Extramural Presidents Blog » students

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.

Palmerston North Graduation Celebrations

ralph — Mon, 16 May 2011 03:27:22 +0000

We have just completed a fantastic week of celebration of our graduates. For those of us studying this is something to be excited about. Your time will come. You will be capped and have the chance to celebrate with a march though the town and at a delightful dinner with your peers and those who helped you complete your degree.

The EXMSS Grad Dinner at Wharerata

The EXMSS Graduation Dinner is a fine affair with the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor attending, as well as many of the key people who provide essential services at the University; library, teaching and learning support staff. Also attending are numerous academics and importantly the families and friends of the graduates. As in past years this years EXMSS Graduation Dinner focused on the graduates. After we had been entertained by Jacqueline Rowarth (Massey Communicator and FedFarm Personality of the year) we got to hear from the graduates. Each graduate has a story to tell, each story was as riveting as the last and each seemed to find some common ground with the others. We will produce a video and make that available but there is no substitute for the real thing. For those studying – keep going the rewards are great. For the staff and academics that make the journey possible – thank you for doing what you do.

Financial Support for Quake Hardship

ralph — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:36:43 +0000

EXMSS is proud to announce the creation of a $10,000 student support fund specifically for those Massey students who have been affected by the Christchurch earthquake. This is a shared initiative with both the Extramural Society and Massey University pledging up to $5,000 to help these students get back on track. Awards will be made through the existing Student Assistance Programme which is administered by EXMSS. Email Anne@exmss.org.nz or connect to http://exmss.org/services/hardship-assistance/ for more information. I personally would like to thank the University for their contribution to this fund which is one of many support initiatives Massey has actioned this week.

Canterbury students requiring financial support to assist them in their pursuit of study. Contact Anne@exmss.org.nz or check our website www.exmss.org . The criteria for awards may differ slightly from that indicated in the standard SAP forms.

TEC Performance Information is a crock

ralph — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:07:47 +0000

Why don't they get it?

Massey University extramural students are infuriated by the Government’s continuing attack on part time studies.

Performance information published by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) is misleading and favours institutions that focus on full time internal students. Massey, with its large part time extramural cohort, is being penalised for providing education to those balancing study with work, parenting and financial pressures.

“The government has lost the plot when it comes to the value of part time study,” says Ralph Springett, President of the Massey University Extramural Students’ Society. “It is ridiculous that students who avoid taking a student loan and work productively are the ones singled out as non performers.”

With performance information linked to funding, the pressure will now be on for Massey to reduce its risk around part time learners. This can be achieved by providing more support for students or reducing the number of part time students – as happened when Massey’s summer school abruptly closed enrolments in August.

“These figures are not useful for students as Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce has suggested. They mislead and confuse.

“While the TEC has stated that low completion does not mean the provider was poor, that context will not be obvious to students. The information only serves funding purposes,” says Mr Springett.

Linking performance with funding is a driver for student service levy increases. Student services are a key tool in improving completions and institutions now have a clear incentive to increase these costs. In the last two years Massey University has increased its student services levy by 300% in order to provide better support for students in the absence of adequate government funding.

Stephen Joyce on Q+A discussing student loans and completion rates.

“It appears as if the government has not thought this through at all,” says Mr Springett. “We now have a tertiary system that cannot contain its rising fees, fails to offer students any meaningful information about the sector, cannot provide the courses it advertises at the start of the year and does not value the lowest-public-cost form of education. Shame on you, Minister Joyce.”

Normalisation of Debt

ralph — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:06:37 +0000

When I was a kid I had to save up for something before I could buy it. Why? Because my parents said so. Later in life, when it came to buying a house, I had to save for a deposit. Not only that, I had to be choosy about my first home – nothing grand, I didn’t have the cash.

Things have changed. New Zealand’s youth are being told something different, and not only from their parents. The business sector appears to advocate debt. In a recent TV advertisement a young man blithely states “no problem” when asked how he can afford his hot new car. He’s going to pay it off by flipping burgers.

It appears to be perfectly normal at age 18 to rack up $10,000 on a car and then pay interest, default insurance, booking fees and whatever else in order to have it now. Right NOW. Never mind that the car will be knackered in a couple of years with $6,000 still owing.

The Tertiary Education Sector advises us to ‘invest in our future’. They would like to think they are referring to the knowledge a student will gain through study. The reality is that a young student will enter working life with a $30,000 debt, and if you ask them they will say “It’s pretty normal.”

It is not acceptable for the government, through Universities, to continue to increase tertiary fees, further entrenching the normalisation of debt in our society. Part of the solution is for pathways from certificate and diploma level to be expanded, providing learners with work based qualifications a leg-up into Tertiary learning. Strategic funding for distance learning could also be developed. Such initiatives would help learners avoid the paying-it-off treadmill. Without a student debt graduates would be able to make immediate progress towards home ownership, continue to live in New Zealand and consider having a family before they reach the ‘now or never’ age. Massey University, as a leading provider of distance education, needs to be championing these issues.

As president of EXMSS I will be engaging with Massey University and the Tertiary Education Commission not only to improve the existing standards of extramural delivery but to advocate for increased access for all New Zealanders to tertiary education through distance learning.

My extramural study is my savings plan. Each night my part-time job; study, gains me a little more knowledge. When I graduate I am going to cash it in for a better job. There are still some years to go but when I get frantic I think back to my first radio. It took two years of saving. I bought it, at age 14, for $150.00. Almost thirty years later the radio is still going, now covered in garage grime. The last thing I remember hearing on it, last Sunday, was an ad for a 50 inch flat screen television, “Buy now, pay later. Normal conditions apply.”