At Heriot-Watt Students’ Union, accountability isn’t just a buzzword we throw around, it’s a live process, happening throughout the year, shaped by you.
Your elected full-time officers don’t just set goals and disappear into strategy documents. They are accountable to students every step of the way.
That’s where Accountability Panels come in.
🧭 What is accountability?
Your elected full-time officers are accountable to you.
Across the year, we hold Accountability Panels, where each officer presents progress against their priorities. These sessions are a space to:
- Share updates on what’s been achieved so far
- Reflect honestly on progress and challenges
- Answer questions from the panel
- Receive constructive feedback and fresh perspectives
It’s not just a progress check. It’s a conversation. One that helps keep officer work grounded in student needs and focused on what matters most to you.
🧑⚖️ Why it matters
These panels are one of the key ways we make sure student leadership stays transparent, responsive, and real.
They ensure:
- Your ideas don’t sit in a vacuum
- Progress is visible, not hidden
- Officers stay focused on delivering meaningful change
- Students remain at the centre of decision-making
In short: it’s where plans meet reality, and where accountability keeps everything moving forward.
📊 What’s been happening: a sneak peek from the panels
Here’s a preview of what’s been discussed in the most recent Accountability Panels. For the full report click here.
👤 President: driving policy, safety, and student voice nationally
Cameron, our President, has worked on local campus impact right through to national policy influence.
🏠 Student housing rights & affordability
Following the success of the Housing (Scotland) Bill campaign, focus has shifted to implementation. The President now sits on:
- The Scottish Parliament PBSA Review Group
- The City of Edinburgh Student Housing Working Group
This ensures student voices continue to shape housing protections and affordability discussions at every level.
🛡️ Reducing gender-based violence
Funding has been secured to introduce a Consent Module into student halls contracts from 2026/27. With over 2,500 rooms in halls, this has the potential to significantly increase engagement with consent education and reporting awareness.
🗳️ 2026 Scottish Parliament Elections
Work is underway on voter engagement, including contribution to the NUS Scotland Student Manifesto and preparation for a large-scale voter registration campaign in March and April. A current student survey is helping shape the approach because the more students who vote, the louder student priorities become in political spaces.
🌟 Other key projects
- S.H.A.G. Week: Over 500 students engaged across campuses, with 94 signing the White Ribbon pledge to challenge violence against women
- Saudi Arabia campus discussions: Student concerns raised in university committees, with ongoing SU involvement secured
- History of the SU project: A researcher has been appointed to preserve and document the Union’s history for future generations
🎓 Vice President Academic: improving learning, feedback, and digital skills
Holly, our VP Academic, has focused on strengthening academic experience through feedback, technology, and teaching access. For the full report, click here.
📝 Improving assignment feedback
Work is underway to improve how students receive and understand feedback, including:
- Development of a Copilot AI agent to support AFP (Action Feedback Protocol) style feedback
- Expansion of Canvas resources
The goal is simple: clearer feedback that genuinely supports academic growth.
🤖 Artificial intelligence (GenAI) in learning
In partnership with Information Services, enhanced GenAI training is being developed. This will be more interactive and student-informed, with student testers helping shape delivery.
This work is designed to improve confidence, broaden skillsets, and support future employability.
🎥 Lecture recordings
A proposal has been developed advocating for lecture recordings as standard practice. It is currently being refined and will be taken forward to the University on 28 April.
🔄 Evolving priorities
Through engagement with Department Officers, academic reps, and student data, priorities have evolved to better reflect student concerns around AI, feedback quality, and employability. This includes a stronger focus on skill development and reducing academic misconduct risks.
💬 What happens next?
Accountability Panels don’t end with a presentation, they feed into the next cycle of action.
Insights from these discussions help officers:
- Refine priorities
- Adjust ongoing campaigns
- Respond to emerging student needs
- Strengthen future planning
It’s a continuous loop: listen, act, reflect, improve.
📣 Want to get involved?
Your voice helps shape what gets discussed, challenged, and prioritised.
If there’s something you want the Union to focus on, campaign for, or change, you can always get involved by contacting Eliot, Student Engagement Coordinator for Campaigns at E.Wooding-Sherwin@hw.ac.uk
Because accountability only works when students are part of it.