Extramural Presidents Blog » Representation

Free Membership: get benefits and support the student voice

ralph — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:29:13 +0000

For the first few months of 2012 membership of EXMSS will be free! If you are enrolled for 2012 I advise you to join EXMSS now. Membership is for the academic year.

EXMSS has been preparing for this transition and has funds to cover the shortfall in 2012. Membership benefits include a super-cheap shuttle service to and from the Manawatu campus, insider knowledge, through the e-zine Off Campus, about what’s going on in the tertiary sector and behind the screens at Massey, access to high-level advocacy support, and the EXMSS scholarships, plus other giveaways.

Become part of the EXMSS community

Members are also supporting a student voice that raises the concerns of distance, part-time and adult students at national level and within Massey. These students, particularly part-timers, are singled out as underachievers by the Government and that needs to stop. Massey is caught in the middle and has effectively been forced to reduce its distant student numbers or risk millions in government funding. All because the Government doesn’t get the role part time study has in our society.

Services delivered to all students will eventually be delivered independently of EXMSS, although during the 2012 transition period some may still be managed by EXMSS.

I am pleased to say that EXMSS has a clear strategic plan, clarity about the services it wishes to provide to its members and good strategies for providing an independent voice for distance and part time students. The first EXMSS media release is taking shape and the details of the great deal in shuttle services will soon emerge. Stay connected and stay strong!

Printed Study Materials – Part Two

ralph — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:44:08 +0000

There has been extensive discussion about the provision of print material, particularly for distance students. On realising that lecturers understanding, students expectations and Massey policy often contradicted each other, Associate Professor Mark Brown, Director: Blended and Distance Education, has clarified the University position and put systems in place for the Contact Centre to deal efficiently with student enquiries. If you have concerns that your request for printed material has not been respected then plese contact the President of EXMSS, your independent representative, at Ralph@exmss.org.nz

Massey Statement – Requesting Printed Study Materials

Printed study guides are available!

Massey University is committed to providing distance students with a rich, digitally mediated learning experience, in keeping with global developments in learning technology. It is rapidly becoming the norm for study materials to be online and for learning to be

interactive and dynamic, displacing static print materials. The benefits of a well-integrated, convenient and portable digital study medium are now widely recognised.

In certain circumstances, however, some students find printed materials preferable. Wherever feasible, Massey University will provide a print version of materials on request. At this time there is no charge for this service. To find out if a paper you want to take has study materials that are suitable for print and can be made available, please ask contact@massey.ac.nz or call 0800MASSEY (0800 627739 or from outside NZ +64 6 350 5701).

Representing Students’ Views to the University

ralph — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:13:04 +0000

Does student representation matter? Does it matter whether there are students involved in decisions about course regulations, the support services offered, or how students receive their coursework?

Massey staff often seek the input and advice of students. They see the need for a student view. Supporting their view, the Government has stipulated in new legislation that students must be involved in decisions about student services. So it seems the answer is yes, it is important to have students involved.

Students need a mechanism for engaging with the University

But what about students? Do they see the need for student representatives to be engaged with the University about issues that affect students? If the University is going to seek student opinion then won’t Massey just ask students when they need too? Isn’t that good enough?

Well, no. It is not good enough for an institution where adults are being taught. Research shows that institutions that engage with students as adults and provide opportunities for students to influence their learning environment rate best for student satisfaction and success.

Feedback that is provided by disparate comments without full understanding of context, and consequences is not student engagement. At worst it can be used to justify institutional goals, at best it will support initiatives that benefit students in an ad hoc manner.

An organised, connected and resourced group of elected students can provide coherent and accurate feedback to the University. Such a group will understand the context of what they are being asked and the impact of what they are saying. This is where students can influence their environment, and prevent student feedback being used for out-of-context purposes.

So it matters that students are involved, but importantly, it matters how they are involved. I will be advocating for a Student Council to be set up for the purpose of representing students to Massey. This body will have representatives elected from the entire student body and will advise Massey on matters that affect students.

It is the student associations that carry the responsibility of moving to a representative system that is not connected to association membership and allows all students to have a voice in their learning environment. This will be a key goal of the President of EXMSS in 2012.

Study Materials Solution

ralph — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:21:24 +0000

What to expect?

Following students concerns about access to printed study material I have brokered a solution with Massey University. The issue is a transition that is not clear to all those involved. The discussion in the Materials and Modes forum suggested that a set of criteria would be applied to the free provision of study material, but as this has not yet been finalised the existing policy stands. The policy states that material essential for course completion must be provided in printed form if the student requests it.

The problem is that not all lecturers are aware of this. If you have a problem with getting hold of printed material, send me an email and I will ensure you receive it post-haste and for free. I am urging the University to clarify this with lecturers so the problem does not become widespread.

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.

Why have Student Representatives?

ralph — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:29:03 +0000

What good do student reps do? A cutting question for a student representative. I expect that students would continue learning regardless of whether or not student representatives exist. But there is a case to be made to support student representation. In a committee today some papers were tabled that changed the learning Outcomes and number and weighting of the paper’s assessment. This is not normally a problem except that the paper was for 2012. Students may have already enrolled. Imagine their surprise when the find out the first assessment is not 10 but 20 per cent of the final grade, and that all the assessments had changes. Imagine their surprise when they learn – perhaps a few weeks into the paper – that the learning outcomes had also changed.

Student Reps support University communication to students

I made the point that students who have enrolled should be notified of the change. This was noted and agreed – the paper cordinator was instructed to ‘make it so’. This point would not have been raised if the student rep had not been at the meeting. This is a small point – but possibly significant to a few students.

At Academic Board the issues are University wide. With the roll-out of the eight year rule communication is again an issue for students. As your representative I have been vocal in my opposition to this regulation and now that it comes to implementation I continue to advocate for students’ interests.

The communication to students, regarding the eight year rule, will be released soon. If it had not been for your student reps this rule may have been more restrictive and the communication a minor detail. Following student rep involvement, I expect a clear explanation of the regulation changes and for the opportunities to negotiate a personal pathway to be included.

Eight Years to Complete Starting 2012

ralph — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:59:26 +0000

Today Academic Committee, a committee of the Board, approved the introduction of the ‘eight years to complete’, ‘award a qualification that a student has not enrolled in’, and ‘complete under current years regulations’ regulations.

The eight years to complete regulation states that students have eight years in which to complete their undergraduate qualification. If they are demonstrating good progress, but have not finished, then after eight years they may be allowed to continue and complete by ‘pathway approval’. If their progress is deemed insufficient then they will be awarded a lower qualification where possible. Progressing from such an awarded qualification requires students to apply for a place again and the student’s academic record will be considered as a part of that place offering. If a student is able to continue the time to complete is prorated down according to the number of credits in the awarded qualification. Note also that if you change from one programme to another, the time spent in the first programme is part of the eight years a student has to complete.

Complete under the current regulations is somewhat self-explanatory. Each year Massey makes changes to the structure and content of qualifications. This regulation states that students must fulfill the requirements of the most current offering, rather than the requirements set out when the student enrolled, in order to complete. The difficulty here exists for students who have been enrolled for some time and the paper offerings that make up the qualification have changed. A student may find that additional compulsory papers are required or that some papers already completed are no longer part of that qualification. I have been assured by Massey that the impact will be minimal. I am not so sure. There will be some students who may be significantly disadvantaged by this rule and I hope that the University can arrange adequate transitional arrangements for them.

These regulations will come into force at the beginning of 2012. Calculation of eight years starts from the beginning of 2012.

I have been vocal in my opposition of these changes. Not only do they represent a significant departure from the traditional Massey principles of accessibility and flexibility, they carry the potential for serious disruption of studies. It should also be noted that it is the Government’s Tertiary Education Strategy that is driving these changes. Please be aware that without the voice of a student representative these rules would be significantly more challenging, particularly for part-time students. If you have any concerns about your situation, now or in the future, then give me a call and we will work together to broker as solution.

What’s the Plan Now We Have VSM?

ralph — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:35:52 +0000

Now that voluntary membership of student associations is in for 2012, what happens? There have been many meetings between the Massey students associations and the University. As early as March students associations looked to define a good systems for representation within the University. The idea, having a method of keeping students in touch with each other and a system where their views and feedback can be heard, got a positive response from University Council. However, how this will look, and what funding can be used, are still unknown.

The truth is, the VSM Bill has arrived at a very difficult time. Student associations can’t ask at enrolment if a student would like to join – enrolment is already open for 2012 and Massey’s enrolment software does not have that functionality. Also, there is no time to discuss what services the students need and want before the summer break. Furthermore, the nature of the services that can be funded has not been clarified by the Government.

Fortunately, Massey has made it clear that it values its student associations. And the Government has made it clear that services should be agreed between students and the institution. So we have the opportunity to present a strategy about how we might offer services and representation in a voluntary environment. The result for EXMSS is a document that describes one way forward: The EXMSS Draft Strategy and Position Document. Now we must consider all of the factors described in this document and negotiate, in partnership with the other associations and Massey, the way forward.

New Constitution Adopted at AGM

ralph — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:18:52 +0000

A revised constitution has been adopted by EXMSS following the AGM. In real terms this means the President will no longer have operational responsibilities from 2012. An operating systems document will be used to maintain policy and procedures and allow the executive group to review areas of operation seen as high risk. Another change in the constitution relates to the executive structure. The total number of executive members has been reduced and now includes representation from the volunteer network, the EXMSS Area Reps.

Not a big crowd at the AGM

Further changes may need to be made when the membership structure is finalised. The next year will contain an extensive period of engagement with members to determine the preferred way in which EXMSS can continue to speak on behalf of distance students and be involved in the delivery of services.

It was good to see a positive finacial perfomance from EXMSS in 2010, pleasing to be able to announce the set-up of the Extramural Student Support Trust and very good to see the first changes in a decade to the constitution.

Thank you to those who attended; we do struggle to get members to attend. The event was well publicised on campus but students are focussed on their studies when on campus and this appears to be a barrier to attending a lunch-time meeting. EXMSS will undertake to hold its AGM via a web-cast next year to encourage more member involvement.

EXMSS supporting Maori Students

ralph — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:23:28 +0000

The student associations EXMSS and Manawatahi have many common interests. Indeed, Manawatahi recognises distance students as members. A shared goal is to support and promote engagement with wider issues. To this end EXMSS sponsored the travel costs of Manawatahi to attent the Te Mana Akonga Te huinga tauira, held in Auckland early in September.

It is a pleasure to support an active and engaged group of students who seek to improve things going forward. It sounds like the hui was a success and the national voice of Maori students is clear and united under the direction of tumuaki Jacqueline Poutu and the TMA Kaiarahi.