Extramural President's Blog » Unsatisfactory Academic Progress

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.

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?

Can you complete a Bachelors in eight years?

ralph — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:07:35 +0000

A new regulation is proposed by Massey: “there will be an eight year maximum time for completion of any one Massey University qualification.”

Driving Change - Tertiary Education Minister Stephen Joyce

For students, this means you must complete three papers per year – with no failed papers and no breaks, in order to gain a Bachelors degree under the regulations existing when you enrolled.

If you have not completed by eight years, Massey will seek to award you the highest qualification achieved: a certificate or diploma. You may continue to study but graduation will be under current regulations. You would then surrender your certificate or diploma in order to graduate with a Bachelors degree once you have the required papers.

Driving this proposed regulation is the Government’s performance based funding. Massey feels it cannot risk carrying long-term students, who do not deliver under the TEC’s funding formula.

Does Massey have a vision for its Distance programme?

What do you think of this? Massey appears to have little idea how many students this will affect. Nor do they fully understand the groups or types of students it will affect most. Will mothers, students with disabilities, or those without school qualifications be hardest hit?

Furthermore, I feel this fundamentally changes the position on access that Massey University built its distance education reputation on. Is this an issue?

I have created an opportunity for the student voice to be heard. Rather than July as planned, in mid August the regulation will go to Massey’s Academic Board for approval. Massey has agreed to report back on the number and types of students this would affect.

In order to make changes to this regulation, students will have to speak up. Send your opinion to me and I will ensure it is passed on to Steve Maharey and is tabled at the decision making body, Academic Board.

Dire Times for Extramural Students

ralph — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 01:27:20 +0000

LET ME STUDY!

Distance Education has fallen out of favour with our Government. For Massey students this may translate to missing out on a place if you are not enrolled with a qualification pre-specified. It may also mean that you cannot get a place if you are new student and it will mean strict enforcement of regulations; if you fail you are out.

In a sensible reaction to New Zealand’s Tertiary Education Strategy, places for distance students at Massey will be reducing. By the time this column goes to press the Massey University Investment Plan for 2011-13 will have been released. This investment plan will likely outline how Massey’s distance student numbers will reduce over the next few years by around 15%, equating to approximately 2,500 students. I expect that Massey’s plan will also address the Government’s focus on youth and Maori students by signaling an intention to increase the number of Maori students and the number of young students (those under 25). And with a $1.8 million boost in student services levies for 2011, Massey will also focus on further developing the academic and pastoral support for students with the aim of improving completion rates.

At the same time, Massey, internally and through its 2020 Strategy, has said it is committed to distance education and the student profile that accompanies that mode. This is not necessarily at odds with Massey’s current Academic Reform Project: rationalizing offerings, which can only be described as prolific and unsustainable, in order to better reflect the current needs of students. But it is at odds with the message that the Investment Plan carries. Clearly there will be a focus of cuts in distance offerings if academic reform is to fit the investment plan vision. So how can Massey’s internal rhetoric be reconciled with Government direction?

Can Massey create an oportunity from the Govt direction?

I believe that within this period of change there exists an opportunity to strengthen Massey’s position as New Zealand’s preeminent distance education provider. If existing resources are focused on developing the best quality delivery for the distance offerings that remain, and we can be reassured that other providers are being discouraged from expanding their distance programmes, then when the wind changes Massey will be in possession of the most advanced (both technologically and pedagogically) distance education delivery in the country.

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.”

Massey Moves to Monitor Academic Achievement

ralph — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:57:51 +0000

You are not alone. Support is there if you need it.

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 study skills and performance, but is also about raising student awareness of access to relevant University support and services, and the establishment of a regular dialogue between the student and the University that specifically addresses study progression issues earlier than previously has been the case.

Students identified as experiencing progression issues will be asked to discuss these with student learning advisors/counsellors, with the aim of directing students to University resources targeted at assisting with getting studies back on track. Students may also be required to participate in an academic review action plan which may then require students to take immediate action in accessing study support and services available at the University.

Over 25s become ‘Special Admissions’

ralph — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 02:46:03 +0000

University study? Think again.

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 the impact of the TES are now looking to restrict access further for mature students. Imagine enquiring about a course and being told that your University Entrance qualification is not good enough. Sorry UE is not what is says. UE means you only have the right to enter university as a Special Admission.

That means you will have to meet a set of criteria that could be cuturally based, academically based or luck based. You will not know if you are successfull until the last minute and your place will gone if you fail or take a break for more than two years.

There is a window of opportunity to have your say. NZQA, who are reviewing entrance criteria, are calling for submissions. I will be submitting on your behalf. Please send me your views and I will make sure thay are included in the EXMSS submission.

It’s an Anti-social Plan, Joyce.

ralph — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:59:09 +0000

Access is no longer guaranteed

Tertiary Education Funding. Steven Joyce has described how it will work. Completions must come within the targeted range as described by the institutions investment plan. Otherwise the TEC will use their funding-stick; give the institution a beating for not being good enough.

The reaction will be sensible. Institutions will increase support for marginal students, using compulsory service levies to fund new initiatives. That’s good, lets all muck in and help those that need it most – a bit like how Student Associations work. Institutions will also be more careful about who they choose to study with them. They will choose those with good school grades who want to study full-time. They will be supported in this by the TES push to enroll school leavers. Students who fail will be shunted out the door to make way for the bright new things.

But there is a problem. If you are an adult the doors will be closed. If you fail because the course was crap or your mother died; you are out. If you are māori and are looking for a second chance at education you will have to count on… on what?

Unlike Labour I think National needs to let institutions control who has access. In the same way that the Government is looking for courses that match the institutions capabilities and New Zealand’s needs National needs to allow institutions to define their ideal student body and accept enrolments based on their own criteria. This may see Auckland University full of young bourgeoisie but will also allow Massey to continue to offer places for second chance learners who need to study extramurally.

National has not discounted changes to New Zealand’s open entry policy. National legislation removing open entry would be antisocial and bordering on racist. Antisocial because it is ignoring those with disabilities, students who study part-time for professional or personal development and the elderly who through education wish to continue to contribute to society. Racist because the group they are targeting effectively excludes māori. Māori learners in degree level tertiary education are predominantly adults who have entered the system through the over 20 open entry route. If National closes this door then how does their policy satisfy the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi?

National need to think again about the social impact of their Tertiary Education policies.