IT Services maintenance weekend (16-17 April)

To all staff and students

Please be reminded that all IT services will be unavailable on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 April while ISLS carry out planned maintenance.

This means you will be unable to sign-in to University computers or the University website to access any online services or applications.

Libraries will be open for reference and study, however there will be a reduced level of library services available.

All IT services should be available on Monday 18 April. Key services and systems will be restarted as a priority.

Please note that as there are a large number of services and systems to be restarted, you may experience some access problems until all services are up and running as normal.

We appreciate your patience and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

For IT help or assistance please contact the FixIT Centre online, or call 020 7915 5488.

Information Systems and Library Services (ISLS)

IT Services Update: Dates of suspended services

To all staff and students

You may have experienced intermittent disruption to some IT services this week.

We are currently working to resolve an issue with the University storage systems.  Unfortunately IT services will remain at risk of further intermittent disruption while our remedial work continues. We plan to complete the remedial work during the planned  maintenance weekend. 

IT services will be suspended for maintenance as follows:

•  Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 April: Student Records System (emergency maintenance)
• Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 April:  Online and card payments (planned system upgrade)
• Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 April: All IT Services (planned maintenance weekend)

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

For IT help or assistance please contact the FixIT Centre online, or call 020 7915 5488.

Information Systems and Library Services (ISLS)

Voting in the Students' Union elections

Voting in the Students' Union elections opens on Tuesday 29 March at 9.30am. 

Our voting system is by a Single Transferable Vote which means when you vote in the Students' Union elections you need to rank the candidates for each position in order of preference.

So you put number 1 next to the person you most want to win for that position, 2 next to your second favourite, 3 for your third and so on.  You can do this for all positions.

If you do not want any of the candidates to win you put a number 1 next to reopen nominations.

View an example of voting here: http://www.uwsu.com/elections

You are only allowed to vote once and you must have your Student ID card to vote.

When to vote

There are three days of voting and the ballot boxes are open for the following times and dates:

Tuesday 29 March: 9.30am-7pm.

Wednesday 30 March: 9.30am-5.30pm.

Thursday 31 March: 9.30am-5.30pm.

Where to vote

You can vote at the following places:

• Cavendish: by main reception.
• Harrow: outside the library.
• Marylebone: outside the bookshop.
• Regent Street: in the foyer.
• Little Titchfield Street: ground floor corridor.

Who to vote for

You can find out about all of our candidates and read their manifestos here via this link: 

http://www.uwsu.com/content/695743/representing_you/elections/candidates_-_uwsu_elections_2011/

Remember - if you voted in the cancelled vote two weeks ago your vote will not be counted so you need to vote again.

Happy voting!

UWSU

University Software Upgrades

This is your chance to try out the new desktop environment and give your feedback.

A test lab will be open to all staff and students.
Members of the IT Support Team and IT Training Team will be there to offer advice and help on using Windows 7 and MS Office 2010.

Where: Marylebone, Level P1, Computer Room B2

 When: Wednesday 30 March – Wednesday 6 April, 10am -5pm

Come along, have your say and get a freebie (while stocks last).

During Summer 2011 we will be upgrading the following to Windows 7 and Office 2010: 

• All lecture theatre and classroom computers
• Student computer rooms
• Library computers 

This upgrade will bring you more features and benefits, including:

• Faster start up and shutdown times 
• Better memory handling will result in more memory-efficiency and faster working
• A more modern look and feel to the desktop 

For more information on the Windows 7 project, visit: www.westminster.ac.uk/windows7

Information Systems and Library Services (ISLS)

IT Services weekend maintenance 16-17 April

To all staff and students

ISLS will be carrying out essential maintenance on all IT Services from 7am on Saturday 16 April to 11.59pm on Sunday 17 April.

While the University website (www.westminster.ac.uk) will be accessible, there will be no signed in access to any applications or services over the weekend.

Libraries will be open with a reduced level of library services. For opening hours please visit: http://www.westminster.ac.uk/study/library-and-it-services/opening-hours-and-locations

For IT help and support please contact the FixIT Centre online https://fixitcentre.westminster.ac.uk or call 0207 915 5488

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Information Systems and Library Services (ISLS)

Industrial Action Affecting Teaching

The academic staff trade union (UCU) have informed the University that they have called on their members to take strike action on Thursday 24 March 2011. The action will affect the Higher Education sector across England and Wales and is being taken over potential changes to the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS), job protection and pay.

Our priority is to ensure that you experience as little interruption as possible although, at this stage, we do not know how much disruption there will be. All lecturers who are taking strike action, will be asked to post notices on Blackboard if any modules are affected. This information will be updated up to and during Thursday 24 March. The rest of the University will be operating as normal so libraries, access to PC labs, catering etc will be open as usual. All School Registries will be open so, if you have course work to submit, please do so through the usual channels and to your agreed deadlines.

I should be very grateful if you would:

• check the Blackboard site regularly for any modules with activities scheduled for 24 March. All staff have been asked to provide clear information via module Blackboard sites for activities scheduled for Thursday.

• Regularly check School Registry web pages for additional information

 

On behalf of the University, I am sorry that your studies might be affected but we are doing all we can to keep any disruption to a minimum. It is regrettable that UCU has decided to call staff to take this action. We have asked all UCU members to consider carefully their decision whether to take part or not. I am confident that the measures we have put in place will ensure that you have access to the most up to date information possible on the planned strike and any impact on scheduled activities.

Students' Union e-bulletin

As you are probably aware we are re-running the voting of our elections to ensure a fair and robust process.  Voting kicks off next week on Tuesday 29 March at 9.30am and we are encouraging as many students as possible to vote.  If you voted last time your vote will not be counted so make sure you head down to the ballot box. 

Also, we're representing you at the Student Forum and have an update about some campaigning work. Plus there's some exciting events coming up including 90s Night, Kurdish New Year and Smoke Radio's 32 hour broadcast marathon.

Vote in the UWSU Elections

Voting for the 2011 UWSU Elections takes place on Tuesday 29 March 9.30am-7pm, and Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 March at 9.30am-5.30pm.

You can vote at the following places:

• Cavendish: by main reception. 
• Harrow: outside the library.
• Marylebone: outside the bookshop.
• Regent Street: in the foyer.
• Little Titchfield Street: ground floor corridor.

Please note: If you voted during the original election period between 14-17 March, these votes are invalid and will not be counted. You must vote again on 29-31 March for your vote to be counted.

Find out more about the election and how to vote follow this link: http://www.uwsu.com/elections

Who will you choose?

Robin Law, the current President of UWSU, gives his thoughts about choosing a candidate to vote for: "Make sure to read the election manifestos and think carefully about who to vote for.  You're responsible for electing someone to represent you for the next year. So make sure to look out for candidates who have the skills and experience, and also those who will be dedicated to working hard all year long.

"A good team of officers can make a huge difference to the amount of quality support, representation and activities available to you as a student."

To see the manifestos of all of our election candidates follow this link: http://www.uwsu.com/content/695743/representing_you/elections/candidates_-_uwsu_elections_2011/

UWSU representing you at the Student Forum

On Wednesday 23 March UWSU's student officers will be attending the Student Forum meeting. This is a regular meeting between the University's management and the Students' Union officers, in which the entire schedule is set by the Students' Union.

Some of the issues we'll be tackling include enhancing disabled students' access to University gyms, electronic submission of coursework, potential new social spaces at Regent and Cavendish campuses and the University's stance on cuts, redundancies and strike action.

Read all the issues that will be raised at the upcoming Student Forum:

http://www.uwsu.com/news/index.php?page=article&news_id=243733

UCU strike action on Thursday 24 March

The University and College Union (UCU) have called on their members to take strike action on Thursday 24 March. This is being taken over changes to the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS), job security and pay.

The Students' Union was mandated at our last Annual General Meeting to support any action by staff taken to save jobs and the quality of education. The Students' Union believes this is a momentary disruption to teaching, but it is a part of the fight to save the future of education.

Read more about the Students' Union's position on the strike:

http://www.uwsu.com/news/index.php?page=article&news_id=242323

March for the Alternative: Jobs, Growth, Justice - Saturday 26 March

Last year, students were at the forefront of a tidal wave of protest against fees and cuts in education. Now, as the government announces more spending cuts across the public sector, students will march again for their education, this time alongside countless other causes.

Saturday 26 March will be a massive day. There will, most likely, be a million people on the streets of London. Come and be a part of it.

Westminster students will be meeting at the Regent Street Campus at 10am this Saturday. Find out more via this link: http://www.uwsu.com/events/index.php?page=event&event_id=612483

Smoke Radio's 32 hour marathon - the DJ Zoo

Join Smoke Radio for its annual marathon broadcast on Monday 28th March and Tuesday 29th March as they broadcast live for 32 hours!

For this special day the Smoke Radio team will be coming to you from the 'Zoo', located in the Gallery, opposite reception on the Harrow Campus. The live broadcast will start at 10am on Monday 28th March and finish at 2pm on Tuesday 29th March.

If you would like your own show or want to perform live in the 'Zoo' then Smoke Radio would love to hear from you.

Find out more about the 32 hour broadcast and how you can get involved via this link:

http://www.uwsu.com/events/index.php?page=event&event_id=617833

What's on at UWSU

Dress like a Spice Girl or a member of A1 and relive the days when the Sega Mega Drive was the must-have accessory with 90s Night this Wednesday at Area 51.

Electro Rock Thursdays returns to the Undercroft for all the indie music lovers out there, and celebrate Kurdish New Year on Friday with Newroz 2011 at Inter:mission.

Check out our full events listing: http://www.uwsu.com/events/