Student representation and engagement: building the ... · • Sector-leading Teaching Awards...

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1 Student representation and engagement: building the partnership Jim Dickinson, Chief Executive It takes two to tango • Co-production • Partnership Antidote to consumerism

Transcript of Student representation and engagement: building the ... · • Sector-leading Teaching Awards...

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Student representation and

engagement: building the

partnershipJim Dickinson, Chief Executive

It takes two to tango

• Co-production

• Partnership

• Antidote to consumerism

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October 1968: NUS & CVCP

“Effective student presence in decision making”

• Welfare Matters- joint decisions

• Academic & Institutional Matters- representation

• Staff Appointments- consultation

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1980s

Course Representatives

• Staff/Student Committees

• System led approach to representation &

engagement interventions

Advocacy

• Welfare Advice

• Academic Appeals

Across the 1990s

• Significant interest in the importance of student engagement

• NUS: “Ultimate priority” for students’ unions.

– Partly driven by the need to respond to the student ‘consumer voice’ in a

differentiated fees system and

– Partly due to a willingness to make learning a partnership of coproduction

between the student/ learner and the academic

• Unprecedented degree of interest in the importance of the student voice

in shaping all aspects of the learning

• SU Funding & Business Model Reinvention

• Decline in commercial revenues

– Grant funding replaces commercial to support activities

– Grant funding increased to create support for engagement & representation

• Results in support led approach to representation & engagement interventions, focused on training & briefings

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Across the 00s

• As the Government, further and higher education institutions

developed their own forms of direct engagement and

research on student needs, often bypassing student-led

organisations, the challenge to the student movement

was demonstrating the legitimacy and value of student

led organisations in truly representing the many voices

of a diverse student body?

• Cohort led approach to representation &

engagement interventions, focused on types of

students

The emerging agenda

• Recognition that participation of reps alone may not

be fully representative

• Diversity and scale of student body coupled with

cost of research tools reduction= evidence

• NSS leads this process nationally, with PTES and

PRES hot on heels

• Local evidence now crucial

• Evidence Led approach

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Five decades of representation

• 70s Participation Led

• 80s System Led

• 90s Support Led

• 00s Cohort Led

• 10s Evidence Led

Five decades of representation

• 70s Participation Led

• 80s System Led

• 90s Support Led

• 00s Cohort Led

• 10s Evidence Led

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Forms of engagement

Forms of engagement

1. Students’ union focused engagement where students discuss the

students’ union as an organisation, encourage participation in the SU, an

aspect of the SU (a specific campaign) and/or SU governance (e.g. general

meeting, elections, strategic planning, referendum etc)

2. Institution focused engagement to encourage student participation in

university quality assurance mechanism (e.g. attend committees, complete

surveys, course representation)

3. Student focused engagement which is about talking with all students

about their lives and experiences and using that knowledge to (re)define the

agenda for the students’ union and institution around student life

experiences. This is about shifting to a focus on outcomes rather than

processes.

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Definition of Student EngagementStudent engagement means involving students as active participants

in the development, delivery, management and improvement of their

educational experience.

Students Want to be Heard

Where next?

CHERI student engagement report:

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Course Reps in the Middle GroundCHERI student engagement report:

The majority of HEIs and FECs rate their student engagement processes,

comprising a basic model of student feedback questionnaires and student

representation systems, as reasonably or very effective; student unions are

less likely to do so.

There are a number of elements to the student representation process.

Institutions and student unions face a number of challenges in ensuring that

each element and the whole process are as effective as possible. Further,

the process seems to work better at the institutional and operational

(school/department/programme) level than at the intermediate (faculty) level.

Digby- Does it have an impact?

• Capacity

– Demonstrable ability to respond, skills, resources,

contacts, abilities, access, analysis

• Declaratory

– Demonstrable change in rhetoric, attitudes, beliefs, policy

statements

• Implementational

– Demonstrable change in delivery, resource allocation,

practice

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A quote

• “The problem with “voice” is that most

research assumes that opinions and

beliefs just “exist”- of course, in truth

“opinions” are socially constructed in

exchange- which means that the

question and the questioner are usually

more important than the answer”• Nina Eliasoph, How Americans Produce Apathy in Everyday Life

A quote

• “That’s why advocacy is more important,

because its focus is on the securing of

interests rather than the re-presentation

of some mythical view”• Nina Eliasoph, How Americans Produce Apathy in Everyday Life

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Who are we asking?

• Personal Reflexive Consumer

• Representative of reflexive

consumer views

• Stakeholder

• Owner

Who are we asking?

• The problem raiser

• The pleasure feeder backer

• The problem solver

• The political actor

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What are they allowed to say?

• Teaching

• Learning and support for it

• Facilities and Services

• Organisation

Involving students – the what

JUST DO IT

AND DON’T

TELL ME

ABOUT IT

JUST DO IT,

BUT TELL

ME ABOUT

IT

BEFORE

YOU DO IT,

ASK ME

WHAT I

THINK

BEFORE YOU

DO IT, INVOLVE

ME IN THE

DECISION-

MAKING

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Voice Tone

• Failure

• Expose

• Condemn

• Embarrass

• Defend

• Improve

• Critique

• Scrutinise

• Celebrate

• Influence

Eight Voice Considerations

• Voice Visibility- Is voice an obvious and credible function?

• Voice Volume- To what extent is it “in the face” of the institution?

• Voice Capture- Can we sense depth and breadth across the

institution? Can we track patterns and do comparisons?

• Voice Location- University Focussed, Union Focussed, Student

Focussed?

• Voice Content- Do I even want a voice in that?

• Voice Tone- Failure or improvement?

• Voice Owner- Reflexive Consumer? Representative?

Stakeholder? Owner?

• Voice Impact- Capacity, Declaratory, Implementational

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Two Data Drivers

• QAA Institutional Review

• Public Information (QSU)

QAA Institutional Review

• Students are represented on institutional decision-making bodies both at central

and local levels.

• Students are supported in making their voice heard in decision-making bodies,

for example, through training or briefing.

• There are close links between senior institutional managers and students'

representative bodies.

• Effective arrangements are in place to gather feedback from students on their

learning experience and to act on that feedback.

• The results of the National Student Survey are used for enhancement of students‘

learning opportunities.

• Efforts are made to gain the views of 'hard-to-reach' students such as those

studying part-time or off-campus.

• The effectiveness of institutional policies and procedures for promoting the

contribution of students to quality assurance and enhancement are regularly

reviewed.

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Exeter Guild

• A Research Co-ordinator coordinates qualitative and quantitative

research amongst the student body as directed by students, ensuring

that the union’s contributions to committees and policy are

representative of the widest range of student opinion. This involves

contracted in research capacity and student research assistants.

• An Academic Representation Co-ordinator provides direct support for

the academic representation function across the University. They provide

briefings, training, coaching and support for programme faculty and

cross university representatives.

• A Research and Representation Manager manages the team, leading

on key projects and providing policy support to the elected officers.

• High profile “academic leader” elections at the beginning of each

academic year.

• Direct support for union academic societies.

• Production of student “Visions for Education” - documents that set out

the direction students think the six faculties should be taking to offer a

world-class experience for students.

• Separate vision documents for Postgraduate Research students and for

INTO students.

• Sector-leading Teaching Awards which, last year, saw 2415 submissions

from students, recognising the outstanding work done by academics and

support staff across the University.

• Support for course-based volunteering projects.

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Bath University

• A Representation & Research Manager

• An academic representation worker (focussed on

undergraduates)

• A postgraduate representation worker (focused

on PGT and PGR)

• Over 80% Academic Rep posts elected in on-line election annually.

• Over 1300 students voting in the Academic Rep elections annually

• Over 75% of students are aware of Academic Reps/believe they are important.

• Awareness of SU representing students’ academic interest to the University from

68% to 75%

• Understanding of department/school SSLC from 66.2% to 70%

• Understanding of Academic Rep System from 74.8% to 80%

• At least three annual campaigns in place with measurable impacts.

• At least 3 campaigns led by students each year for three years

• Awareness of Bath SU representing students’ interests to the University from

77% to 85%

• Agreement that Bath SU does a good job of representing students from 93.7% to

95%

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Lancaster

• Education and Support Manager- Manages the

operations of LUSU Education and Support.

Responsible for overseeing educational research

activity, supporting LUSU policy creation,

developing support services and providing advice

to students.

• Education and Representation Officer- Supports

student representatives in departments, colleges

and across campus and gives advice.

• Education and Policy Officer- Supports policy,

governance, and research development.

Quality Students Unions

• Q23 so far only national stat

• HEFCE funded successor to SUEI

• 60 unions this year

• All over three years

• Part A and Part B

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QSU

• Representation section considers how union effectively represents the views of

its members and the mechanisms and support used to achieve this.

• This is a problematic area for UUEAS given the historical and current low levels

of investment in this area.

• Auditors will look for commitment and support inside the union’s overall

infrastructure rather than just approach and opportunity for representation in the

university.

• Reaching an acceptable score in this criteria will therefore require some

investment in staff support; improved representation structures (ie split of

Academic Officer) inside the union; evidenced communication with and support

for student representatives across the university; and some investment in

research & projects.

• As this is acts a ceiling component failure to improve in this area would

significantly harm the overall quality mark score and our present activity level

would likely result in us being graded in the bottom third of unions overall.

University Relationship

• Landlord, funder and subject of efforts to improve

student experience

• Poor

• Corporate mistrust and suspicion

• Historical context of union believing it did not need

the university

• Block Grant funding low

• Separate v Autonomous

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UK HE Students’ Unions

• Five “tree rings” of purpose:

– Activist politics and resolutions (70s)

– Advice and Alcohol (80s)

– Student Development (skills acquisition) (90s)

– Education & Representation (00s)

– Hyper Diversity & Partnership (10s)

• We remain lodged in the 80s model

• Affects underpinning assumptions, funding model,

reputation and mode of interaction

Where can the University help?

v

separate

integral yet

autonomous

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Relationship

• Strategic Partnership; Spirit of partnership between HEI and SU

informing the strategic direction of both parties and informing service

agreements. Informed engagement of SU representatives in key

institutional decision-making bodies.

• Student Centred; Shared commitment to developing and improving

students’ experience of academia and extra-curricular aspects of their

lives.

• Respect & Understanding; Clarity about, and mutual understanding of,

the distinct roles of the HEI and the SU and the value that each party

brings to the relationship.

• Openness & Trust; Full, open, regular communication on relevant

issues, in particular issues likely to have an impact on the other party, the

student population and/or other joint stakeholders.

Relationship

• Mutual Support & Commitment; Constructive interactions Demonstrable

commitment to making the relationship work through investment of time and

resources.

• Autonomous; Recognition of the value of a strong, student-led Students’ Union

empowered to determine and manage its own affairs. Recognition of the need for

the HEI to balance the interests of a range of stakeholders within an increasingly

challenging external context.

• Accountability; Accountability of SU to HEI as supervisor (under the 1994

Education Act) and principal funder, within a mutually agreed framework which is

robust, effective, efficient and compatible with the reporting requirements of

other regulators (where relevant), such as The Charity Commission, the Office of

the Scottish Charity Regulator and/or Companies House. Acknowledgement by

HEI that the SU is a major stakeholder and primary body representing the student

voice.

• Diversity & Equality; A shared commitment to equality and diversity and the fair

treatment of all staff and students.

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Advocacy Now

• Little evidence in use

• Little training or support for student reps

• Focus on win/lose and failure rather than improvement

• Problems don’t lead to solutions

Where we want to be

• Evidence and research from the whole student body

a key part of the union’s student voice activity

• More support, training and development for our

student representatives

• Students working with academic and administrators

to make suggestions and solve problems

• Independent, flexible student advice and advocacy

service that leads to policy change

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Potential projects in 14/15

• Supporting and Organising Student Reps in UEA

Schools

• Transforming Graduate Student Engagement at

UEA

• Improving central support for student engagement

work

• Research supported representation

• Transforming nursing students’ experience