. Spiral, comb and thermal biding options are available at very competitive prices starting at £1.80 complete with

front and back covers.

Throughout the busy binding period we will be offering extended opening hours. Please visit the shop for details

and information on special dissertation binding offers.

Dissertation binding

It has been an exciting and busy time for Involve. We have a range of projects being co-ordinated by our team,

from mentoring young people to home security, from teaching languages in schools to and running an online wel-

fare advice service, and a lot more!

The ‘One Voice’ teaching project is well under way with students heading into schools to give children a taste

speaking and learning about different languages. The ‘Mentoring project’ after an overwhelming response by stu-

dents has almost matched all of the in care young people with student mentors. For all those who were not ac-

cepted as mentors this time, please try again next year, your help is much appreciated and the project is growing!

‘Bob’ the welfare bug is up and running giving advice to students! We have had plenty of volunteers offer to help

their fellow students, now we’re interested in students using the service as much as possible, so if you have any

problems or queries head to the DSU homepage and ask Bob! With a group of fifteen dedicated volunteers, help

from the Hinckley road Police Unit and Leicester City Council, the SAFE project has checked the security of, and fit

equipment to, 10 houses so far (both student and local resident accommodation). The checks, equipment, and fit-

ting are all entirely free so if you are interested in having your house checked for security and you live in the West

Cotes area please contact us!

Most importantly though, is that on top of the projects run by our team an incredible number of students have

come forward to start their own projects, either based on issues that they feel strongly about, or just because they

want to have some fun and let everyone join them! These student projects have been possible as a result of the

great advice and financial support (up to £750!) that the Junction 49 service offers. These projects include music

extravaganzas, fashion shows and fund raising events. If there is something you feel strongly about, or if you want to

throw a party in celebration or to raise awareness of something important, then you should think about starting

your own project, because it is a great way to show your potential!

Chaired by Naveed Ibrahim, the Volunteers Committee is a group of student volunteers working alongside Involve

to run fundraising and volunteering events. They are working on something special this term. On Wednesday 25th

February 2009 Involve are celebrating the diversity of cultures and nations at De Montfort University by holding the

ONE VOICE cultural awareness day! This event is going to be big! The event will be opened by Ted Cassidy MBE

and Carl King Union President, after this we’ll be holding a fashion show; later a dance and drama showcase which

we hope the Lord Mayor will be attending; toward the evening comedians and bands will be making an appearance!

On top of all of these activities, in the early afternoon, we will have samples of international foods for you to try

for FREE; various international drinks available for purchase; and much more. We’re hoping to have a Gospel Choir

make an appearance, a Chinese dragon dance, Poi fire jugglers and Bhangra dancers. Everybody is invited, including

non DMU students AND... all this will be entirely FREE to attend! You are welcome to come along, in the day or in

the evening, grab some food and enjoy the shows, please bring as many people as you can!

What’s Involve been involved in...

Page 7

Simon Pizzey, Health and Life Sciences:

I am still running the faculty dropping centre on Mondays at 7-9pm at the Kimberlin Library!

Several students have found this useful so if you need any help or have something to discuss then

drop along.

Faculty Rep shout outs

Simon Pizzey

Technologies and Learning We are constantly striving to enhance the environments that are available for our students and their learning. At the moment we support Blackboard, Turnitin, blogs, wikis and podcasts, and have a new video library to sup-port streaming media. We also work with staff to develop web-based spaces using tools like SecondLife, Face-

book, Twitter and YouTube.

However, we are concerned that we meet the learning needs of our students, and that those needs are ex-tremely varied. So if you have any burning issues, or thoughts on technologies for learning, or your e-learning experience, please contact Richard Hall [rhall1@dmu.ac.uk]. He would be particularly pleased to hear your

thoughts on the following.

• Specific examples of how technologies help you.

• What you think our vision for e-learning @ DMU should be.

• How you think e-learning @ DMU should be developed or improved.

Several sessions had been planned for this semester however unfortunately due to a lack of interest many of these

have had to be postponed. These include the driving theory course, salsa and the self defence course.

British Sign Language, Unit 101

Due to popular demand another British Sign Language course will begin on Tuesday 3rd March, there are still a few places remaining for interested students. This course will last for five weeks (3rd March,10th March, 17th March, 24th March and 31st March) from 5 until 7. Remaining places are limited so register early to avoid disappointment. This course costs £15 and payment can be made at the Students’ Union reception.

Minibus driver training There are also places available on the minibus driver training. This is a free course. For further information or to arrange a suitable date to take the course, please contact Ross Harrison, the Sports and Recreations Assistant, on rharri02@dmu.ac.uk, alternatively you can contact him on 0116 2555576 ext 341

Time management We are running a course that looks at making you more efficient at managing your time, especially in preparation for your exams. This free course will take place on Tuesday 31st March from 2 until 4.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact standout@dmu.ac.uk.

Page 8

StandOut update

Additional BSL course

Minibus driver training

Time management

Page 9

Final year students … The Graduation Yearbook

The Graduation Yearbook is a fantastic opportunity for all final year students to contribute their memories, photographs and goodbye messages in a glossy keepsake book. So far there have been submissions and photos from hundreds of final year students but it’s not enough... To make this the best memento of your time at University, we need your help to get as many friends as you can to sign up. The more people that sign up, the better the book will be. We’d love you all to be involved. Any final year student who has not yet started their entry needs to simply up-load information and photos by registering on the Yearbook website now at http://www.gradfinale.co.uk/students/register If you have started your entry but are yet to complete it please log back in soon to check you are happy with your profile page and submit it. (www.gradfinale.co.uk)

Your Yearbook profile page is built from your responses to 5 questions all about your life at DMU plus the op-portunity to write a thank you message to your family, friends and staff. Each submitted entry and profile photo will be published in the Yearbook – and all extra pictures uploaded will be designed and printed in the collage pages in the book. All contributions made online will be collated into a glossy, professionally published and perfect bound book, which will be available for you to collect at your Graduation Ceremony. It is free to have your profile published and we want all our ’09 graduates included so your help in promoting this to students on your course is vital. You can order your copy of the Yearbook online before Feb 28th at the early discount price of £20. (Normal price £25). The Alumni Association has created a special web-page for you to preview the 2008 yearbook, so you have an idea what it’ll look like. You can view that web-page at https://alumni.dmu.ac.uk/netcommunity/Yearbook. If you need more information, contact Terry Gibson in the Alumni Association by emailing tgibson@dmu.ac.uk.

Firstly Margaret Williams, the Quality Officer (Review and Improvement) for the Department of Academic Quality, would like to thank those students that attended the focus group on the experiences of joint honours degree stu-dents. We are however interested in receiving more feedback from students in this area and wondered if Student Reps on joint programmes would be kind enough to complete a short survey, this can be found at this following email address, http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ox_2f76AUyJwZhmKfiKLChXA_3d_3d. Would you also

ask other students on your course if they would mind doing the same.

The survey shouldn’t take too long to complete and their assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Calling all joint degree students...

Demon FM needs you... Demon FM are in the process of setting up our Community License and we could really do with your help!

As part of our commitment to properly representing students, we want to get you guys together

and get your opinions on getting your work, from whatever Faculty you may be from, marked as

something to put out on air or a form of involvement in the running of the station.

We need your opinions as this is your station and we want it to properly benefit your University

experience and your degrees.

Could you please contact Andy Schooledge, Station Manager, at manager@demonfm.co.uk to let

me know when you would be able to help. Preferably if you are free on a Friday afternoon it would be very helpful.

Page 10

YOUR VOICE COUNTS...

The National Student Survey is a really good chance to give the University feedback on how the academic opera-tion is working and to help the University continue to build on the good work they’ve done in the last couple of years. The more people that take part the more representative and reliable the information we receive back will be. The information that participants return can’t be traced back to individuals – the University doesn’t know which individuals have responded, only a count of the number of people that have taken part.

We need your help to encourage final year students to get involved.

From February to April 2009 final year students can make their voice heard in the only independent student survey that matters.

Why take part? The results will tell future students about your experiences at DMU. The survey also provides the University with valuable information about how we are performing.

Student feedback has enabled us to continually improve – in the past few years our student satisfaction has gone up from 70% in 2006, to 81% in 2007, and 83% in 2008. We want you to take part because the more people that do, the more reliable and representative our results will be.

What do I need to do? You’ll be invited to complete the survey online. It will only take ten minutes to complete. This survey is your chance to have your say about the University and your course.

For more information please visit thestudentsurvey.com

Don’t miss this chance to make your voice count.

The National Student Survey

Page 11

First Floor Campus Centre Building Mill Lane Leicester LE2 7DR t: 0116 2555576 ext 305 e: studentreps@dmu.ac.uk

De Montfort Students’ Union

Contact us

Dates for your diary

The Student Rep Conference,

Tuesday 10th March, 10—2.30

You are invited to attend the Student Rep Conference on Tuesday 10th March. This will take place at Trinity House from 10 until about 2.30.

Shazia and I are currently finalising the programme but it is hoped that there will be opportunities for you to ask questions to various University staff and to hear about developments taking place across the University bas well as ongoing discussions on issues such as the National Student Survey and possibly offering careers assistance. It is hoped that the Faculty Reps will play a larger part in the event, providing you with their own contributions and being on hand to answer any ques-tions you might have for them.

Students that have submitted their accreditation forms and been successfully acknowledged will have these presented, along with a presentation for the Student Rep of the Year.

In order to catering adequately can you please confirm your attendance by replying to me as soon as possible but by Thursday 5th March at the latest.

I look forward to seeing you there, the problem will be circulated to you as soon as it is confirmed.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have

any questions.

Other dates

Just to remind you that the deadline for ac-creditation and Student Rep of the Year nomi-

nations is next Friday (27th February).

In order to submit a nomination for the accreditation certificate, which should hopefully be presented at the Student Rep Conference, you will need to complete and return a signature form, highlighting your atten-dance at at least three University or Union meetings. These must be signed off by either the Chair or the secretary of the meetings, Colina Wright or Shazia Nazir, please note that Students’ Union staff are unable to sign off meetings that you have attended at the Uni-versity as they have no way of knowing whether you

were in attendance.

You will also need to submit a short statement outlin-ing your experiences as a Student Rep and the skills

you believe you have developed during this time.

Student Rep of the Year nominations are also due at the same time. This is to enable the panel to decide and purchase and engrave the award in adequate time

for the Conference.

You can ask other students on your course, your teaching staff, staff at the SSCC / SAB / Programme Management Boards or, if you’re a Faculty Rep, you can ask the chair or secretaries on the FAC or the

FLTC.

Forms can be found at

www.demontfortstudents.com/reps.

ELECTIONS

If you wish to stand in the elections, nominations close at midday on Monday (23rd February). I appreciate

that this doesn’t leave long.

I hope I can encourage you to vote in these elections and to ask other students on your course to do the same; voting opens on Friday 27th February at 10am

and closes on Thursday 5th March at midnight.