search
Close

Democracy
Your Ideas SUBU Summit Student Members Meeting Executive Commitee NUS Articles and Bye-laws

Campaigns
Current Campaigns #NeverOK Start your own campaign

Liberation Networks
Asian, Arab & Ethnic Minority Network Black Students' Network LGBTQ+ Network Disabilities, Accessibility & Neuro-Diverse Network Trans, Non-Binary, Intersex & Gender Identity + Network Women's Network

Student Communities
Independent Students Community Student Parent Community Mature Students Community International Students Community

Elections and Referenda
Elections Regulations and Complaints Referenda Union Officers

 

Submit New Idea

Welcome to Your Ideas. Here you can submit ideas for change, as well as voting and commenting on other students’ ideas. The more votes and comments a post gets, the more likely it’ll be taken to the SUBU Summit or Student Members’ Meeting where students will vote whether to adopt the idea as Union Policy or engage in the suggested action. 

 

Before submitting an Idea

Your ideas can be about anything, from big structural changes to small amendments. They can call for change from within SUBU, BU or the wider community. Your ideas can be action based such as asking the Union to lobby the university on a specific issue or ideological such as supporting a specific group. Prior to every meeting of the SUBU Summit and Students Member’s meeting, the SUBU Summit Chair reviews ideas that fulfil the voting requirements and decides which three should form a motion and be taken to meetings. Motions are discussed and debated, and a final vote is then taken. If approved these motions, then become Union Policy or are acted on.  

You can find out more about Union Policy, as well as viewing the current list of live policies here. Please ensure you look at existing policies before submitting your idea so we can avoid duplicates of policies.  

Please also note the Your Ideas platform is NOT for complaints.  

Example of what IS an Idea: 

For SUBU to lobby BU for lecture and seminar resources to be shared one week in advance.

Example of what IS NOT an Idea: 

Misleading packaging on food sold in SUBU shop.

This is not an Idea as this is something SUBU would action immediately for the health and safety of students. An Idea of this nature would not need to go to a SUBU Summit or Student Members Meeting to be voted upon.  

When submitting your ideas, you’ll be asked to answer the following questions: 

  1. What is your idea – what do you think needs to change, be amended, be introduced;  keep it concise and relevant and use research/data/feedback where necessary to back up your Idea 

  1. How do you see this being achieved – what steps should SUBU take to achieve this, what is the solution to the problem. 

  1. Which Full-Time Officer you think should lead on it?

    1. President 

    2. VP Education 

    3. VP Student Opportunities 

    4. VP Welfare and Community 

  2. What other student groups you think should be involved? - Please list any of our liberation networks, faculties, clubs & societies and student communities.

Once you have submitted an Idea

Ideas are reviewed four times an academic year before each SUBU Summit and the Student Members’ Meeting with a maximum of three ideas being voted on in each meeting. Some ideas, where easy to implement, already in policy, or easy to amend existing policy may be implemented and passed without motion at either of these meetings. 

Once students submit an idea, other students can vote and comment on this to indicate their support or lack thereof for the proposed ideas. Students will be able to  vote in favour of  the idea or to vote against the idea. Ideas require 15 votes in favour to be moved forwards to the discussions stage. Subsequently, ideas with 15 votes against will be rejected.

 

SUBU reserves the right to reject any Idea that poses a financial, reputational or legal risk to the Union.  

 

Once an idea achieves the necessary votes the student who submitted the idea will be invited in by a member of the Democracy and Campaigns team to discuss their idea in greater depth, to provide further context and create a draft policy. This draft policy will then be taken to an agenda setting meeting where Officers will discuss and vote on whether to take the motion to either SUBU Summit or Student Members Meeting.  

If the idea is not selected by the committee to go to meeting, it can receive one of two outcomes; Decline – The idea is closed and updated accordingly but can be resubmitted without time penalty OR Revisit – The idea will be on hold and reviewed again before the next SUBU Summit where it will either be selected to go to meeting or will be Declined. 

If an idea that is made presented as a motion at either the SUBU Summit Meeting or Student Members’ Meeting it will be updated on ‘Your Ideas’ accordingly and made into Union Policy. 

All ideas on the platform will be kept updated accordingly .

 

Your Ideas

  • Ideas 36
  • Submitters 26
  • Last submission 08:31 on 03 Mar 2024
  • Voters 176
  • Commenters 10
  • Current 18
  • Locked 8
  • Passed 7
  • Rejected 3
  • Expired 0

Your Ideas

Please log in to vote on an idea
Back to list
  • 1 score
    1 voter

    Enhancing Fairness in Self and Peer Assessments SPA: Addressing Bias and Improving Inclusivity in Group Evaluations

    Submitted 2 months ago by Branka Ozdemir
    Current
      0comments
      Self and peer assessment (SPA) is crucial for evaluating group interactions, yet it poses significant challenges, particularly for students with disabilities, different communication styles, and those from diverse cultural backgrounds, including students with additional learning support needs (ALS), who may be undiagnosed and thus exceptionally vulnerable to SPA biases. Concerns from the student body, including 14 individuals, underscore the SPA's potential bias, affecting grades and possibly marginalizing certain demographics, such as mature students, ALS students, or those from various cultural backgrounds who might struggle with direct communication styles. Recognizing the importance of people skills, group management, and conflict resolution in certain courses, we still find the current weighting of SPAs—sometimes as high as 40%—to be excessive, especially given its potential to disproportionately impact overall degree grades based on non-academic factors like personal biases within non-friendship groups. This scenario can unfairly disadvantage individuals, particularly when team divisions lead to unjust grading due to personal dislikes, discrimination, or bullying. To address these issues, we propose implementing strict guidelines for conducting SPAs that focus on key factors such as attendance, constructive communication, meeting agreed-upon goals, and teamwork, barring valid excuses. This approach aims to prevent biased SPA reports from adversely affecting specific student groups, thereby allowing for a more accurate reflection of team dynamics and individual contributions. Moreover, reconsidering the significant weight SPAs hold in overall grading is essential. Adjusting this weighting and introducing structured guidelines will foster a fairer assessment system. Such a system would better accommodate all students, including those with ALS and undiagnosed learning challenges, ensuring assessments accurately reflect each student's contributions and achievements without allowing non-academic dynamics within groups to overly influence overall degree outcomes

      How do you see this being achieved?

      To address these issues, we propose implementing strict guidelines for conducting SPAs that focus on key factors such as attendance, constructive communication, meeting agreed-upon goals, and teamwork, barring valid excuses. This approach aims to prevent biased SPA reports from adversely affecting specific student groups, thereby allowing for a more accurate reflection of team dynamics and individual contributions.

      Which Full-Time Officer should lead on it?

      VP Education and VP Student Opportunities

      What other student groups should be involved?

      Disability Support Groups: These groups can provide insights into how SPAs affect students with both visible and invisible disabilities, including those with additional learning support needs (ALS). International Student Associations: Students from various cultural backgrounds may have different perspectives on group work and assessments, making their input valuable in creating a more inclusive SPA process. Mature Student Associations: Mature students might face unique challenges in group dynamics and SPA, often due to different life experiences and communication styles. Mental Health and Wellbeing Societies: These groups can highlight how SPA processes impact students' mental health, particularly the stress and anxiety associated with peer evaluations. Equality and Diversity Groups: Such groups can provide perspectives on how SPA may inadvertently disadvantage students from diverse backgrounds, including issues of bias and discrimination.
    No comments have been made.