The Brighter Beacon Teaser: September - December 2024

Introduction

In this Brighter Beacon article, we tease out potential articles for the season of September to December 2024. We have several articles drafted that could be the September monthly edition, but we are undecided on what to publish. As an alternative, we decided to give you a taste of what the Brighter Beacon may offer this season.

The Brand-New Exceptional Circumstances Policy: A Far Cry Replacement

This article is intended for the King's Buildings Sentinel, but it deserves to be mentioned here.

Most University of Edinburgh students are familiar with Extensions & Special Circumstances, as many of us have experienced at least one unexpected short-term situation beyond our control that likely had a significant negative impact on our performance in an assessment.

Unfortunately starting on Monday, 16 September 2024, Extensions & Special Circumstances (ESC) is replaced for Exceptional Circumstances. The new Exceptional Circumstances Policy initially sounds like an improvement to the old ESC Policy, but there are some changes you should be aware of. These are:

• Applying for a coursework extension or Exceptional Circumstances cannot be earlier than 10 calendar days before the submission deadline for the relevant assessment (including the date of an examination); and later than the submission deadline for the relevant coursework assessment, or the Exceptional Circumstances deadline for the relevant School.
• Students can apply for a Coursework Extension under this process up to 3 times within an academic year. Where an application is accepted, the student will be offered an extension to the deadline for the affected assessment(s) for 4 calendar days.
• Self-certification will not be accepted as evidence for Exceptional Circumstances outside of the agreed arrangements for Coursework Extensions.

More information about the new Exceptional Circumstances Policy will be communicated to you by your Student Adviser or School in Welcome Week.

The reason I know about the Exceptional Circumstances Policy is because I was a School Representative when the original draft of the Exceptional Circumstances Policy was planned to be voted on 31 July 2023. On 18 July 2023, I signed an open letter, written by the Students' Association, opposing the policy.

During the Academic Policy and Regulations Committee (APRC) meeting on Monday, 31 July 2023, our at-the-time EUSA top representatives voiced their opposition to the new policy. After the discussion, the committee collectively agreed that the new policy should be approved for implementation in September 2023. This resulted in no formal vote.

However, there were changes to the Extensions & Special Circumstances Policy for the 2023-2024 academic year. They were intended to prepare students for the inevitable Exceptional Circumstances Policy is the near future.

The Exceptional Circumstances Policy was passed on 21 March 2024 with an implementation date of 16 September 2024. We were dismayed by the results, but there was a silver lining. Thanks to lobbying done by the Students' Association, substantial improvements were made to the original paper that was initially presented last July.

It would be a pleasure to have the current Students' Association's VP of Education talk about the Exceptional Circumstances Policy, because he may have some opinions on how it will impact different groups of students. The previous VP of Education had talked about their perspective on this matter. So, it would be great to have another opinion from the Students' Association on the new Exceptional Circumstances Policy.

What is the Future of University Student Support?

The University of Edinburgh is entering the second year of its new Student Support System with the Student Advisers, Cohort Leads, Wellbeing Advisers, and Student Wellbeing Service. Everyone has a different experience with the new Student Support System.

Let us start with defining these roles:

• Student Advisers are trained professionals within each School who manage the daily responsibilities of supporting and advising students, both proactively and reactively. They serve as the first point of contact for students. They offer guidance and additional assistance to help students navigate the University’s support systems. Working closely with academic teams and specialist services, Student Advisers advocate for students and their programmes, ensuring parity of experience for all. They also coordinate support, monitor student wellbeing, and make referrals to the Student Wellbeing Service when necessary.
• Cohort Leads are academic staff responsible for creating a sense of cohort belonging, encouraging students to reflect on their development, leading on induction and transition activities throughout the programme. They take the lead in areas such as welcome, induction, and transition; community building; and academic guidance and support. Cohort Leads provide a visible academic presence for students as they navigate their University journey, typically performed by a member of the academic staff teaching on the programme, with activities usually conducted in group settings.
• Wellbeing Advisers are dedicated to supporting students with their wellbeing and mental health challenges, both proactively and reactively. They are part of the Student Wellbeing Services with staff located in each School. Students can request wellbeing support either through their Student Adviser or directly with the Student Wellbeing Service.
• The Student Wellbeing Service is available to all students, providing access to trained and experienced advisers within the scope of the University’s wellbeing provision. The service ensures that Wellbeing Advisers are sufficiently resourced to offer proactive and preventative support, assess students' needs and behaviors, provide professional interventions, and develop action plans for ongoing wellbeing support. Additionally, the Student Wellbeing Service advises students on how to access specialist support beyond what the University can provide.

One of the weak points of the new Student Support System is Cohort Leads. As much as I appreciate my Cohort Lead, not everyone shares my experience. For example, I am the only student in my cohort who interacts with our Cohort Lead and attends all the events he hosts. For my cohort, there were 4 events last year: 1 group discussion on generative AI, 1 movie night, and 2 conversation sessions. As an aspiring academic and researcher, it is foolish to not make connections with your academics during university, because:

• You need a supervisor for your research project during the 5th year of your Master’s degree in Engineering.
• You need references for internships, postgraduate studies, and career opportunities.

Therefore, I have already recognized the importance of Cohort Leads since day one, the day when the new Student Support System was announced.

The Roadmap

In terms of student participation in Cohort Events, I suggest the introduction of multi-cohort events which was explored in October 2023 in both the Brighter Beacon article "The School of Engineering Questions" and the Nucleus Special Interest Group. These events could be:

• Same year, different disciplines from the same School
• Same discipline, different years
• Same year, different disciplines from a few Schools
• Different years and different disciplines from a few Schools
• Open to all cohorts (my preferred choice)

These events would be organized by a consortium consisting of Cohort Leads, student volunteers from the represented cohorts, and a few representatives from the Nucleus Special Interest Group [assuming the event takes place in the Nucleus Building at King's Buildings Campus].

I am completely against forcing students to participate in Cohort Events for two reasons:

1. Firstly, it is unethical to force students to act against their will.
2. Secondly, I believe in the "survival of the fittest" and "first come, first served" mentality, where students who frequently interact with their Cohort Lead and academics are likely to be more successful in their studies and careers. This is because building rapport can lead to stronger CV references and cooperation. Additionally, I am fortunate to have a Cohort Lead who would make a great research project supervisor due to our shared academic interests.

Other than Cohort Events, I developed the concept of Cohort Welfare, which I had planned to write an article about. Cohort Welfare is defined as a new strategy to improve student mental health by focusing on the well-being of entire student cohorts and groups rather than just individuals. However, implementing Cohort Welfare could possibly reduce students' ability to manage conflicts by one's own efforts. Although student mental health is an increasingly important topic in universities and students' unions, I advocate for recommending a LinkedIn course on mental resilience to students. I have encountered at least five students in the last academic year displaying symptoms akin to victim mentality. This mentality is problematic, because it perpetuates a cycle of blaming others, creating new conflicts, and avoiding responsibility for one's own mistakes.

The New Student Leaders of Our University

This article is intended for the King's Buildings Sentinel, but it deserves to be mentioned here. This article is not as important as "The Brand-New Exceptional Circumstances Policy: A Far Cry Replacement".

Bintang D. is no longer the Engineering Undergraduate School Representative, but he knows some of his colleagues read about updates on our student voice and university progress. This article "The New Student Leaders of Our University" promotes the newsletters of current elected student representatives. There are two newsletters planned to be advertised, but we do not have permission to do so because we have not made contact with these representatives.

My Perspective on Mpox and Its Potential Effects on University Life

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, has been in the news for the last year, because an epidemic of a clade 1b mpox emerged in Central Africa last September. On 14 August 2024, the World Health Organization declared the epidemic a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). As of last month, more than 21,000 cases have been reported, with over 600 fatalities (~3% fatality rate), nearly all in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

To add more salt to the injury, there was the 2022–2023 worldwide mpox outbreak - started in London on 6 May 2022 when patient zero arrived from Nigeria, a hotspot for the disease.

It is unusual that our university did not take precautionary measures against mpox. It is hard to claim that mpox poses no risks, as its transmission is almost similar to that of SARS-CoV-2: through close coughing, direct contact, surfaces, and fabrics. In terms of a Scotland-wide mpox epidemic, it seems unlikely because in the past 18 months Scotland had 9 cases and self-isolation was advised to limit the virus's spread.

If mpox spread across universities, social distancing, masking, regular hand washing, surface cleaning, vaccinations would make a return. At-home tests (lateral flow test but for mpox) and self-isolation would be encouraged if you caught the virus. There could be changes to how sports, student societies, exams, and practical coursework are managed.

Mpox is one of several viruses that could spread around the world. If universities are not prepared for the next viral outbreak, how are they expected to protect the health and well-being of their students, staff, and broader communities?

My Perspective on Edinburgh's Overtourism Problem

Our main focus here is how crowded Edinburgh is every August and the proposal of the spreading out the Festivals to other months or cities. There are points planned for the article such as:

• The University of Edinburgh's Involvement with the Festivals
• The Student Experience in Edinburgh During August
• The Social and Environmental Concerns of Edinburgh Overtourism
• Edinburgh Citizens' Battle Against Overtourism

Conclusion

There are 5 articles planned to be released in September to December 2024:

• The Brand-New Exceptional Circumstances Policy: A Far Cry Replacement
• What is the Future of University Student Support?
• The New Student Leaders of Our University
• My Perspective on Mpox and Its Potential Effects on University Life
• My Perspective on Edinburgh's Overtourism Problem

These topics have the underlying focus on student experience which is the Brighter Beacon's main focus.

Post-Conclusion

The most likely articles to come now this month, September 2024, are:

• The Brand-New Exceptional Circumstances Policy: A Far Cry Replacement (but with the current EUSA VP of Education's opinions)
• The New Student Leaders of Our University
• My Perspective on Edinburgh's Overtourism Problem

There are other articles planned for release between September and December 2024, but I am keeping them under wraps because they are particularly valuable topics that I prefer not to disclose just yet. I may have inadvertently revealed one in a recent post featuring a poll. If so, it is:

• King's Buildings Campus: Are We Running Out of Space and Interest?