Update and Officer Report

Written by Greg Higgins | 06 August 2010

Sort of a quite week this week. I spend the week organising the new night bus which is a joint venture between UCC and CIT. John Lane and myself have been working on a new route that favours UCC students so I hope that it takes off this year. I have also been writing lots of bits and pieces for websites and the Fresher's diary which is like draining oil from sand.

My officer report for the month is here http://www.collegeroad.ie/images/word_files/report_education_july.pdf so feel free to read it and get back to me if you have any comments.

Take care,

Gh.

Fresh From Training!

Written by Greg Higgins | 27 July 2010

Back from Galway and back to bread and butter work within UCC. I suppose the main thing about USI UOS training was the fantastic networking opportunities that it presented to me along with Daithi, Keith and Padraig. Being honest I didn't feel that many of the education specific courses directly impacted on me but I know that we all picked up various bits and pieces along the way which can only help to serve the union.

Coming into the position and being somebody who has been involved in student politics within UCC and knowing about USI my initial thought about the organisation was that it was a clapped out ageing dinosaur that didn't benefit UCC students in the slightest and above all else was a total waste of UCC student's money and the time of our own SU. Having returned from training, after meeting the new officers of the union in addition to the people on the fringes of it, I feel compelled to relent my initial opinion to some extent. What the new officers are doing is revitalising the union through re-branding and refocusing the sights of the union on many issues that directly affect students and will in time directly benefit the members of the various constituency organisations. For the moment I will summarise my thoughts into 'USI...Your allright.'

The main office work at the moment is relating to planning for the forthcoming class rep elections, class rep training and post-grad elections. I have also had a positive meeting with members of the careers office and international students office on policy and closer cooperation on certain issues. Having been here for almost a month I am getting to the stage where I know what I want to do and more importantly how I want to do it...Stay tuned!

USI Training 2010

Written by Greg Higgins | 20 July 2010

I come to you from USI training in Galway...With the exception of UL and DCU I (along with Keith, Daithi and Padraig) are busy networking with the other SU officers from around the country.

Shelly gave me a really good crossover so I am  focused more on networking as opposed “training training” unlike some other union officers but even the seasoned pros are picking up useful info on communication, negotiating etc etc.

The only message that I want to get across this week is that applications for grants are being processed by VEC's at the moment and if you want to have your cheque ready to go for October get your documentation in now.

If you have had a change in financial circumstances over the last twelve months it would be advisable to contact your city or county council to double check. If you need any help contact Padraig via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

I will update you on the week Monday next so tally-ho.

Repeats, Casework and More

Written by Greg Higgins | 13 July 2010

I would have thought that the casework would have slowed somewhat by now but it hasn’t really relented. The most common request relates to information on grinds and questions relating to repeats (see section bellow) along with applications for mitigation.

Thankfully the committee schedule has quietened down over July and August so I still have plenty of time to read around the brief. I had a really good meeting with the careers office on Thursday about developing a closer relationship between the SU and ourselves. One of the positive things to come out of it was agreement to set up an on-line “jobs-shop” whereby students would have access to full and part time work applications.

Autumn repeats 101.
1) There are no fees associated with repeating (save time taken away from your holidays due to study)
2) The exams take place over the last two weeks of August. 
3) The provisional timetable is controlled via exams and records and you will receive an email from them regarding your provisional time table when it is made available. 
4) All repeats are capped at 40% regardless of the actual mark achieved during the exams...If you have genuine circumstances that you feel compromised your results and exam prep (illness, death in family etc) you can apply to have your exam repeat un-capped. 
5) UCC SU maintains a grind list should you be looking for tutor information and collegeroad.ie has a useful section on study skills etc that may be of use. 

If you have any other questions about Autumn repeats email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it