NOTES FROM THE FIRST STUDENT REP MEETING

HI ALL,

FIRSTLY, THANKS TO ALL THE STUDENT REPS FOR VOLUNTEERING.

YESTERDAY WE HAD OUR FIRST MEETING AND A FEW ISSUES WERE RAISED, I'LL LIST THEM BELOW FOR CLARITY.

1. SOME STUDENTS ARE FEELING LIMITED BY THEIR ABILITY TO USE GOOGLE SKETCHUP. WE SPOKE ABOUT TECHNIQUES FOR TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A LIMITED TOOL PALLET AND JEREMY AND I CLARIFIED THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE FOR A STUDENT TO GET A HIGH DISTINCTION FOR THE COURSE USING ONLY A FEW SIMPLE TOOLS. WE RESOLVED THAT I WOULD SHOW SOME EXAMPLES OF THIS IN NEXT WEEKS LECTURE AND TO SUPPLEMENT THIS WE WOULD ORGANISE SKILLS DROP-IN SESSIONS FOR AN HOUR EACH STUDIO CLASS. THESE WILL RUN FROM 4-5PM IN THE 5TH FLOOR FORUM SPACE. THEY ARE NOT COMPULSORY, BUT IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH SKETCHUP (OR OTHER SOFTWARE LATER IN THE SESSION) JEREMY OR I WILL BE THERE TO HELP.

2. THE NEXT ISSUE RELATED TO THE LENGTH AND INTENSITY OF THE STUDIO SESSION. 4 HOURS IS A LONG TIME. JEREMY AND I WILL REMIND THE TUTORS THAT THEY SHOULD ENSURE YOU HAVE AT LEAST ONE BREAK DURING THE FOUR HOUR SESSION. WE ALL THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO GET OUTSIDE AND GET SOME FRESH AIR ... BUT THAT'S UP TO YOU. ANOTHER GOOD OPTION WOULD BE TO TAKE A LOOK AROUND SOME OF THE OTHER STUDIO GROUPS.

3. NOT RELATED DIRECTLY TO THIS COURSE, BUT A FEW STUDENTS ARE HAVING TROUBLE GETTING FROM ONE LECTURE TO ANOTHER BECAUSE THE LECTURES ARE RUNNING OVER TIME. JEREMY AND I SAID WE WOULD BRING THIS ISSUE TO THE ATTENTION OF ANN QUINLAN, THE HEAD OF PROGRAM, WHO WOULD BE ABLE TO RAISE IT WITH THE STAFF ACROSS THE PROGRAM.

4. ONE REP RAISED THE ISSUE OF A NIGHT TIME TUTORIAL SESSION. WHILE THIS IS TO LATE TO IMPLEMENT THIS SESSION, JEREMY AND I SAID WE WOULD ALSO RAISE THAT WITH ANN QUINLAN. WE SAID WE WOULD ALSO ASK ABOUT AN ADDITIONAL TUTORIAL SESSION, TO RUN IN THE EVENING, THAT MIGHT HELP PEOPLE THAT WERE STRUGGLING. IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IF THIS HAPPENED IT WOULD BE IN ADDITION TO YOUR SCHEDULED TUTORIAL SESSION AND NOT INTENDED TO REPLACE IT. WE'LL LET YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.

5. THE FINAL ISSUE RELATED TO AUDIO QUALITY IN THE LECTURE ... IT SEEMS LIKE THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE VOLUME IN THE CENTER OF THE LECTURE THEATRE COMPARED TO THE EDGES. I'LL TEST OUT SOME CHANGES NEXT WEEK TO SEE IF IT HELPS.

THAT'S EVERYTHING I THINK.

THE STUDENT REPS SHOULD FEEL FREE TO ADD COMMENTS BELOW IF I'VE MISSED ANYTHING.

WE'LL KEEP YOU POSTED REGARDING ANY OUTCOMES.

CHEERS