On Thursday 27th March, the Open Meeting was held in the SU Little Room. Hosted by Darcie Jones, VP Education, students were able to discuss the issues that matter most to them. Darcie also shared an update on the recent elections, an overview of what happens when students give feedback and asked those in attendance their thoughts about timetabling.
One student raised an item to discuss further concerning graduation ceremony changes and their impact to international students.
Sabbatical Officer Elections 2025
With 2,781 students casting 9,462 votes across the four new roles, your Sabbatical Officers elect for the 2025/26 academic year are:
- President Students' Union: Dindu Okechukwu
- President Faculty of Health: Natalie Shotton
- President Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business: Joshua Frost
- President Faculty of Science and Engineering: Kwaku Marfo
Find out more about the new roles and a breakdown of the voting figures
What should future timetables look like?
We want to hear about your timetabling experiences, how your current timetable impacts your study/work/life balance and how it could be improved. Does your timetable support any disabilities/personal circumstances you have and if the timetable has an impact on your ability to engage. Email vpeducation@su.plymouth.ac.uk to share your thoughts.
What happens to your feedback?
Your SU and Sabbatical Officers collect feedback in variety of ways, from surveys and focus groups, through our Course and School Reps and at a number listening activities across the year – don’t forget, you don’t need to wait for an event to speak to your Sabbatical Officers, you can pop them a message and arrange to meet up in person!
Your feedback then gets raised with the most relevant people. That could be with a specific group such as the University Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce, at any number of School and Faculty meetings attended by School Reps and Sabbatical Officers, we even have two Sabbatical Officers that sit on the University Board of Governors.
In addition to attending these regular meetings, Sabbatical Officers are also in regular contact with the Careers Service, the Doctoral College, the Library Team, Heads of School, Faculty Deans, the Deputy Vice Chancellor Education and Student Experience and even the Vice Chancellor.
A key responsibility of the Sabbatical Officer role is to represent the best interests of students, and they do their best to do this at each meeting and in every conversation. However, the student body is diverse, and each student has their own circumstances and challenges. Sabbatical Officers rely on students sharing their feedback to shape decision making in the best possible way for under-represented groups, not just the ‘typical’ student - whatever that means nowadays?!
Student item – International Student Graduation
Joseph, Chair of the International Student Society raised feedback around the recently announced changes to the graduation schedule and the impact this has on international students.
Joseph noted that the rescheduling of the July graduation ceremony to October 2025 had financial and logistical implications to all students, but this is especially true for international students who, in many cases, have already booked flights which may be non-refundable, and have the additional burden of visa costs.
Joseph has been contacted by a growing number of international students and, as a result, the International Student Society is considering hosting a celebration event for international students. This would not be a replacement for the graduation ceremony but would allow international students to come together for one last time to celebrate their achievements with their course mates.
To keep in touch with the society and to hear more about any forthcoming events hosted by them, you can follow them on Instagram @internationalstudentsplym
Why not raise an item for a future meeting or give share some feedback
Please use the following form to get in touch with our Student Voice Team who will share your thoughts with the most appropriate representatives.
https://forms.office.com/e/yaxwXCC0fG