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Candidate for the position of Education Officer

Image for ISABELLE ATKINS

ISABELLE ATKINS

 

Instagram and Facebook: IsabelleForEdu Twitter: ieatkins

ISABELLE FOR EDUCATION

An officer for all.

A PASSIONATE ADVOCATE

  • Part-time BA, now MA student
  • Disabled Students' Officer 20/21
  • The Boar Editor-in-Chief 19/20

WHAT 2020/21 HAS TAUGHT US

Marketised education has left students feeling underwhelmed with their degrees, struggling to access education on an even playing field, feeling unsafe on campus, and has perpetuated deeply-entrenched inequalities. 

I want to change the Warwick experience for the better. 

MY PRIORITIES

  • A swift and safe return to campus
  • Mitigation for those unable to return
  • Clearer, transparent mitigating circumstances procedures
  • Rebuild faith in the SU
  • Campus developments that work for all students

SAFETY FIRST

  • Lobby for a swift return to in-person teaching only once it is safe to do so
  • Fight for mitigation protocols that prioritise both student and staff welfare on campus, ensuring students who can't be on campus are not disadvantaged

A STUDENT-CENTRED EDUCATION

  • Lobby for the campus developments that students want – study spaces in the new Faculty of Arts building, learning grids off-campus, an eco-friendly campus and welfare zones
  • Catalogue and advertise hidden course costs so incoming students know what to expect
  • Training for all teaching staff in mental health and wellbeing
  • Ensure Wednesday afternoons are left free once in-person teaching resumes for sports and societies
  • Provide training for staff on sexual misconduct disclosures

LIBERATE THE CURRICULUM

  • Conduct a review of the successes of the Decolonise Project and implement feedback to ensure ongoing commitment to liberating the curriculum
  • Recreate the success of the Decolonise Project for LGBTQUA+ in the curriculum

MAKING EDUCATION ACCESSIBLE AND EQUITABLE

  • Creation of support funds for disabled, widening participation and ethnic minority students
  • Release of transparent and comprehensive mitigating circumstances procedures and criteria
  • Expansion of part-time degrees across all departments
  • Creation of a comprehensive online teaching policy
  • Re-fund the defunded Wellbeing and Support Services and reinstate mental health coordinators
  • Work with the International Students' Officers and PG Officer to ensure international student need are represented

WHY ME?

I have personal experience in alternative routes of education at Warwick – joined the Centre for Lifelong Learning in 2015 and studied my BA part-time

I focussed on student wellbeing during my time as DSO, including:

  • Piloting mandatory mental health training for personal tutors
  • Hosting panels for pastoral staff on disability
  • Introducing disability disclosure procedures for personal tutors
  • Lobbying for student interests in self-certification and mitigating circumstances development 
  • Consulting on transcription provision for online content

I voted AGAINST the online teaching campaign in October, arguing that we were not best positioned to advocate for students' needs without knowing what those needs were

WHY RUN FOR OFFICE?

I believe an SU that's filled with officers genuinely invested in the student experience is the most effective platform for change, despite the Union's flaws. I want to be an officer who represents the student body, not just over-represented groups in student politics. 

I want to be an officer for all.

Instagram and Facebook: IsabelleForEdu Twitter: ieatkins

Contact Us

If you need to ask any questions about the elections process, you can visit us in the Democratic Services Office on the top floor of SUHQ. Alternatively, you can contact us using the details below.

democracy@warwicksu.com