Plagiarism...

One of the things i am keen on this year is highlighting issues before its too late, such as plagiarism, with the ever developing software to check essays for possible cheating it is vital to make sure people dont get caught out. In a recent article Wes Streeting NUS Vice President Education stated that

"We are coming across an increasing number of cases where students have been accused of plagiarism when it's not obvious that the accusation is justified,"

The article also suggests that cases are often dealt with informally in departments and students are encouraged not to appeal, this is crazy, every student has the right to appeal, and should do if accused of such a thing. An essay that is marked down or not graded can be the difference between a degree classification. At Reading this hasnt been an issue, and it should stay that way....




The problem appears to be that students are not being told what plagiarism is, or how to avoid it, it is written the course handbook you recieve when you arrive and thats about it!


During week 7 of the Autumn term and again the Spring term, the union will be raising awareness of this issue and assisting students in avoiding such problems.... interactive workshops, handouts, and useful diagrams will coming your way.

If you have any academic issues that you need support with, please dont hesitate to contact me or pop along to membership services at RUSU.

Anyway week 7 is a long way off yet, first Freshers week, South East Weighting Campaign, Admission Impossible Campaign, The National Demo, Money Week.....


more to follow


Ryan
r.j.e.bird@reading.ac.uk

National Demo - 29th October 2006

Today i have been mostly thinking about the national demo.....



Freshers week is fast approaching, and with students arriving faced with the annual bills of £3,000, the fear of debt looms.... there are many arguments around top up fees, but what really stands out in my mind is that less students will come to university, top up fees are clearly creating injustice and inequality in education. How can the government be widening participation, when students from such non-traditional backgrounds will have to look at their bank balance rather than their ability and aspirations.


I worked all through my degree, at times saturday and sundays along with some weeknights, and i know this had an affect on my studies, this was under the old system, i know for a fact under the new system i wouldnt even be here at Reading. So £3,000 this year, and with the debate of lifting this cap on the table, we have to be strong and active in making sure this does not rise.


Alan Johnson (Secretary of State for Education and Skills) remarked that students will 'learn to love top-up fees'.... Learn to love three grand a year, inequailty, injustice and an increasingly polarised and tiered education system....? I think not, RUSU thinks not, NUS thinks not and if you think not then join us on the national demo - 29th October 2006!





Admission Impossible is the NUS Priority Campaign and is outlined below

• NO to soaring levels of student debt


• NO to any attempt to lift the cap


• NO to the marketisation of education


• YES to free education and access for all

We are working hard on this campaign at RUSU and more details will follow shortly, students of the past present and future need to stand up and fight for a fair system for tomorrow's students.

Watch this space...

Ryan

r.j.e.bird@reading.ac.uk

Who said being a sabbatical officer was easy.....?

This evening i sat down after a hectic week of training, and reflected on the last two months. Its been alot busier and harder than i ever thought it would be, with in-house training, Action through Advocacy course in Chester for education and welfare officers, and my most recent course NSLP - National Student Learning Programme through which i was trained to be a trainer! These courses have been 3 or 4 days long and very intense, 'networking' with other student officers in the evening over a beer or two results in late nights followed by very early mornings, but they have all been worth it and i have learnt alot.

Around these courses, i have been been meeting the many many University staff that i need to get to know, along with preperations for this years campaigns, course reps, the MASIV scheme, the years training programme with emily, regional events, plans to improve representation the list goes on.....

Only being in role for a year, means soooooo much to learn in such little time, and with four out of five of my fellow sabbatical officers in there second term i have found myself feeling a little lost and 'new' at times, but there wealth of knowledge and experience provides me with great support and when out and about talking to other unions i realise what a brilliant team we have at RUSU.

The year ahead is an exciting one and i am looking forward to term starting, so as i prepare for the marathon from freshers to christmas i do with much excitment.... the year ahead is going to be a good one.

Ryan
r.j.e.bird@reading.ac.uk

Day to London... NUS HQ

On Friday 1st September, Dave and I spent the day at NUS HQ in London discussing the NUS response to the Research Assesment Exercise (RAE) consultation. The consultation proposes changes to the way research is funded, this of course will have affects not only on research but teaching and learning. Reading is in the top 20 most research powerful universities in the UK, so it was great for us to be feeding directly in to the National Students Union response.

Discussing education policy doesnt sound the most thrilling way to spend a day in London, but the more you look in to it, and begin to understand it the more interesting it becomes.

We will be following this one and keep you posted.

Ryan
r.j.e.bird@reading.ac.uk