Extramural President's Blog » Contact Courses

Absolutely Compulsory Contact Courses

ralph — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:34:14 +0000

For a start, Absolutely Compulsory is silly; it’s either compulsory or its not. The terminology needs to change for clarity, and this is what Massey is doing. Their recommendation is two categories: Compulsory and Recommended. This proposal also offers an opportunity to consider the purpose of contact courses in distance education

Wake up! Arn't you meant to be at a contact course?

If a contact course is truly compulsory there are consequences: a reduced pool of students willing to take the paper, the need to make the contact course academically essential, and the impact on students’ lives.

Accessibility, the mantra of distance education, should be a key principle on which academic delivery and support are based. Modern distance students are busy people. They are often in a life-transition period where finances are difficult or they have family responsibilities. So accessibility for a distance student means low cost and low impact on routine.

Massey is known for its quality distance provision, so compulsory contact courses that deliver essential learning are important. Students also need to be confident that compulsory contact courses are essential for the learning required. So what are recommended contact courses for, enhancing learning for those who can make it? On the face of it this seems reasonable.

Getting students together to meet is not a reason to have a compulsory contact course. So it must be clear to lecturers that a compulsory contact course must satisfy certain criteria, for example:

The contact course must be essential for the pedagogy – the process of learning – that the paper requires
There should be no exemptions
The contact course should not be able to be reproduced on Stream or the web
The contact course must be fully integrated into the course delivery

The acid test is this – is this contact course environment essential for the process of learning, and can this learning not be reproduced in a web environment?”

I would like to think that there are relatively few contact courses that satisfy this mandate. Creative Processes is one, as may be a Drama paper. If hands-on experience is needed in a laboratory environment then that would qualify.

For students, fewer compulsory contact courses would be better, but will this mean recommended contact course become the norm? With recommended contact courses students will need to be told that attendance will provide advantages, but none that are essential to course completion. For lecturers it may seem inefficient to be delivering to only a portion of the students, and they would likely put the material on the web for all students. So how many students will turn up to a ‘recommended’ contact course?

It seems to me that you either have a contact course or you do not. And if a course controller wishes to run a compulsory contact course they would need to demonstrate its essential nature to someone other than their own department – as well as the students who attend.

So that’s sorted then.

Implementation of the Eight Year Rule

ralph — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:38:26 +0000

Following my comments at Massey’s Academic Board it was noted that the Eight Year Rule regulation could disadvantage traditional distance learners. It was agreed that communication to students of the rational for this regulation should be clear and immediate. Furthermore, the provision of negotiated pathways should be highlighted. Without a student voice in this process, not only would this regulation be harsher but I feel the communication to students would have been less complete.

You would have received this communication by now. Supporting material has been placed on the Massey site here. It is in this material on-line that the language becomes more difficult for students. Students are expected to “choose pathways that articulate into one another and thereby include completion milestones en-route to a final study destination.” What this means is that students may be required to graduate with a diploma if they are not going to complete their Bachelors in eight years. They can then go on to complete the Bachelors if Massey offers them a further place.

As well as being involved in this discussion, as your student representative I have been placing students first in discussions about;

Applied learning – integrating work experience into tuition
The role of contact courses
The provision of printed vs digital material to students
Guidelines for teaching hours
Plagiarism database and disciplinary regulations
Grievance database and grievance processes
Student survey framework
Failure of students to engage in coursework pilot process
Academic reform process

Each of these areas needs student input to ensure Massey keeps its most important stakeholder at the forefront of their thinking. The voice I supply is appreciated by Massey, particularly those staff who have teaching and learning, rather than financial operations and compliance, as their primary concern.

The VC’s Student Forum

ralph — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:01:44 +0000

Described as the place to get answers, the 2011 VC’s Student Forum has been very useful for getting a sense of where the University is going, and what the changes Massey is making mean for students. The Forum was captured on video. To that end the Vice Chancellor, Steve Maharey, was invited to give his take on the tertiary environment and discuss related changes Massey is undergoing. Maharey explained the struggle for funding, mentioning the upcoming pay bargaining round for Massey staff as one of the factors needing attention as Massey seeks to balance its books. Maharey took time to explain that Massey is a lean organisation and that student fee increases are not for creating a comfort zone for management. In 2010 Massey’s profit of 2.1% did not meet the Government expectation of 3%.

Vice Chancellor Steve Maharey

Indeed, the tertiary sector is being driven towards a model of efficiency. The Government is aiming for graduate numbers 20% higher in 2013 than in the 2000’s. However, this does not mean more money for Universities, in real terms funding is declining. You can read more about sector issues in the excellent MUSA/EXMSS article, Turning the Tide: How Best to Buoy a Drowning Tertiary Sector.

Maharey went on to explain that within this highly threatening environment the University itself has a very clear plan, including digitization, providing professional development courses, and reforming Massey’s academic portfolio; meaning what is to be taught. This is in balance with initiatives in generating research income and a comparatively reserved marketing budget, Maharey stating that Massey prefers to spend money on real activities and real things like staff development and buildings.

The Student’s Questions

Will hard copy study notes cost students in the future? Massey is looking to work towards a digital environment. No date has been set for full digitization. Currently the University offers hard copy for free. It was suggested that the Assistant Vice Chancellor (Academic) may provide further information.

What is the future of contact courses? Technology is providing opportunities for change. Students will drive change through their engagement and feedback. Lecturers are free to respond to student and teaching needs, so where there is a need there is likely to be contact courses continuing.

Does the University intend to provide video lectures? If the lecturer sees a need for video material that supports their teaching and learning then they are free to explore that avenue. Currently there is no dedicated resource or strategy for video lectures.

Will the University support an independent advocacy service if, under VSM, the student associations are unable to provide this service universally? The difficulty is in Massey providing support for advocacy that is potentially against itself. The University would like to see an independent advocacy service continue under VSM but the money must come from students, and willingly. How this can be done is something that needs to be worked out between student associations and the University. At this stage there is no guarantee of an independent advocacy service continuing under VSM.

What is the eight year rule? This proposed rule defines a maximum of eight years to complete a Massey qualification where completion times are not already described. This is being introduced to improve completion figures and to impress on students the importance of progression. The move is being made in response to the Government focus on completions.

What changes are being made to enrolment processes? Enrolments dates will be brought forward and some courses will be capped. The criteria for enrolment is changing to attend to the Governments priorities. New software seeks to be more useful for students as well as providing the information for the TEC.

Will the summer school enrolments be capped? Last years reactions to the Government’s capped environment are behind us. For Massey the task of restricting enrolment has been difficult. Distance student numbers will continue to reduce. However, the process in 2011 is clearer and there will not be a cap on summer school although courses in the summer semester may change to fit with strategic needs.

How will Massey deal with peak load issues of library space and parking? This is a shared issue, other Universities offer space to Massey students and students from, say, Auckland or AUT, use Massey facilities. There is no easy solution but Massey is aware of the problem, especially at Albany.

How engaged are students in the wider issues, such as student services and government priorities? Students worldwide have never been that focussed on issues outside of their daily life and study. It is only in an immediate crisis that students get fully involved. It is not apathy or disinterest, it is busy people focussed on other concerns.

Is Massey prepared for natural disasters? In short, yes. But there is always room for reviewing our systems. For distance students the regional support proved its effectiveness during the Christchurch earthquakes.

Are international student numbers going to increase at Massey? The government is pushing very hard in this area and have made their expectations of improved performance clear. There is room for more international students at Massey.

Can international fees be grand-parented? Without financial information a decision cannot be made. However, discussion of the grand-parenting option will continue and be settled.

Will mature students, through government policy direction, be prevented from studying at university? An alarming trend seems to be the reduction of support for adult students. Some policies may have little impact but the trend is concerning. Massey will continue to lobby for life-long learning.

With Albany non-tuition fees proportionally high, is the University planning on reducing them over time of prorating them for part time students? In short, no. The mechanism for discussion is the fee setting process, but it should be noted that the Albany Student Association engaged with students and supported the building levy initiative. The solution may be in increasing student numbers on the Albany campus which would spread the cost of the new Student Amenities building.

What is likely regarding fee rises for 2012? There will be an increase in tuition fees. For student service levies there is a connection with the VSM legislation currently before the house. The final fee will be decided through a process of engagement and alignment with the principles of fee setting. The fees decision will be made at the September 1^st meeting of the Massey Council.

Not all questions were able to be asked in the Forum. The following questions have been sent on to the Vice Chancellor and the responses will be posted here.

Is there an option of a student area at Massey Wellington that is not the common rooms? A place where we can chill out, with some games, magazines and maybe some music that’s for students? Over exam week there was something in the Pyramid – can that be done again? Tussock and the common rooms do not have a student feel – most students feel that it’s more corporate and for more mature staff and students.

Should Massey sports teams across the country have some kind of national competition, maybe play against each other to help grow sports teams? Would Massey support this?

When will the Wellington campus library be upgraded?

What consideration has been given to older students who have challenges reading a screen as opposed to hard copy? I am concerned for a number of students with less than 20/20 eyesight their difficulty at reading screens and not receiving hard copy

Will student magazines be supported if associations disappear? Which student magazine do you think is the best across the campus’.

A lecturer has mentioned a Plagiarism database that record students who plagiarize. Is this a new system? What does it mean for students?

Study Materials and Modes

ralph — Thu, 26 May 2011 01:36:54 +0000

I have recently been involved in discussions about how Massey can improve the information for students around what to expect from a paper and how it willbe delivered. This is part of Massey’s drive to continually improve the student experience. This may seem a small issue but imbedded in this discussion has been support for minimum standards for Stream sites. E-submission of assignments and student forums are among the things I support as being mandatory. I was also vocal in suggesting paper outlines include not only learning outcomes and content, but the descriptions of the style of delivery: how much is webbased, is there group work and what sort of study material will be provided.
Recommendations from the group include a suggestion that the student workload calculator (a university endorsed tool) be applied to all papers and that agreed principles be used to guide the need for contact courses. If these recommendations are picked up there will be improved clarity for students regarding what they are spending their money on. Additionally workloads will not fluctuate between papers and contact courses will be necessary and valuable every time.

I will follow and support the progress of these initiatives as your student representative on campus.

The Many Guises of Increasing Costs

ralph — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:52:31 +0000

Hard copy is important at contact courses

It is going to get more expensive to study. It’s not just the fees that hit students hard. Students won’t receive a tax break or increase in Super. Instead they will get hit from all directions with any GST rise. The cost of papers will go up 2.5%. The cost of travel, accommodation and text books will all increase, not to mention the items of daily life - like food. There are two issues I can take to the university here: one is digitization of study material and the other focuses on contact courses.

Digitization of study material has the potential to cost students. For some it is a blessing for others a hassle and a cost. I will be lobbying Massey to provide choice. “Would you like digital or not?” should be a key question asked of students. Ideally the costs should remain in the students control regarding printed material.

The second area is some sort of regulation regarding contact courses. Currently there are extramural papers that require four visits to Albany campus – the reason they need this is because the website is a simple blog with no forums or discussion available. Not good enough! Stream the site and halve the contact courses. I will be bringing this up with Massey management to see if we can get some traction on providing course controllers with clear policies for contact courses that fit with student’s reality. Your comments assist with this so let me know what you think.