Extramural President's Blog » voluntary membership

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!

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.

2012 University Fee Decisions

ralph — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:07:17 +0000

The fee decisions for 2012 have been held up due to the late passage of the Freedom of Association (Voluntary Membership) legislation. EXMSS, along with the other Massey associations, would like to discuss with students what might be suitable student association structures and services. But this is difficult when we do not know what sort of funding may be available.

What will fees and services look like under VSM?

The Massey University Federation of Student Associations have been discussing how change can be managed. And the associations have plans to describe the environment and possible structures and services to students in order for the change to be student led. However, before we have that conversation we must have clarity about the resources that may be available, and what scope there may be for service provision.

The FoA Bill is expected to pass into law at the end of September. Following that, information on fees; what is allowed and what is possible, will be made available to students. As a distance student, you can expect a summary of the fee changes on this blog (as has been done in past years), but also to be approached for your views so that student opinion can drive the future direction of EXMSS.

Out of Time for Orderly Change

ralph — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:36:32 +0000

It is difficult to imagine student associations getting off to a good start if voluntary membership is introduced in 2012.

In order to operate successful voluntary associations, a simple mechanism for joining the relevant association that is supported by good information about membership costs and benefits, as well as agreed fee collection systems, will be essential.

It is not possible to determine what membership costs or services that may be provided without an understanding of what type of relationship will exist between the University and the associations. This cannot be decided before the University fees for 2012 are set, and there is clarity about the legislation.

When students begin enrolling on October 1^st they should have access to clear information about association services, benefits and costs. With the final form of the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill still unknown, the University is unable to make changes to the enrolment and billing systems that would allow students to join a students association voluntarily.

The consequence for distance students will be the loss of a representative on campus who can advocate for students both as a group and individually. Scholarships, hardship grants, shuttle services, the OffCampus magazine, the extramural student’s graduation dinner, Review It, the contact course help desk, regional support, may also disappear.

The recommendation from the select committee was to give the associations about a year to prepare – let’s hope our law makers see sense and allow us reasonable time to prepare.

Young Students Need to Grow

ralph — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 03:20:24 +0000

Where do we grow up?

The purpose of a University education is not only to gain a qualification, but to grow and mature as a person. For our young students this is especially true. The Freedom of Association Bill will change that permanently. Under Voluntary Student Membership (VSM) the student experience becomes the university experience; the same type of student engagement we see in our secondary schools.

For Massey the defining qualities of a graduate are connected, creative and capable*. It is through the ‘student experience’ that a student becomes these things. Students get involved, not only their study but in clubs and sports, local community, events, and, as they progress, the support networks and systems that deliver education to themselves and their peers. Having a voice in the system and being a part of the processes that create the student experience are important for students in order to develop and grow as a person.

Under VSM the services that students once controlled will become contracted services funded by the University and delivered by the Student Association. There are services like advocacy that cannot be for members only: they are too important to the achievement of funding related completion rates. The University will have to levy students for these universally available services.

The University will therefore hold the power to decide what the student experience will be and the resulting model becomes that of a secondary school. The students must obey the rules set out by the institution and accept that what is provided is what is provided. So when is it that we expect our young students to test their voice, their opinions, and practice their organisational skills? Is this our vision of a university education?

*Capable being included in the Vice Chancellors address to new students in 2011.

There are New Fees on My Massey Invoice

ralph — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:31:50 +0000

Yet again the fees for study and student services have gone up. This year the rise seems more confusing than other years. There has been a rise in the tuition fee of 4%, the Government maximum, which many students would see as standard practice, but the rise in the students services levy is much greater and has been clouded by a change to a pro-rata system. Student service levies are now based on how many papers you are taking. Furthermore there is a new levy – the Foundation Levy; another $2.50 for every 15 credit paper a student takes.

Last year the draft proposal by Massey to double the student services levy met opposition from student representatives. The student’s counter proposal was that Massey must justify the fee rise and make it fairer. The upshot was that Massey management was instructed to work with students to decide on the service priorities and the fees were to be prorated so that students taking only one or two papers would not be paying excessive fees. At the Council table the student motion that the total service levy fee grab should be capped did not get enough support to pass.

Regarding the Foundation levy, student representatives were able to muster support for the notion that students should set the priorities of how the Foundation levy will be spent. Furthermore the original charge of $25 per student was rejected in favour of a $2.50 per paper system; a real saving for part time students over the course of their study.

Without student representatives that live and breathe engagement with Massey and the Tertiary Sector I argue that this outcome would have been significantly worse for students. Without universally supported representation at the Council table a student doing two papers would be paying $120 plus the $25 foundation levy in 2011, rather than $95. Your EXMSS fee is less than the difference and you get a host of services to boot.

If you have needs that are not being met or feel that the Foundation levy has a specific reason to exist then let the university know. I am not the only place you can send your views, but if I do receive comment from you, be assured it will make it to the Massey Council table and to the Tertiary Education Commission and be spoken too with passion and clarity. Students are the most important stakeholder in the tertiary sector even if the Government seems to have forgotten this at the moment.

Massey’s New Disciplinary Regulations

ralph — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 03:13:00 +0000

EXMSS represents you in Massey meetings

I have been giving feedback on the proposed Disciplinary Regulations since 2008. Good on Massey for getting students involved right from the start. There have been times when I have had to be clear and strong in my assertion that the system must serve student first and foremost.

At the November Academic Board meeting the revised disciplinary regulations for student misconduct were tabled. The regulations themselves follow the procedures of past years however the scope has widened to now include academic misconduct such as plagiarism. Two issues have emerged from the final draft which was passed through the board for inclusion into the Massey regulations: the role of the Registrar in deciding on the level of misconduct and the placing of offences on student’s transcripts, the latter of which was brought up at the meeting.

In the past cheating through exams or by copying assignments or other students work has been controlled by the teaching staff and often dealt with in differing ways across the University. Under these new regulations academic misconduct will now be described as level one, level two or level three, with L3 being the worst offence. Instances of level two and three misconduct will be recorded on a database that is available to Academic Integrity Officers (not lecturers) so that repeat offences can be noted. Level one offending is seen as an opportunity to teach the student more about the issue.

In the meeting it was suggested that L2 and L3 offences should be placed on the student’s transcript. I was vocal in opposition to this, as this could easily generate a range of negative consequences that would have repercussions far in excess of the ‘crime’ committed. After further discussion the idea was dropped.

Students discussing the issues at the 2010 EXMSS AGM

The second point is about the role that Registrars take in deciding the level of the offence. In supporting documents the level is described but there is no one to assist the Registrar in getting it right. The Registrar makes that call alone. When pointed out to the Academic Board it was agreed that further discussion should take place around the support the Registrar gets in making this call. It was also noted that the key stakeholder (students) will need to be clearly informed about the changes and possible consequences now that the stakes are much higher for students if anything goes wrong.

The student voice had an impact. Students will benefit from having a representative on Academic Board. Let’s just hope we can continue to keep students in the loop if we no longer have universal membership of the representational bodies that work this system.

Freedom of Association (voluntary membership)

ralph — Thu, 27 May 2010 00:53:56 +0000

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 reason to support students with financial issues or those who need advocacy support. They are not interested in attending events such as the EXMSS Graduation Dinner (18 cents from each student’s association fee is used for this event) or receiving any communication that brings all distance students together. They are offended by the requirement to contribute to and participate in these group activities.

EXMSS executive member Dave Crampton presents to the Select Committee on his graduation day

They see no need for a student representative to push for improved academic quality on their behalf, or to lobby the Tertiary Education Commission to consider the impact of their policies on distance students.

But a survey of over 1200 Massey extramurals shows us that 82% support having an on-campus representative that can engage with the University. 70% support the existing full membership system.

So what do we do? Democratically we can vote, but that will not satisfy the minority. Going voluntary will trash the ability of students to present a united voice to the University. Perhaps there is a solution in allowing the student organisations to manage their own membership rules through their constitutions? Is there a halfway house where those who want out can pay a lesser fee for representation only?

And for those who say I do not represent their views – let me know what your views are and I will take them to those you want to hear them. Check the priorities on this blog and you may find EXMSS views match well with your views: ongoing improvements in academic delivery, reasonable conditions for study, praise where it is due and an engaging environment.

Save our Services

ralph — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:48:55 +0000

No matter which side of the fence you sit it is irrefutable that EXMSS (and other students associations) delivers services that save students. Save them from hardship, from anguish and from an education system that at times seems less than friendly. Each year EXMSS saves hundreds of students from dropping out of their studies. Even more students are assisted through targeted services that help extramurals deal with smaller issues and every student benefits from good engagement with the university through their elected representatives.

The existing opt-out-of-student-associations system that makes all of this possible is now under threat from an ACT Bill, the Freedom of Association Amendment to the Education Act. From EXMSS’s initial survey we found that an overwhelming majority (70%) of extramural students want to keep the existing system. Students associations will not survive a voluntary membership system, maori ropu will dissolve and smaller associations close. Funding for the services considered important by the University will be provided through increases in the Student Services Levy.

EXMSS has written a draft submission that captures this view and now wishes to confirm that what we have said is a reasonable reflection of extramural opinion. Please read the draft submission and leave your comments. If you have a strong viewpoint you may wish to complete a submission yourself. This has been made easy at the Save Our Services website.