Tuesday 29-01-2019 - 17:05

Hello! I hope everyone is having a good first month back in University after what would have been a well-deserved winter break. I wanted to update you all on all of things that I have been doing to improve the wellbeing of students at Manchester Met.

I was elected on three policies: to have a bigger focus on mental health within the University, to improve how we support students in private housing, and to strengthen representation of students from liberation backgrounds and improve their access to University.

 

Mental Health

 

I’ve always spoken about how Universities should speak about mental health as an issue that is affected in the way that students learn and are educated. I’ve been working with our Education Officer, Lucy, on how deadlines can affect the patterns of working that students take and how they can almost force students to work late into the night. We’ve been speaking to students and lecturers to find the best time for deadlines where students have access to resources and that encourage healthy patterns of learning.
I have also been involved in early discussions with staff at the University about how we can improve personal tutoring and the training that personal tutors are given in order to improve the wellbeing support, as well as the academic development, they give to students. I’m really excited to speak to students more about what this will look like and I’m always open to your suggestions!

 

 

Housing

 

I’ve started to begin my campaign that looks both at how we can support students who are living off campus with understanding tenancy agreements, deposit schemes and what their responsibilities are. I’ve been speaking to our Advice Centre about how we can make this information easier to access so you don’t have to always speak to advisor for help.
We are also linking up with different community organisations in the city to improve the living conditions of our students in the city. We want to be clear about what students expect their houses look and feel like – what 3 things do you expect from your landlord? Let us know!

 

 

Liberation and Access

 

 

Amie, Lucy and I have been working on a massive project addressing the difference between white and black students obtaining a good honours degree at the end of their time at University. We have been working with the Diversity and Inclusion Ambassadors to understand what the experience of studying at Manchester Met has been like for black and Asian students. We have been taking what we have learned to staff in the University to make things better for all our students. 
I have also been working with Student Services at the University in developing their policy to support transgender students – one of the first Universities to have one of these policies. We are in the final stages of development and we hope it will mean transgender students can transition more easily and without friction from the University whilst studying their degree. 

 

I hope there is something in here that interests you in some way. I’m always happy to lend an ear to any projects you want to work on or any feedback that you want me to take to the University – that’s what I’m here for! Just drop me an email or come into our office in the Students’ Union.

 I’m looking forward to what this term offers and what changes we can make together.

Andy Harmon
Wellbeing Officer