This section of the web site is for members' comments about the situation in the University or their School.  Click  Got A Gripe? to submit your comments.

 COMMENTS RECEIVED ON THE STAFF SURVEY OUTCOME

 09/02/09

So the university is withholding information (sic).  They've clearly spotted what Marx didn't consider; controlling Production, Exchange and Distribution isn't enough;  real power comes from controlling the information.

 COMMENTS RECEIVED ON THE REVISED ACADEMIC CALENDAR:

16/09/08

I think I have the answer.  Instead of having two semesters engineered into three terms, why not have just three terms, each with, say, 8 weeks of teaching and 2 of other associated teaching activities, e.g. marking etc.

The earliest date for Easter is towards the end of March.  Thus, eight weeks of teaching could always be fitted in between January and then.  The latest is towards the end of April.  Likewise, eight weeks of teaching could always be fitted in between then and the end of June.  With the Autumn Term there is no problem.

So, what about September for induction etc., October and November for teaching, December to assessment (rather than the present January), mid January to mid March for teaching, the rest of March and April for assessment (can far more easily straddle an Easter break than teaching can), May and June for teaching, followed by
assessment either in early July or in September.

Oh yes, and it might be an idea to change the academic year to be the same as the calendar year, as is done in the Open University.  That way, no last-minute panic to recruit students, no clearing problems - students apply in August or September, with results, to start in January.