Law School Updates

Hi everyone!

I hope you are all keeping well and staying safe! 

The first Law School Council for this academic year was held on the 2nd of December. We had an amazing turnout of course reps and students who were able to raise their concerns and have their issues addressed, but more importantly, an opportunity to have their say and become catalysts for change. So a big thank you to all of you who took the time out to attend and participate!

We have also created a dedicated MS Teams channels for the Law school where our reps can provide feedback, discuss issues and work together to resolve any concerns our students may be facing, so a warm welcome to all the law school course reps to the new Teams channel! 

The Students' Union continues to host a range of online events, including weekly quiz night where you can earn points and win prizes and have a ton of fun, LGBT+ Reading Group where you can participate in reading the work of some excellent authors, SU on Tour where you get an opportunity to provide feedback and raise concerns or just have a chat with your school reps and SU officers, Move-it Mondays hosted by the talented Olivia Simpson who will guide you through the perfect workout routine (although I prefer Move As Little As Possible Mondays...just saying..). The Advice and Representation Centre is also hosting regular online drop-in sessions where you can confidentially discuss any issues you may be facing, from financial, student finance, accommodation to academic issues, formal complaints or mental health. 

To see the range of services, events and what's on currently please visit the SU page at: https://www.wolvesunion.org/

For any students experiencing genuine financial hardship, the university has extended the applications for the Dennis Turner Hardship Fund till the 12th of March. For further information on how you can access additional financial support please visit:

https://www.wlv.ac.uk/apply/funding-costs-fees-and-support/financial-support/dennis-turner-opportunity-fund/

Please feel free to get in touch with me regarding any feedback or concerns. If you feel you are struggling or even if you just need someone to talk to, please email me: Jiand.Bijarani@wlv.ac.uk

Stay strong through these difficult times, look out for each other and help those in your communities who are struggling as best as you can! 

This is the way!

Hi everyone!

I hope you all are doing great, keeping safe and doing your best to help and support the most vulnerable within your communities.

Social distancing is taking its toll on us all although nothing has really changed for me... (insert foreveralone.jpg / sad cat meme here)

Last month I had a meeting with the Head of the Law School (Sukhninder Panesar) and Course Leader (Margaret Walsh), as well as e-mail correspondence with the Head of Student Experience (Kirsty Dorward), where I was able to raise your concerns and feedback. Most of these were taken on board and received very positively and the law school will be taking steps to ensure that these issues are looked into and resolved appropriately. I will post below some of the key topics covered and what the university intends to do to address them.

But before I do that I would like to give a big shout out to the university for doing what they can to ensure students are able to continue with their education with minimum disruption and for reacting quickly to such extreme circumstances whilst remaining open to student feedback, so a big thank you to the University of Wolverhampton! Another big shout out to the SU (shameless plug) who are working very hard behind the scenes to ensure that students are supported during such tumultuous times.

If you are struggling with any aspect of university life or feel you need further support, would like to provide feedback, raise an issue or problem, then please feel free to contact me via e-mail: Jiand.Bijarani@wlv.ac.uk

The university is still offering lots of support. Please see below for a helpful link: https://www.wlv.ac.uk/current-students/news/march-2020/coronavirus-student-update-your-health--wellbeing-welfare--counselling-servi.php

Key topics:

• Lack of social spaces and the price of food in the canteens: Head of Student Experience as well as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor have taken this on board and will be looking into this further to ensure that students are able to enjoy a sense of community and belonging and that students have adequate social spaces on campus.
• Lecture rooms and break times: The university will look into minimising the inconvenience of students who have to rush from building to building across campus in order to attend lectures and will look into keeping lectures within buildings at close proximity to each other as well as take on board the suggestion of dedicated break times between lectures.
• Technology and recorded lectures: The Law school is keen to explore the possibility of implementing recorded lectures and seminars, along with the tools that they have had to use due to the Covid-19 situation and making these available for students to benefit from in a post-Covid-19 world! This will allow students to catch up on missed lectures or do revision more effectively.
• Added measures: The university has taken on board the need for further leniency with assignments, exams and submissions, granting a blanket extension for all students but furthermore also allowing students who feel they need further time to apply for extenuating circumstances due to the current situation, which will be granted to all students who apply, no questions asked, as long as the students feel that the current situation is a genuine reason for them to no be able to submit on time.
• Disruptive behaviour: Head of Law School and the Course Leader will be looking further into the disruptive behaviour during certain modules and will be ensuring that any disruptive behaviour is dealt with seriously.
• Modules: The Head of Law School has taken on board the issues students are reporting with certain modules in Level 3 and Level 4, including some issues with lack of guidance on coursework/exams as well as lack of responses to student e-mails as well as lack of appropriate feedback and unorganised canvas pages. This will be looked into further and if you have any concerns related to this moving forward then please feel free to get in touch with me or with your course leader.
• Mooting: The Course Leader will be looking into how to make booting more appealing and work for students. On the subject of mooting, I would like to ask students to get more involved (after social distancing guidelines change of course!). Mooting is a highly valuable skill and is something that will set you apart from the competition in the eyes of an employer. It will help you develop your confidence in presenting, public speaking and problem-solving. So please get involved!