I’m Amy and I’m the School Officer for Nursing and Midwifery but I’m also a Student Rep for my group for the third year running.
Over the last two and a half years we have seen many changes that, without representation, may not have come about. When I first started in September 2020, changing rooms were not available and we had to change in the toilets which was not hygienic at all as you can imagine. Without Student Reps voicing this concern with the Students’ Union and the University, we would still not have them. This is something myself and others are really proud of and we hope it has made an impact on new and future students.
There were many issues with timetabling previously, but due to the Representation system we have now been able to improve them somewhat and will continue to improve this with feedback at Programme Committee Meetings from Reps.
The Park room is a big space at Uxbridge campus and unfortunately, we have had uncomfortable chairs with nowhere to put our laptops/notebooks. We are so pleased to hear that desk chairs have been added to the room, a big win for all the Student Reps and students who use The Park Room.
Microwaves were only available at Uxbridge campus on the first floor, through the Student Rep system we reported this, and we now have new ones to replace the old ones on floor 1 and also new ones placed on floor 3.
When I became School Officer in my second year, I noticed there wasn’t very much regular communication between the University Nursing team and the students to express concerns and positives. We now meet once a month with the Head of Nursing and Midwifery, Paul Maloret and wider Leadership Team within the School to enable Student Reps to raise issues on a regular basis to enable feedback to be acted on quickly.
I don’t know who our group would have turned too without having a Student Rep. I believe that by being a Student Rep, you can make a big impact and that voicing what we can do makes changes, they may not always be quick but from the experiences I’ve had it’s worth it.
It’s an amazing opportunity and if you sign up, you won’t regret it. It not only benefits others but also yourself with adding leadership to your CV.
If you would like any further information, or a chat about student representation, you can contact the representation team through emailing surepresentation@bnu.ac.uk.
- Amy Pile, Nursing and Midwifery (September) School Officer