Massey University Extramural Community

It came as a shock even though the signs were there. I feel more could have been done to prevent this from happening and more could have been done to advise students in a more timely way. That said it is clearly the Government’s Tertiary Education Strategy (TES) that has closed Massey’s doors this summer. (There [...]

I have had the opportunity to present our Societies case to the Select Committee. The presentation went well. I was disappointed with the lack of questions following the presentation. Does that mean they have come to conclusions already? Perhaps the presentation was tight enough that no questions arose? You can be the judge of that. The [...]

Manawatahi, the Palmerston North based Student Association that supports and advocates for Maori students, and EXMSS are working towards sharing their skills. EXMSS is keen for assistance with Maori protocol and getting in touch with Maori extramural students, Manawatahi is interested in support for their emerging operational and governance structures. By signing a Memorandum of Understanding today both [...]

In line with expectations of Government, Massey is introducing a program of monitoring students academic achievement. This scheme intends to encourage students in their studies and provide guidance and timely support to students who are struggling academically. There are three key reasons for the introduction of the monitoring scheme. Firstly, it is about improving student [...]

Massey and other universities around New Zealand are being forced to introduce regulations that deliver on the Governments Tertiary Education Strategy . Forced because some institutions would prefer to maintain a student body that reflects New Zealand’s education needs, not some reactive strategy that fails to understand educations role in society and economic recovery . The govenment, not satisfied with [...]

Over the last few weeks I have been focusing my representational work on the issue of access and the issue of quality of provision. These two areas have the potential to affect many extramural students over the next few years. The access issue has been discussed before ( Limited Extramural Places ) but there has been more discussion in [...]

I have been listening to submissions regarding the compulsory nature of student association membership. It is clear that a minority group of students are not keen to pay for services that they do not use. These students are independent learners with support systems in place and no financial hardship issues. Lucky them. This group sees no [...]

  With completion rates now being used to judge performance and extramural students predominantly part-time and potentially entering with no formal qualifications it is not unreasonable for Massey to think hard about the place of extramural study in their curriculum. Massey is committed to ‘distance provision’ but with limited spaces it must be asked; what and where do [...]

What a fantastic week. Beyond the Walls exhibition , the EXMSS Graduation Dinner, all those ceremonies and the fantastic graduates. That will be you one day; a graduate. Perhaps you have already done the walk and are going again. Highlights – Maori Graduation Ceremony , extramural artwork and the students stories at the EXMSS graduation dinner. A lot goes [...]

  After attending the DEANZ conference in 2008 and commenting on the lack of a learner voice I was invited to speak at the 2010 conference. The topic I chose focussed on the relationship students have with their institution and matching student expectations with institution capability. My comments were well received with the keynote speaker, Liz Burge , [...]

The Tertiary Education Minister, Stephen Joyce, recently alluded to changes for the Student Loan Scheme in the May budget. The most contentious of these for full-time students is the lifetime cap on the number of years you can take out a student loan. 6-7 years has been suggested as all a student needs for loan access. [...]

I was impressed with the number of students who attended our Special General Meeting this week. Agenda items were the ratifying of previous years accounts and annual report as well as a discussion forum on topics that are affecting extramural students. Discussion topics were digitization, the cost of study and barriers to study. I have [...]