So a lot of you have probably seen me in my Part-time officer hoody or sta at the front of Student Forum with the other part timer officers....or maybe just strutting around Uni trying to look important (all 5"2 of me!)

But I can now tell you that I am the Part-Time Student Part-Time Officer (try saying that after a few!) So my role is to ensure the part-time students have an equal say in the happenings of the SU.

So what have I done so far?

I have found that many part-time students are not allowed to be part of societies as they are not able to make all the rehearsals/meetings due to work or exams, but from September 2013 that has changed. All students have Wednesday afternoons off from lectures, which means they can attend meetings/training with their societies.

I have also finally changed who qualifies as a part-time student, seeing how I don’t myself even though I am hardly ever on campus. All students who are not on campus for at least 20 weeks of the academic year are now qualified as part-time students.

What do I plan to do this year?

Timetables

 I have found that the Part-Time students are not able to take part in landmark Student Events (such as Summer Ball, Varsity etc) as they are either away working or have lectures/exams coinciding. I am going to discuss this with the timetabling admin staff and also Zahid, so that we can attend these events.

Housing

Housing for part-time students is difficult and sometimes extremely expensive as they are not always in Swansea for the whole year. Many students are away from Swansea for months on end, and yet have to pay for housing in Swansea when their room is unoccupied. I intend to discuss housing with the University Residential Services as well as Rebecca Grimes (Welfare Officer) to ensure accommodation for Part-time students is appropriate and economical.

Regular meetings for part-time students

Although the Subjective Representatives has worked well in many areas of study, I feel that the Part-time students are often missed out as we can either not make the meetings or we feel that we are not listened to. I would like to set up meetings that the part-time students could attend so that they are not forgotten.

Any questions - please feel free to get in touch with me. Either email me or leave a comment.

parttimestudents@swansea-union.co.uk