LEAHYfor USI VICE-

PRESIDENT FOR AC

ADEMIC AFFAIRS &

QUALITY ASSURAN

CE

QUALITY EDUCATION FOR EVERY STUDENT

Jack

MY POLICIES1. END NON-EU FEE EXPLOITATION

2. ESTABLISH A TU VOICE

3. MANDATORY STUDENT FEEDBACK

4. IMPROVE THE SCOPE OF REPRESENTATIONUSI can often feel like a union for undergraduate students from south of the border, aged 18-23. In order for the organisation to be properly representative of its membership, this needs to change.

If elected, I will maintain regular contact with postgraduate student representatives and invite them to attend meetings of Education Working Group where possible. I will be a representative for both postgraduate and undergraduate academic interest with their assistance. Furthermore, I will establish specific working groups for full- part-time officers who represent international students, students with disabilities, mature students, and other underrepresented groups.

FinallFinally, I will do my utmost to ensure that colleges in the north of Ireland are properly represented by the office of VP AAQA. As the provision of higher-level education and student grants come under attack, it is more important than ever that the USI’s lobbying and support worth extends to colleges, universities, and Further Education Colleges in Northern Ireland.

USI has made great improvements to its sabbatical officer training in recent years, particularly with the introduction of “SUT+” in late summer. However, I saw first hand as an education officer that the training provided needs to improve considerably to meet the huge challenges that officers face.

TTo this end, I will reform Students’ Union Training (SUT) to focus on providing thorough and interactive workshops on the key skills that education officers need: academic policy, casework, peer support skills such as active listening, campaigns, and organising a class representative system. These are impossible to teach effectively in one- or two-hour lectures as per the current model. I want SUT to be among the most valuable supports that USI offers its members.

FFurthermore, I will institute a much-needed reform of Education Working Group. Members of the group should have an opportunity to learn from each other’s approaches to timely issues, to contribute to USI and national policy, and to interrogate closely the work of the VP. This is rarely the case and requires something of a culture shift, which I relish introducing.

5. IMPROVE SUPPORT & TRAINING

6. PROVIDE INVALUABLE RESOURCES

The proposed creation of technological universities has the potential to be the most consequential development in Irish higher education since the temporary abolition of third-level fees in 1995. The merger presents as blank a slate as we’re likely to see in terms of establishing best practice for student participation in institutional governance and quality assurance.

CoConversely, if we don’t get it right now then the damage could take a generation to repair. Student representatives in the affected colleges are unambiguous in their will to play a significant part in the governance and quality assurance of the new institutions and it’s USI’s job to assist them in making that happen.

IIf you elect me, I will ensure that USI equips the student movement at large to be effective and consequential stakeholders in technological universities. I will support local unions in their efforts to inform and empower their students to participate in the improvement of their education and to establish due parity of esteem in governance.

A number of colleges have made positive strides in recent years towards mandatory student evaluation of modules and programmes on an annual basis. I was involved in the introduction of such a policy in Trinity in 2013, which further obliged schools to demonstrate to students how their feedback has been meaningfully incorporated into module design and delivery. The policy explicitly recognises students as the primary stakeholders in their education.

IIf you elect me, I will work towards the implementation of such policies across the island, by both national representation and by working with local education officers to develop policy proposals appropriate for their own institution.

If elected, I will reform the exam success campaign to provide meaningul and invaluable resources to our members. Campaigns such as this have the opportunity to greatly improve our members’ experience of a particularly stressful time - why not create a campaign worthy of that challenge?

Whether it’s music for concentration, stress-management podcasts produced by counselling services, or industrial quantities of tea, fruit and water, the new resources provided by USI will ensure a far more effective campaign than is currently in place.

Non-EU students are increasingly targeted by colleges for revenue purposes, whether through fee increases for existing students or increases in non-EU student numbers without the cultivation of appropriate student supports. These students make up a significant part of USI’s membership, but we have been silent on their exploitation until now.

TheseThese students will be treated as cash-cows for as long as colleges are permitted to arbitrarily increase their fee levels. If you elect me, I will lobby at a national level for the appropriate regulation of non-EU student fees.

WHO AM I?

MY EXPERIENCEIn February 2013 I was elected TCDSU Education Officer, having previously been a class representative, secretary to SU council, and the Finance & Services Officer on the Union’s executive.

My proudest achievements include:

- The election of the most class reps in TCDSU’s history (407!)- The successful implementation of policy obliging academic staff to seek and act upon student feedback for every module, every year. - Co- Contributing to major college initiatives like the reformed admissions scheme and the 2014-19 strategic plan- Initiating a campaign to involve more women in TCDSU elections

I am the author of several active USI policies, including such subjects as grant casework, admissions reform, and working group reform.

I still represent students the USI nominee to the QQI’s Quality & Capacity Evaluation Panel.

I’m 23, a Dubliner, and a fnal year History student of Trinity College Dublin, having returned to finish my degree following a year as Education Officer and Deputy President in TCDSU. I am currently slogging my way through a dissertation on comedic representation of history, which basically involves watching The Simpsons for 20 ECTS.

II am an active campaigner on social issues, including same-sex marriage, third-level funding, trans* rights and gender recognition, and the introduction of low-pay nternship schemes for nursing, midwifery, and social work graduates.

At the time of writing, there’s every chance that my tag rugby team will win the Dublin championship. More on that if we win.