Your Officer Team are here to make sure your student experience is the best it can be during your time at BCU. They do this by running campaigns and working with the University and local community on issues you’ve told us matter to you.

What have your officers done for BCU students recently? Here are the highlights of some of the changes your Officer Team have made or are working on:

Extenuating Circumstances

You have told us that the EC process does not work as well as it should. Issues include evidence requirements, e.g. needing to get medical evidence for minor illnesses, and the application process not being as easy as it could be.

Your Officer Team are contributing to a review of the EC system and suggested changes included:

• Limited self-certification (not having to provide evidence)
• A 5 day window to submit after the deadline without penalty
• Academic Advisers based in faculties

We will keep you updated with any changes.

For more help on Extenuating Circumstances

Changes to Academic Regulations

The university is planning to change their Academic Regulations for 2023/24, any changes could impact new and current students. Proposed changes largely relate to the:

• Removal of discretionary decisions. Removal of Exam Board choice to make decisions such as who gets an additional resit or a repeat year to ensure that there is more consistency across all courses.
• Reduction in the level of permitted compensation.
• Removal of the automatic right to repeat Level 4/first year of your course if you have failed. 

BCUSU are ensuring that they represent the interests of students at various meetings and discussions with the University. We will keep you updated on whether these changes will apply to current students.

International family accommodation

We are aware that there is a shortage of affordable family accommodation, meaning that some international students have been living in expensive short-term accommodation. We have raised this with the International Office who have agreed to make changes to the pre-arrival information about accommodation.

Access to online services after being withdrawn

We are aware that as soon as the Progression and Award Board (PAB) decision is made to withdraw a student, access to online services (emails, moodle etc.) is ended. Being cut off in this way is upsetting for students and makes appealing a withdrawal decsion less straightforward. We have lobbied the university who have agreed to look into a 15 working day access window.

Follow your Officer Team on instagram for more updates!