Introduction and Context

Each Semester, your Postgraduate Presidents and School Presidents have meetings with the University’s Vice Principal Education and her key staff members where they talk together about important topics in learning, teaching, and the research student experience.

At the Postgraduate Academic Forum and the Undergraduate Academic Forum, your elected leadership advocated for you and worked with University leaders on topics like:

Find out more about the issues discussed and our next steps and outcomes in the sections below!

TLDR: How does this affect me?

Outcomes for Postgraduates

Events for Postgraduate Students

• Summary:
  • The feedback from Reps was that postgrads did not feel that there were enough university events for PGT/PGR students and most events were more tailored to undergraduate students.
  • The events that were organised were also not communicated well enough, with many postgraduates being unaware that they were taking place.
• Outcomes:
  • The Postgraduate Presidents have agreed to work with the Director of IELLI and the Executive Officer of St Leonard’s College to attempt to revive the previously existing Postgraduate Society.
    • The Union are exploring the possibility of bringing it back in partnership with St Leonard’s College as the St Leonard’s Society.
  • The Director of Student Experience will also be working with Reps to explore how to make better use of existing events and calendar functionalities as well as any viable alternatives.
• Timeline:
  • Discussions will continue throughout the Candlemas semester on the creation of a Postgraduate society.
  • A progress update will be provided on how events can be best shared early in the Candlemas semester.
• How this affects you:
  • A Postgraduate society will provide a central place for events to be organised for Postgraduate students, and provide a greater sense of identity for Postgraduate students in the university.
  • A shared calendar or similar tool make it far easier for Postgraduates to be able to see what events are on in advance, and to access those events.

Supporting Postgraduate Research Students Who Teach

• Summary:
  • Students who teach have raised concerns about receiving very little notice for their teaching timetable which means they can’t prepare their classes properly.
  • There are also concerns about giving honest feedback to the module convenor as they are worried it will affect their own chances of teaching.
• Outcome:
  • The Proctor, Provost, and both the Associate Provosts of Students and Education have agreed to raise the idea of giving students a much longer notice period with module convenors.
  • The same academic leadership staff will also work with the Director of Student Experience and the Postgraduate Research president to create a feedback mechanism which students are comfortable with.
• Timeline:
  • The issue of giving earlier timetable will be raised in the Candlemas Semester with the target of having a notice period for the following academic year from early summer.
  • Discussions for the new feedback mechanism will be ongoing through the Candlemas Semester.
• How this affects you:
  • For Postgraduate Research students who teach, more timetable notice will give them more time and space to plan and teach classes effectively, while also being able to plan around their other commitments.
  • A better feedback mechanism will make Postgraduate Research students more confident to give honest feedback to module convenors.

Assessment Criteria for Postgraduate Taught Students

• Summary:
  • Postgraduate taught students have reported that assessment criteria in their modules have not been clear enough.
• Outcome:
  • All examples of unclear assessment criteria should be sent to the Postgraduate Taught President, who will ensure that they have been raised with module convenors. If needed, these can then be escalated to the Provost.
• Timeline:
  • Examples will be escalated whenever they are raised.
• How this affects you:
  • Will ensure that assessments are clear and fair for all PGT students.

Skill Building for Postgraduate Research Students

• Summary:
  • Postgraduate Research students reported that they need additional development and learning support for discipline specific skills e.g. statistical analysis.
• Outcome:
  • St Leonard’s College, IELLI, and the Director of Student Experience are coordinating around providing various study skills programs to students, both within departments and centrally.
• Timeline:
  • An update will be provided early in the Candlemas semester.
• How this affects you:
  • There will be clearer signposting for where to go for discipline specific support.

Partnership Between Staff and Postgraduate Reps

• Summary:
  • Some elected Postgraduate Reps have reported that the Directors of Postgraduate students in each department do not seem to be informed about the Rep system or how to work with them.
  • Reps have further reported that they do not feel they have had enough contact with Directors to report feedback.
• Outcomes:
  • The Proctor, Provost, and Director of Student Experience will use their regular contact with Directors of Postgraduates to promote more contact and discussion with Reps.
  • The Proctor and Provost will also co-sign emails from the Union to Directors which explain next steps for communicating with Reps. They will also follow up with emails to remind of the process throughout the year.
• Timeline:
  • The increased contact between Directors and Reps will be implemented in the Candlemas Semester.
  • The co-signing of emails will be implemented as far as possible in the Candlemas semester and will be fully implemented following the Rep elections in the next academic year.
• How this affects you:
  • Your elected Reps will have greater access to the Directors of Postgraduates in each department to pass on your feedback and advocate for improvements.
  • This will provide a more effective feedback mechanism to advocate for your interests.

Improving the PGCAP for Students

• Summary:
  • Postgraduate Research students feel that PGCAP could be more tailored towards their needs when it comes to pursuing a career in academia.
• Outcome:
  • The Director of IELLI will regularly update the Postgraduate Research President about the developments in the PGCAP and how they will affect students.
• Timeline:
  • Discussions will continue in the Candlemas semester.
• How this affects you:
  • Will give better opportunities for Postgraduate Research students who teach and will better set them up for future academic careers.

Library Closure

• Summary:
  • The library will be closed earlier on weekends starting from December due to critical staffing shortages that were unavoidable. Hours will return to normal from the beginning of the Candlemas Semester.
• Outcomes:
  • ​Reps are working with staff to ensure that alternative spaces, such as Butts Wynd, are heated and have additional facilities for studying while these closures are in effect. All Library Hours are available on their blog.
• Timeline:
  • Hours will return to normal from the beginning of the Candlemas Semester.
• How this affects you:
  • Reps and staff are collaborating to minimise the impact of necessary closures on students.

Outcomes for Undergraduates

Reviewing workload and credit weightage

• Summary
  • School Presidents and Reps raised the issue of various modules requiring disproportionately different time and workload commitments despite having equal credit weightage.
  • School Presidents decided to raise this topic with senior staff members to understand the current monitoring system and how students can be involved in the consultation process.
• Outcome
  • Your student Education Executive Team and the Proctor will be raising the topic of credit weightage with all Directors of Teaching.
  • Students who have experienced a module that they believe is disproportionate in its credit weightage are asked to share about their experiences with their Representatives and School Presidents for ongoing consultation.
• Timeline
  • Discussions will continue in the Candlemas semester
• How this affects you
  • Your Reps are looking to advocate for consistency and parity of module credit weighting both within and across schools to make things fairer and more transparent for students.

Improving student transitions (e.g. Subhonours to Honours)

• Summary
  • Reps raised the challenges students face when transitioning from Sub Honours to Honours given the change in contact hours, revised assessment expectations, and overall pressure.
  • School Presidents raised this issue with senior University Leaders to ask for clearer and accessible advice about academic transitions within student handbooks.
• Outcome
  • The Senior Staff team highlighted that we currently have a "Transitions Toolkit"  which is underutilised.
  • The resource is a great place to start, but Reps and University leaders will now explore incorporating in-person elements with heightened clarity to support students when moving from Sub Honours to Honours.
• Timeline
  • Discussions will continue in the Candlemas semester
• How this affects you
  • Your Reps and School Presidents want to ensure that you have enough support for a smooth transition into Honours.
  • While the "Transitions Toolkit" is available at [x], they will continue to advocate for clearer and tangible support.

Technological disruptions in classrooms

• Summary
  • Technology in classrooms and beyond has been failing consistently - whether that's lecture recordings, microphones, projectors.
  • The Science and Medicine Faculty President has been leading a project to collect data on the frequency of this occurrence, bringing it to the University leadership's notice so that these disruptions no longer affect learning.
• Outcome
  • The Proctor and her team recognise the disruption this has on students' learning experience and are willing to push for more staff members to take up IT training.
  • They've also encouraged Reps to report specific incidents to them so that we can more accurately identify where training and support are needed.
• Timeline
  • Examples will be escalated whenever they’re raised
• How this affects you
  • Your School Presidents want to make sure that your educational experience doesn't disappoint.
  • If you notice any IT failures in class, don't be afraid to highlight them to your Reps via email.
  • They will relay them back to the respective School Presidents, who will in-turn work with University leaders to fix the issues.

Provisional timetables

• Summary
  • Students do not receive their timetables until Week One, making it incredibly hard for students to plan their weeks in advance, especially if they have work commitments, caring responsibilities, or just bustling social calendars.
  • The Education Committee feels very strongly about this and raised this at Undergraduate Academic Forum to advocate for the availability of provisional timetables based on historical data.
• Outcome
  • The University leadership is now looking into releasing provisional timetables.
  • We don't yet know if that would be effective immediately, however, the need for advance planning for students has been recognised.
• Timeline
  • Your DoEd will work with University leadership to get provisional timetables in place, ideally by S1 2025-26.
• How this affects you
  • To get a better idea of what provisional timetables could look at, we recommend checking out the Maths Department's page for current students.

Module handbook improvements

• Summary
  • Module handbooks, across and within schools, vary significantly.
  • Not only are they hard to navigate, they also present serious accessibility issues.
  • School Presidents advocated to standardise the format and inclusion of: tutor(s) contact info, required attendance expectations, marking criteria, learning objectives, transferable skills/graduate attributes, required readings, extensions and self-certification procedure, coursework and competencies, AI guidance and good academic practice, referencing style, and weekly lecture themes.
  • Reps feel these should be present in all module handbooks across the University.
• Outcome
  • The University leadership will restart their annual email to schools, highlighting elements to incorporate in the Module Handbook to ensure handbooks are standardised across all schools.
  • The Director of Student Experience is leading a longer term project looking at improving our web platforms, into which we could incorporate improved access to module handbook content.
• Timeline
  • We expect a certain level of standardisation to emerge from the University leadership’s initiative to liaise with schools to ensure module handbooks are corrected from the next academic year.
• How this affects you
  • School Presidents and Staff are working together to ensure all module handbook content is standardised for clarity, structure, and coherence.
  • Student suggestions for standard Module Handbook items have been taken onboard and will be included in guidance issued to staff.

Extensions policy

• Summary
  • Module Handbooks aren't the sole victims of variability, as application of the Extensions Guidance is also different based on school (If you're a Joint Honours student, you're probably experienced this pain many times).
  • Additionally, many students get bounced around various university stakeholders for a simple extension which is not efficient.
  • School Presidents took this to UAF to advocate for better clarity around the procedure for extensions, including the standardised form, exemptions for disabilities already registered with the school, etc.
• Outcome
  • A big project was carried out last year, which aimed to standardise extensions policy across schools.
  • Most schools have opted in, and those which haven't follow the policy closely using their own pre-programmed systems (Computer Science, we're looking at you in awe.)
  • The Disabilities Plan issue has been brought to the University leaders' notice, and they will continue to conduct checks to make sure that schools follow the policy established closely.
• Timeline
  • Discussions and checks will be carried out throughout the Candlemas semester.
• How this affects you
  • We know that extensions are the saving grace of the stressors of academic and personal life; a standard procedure has been put in place, but to test if your School is following the guidance, expect your Reps to ask you about your experiences with extensions so that we can capture how this works in practice.

Library closure – brief update

• Summary
  • The Library will be closed earlier on weekends starting from December due to critical staffing shortages that were unavoidable.
• Outcome
  • Reps are working with staff to ensure that alternative spaces, such as Butts Wynd, are heated and have additional facilities for studying while these closures are in effect.
  • All Library Hours are available on their blog.
• Timeline
  • Hours will be restored from Semester Two.
• How this affects you
  • Reps and staff are collaborating to minimise the impact of necessary closures on students.

Further Questions

As you can see, your elected representatives and Presidents are working hard to improve your learning or research experience here at the University of St Andrews, but there’s still a lot to do!

If you have additional feedback and perspective on any of the topics raised above, please contact your School or Faculty President (or Postgraduate President) via the Officers Page on the Union Website. You can also get in contact directly with your Class or Postgraduate Representatives on any of these issues too!

You can always also reach out to your Education Executive Team via [email protected] and we’ll get your point forwarded on to the correct representative.

Lastly, be on the lookout for a report from your Education Executive Team on their progress on projects so far this academic year in the near future.