Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Sunday, 22 April 2012
My Hopes for #NUSNC12 - Lessons from NUS Women’s Campaign Conference
NUS Women’s Campaign Conference was held last month in Leeds. This is only a short post, but I wanted to articulate my thoughts regarding how the lessons learnt at Women’s Conference can be applied to National Conference.
There is no static stage in life that can predict when someone will embrace feminism, nor when a student is likely to engage with the women’s movement. Every delegate was at a different stage of discovering their own politics, values and beliefs. More experienced activists (the hacks) can sometimes forget that they themselves have been on a journey to their current stage, with their politics and thoughts moulded accordingly by their life experiences.
We forget, to our detriment, that there are students who are yet to discover and question the plethora of issues out there. On a personal level, at this conference I learned about the issue of women sex workers. While I was previously aware of this issue, my knowledge was seriously lacking. At National Conference, we need to ensure this space for discovery, not only encouraging the spread of knowledge, but by actively facilitating the education of delegates.
Respect is key to a successful Conference. All policy submitted to Women’s Conference was passed, with numerous parts debated and discussed. Those speaking against what seem liked non-contentious motions were given the appropriate forum in which to speak. There was no booing, hissing or tutting, nor shouting of ‘shame’ when a delegate got up to speak, a culture I have had the misfortune to observe at previous National Conferences. Rather than an environment of ‘sit down and shut up’, the general approach to Women’s Conference was to optimistically consider what each delegate had to contribute to the debate.
I hope that for old and new delegates alike, we can create the same empowering and friendly atmosphere at National Conference.
Conference should be an environment of mutual respect and tolerance, and as a community we need to focus on facilitating an atmosphere where questions and debate are encouraged.
There is no static stage in life that can predict when someone will embrace feminism, nor when a student is likely to engage with the women’s movement. Every delegate was at a different stage of discovering their own politics, values and beliefs. More experienced activists (the hacks) can sometimes forget that they themselves have been on a journey to their current stage, with their politics and thoughts moulded accordingly by their life experiences.
We forget, to our detriment, that there are students who are yet to discover and question the plethora of issues out there. On a personal level, at this conference I learned about the issue of women sex workers. While I was previously aware of this issue, my knowledge was seriously lacking. At National Conference, we need to ensure this space for discovery, not only encouraging the spread of knowledge, but by actively facilitating the education of delegates.
Respect is key to a successful Conference. All policy submitted to Women’s Conference was passed, with numerous parts debated and discussed. Those speaking against what seem liked non-contentious motions were given the appropriate forum in which to speak. There was no booing, hissing or tutting, nor shouting of ‘shame’ when a delegate got up to speak, a culture I have had the misfortune to observe at previous National Conferences. Rather than an environment of ‘sit down and shut up’, the general approach to Women’s Conference was to optimistically consider what each delegate had to contribute to the debate.
I hope that for old and new delegates alike, we can create the same empowering and friendly atmosphere at National Conference.
Conference should be an environment of mutual respect and tolerance, and as a community we need to focus on facilitating an atmosphere where questions and debate are encouraged.
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Public Good of Higher Education
According to data published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families in 2007, one in six children starting school are unable to write their own name or say the alphabet. Unsurprisingly, the same data showed that there was a huge gap in literacy between children in poor areas, compared to those from middleclass families. This difficultly with literacy carries through to adulthood where, according to the National Literacy Trust, one in six people in the UK today find literacy a real struggle.
For one in six people in the UK, understanding a train timetable, reading a newspaper or helping their children with homework is a difficult task.
There is a very obvious link between literacy and social mobility - between education and the ability to achieve a sufficient and dignified standard of living. Education transforms people lives, allowing them to thrive and make life choices based on skill and aspiration.
The changes that have been made to Higher Education over the last decade are an attack on the transformational potential of education.
From £1000, to £3000, to £9000 fees; an 80% cut to the teaching budget, when the UK spend on higher education was already the second lowest in the OECD; a cut to EMA; opening of the door for private profit-driven universities; these are polices that attack the fundamental idea in equality of opportunity for education. Policies made in the excuse of austerity. Policies that deepen the divide between rich and poor. Policies that prevent people from determining their own futures.
We realised on 9th December 2010, when £9k fees passed in Parliament, that the narrative around the public good of higher education was eroding, to such an extent, that the government was able to remove almost all public funding from the sector. I fear that in five years time students and society will have forgotten that there was even a debate to be had about the public value of HE.
It is frightening that government has decreed that only the courses they deem to have commercial value – only STEM subjects – are deserving of public funding. If we cannot convince society that higher education is a public good, we can forget about winning back public funding, stopping the growth of private provision, keeping a cap, preventing upfront fees or ever achieving a progressive and accessible system of funding.
The student movement has always known that education is a social leveller. We know it creates growth in the economy: society looks to innovation for a better future. But Universities have failed to understand, failed to evidence and failed to tell a compelling story about their own public value. So if Universities have failed to make the case, and if Government denies that case, we have to. And we have to start now.
Together we need to create a UK-wide campaign on the public good of education. Not just a campaign for universities, but the education sector as a whole – a broad and unified movement, articulating our vision for education – for access at all ages, for real choice, an end to marketisation, for the reinstatement of EMA and public investment. We need a national demonstration, local action, and a new generation of education advocates to win guarantees from all political parties to reinvest funding back into our most precious gift - education.
For one in six people in the UK, understanding a train timetable, reading a newspaper or helping their children with homework is a difficult task.
There is a very obvious link between literacy and social mobility - between education and the ability to achieve a sufficient and dignified standard of living. Education transforms people lives, allowing them to thrive and make life choices based on skill and aspiration.
The changes that have been made to Higher Education over the last decade are an attack on the transformational potential of education.
From £1000, to £3000, to £9000 fees; an 80% cut to the teaching budget, when the UK spend on higher education was already the second lowest in the OECD; a cut to EMA; opening of the door for private profit-driven universities; these are polices that attack the fundamental idea in equality of opportunity for education. Policies made in the excuse of austerity. Policies that deepen the divide between rich and poor. Policies that prevent people from determining their own futures.
We realised on 9th December 2010, when £9k fees passed in Parliament, that the narrative around the public good of higher education was eroding, to such an extent, that the government was able to remove almost all public funding from the sector. I fear that in five years time students and society will have forgotten that there was even a debate to be had about the public value of HE.
It is frightening that government has decreed that only the courses they deem to have commercial value – only STEM subjects – are deserving of public funding. If we cannot convince society that higher education is a public good, we can forget about winning back public funding, stopping the growth of private provision, keeping a cap, preventing upfront fees or ever achieving a progressive and accessible system of funding.
The student movement has always known that education is a social leveller. We know it creates growth in the economy: society looks to innovation for a better future. But Universities have failed to understand, failed to evidence and failed to tell a compelling story about their own public value. So if Universities have failed to make the case, and if Government denies that case, we have to. And we have to start now.
Together we need to create a UK-wide campaign on the public good of education. Not just a campaign for universities, but the education sector as a whole – a broad and unified movement, articulating our vision for education – for access at all ages, for real choice, an end to marketisation, for the reinstatement of EMA and public investment. We need a national demonstration, local action, and a new generation of education advocates to win guarantees from all political parties to reinvest funding back into our most precious gift - education.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Thriving at University - Mature and Part-time Students
I am a strong believer that it is not sufficient to simply ‘survive’
at university. Every student
deserves the opportunity to thrive, irrelevant of their social capital:
finances, educational background and parental support. Every student should
have the ability to get the most out of their student experience. So in
addition to a degree education, universities should ensure students have access
to academic support and representation, course materials, career and
employability training and so on. Further to this, what a student can learn
during their time at university is not merely limited to a degree. We all
know that extra curricular activities, activism and sports all have their own
educational values, and are fundamental to the university experience.
A student’s integration into university life is key when you consider the issue of retention (students leaving university during their degree programme). Therein lies a key issue; which of our students are merely surviving at university? Which students are unable to integrate, unable to thrive, and unable to make the most of their university experience?
Retention is an issue that NUS has to tackle. The government has shown an inability to recognise the issue, instead referring to a consumer model whereby students, unhappy with their degree provision, simply swap universities. In reality however, anyone who has ever tried will know how difficult it is to switch courses within your own institution, let alone switch universities. This reaction completely misses the nuance of the situation – to suggest that most students are able to simply pick themselves up and move somewhere new is optimistic at best, and frighteningly naive at worst. If universities are failing to support students throughout the entirety of their degree, changing universities is a useless measure, where simply surviving university is the issue.
The best way to demonstrate the problem with retention is to examine the ‘student life cycle’ of different students. The aim should be to highlight the most severe points of stress for students throughout the many changes that occur during the university experience, from application through to graduation and the search for employment. By identifying these tensions, students’ unions and universities will be able to offer specific and tailored support, to ensure that every student is given the opportunity to thrive at university.
For this blog piece, I’ve worked with Fiona Wood, the mature and part-time students representative on the NUS National Executive Council, to examine specifically some of the issues faced by mature and part-time students.
Application
Mature students may not have the support of a school or college in the application process, which can create difficulties regarding completion of the UCAS form, paying for the application or applying directly to the institution. Students may face difficulties if they are applying with vocational qualifications or without current academic qualifications or without any formal qualifications. How are we helping students to translate their grade or experience into current qualifications? What support are we offering in the application process? If widening participation to HE is to be effective, we have to support all elements of our communities wishing to access HE, and this requires us to look beyond traditional applications from schools and colleges, to applications from all ages, and all backgrounds.
Induction
We need to consider how to best support students who have been out of the formal educational process for a significant amount of time, or have little experience of the tertiary education experience. Universities should be clearly defining the expectations they have of students, and allowing students to set their own expectations, as soon as students arrive on campus. This will help to create the expectation of a community of learners, staff and students, who will come together to create knowledge, an expectation of participation and support.
Mature students may not be as computer literate as recent school leavers, who have been taught IT as a formal part of the school curriculum. Universities may need to provide IT support, particularly when you consider just how important access to electronic learning materials are. With issue like this in mind, induction needs to be focused and specific for different groups of students, and in order to be really effective, support needs to be constant and not limited to the initial few weeks of the first year, where it can seem daunting and overwhelming.
Learning and support
Access to, and the structure of timetables, can create serious issues for mature and part-time students. Currently universities will allow students to enrol in a degree program part-time, but will fail to take part-time students into consideration, scheduling classes during inconvenient times throughout the course of the week rather than over a single day, and failing to consider caring responsibilities during school half terms. This can make it impossible for students to continue work during a part-time degree, and can interfere negatively with family commitments. NUS needs a better understanding of flexible degree provision, and the advantages and disadvantages it creates for different students, so that we are enabled to lobby for real support.
This issue is not limited purely to class times, but also in the provision of library services, access to electronic resources, personal tutor hours, university counselling services, nursery hours, and so on. Student unions should also be aware of this issue in the provision of their services; can mature and part-time students access academic representation and academic advice out of the typical working day?
Extra curricular
There is the obvious and very real issue of hidden course costs relating to your university degree, but this is not limited to academic costs. Many extra curricular activities create a financial burden on students; uniforms for sports clubs, joining fees for societies, transport for volunteering activity. Just as with retention, these hidden costs are exclusionary to students from a less privileged background, or those with other financial responsibilities. Access is also dependent on the hours of the activity, and the attitudes the organisers to accommodate children, or to those wishing to dip in and out of activity. A block to access on extra-circular activities will have a long-term negative effect on our members. This applies not only to those who are prevented from participating due to the inaccessibility, but also for those who are able to participate but who as a result miss the opportunity to associate with students from a different backgrounds due to the resulting social divide.
Examinations and Assessments
Currently universities are rigid when imposing examination timetables, and rarely allow for flexibility. They provide assessment dates late, with little notice before exams, preventing long-term planning and failing to understand that students may need to book time off work, or cover caring responsibilities. Given that by their nature, exams can be difficult to timetable with flexibility universities should look to help students with any issues they face, such as providing or covering the cost of childcare. Universities should be made aware of these issues and lobbied to provide term dates with sufficient notice.
Graduation
The high cost and timing of gradation ceremonies is not sufficiently accessible to all students. Universities should look to becoming more flexible in timetabling, with the option of evening graduation ceremonies made available.
The support provided throughout university, should not end at graduation. Creating and maintaining networks of students and alumni is a great way of inspiring students with similar backgrounds or responsibilities and ensuring they feel understood and supported. Careers advice should continue to be made available after graduation, particularly now, in a climate of record high youth unemployment.
Its quite clear that if we begin to tackle the issues that affect mature and part-times students, we will create a positive impact for other students – international students, student parents, in fact any one who we don’t consider a ‘traditional’ student.
A culture shift in the way we think about non-traditional students will permeate not just how we ‘do’ representation and engagement, but will change the attitudes and daily practise of students’ union and university staff. As a result, non-traditional students will no longer be seen as the exception, in need of extra support; they’ll be an equal part of the university community, respected and empowered to make the very most of their experience.
Rachel x
If you have any questions on this blog, or on the rest of my manifesto, please don't hesitate to contact me on rachel.wenstone@nus.org.uk
A student’s integration into university life is key when you consider the issue of retention (students leaving university during their degree programme). Therein lies a key issue; which of our students are merely surviving at university? Which students are unable to integrate, unable to thrive, and unable to make the most of their university experience?
Retention is an issue that NUS has to tackle. The government has shown an inability to recognise the issue, instead referring to a consumer model whereby students, unhappy with their degree provision, simply swap universities. In reality however, anyone who has ever tried will know how difficult it is to switch courses within your own institution, let alone switch universities. This reaction completely misses the nuance of the situation – to suggest that most students are able to simply pick themselves up and move somewhere new is optimistic at best, and frighteningly naive at worst. If universities are failing to support students throughout the entirety of their degree, changing universities is a useless measure, where simply surviving university is the issue.
The best way to demonstrate the problem with retention is to examine the ‘student life cycle’ of different students. The aim should be to highlight the most severe points of stress for students throughout the many changes that occur during the university experience, from application through to graduation and the search for employment. By identifying these tensions, students’ unions and universities will be able to offer specific and tailored support, to ensure that every student is given the opportunity to thrive at university.
For this blog piece, I’ve worked with Fiona Wood, the mature and part-time students representative on the NUS National Executive Council, to examine specifically some of the issues faced by mature and part-time students.
Application
Mature students may not have the support of a school or college in the application process, which can create difficulties regarding completion of the UCAS form, paying for the application or applying directly to the institution. Students may face difficulties if they are applying with vocational qualifications or without current academic qualifications or without any formal qualifications. How are we helping students to translate their grade or experience into current qualifications? What support are we offering in the application process? If widening participation to HE is to be effective, we have to support all elements of our communities wishing to access HE, and this requires us to look beyond traditional applications from schools and colleges, to applications from all ages, and all backgrounds.
Induction
We need to consider how to best support students who have been out of the formal educational process for a significant amount of time, or have little experience of the tertiary education experience. Universities should be clearly defining the expectations they have of students, and allowing students to set their own expectations, as soon as students arrive on campus. This will help to create the expectation of a community of learners, staff and students, who will come together to create knowledge, an expectation of participation and support.
Mature students may not be as computer literate as recent school leavers, who have been taught IT as a formal part of the school curriculum. Universities may need to provide IT support, particularly when you consider just how important access to electronic learning materials are. With issue like this in mind, induction needs to be focused and specific for different groups of students, and in order to be really effective, support needs to be constant and not limited to the initial few weeks of the first year, where it can seem daunting and overwhelming.
Learning and support
Access to, and the structure of timetables, can create serious issues for mature and part-time students. Currently universities will allow students to enrol in a degree program part-time, but will fail to take part-time students into consideration, scheduling classes during inconvenient times throughout the course of the week rather than over a single day, and failing to consider caring responsibilities during school half terms. This can make it impossible for students to continue work during a part-time degree, and can interfere negatively with family commitments. NUS needs a better understanding of flexible degree provision, and the advantages and disadvantages it creates for different students, so that we are enabled to lobby for real support.
This issue is not limited purely to class times, but also in the provision of library services, access to electronic resources, personal tutor hours, university counselling services, nursery hours, and so on. Student unions should also be aware of this issue in the provision of their services; can mature and part-time students access academic representation and academic advice out of the typical working day?
Extra curricular
There is the obvious and very real issue of hidden course costs relating to your university degree, but this is not limited to academic costs. Many extra curricular activities create a financial burden on students; uniforms for sports clubs, joining fees for societies, transport for volunteering activity. Just as with retention, these hidden costs are exclusionary to students from a less privileged background, or those with other financial responsibilities. Access is also dependent on the hours of the activity, and the attitudes the organisers to accommodate children, or to those wishing to dip in and out of activity. A block to access on extra-circular activities will have a long-term negative effect on our members. This applies not only to those who are prevented from participating due to the inaccessibility, but also for those who are able to participate but who as a result miss the opportunity to associate with students from a different backgrounds due to the resulting social divide.
Examinations and Assessments
Currently universities are rigid when imposing examination timetables, and rarely allow for flexibility. They provide assessment dates late, with little notice before exams, preventing long-term planning and failing to understand that students may need to book time off work, or cover caring responsibilities. Given that by their nature, exams can be difficult to timetable with flexibility universities should look to help students with any issues they face, such as providing or covering the cost of childcare. Universities should be made aware of these issues and lobbied to provide term dates with sufficient notice.
Graduation
The high cost and timing of gradation ceremonies is not sufficiently accessible to all students. Universities should look to becoming more flexible in timetabling, with the option of evening graduation ceremonies made available.
The support provided throughout university, should not end at graduation. Creating and maintaining networks of students and alumni is a great way of inspiring students with similar backgrounds or responsibilities and ensuring they feel understood and supported. Careers advice should continue to be made available after graduation, particularly now, in a climate of record high youth unemployment.
Its quite clear that if we begin to tackle the issues that affect mature and part-times students, we will create a positive impact for other students – international students, student parents, in fact any one who we don’t consider a ‘traditional’ student.
A culture shift in the way we think about non-traditional students will permeate not just how we ‘do’ representation and engagement, but will change the attitudes and daily practise of students’ union and university staff. As a result, non-traditional students will no longer be seen as the exception, in need of extra support; they’ll be an equal part of the university community, respected and empowered to make the very most of their experience.
Rachel x
If you have any questions on this blog, or on the rest of my manifesto, please don't hesitate to contact me on rachel.wenstone@nus.org.uk
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Welcome
Coming soon...
In the coming weeks/months I will be posting blogs here, so please check back soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)