One of the most important things Linnaeus Union works on is securing the quality of the educations at the Linnaeus University, and unlike the study social activities it is not always visible to the outside world. Therefore, we take the time at the end of the academic year and briefly summarise what we have been working on.
The Heads' of Educational Matters Annual Chronicle
Eric and Natalie have written a light-hearted text about their year, based on short headings such as "Myth of the Year" and "Survival Strategy of the Year". You can read it här.
Satellite locations
During this Spring, we began working on being more visible at the satellite locations (towns that are not Kalmar or Växjö but where the education is still carried out on site through Linnaeus University). Mainly we have been out in classes and discussed what cheating and plagiarism (or more bureaucratically: attempting to mislead) can mean, but we have also brought up the possibility of starting an association on site.
ChatGPT
Many of you have probably heard of the bot that can write the entire take-home exam for you, and this has of course been discussed both internally in the student union and externally with people from the university. We at the union think ChatGPT is a good resource and urge you to use the resource responsibly. Having the bot write the entire work is still an attempt to mislead because you haven't written the text, but you can bounce ideas and drafts just like with a fellow student. Do you not have someone who can proofread your text? Try ChatGPT! Want to know how to write more academically? Ask ChatGPT! Use the bot as a tool to learn more – there are many different ways you can adapt it to your particular subject.
Note that it's always a good idea to ask your teacher what they think is allowed on the course!
The Course Evaluation Competition
This is something you may have noticed if you follow us or your education association on social media. During one week, the education associations had the opportunity to compete in who best got the message out that it is important to fill out the course valuation after completing your course. They were judged according to the following criteria:
- Informative
- Creative
- Connections to their programmes
The winner was CNaS (Calmare Natural Science Student Association) with the justification
"Through extensive involvement among both students and teachers, the education association has created a visual masterpiece that impresses. The winners' submissions have easter eggs, an epic appeal, a distinct sense of cinematography, a strong connection to their educations and a good balance between creativity and information.”
You will fins their contribution here, and feel free to check out the other associations' contributions as well!
What about next term?
We will of course continue our work the next academic year. Some things we will work on are:
- examine what routines exist for degree theses at the university,
- continue to develop our work with coordinating student representatives, and
- push for the disciplinary board to have clear justifications for its decisions.
What can you do?
Do you want to get involved in education quality? There are many things you can do, here are some suggestions:
- Become a student representative in your programme council
- Become a student safety representative at your faculty
- Get involved in educational issues in your education association
- Tell us what is happening in your education
- Read the syllabus for each course
- Fill out your course valuation
- Become a note-taking support or a mentor for another student
