This article first appeared on DUSA Media.

Examinations at the University of Dundee will go ahead today despite the weather. The University referred students who have been adversely affected by weather-related travel difficulties to its extenuating circumstances policy.

The University said on its website: “Students who are prevented from sitting an examination because of the adverse weather conditions must email or telephone their School Office on the day of their scheduled examination. Students must then provide their School, within seven days, evidence of the travel difficulties which prohibited their journey to the University.”

The University said it would accept printed evidence from travel websites like Dundee Buses, Scotrail, flight itineraries, rail tickets, etc., along with BBC or Met Office travel information. Students “ should clearly demonstrate how this has adversely affected their preparation, attendance or performance in an assessment.”

The University also warned that students who show up late to their exams will not be given additional time, regardless of circumstances. Within the first half hour after the exam starts, all students will be admitted. After that, they will only be allowed to sit the exam if no other student from the same module has already finished.

The severe weather has made travel across Scotland difficult. The Tay Road Bridge has been closed for traffic all morning. Train operator ScotRail said on its website that the rail network had been closed until further notice. “All trains are making their way to the nearest station so passengers can safely disembark. No trains are running, so please do not attempt to travel,” the company said.

The Courier is running a live blog with further updates on how the weather is affecting travel in and around Dundee.

Today’s Winter Market, originally to be held in front of the Union building, has now been moved to Mono. “Please come along and support our students who have made lots of lovely products, which will make perfect Christmas gifts,” said Zuchaela Smylie, DUSA’s Vice President of Campaigns and Communications.

Update 10:40 AM: The Tay Road Bridge is now open for all traffic except doubledecker buses.

This article first appeared on DUSA Media.

Members of three unions representing staff at the University of Dundee will go on strike on Tuesday, 3 December. The University and College Union (UCU), Unite and UNISON are participating in a nationwide day of industrial action, demanding higher wages for university employees.

The walkout falls in the first week of Dundee University’s examinations period. University Secretary Dr. Jim McGeorge said in an email to all students that the University was “taking steps to ensure that exams … will take place as planned.” He added that students should turn up at the times and venues stated in the exam timetable and that the University would try to inform them about exam cancellations ahead of time.

Staff members are not required to say in advance whether they will show up for work on Tuesday.

Janice Aitken, a lecturer at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design and the President of UCU Dundee, told DUSA Media: “We do not take strike action lightly. Our members are dedicated professionals who care deeply about the education and wellbeing of students, but we have been pushed to the limit.”

She added, “Whilst we have great sympathy for students who may be worried that their exams will be affected by the strike, it is important to emphasise that no students will suffer long-term detriment because of the action. If exams have to be cancelled … the University will be obliged to reschedule them at a suitable time. This is no different than if the University had to close because of illness, health and safety concerns or bad weather.”

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), the body representing UK higher education institutions in pay negotiations, has offered a one-percent pay increase, which the unions have rejected as “disgraceful.” Their members have been working to contract since 1 November, meaning they don’t work in the evenings or on weekends.

In a press release, UNISON said: “The squeeze on staff pay comes at a time when pay and benefits for university leaders increased, on average, by more than £5,000 in 2011-12, with the average pay and pensions package for vice-chancellors hitting almost £250,000.”

For the academic year of 2011-12, Dundee University Principal and Vice-Chancellor Pete Downes was paid £219,000, up from £212,000 the year before. He was also paid £23,000 in pension contributions before opting out of the scheme in April 2012, according to the University’s financial statement.

DUSA Media asked the University for details on its preparations for Tuesday but hasn’t heard back by the time of publication.

This article first appeared on DUSA Media.

Supporters of the motion, introduced by School of Business president Barbara Jedlinska, argued that the move would provide time for a handover between officeholders and allow newly elected presidents to use the summer break to settle into their role. They also said that first-year students would benefit from meeting their school’s president during their first week at the University.

Opponents said that electing all student representatives at the same time had improved students’ awareness of the SRC and its role in decision-making processes on campus, and argued it was important to allow first-year students to participate in the elections.

The issue had been debated since the beginning of the academic year, including during a special SRC meeting earlier this month. School presidents will now be elected together with the Student Executive of Dundee University Students’ Association (DUSA).

The SRC also supported a motion calling for 24-hour access to the Library during exam time, which was introduced by J. B. Fyfe, a councillor without portfolio. Additionally, student representatives voted for a motion put forward by Honorary Secretary Tim Hustler-Wraight that asks the University to ban payday loan companies from advertising on campus. Students were instead encouraged to contact the University’s Student Funding Unit.

Disclosure: Like the SRC, DUSA Media is part of DUSA. The author is an SRC member.

This article first appeared on DUSA Media.

Graduating students blame Dundee University for the cancellation of this year’s winter graduation ball, which was announced in an email from the University’s events team to graduates on Thursday. The event, jointly organized by the University and Dundee University Students’ Association (DUSA), was to be held in the Union on 22 November.

A spokesman for the University cited low ticket sales as the reason for the cancellation: “Despite having been advertised to students and graduates for several weeks, at the point the decision to cancel the event was taken only 16 tickets had been sold and we had been informed a significant number of students were planning on attending other events, which would make the Ball unsustainable.”

According to a DUSA representative, successful events such as society fundraisers in “Mono” sell at least 200 tickets.

The cancellation mainly affects graduating nursing and doctoral students.

Francis Nicholson, president of the Nursing and Midwifery Society, said graduating nursing students traditionally held their own event and this year marked the first time the University wanted to organize winter graduation celebrations.

Nicholson said, “As this was not brought to us until late in the year, planning had already started to take place regarding our ball. When students were then consulted as to how they would like to proceed, the majority voted in favour of a nursing only ball … When this was fed back to the University, they explained that the majority of graduates in winter come from the Nursing school and so it was financially crucial for us to be involved in the night somehow.”

As a compromise, Nicholson said, “[t]he University and the [society] decided that the best option would be for us to hold our own ball as planned, and then the University would stage a scaled down winter event that the nurses would then join at 12 AM as a sort of after party to our event.”

Nicholson told DUSA Media, “we had arranged for nurses to pay on the door, on the night”.

Naomi Bridges, who will graduate with an MLitt in Comics Studies in three weeks, said she was disappointed with the University: “I hadn’t gotten round to buying my ticket yet as there are three weeks to go … I think the events team could have done a more thorough job in reviewing the event and perceived interest. The whole thing smacks of laziness to me.”

Nursing and Midwifery School president Sophy Parr said she had not been involved in the matter and referred questions to Nicholson.

Spokesmen for the University and DUSA said they were working on an alternative solution for winter graduates. Those who already bought tickets will get a refund. By the time of publication, 12 people had signed up for student-led “Alternative Graduation Celebrations” on Facebook.

Standard disclosure: DUSA Media is part of DUSA. But you already knew that.

Correction: This article originally stated that Bridges was a nursing graduate. She’s not.

This article first appeared on DUSA Media.

Members of Dundee University’s highest governing body started the academic year with a £4,500 weekend retreat at a four-star Hilton hotel, DUSA Media has learned. 19 of the University Court’s 23 members, along with various University officials, attended the two-day getaway. Among them was Iain MacKinnon, president of Dundee University Students’ Association.

According to the University’s policy officer for corporate governance, Dr Christine Milburn, the total cost of the retreat was £4,507.50, excluding transportation expenses. She estimated that the latter would be “a few hundred pounds at most.”

The Court met on 5 and 6 September at Dunkeld House in Perthshire. Located “in 280 acres of picturesque Scottish countryside,” the hotel offers “luxury accommodation,” a health club and a spa, according to its website. It was chosen for its cost-value ratio, location, facilities, availability and flexibility, Dr Milburn said. Alternative venues would have cost between £4,100 to £7,500, she said.

In emails to DUSA Media, Court members defended the retreat. Dr Milburn denied that student fees paid for the weekend. Such a claim would be “misleading,” she said, because the Court’s budget is part of the University administration’s, which in turn is paid for by College contributions based on the University’s total income. According to figures provided by Dr Milburn, tuition fees accounted for 17 percent of the University’s income in 2011-12.

DUSA president Iain MacKinnon said that by being away from campus, Court members “are removed from routine distractions so that uncluttered thinking can prevail, especially when working in smaller groups.”

The rector’s assessor, Bernadette Malone, made a similar point. The retreat gave the Court a chance “to discuss and explore in detail ways to enhance the quality of the learning experience for students” and other issues, “all of which benefit students and staff,” she said. The assessor represents actor Brian Cox, who students re-elected as rector last year, on the Court.

The Court, an institution unknown to many students, oversees the employment of staff and manages and administers the University’s properties and finances. Its obscurity, Mr MacKinnon said, was an “underlying issue here – so few students are aware of what Court actually does that when they see money being spent on it they understandably want to know what they, as students, get from this.”

University secretary Dr Jim McGeorge said that more could be done to make the Court’s work more transparent. He said that the retreat was particularly useful for those members who are neither University staff nor students and are not compensated for their time. For them, the “retreat provides concentrated time to get to know the other Court members, build effective relationships that are beneficial for the governance of the institution, and … provides dedicated time to really understand and discuss difficult issues.”

According to Dr McGeorge, it was the Court’s first residential retreat in 12 years. Both he and Ms Malone said such getaways were not unique to Dundee University.

Six senior University officials, among them Dr Milburn in her capacity as clerk to the Court, joined the retreat for the entire weekend. Nine other University representatives only attended meetings held on Sunday.

Standard disclosure: DUSA Media is part of DUSA. But you already knew that.

This article first appeared on DUSA Media.

Starting this weekend, the Union is pushing back its closing time from 2.30 AM to 3 AM on Fridays and Saturdays. The change comes after Dundee’s licensing board passed new rules last week. Under the new policy, pubs can stay open until 1 AM, so-called “hybrid pubs” with “substantial entertainment” such as “Duke’s Corner” until 2 AM, and dedicated nightclubs until 3 AM on Friday and Saturday nights.

DUSA’s general manager Chris Sloan, a non-elected full-time staff member of the association, explained that DUSA didn’t favour the change. But other venues moved to extend their hours in reaction to the casino on Marketgait that is open all night and has become a popular student hangout in the early morning hours. The Union felt it needed to follow or “students will vote with their feet,” Mr Sloan said.

He explained that students now come to the Union much later than they used to, with attendance peaking around 1 AM most nights. For DUSA, which makes 90 percent of its income from “mutual trading” such as selling food and drinks, that means the “window of opportunity” for sales has shifted significantly.

The licensing board’s changes, however marginal they may seem – especially to international students from countries where no such limits exist – have been controversial. Opponents argued that Dundonians had a “toxic relationship with alcohol” and that “[a]lcohol and drug abuse blight the lives of citizens” in the city, according to the Courier.

It is questionable whether the Union’s extended hours will have a strong impact on the amount of alcohol students consume, though. “Predrinking,” the practice of meeting up before going out to consume cheap alcohol bought in stores, has become essentially universal among students.

Disclosure: As you know, DUSA Media is part of DUSA. As such, we agreed to hold this story until after the Union’s student staff had been told about the change.

The Election Liaison Committee, the body overseeing the Student Representative Council elections, will investigate the school president election in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. According to the final vote count, there was one vote for Re-opening nominations and none for the only candidate, Ashleigh Cooke.

“Due to the unusual nature of the result in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, the issue will be investigated by the ELC. We already have a meeting scheduled on Monday and this will be added as a priority item to the agenda,” DUSA president Iain MacKinnon said on election night.

DUSA Media has asked Ashleigh Cooke for comment but didn’t immediately hear back. We’ll update this item once she gets back to us.

Update: In an email to DUSA Media, Ashley said: “[M]y friends tried to vote for me but were unable to vote. [The system] kept saying that the page was unavailable to them.”

DUSA Media is part of DUSA. But you already knew that.

Never heard of the SRC? No idea what it does? You’re far from alone. As campaigning and voting for this year’s SRC are underway this week, our brief explainer answers the most pressing questions about what the SRC does, why it matters and what all those fancy titles mean.

Stupid question: What is the SRC?

Not stupid at all! Even students who’ve been here for years don’t really know all that much about the SRC.

Let’s start with the obvious: SRC stands for Student Representative Council and it’s a key pillar of student representation on campus.

And what does it do?

It represents all students on campus, lobbies the University, and holds DUSA and its executive accountable.

Sounds pretty vague, to be honest.

Yeah, I see your point, so let’s look at some of the stuff the SRC did last year.

For example, its members pushed the University to make reading lists available at least two weeks before the semester starts. That’ll allow students to buy cheaper books that might take longer to be delivered.

And we can get a head start on our reading for the semester!

Yeah, but who do you think you’re kidding?

If you enjoy the free WiFi in halls, that also started with the SRC. Can you imagine previous generations of halls residents had to put up with cables or buy a router on their own? Yes, first-world problems, but still awful.

Last year’s SRC also encouraged the library to provide more power sockets for charging laptops, pushed for an earlier release of exam dates so students can get cheaper tickets for going home, and passed a resolution supporting the living wage for all University employees.

Sounds pretty relevant, no?

It does, but how come I never heard about any of that?

The SRC usually has to rely on others to make changes. It can’t force the library to open earlier on weekends, for example – councillors can only lobby for it. Same with DUSA, where policies are set by the board.

Both the university and DUSA’s executive pay attention to the SRC, though, so it has become a real voice for students.

So who is on the SRC?

There are 50 people from all walks of university life, as the cliché goes. You can’t vote for all of them this week – some are there because of other positions they hold – but most will need your support.

Let’s start with the elected positions. I’ll try to keep it short, promise.

• The SRC Chairperson is the official head of the SRC, chairs its meeting and sets its agenda.
• The Learning and Teaching Rep deals with learning and teaching matters (duh) and feeds student comments back to the University. There are also a 1st Year Learning and Teaching Rep, a Postgraduate Rep for Learning and Teaching, and an International Students Rep for Learning and Teaching to focus on issues particularly relevant to these groups.
• The Services and Facilities Rep handles matters relating to DUSA and University services and facilities (like the library or eVision). There are also a 1st Year Services and Facilities Rep, aPostgrad Services and Facilities Rep, and an International Students Rep for Services and Facilities.
• The Environment and Sustainability Rep works with DUSA and the University for a greener campus. He or she is also actively involved with DUSA’s commitment to Fair Trade, so you can drink your coffee knowing it wasn’t picked by Guatemalan kids who are paid a penny a day.
• The Equality and Welfare Rep deals with equality and diversity on campus. If you’re straight or LGBT, a man or a woman, tall or small, or individual in any other way, shape or form (that’s everyone), he or she helps create a discrimination-free environment for you.
• The Disabilities Rep handles disability provision concerns. A huge part of his or her job is to ensure that students with disabilities have as good a time at university as everyone else, from easy access to lecture theatres to fun nights out.
• There are three SRC Councillors without Portfolio who deal with questions not covered by the other Reps. So if you have an issue but don’t know who to talk to, these are the people to bother!
• It’s sometimes easy to forget that not all students are in their late teens or early twenties. That’s where the Mature Students Rep comes in. He or she works on matters that are particularly relevant to students with more life experience than the average halls resident.
• Students of every school also elect a school president who gets to sit on the SRC.

Ummm… What school am I even in?

No idea. If you don’t know, check your student profile on eVision.

You mentioned other non-elected SRC members.

Well, most of them actually are elected, just in different ways. Members of DUSA’s Societies Council send two Reps, a Student Staff Rep represents DUSA’s student employees, there’s a Halls Rep for students living in University accommodation, and DUSA’s media outlets (of which we are one) select a Media Rep. The Sports Union, DUSA’s exec and the rector are also represented.

All these guys are campaigning on campus and it’s super annoying. Why can’t they leave me alone?

Are you one of those who never run or vote for anything and then loudly complain about everything? No? Then don’t be such a grump, man. Get some candy, enjoy democracy in action, and see which candidates offer more than a boilerplate “I want to improve your student experience.”

Okay, I’m pumped to vote now! How and when can I do that?

Awesome! Voting starts Thursday at 9 AM on MyDundee and closes Friday at 5 PM. The candidates will probably make sure you don’t forget, though.

Standard disclosure: DUSA Media is part of DUSA. But you already knew that.

This article first appeared on DUSA Media.

Exactly one year before the Scottish independence referendum, representatives of all parties in the Scottish Parliament will debate the implications for education in Scotland at Dundee University next week.

Students will have the chance to ask questions they have about the possible consequences of independence on their education. “It must be highlighted that this issue is not limited to Scottish nationals but is something which should be considered by our RUK, EU and international students,” said Zuchaela Smylie, DUSA’s Vice President of Communications and Campaigns.

Journalist David Torrance, also the associate director of the University’s “5 Million Questions” initiative, will chair the event. According to Mr Torrance, questions that will be discussed include, “Would independence improve the quality of Scotland’s schools? Would independence help or hinder attempts to tackle educational inequality? And when it comes to higher education, what would independence mean for university admissions and research funding, both currently handled on a UK-wide basis?”

A University press release stated that “5 Million Questions” attempts to overcome the “overtly party political” nature of the Scottish independence debate so far.

On the panel for the “Big Education Debate” will be the Scottish education secretary, Michael Russell (SNP), MSPs Neil Bibby (Labour), Liz Smith (Conservative) and Liam McArthur (Liberal Democrats), and Pauline Hinchion, co-convener of the Dundee Green Party. University principal Pete Downes will also be participating.

The event starts Wednesday, 18th September, at 7:30 PM in the Dalhousie Building. You can get free tickets here.

Standard disclosure: DUSA Media is part of DUSA. But you already knew that.

This article first appeared on DUSA Media.

Dundee University Students’ Association (DUSA) was once again rated Scotland’s best student union in the latest National Student Survey (NSS). One of the 10 best student associations in the UK, DUSA placed far ahead of other Scottish student unions.

DUSA’s new president Iain MacKinnon welcomed the news in a statement: “A lot of people might see student unions as solely a place for students to enjoy their evenings whilst at university, but here in DUSA we offer so much more.” MacKinnon highlighted DUSA’s support and funding for more than 100 student societies on campus, the association’s various welfare campaigns, and the work of DUSA’s media outlets.

In the NSS university ranking, the University of Dundee achieved 88% satisfaction, down two points from last year. Among all Scottish universities, Dundee came in fourth, after tying for second place in 2012. The University of St. Andrews topped Scottish institutions with 93% student satisfaction. Students at the University of Bath were the most satisfied in the UK with 94%.

Full disclosure: DUSAmedia.com is part of DUSA. But you already knew that.