Hi all,

Hope this semester has been treating you well. There are a few things I wanted to bring to the attention of students as we rapidly move towards the end of the year.

SUCCESS IN ADVOCATING FOR A 24/7 STUDY SPACE DURING EXAM SEASON

This is something student representatives have been talking about for a long time, but this year, we finally got some traction and got it done. The University has given us a verbal agreement to trial a 24/7 study space during the upcoming exam season!

This one has been a long time in the making, but Sonika Agarwal, Rhea Sankar from Education and myself have been advocating for this throughout the semester. Sonika and Rhea developed a survey and gathered nearly 1000 responses in mere weeks. We then prepared a report based upon this survey and comparing our lack of 24/7 study spaces to other Australian universities.

Once the details are locked in, I will post them to UMSU socials, so keep an eye out.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATION ISSUES CONTINUE

Since the start of 2025, the implementation of changes to the Assessment and Results Policy, most notably special consideration, have had significantly detrimental impacts on students. Throughout 2025, I alongside UMSU Education and the UMSU Advocacy service have fought against these changes through various forums, including Academic Board, Elected Student Representatives and the Assessment and Results Policy Working Group.

I will continue to oppose these changes for the remainder of my term. However, the University is unlikely to have adopted our recommendations prior to the semester two examination period. If you have issues regarding special consideration, please reach out to UMSU Advocacy.