Consulting with Students. 108. The foundation of all outreach work at the University is our student body, and our Colleges provide a locus for the activities in which our current students engage with our target students. Almost all access activities involve undergraduate students as guides and role models. Durham has a Student Ambassador scheme that offers a high level of training and support to enable Durham students to engage with the fair access agenda. Every fair access residential activity will involve undergraduate mentors who provide academic and pastoral support to the school students taking part. Increasingly Student Ambassadors are being included in the planning process and are creating more activities that are student-led as part of Durham’s residential access activities programme. We have also developed the role of “sabbatical officer” within the Student Recruitment and Access Office, whereby three recent graduates are recruited for a year to the Access and Student Recruitment team. This provides a strong student input through appointing staff with recent experience of the decisions that a young person will have to make between 14 and 18 years of age. 109. Through its evaluation mechanisms the University is able to gather feedback from students participating in our access activities to inform the future development of these, so that they best meet the aims of the University and the needs of students we are working with.
Consulting with Students. The University works closely with its student body, typically via the Student Union and the Student Ambassadors. Students are represented on all major University committees including the Inclusion, Equality and Diversity Committee, Academic Quality and Standards and Academic Board. There is also student representation at Governing Council and each program year has its own representative at the Student Management Committee, chaired by the Principal. We see our student ambassador population (at present 52) as being particularly valuable to the University as they undertake many of the widening participation and outreach activities. They are also a key source of information, advice and guidance not only to young participants of outreach activities but also to new students during enrolment and induction week. Aside from our student body directly we also actively seek the views of the younger ‘potential’ student body by closely monitoring our outreach activities and evaluating events using the ‘Quizdom’ package, feedback forms and questionnaires. This means we can constantly improve our outreach activities to ensure we give the participants the best possible experience of the University and HE generally.
Consulting with Students. 151. The foundation of all outreach work at the University is our student body, and our Colleges provide a locus for the activities in which our current students engage with our target students. Almost all access activities involve undergraduate students as guides and role models. Durham has a Student Ambassador scheme that offers a high level of training and support to enable Durham students to engage with the fair access agenda. Currently over 40% of our Durham Student Ambassadors were themselves part of either Supported Progression or the Xxxxxx Trust programme. 152. Increasingly Student Ambassadors are being included in the planning process and are creating more activities that are student-led as part of Durham’s residential access activities programme. We now use very few external providers for social activities and rely on student directed activities that simulate the life of a typical Durham student. In this way we can directly connect the student voice with the messages we give about the wider student experience at Durham.
Consulting with Students. In preparing this Access Agreement the University has consulted with the Students’ Union and met with a representative group of students, including some involved with the Junior University initiative. The students strongly endorsed the University’s strategy of ensuring that students have access to financial support through bursaries at their point of need (i.e. during their studies) rather than giving fee waivers. The students were also particularly concerned that opportunities for mature students were promoted and that those students were fully supported in their studies. The University affirmed that its partnership arrangements are a key vehicle in promoting access for mature students, allowing them to return to study in the supportive environment of a local college and has made more explicit within the Agreement the initiatives which could benefit mature students (for example, the ability to use “portable financial credits” to pay for pre-school child care). Because of the diversity of our student population we aim to encourage an inclusive approach in all our activities (for example, during induction we held a Big Student Party as a family event). However, in the light of this feedback the University is to review how it might offer more targeted financial support to mature students and student parents (for example, through the Xxxxxx Bursary Fund) and whether some of the activities in the Junior University programme which are designed to support the development of study skills could be adapted for mature students. UCLan is closely following the advice and guidance of the Equality Challenge Unit and other organisations in ensuring that we meet all the requirements of the Equality Act 2010. As part of this, we are making every effort to publish comprehensive staff and student equality and diversity information and are establishing a full programme of work to analyse, report and respond to any issues identified at academic school and/or university levels. Our growing understanding of the differing experiences of our students throughout their time with us is noted throughout this access agreement and our on-going work to embed equality and diversity work throughout the University includes a strong focus on tackling any issues that prevent students with particular characteristics from reaching their full potential. University of Central Lancashire May 2012
Consulting with Students. Marjon Students’ Union (MSU) plays an important role in the development of any institutional plans for student opportunity, support and attainment. The Student Union have reviewed the 2018/19 agreement, and whilst they continue to be concerned about the level of student fees they are satisfied that the measures that have been put in place for outreach, retention and financial support will significantly enhance the student experience both pre- and post-entry.
Consulting with Students. The College has a learner involvement strategy that establishes how and when the College seeks to ascertain the views of students. The strategy also highlights how feedback is then utilised as an element of the annual planning, review and self-assessment processes, to inform improvements. Some of these improvements have occurred throughout the content of this report. This takes the form of a number of student forums, that are scheduled throughout the academic year. Feedback from these are acted upon at programme and strategic level, with feedback used to inform any changes to programme structure. Representatives from each HE programme that the College delivers are represented at the scheduled student forums. Each event has a set agenda, addressing issues around curriculum, the learning environment, value for money, IT facilities and general resources. Module evaluations are also completed with the feedback utilised to improve provision. The initial planning of the access agreement began with student focus groups at secondary schools local to the Rotherham/Bassetlaw area. The students were asked for their views on what they felt were priorities in future HE studies, be that financial support or academic tutoring, for example. We will continue to survey current students on their financial support needs to better target financial allocations to our students. We will survey students all three HE academic years, as well as, our FE students. Each academic year may have different financial requirements. Likewise, FE students may be able to inform RNN Group of financial difficulties that will affect their application into HE.
Consulting with Students. The University of Brighton understands the importance of consulting with students on the design of our access agreement and also directly involving students in the implementation and monitoring of its access measures. Students are represented on the major University committees, including its Board of Governors, through Brighton Students’ Union sabbatical officers and will therefore participate in the consideration of our widening participation policies and practices as they develop. Within our 2012 Access Agreement arrangements, this ongoing dialogue resulted in the University directly funding Student Union activity to support the retention of under-represented groups and we expect these activities to continue and flourish in 2014. The University is also working with the Student Union on a general model for monitoring and evaluating this type of activity to ensure consistency in both areas. To consult on the 2014 Access Agreement specifically, we also arranged a number of meetings with the Students’ Union during February and March 2013. As the three areas of outreach, retention and bursary activity develop across our yearly Access Agreements, we expect this dialogue to continue, in particular in understanding the long-term impact of our initiatives.
Appendix 1 Statement from the Students’ Union Commentary on consultation for the Access Agreement 2014-15
Consulting with Students. 103. A preliminary draft of this agreement was shared with members of the Student Association at UCR through a routine meeting with the senior staff. Particular attention was given to the balance of available expenditure committed to supporting student success and financial support, and to the basis upon which financial support might best be organised. Subsequent input will come through StAR (Student Academic Representative) involvement in the HE Academic Board meetings at which this agreement is formally considered, approved and monitored. 104. Many of the strategic themes included in this document (specifically in relation to: the BME attainment gap; the impact of enduring mental health issues; and the importance of a diverse and representative curricula) have been championed by our student body through the College’s new strategy development process and thus included in the agreement. We will continue to work with our students to implement the commitments outlined in the document.
Consulting with Students. 105. A preliminary draft of this agreement was shared with members of the Student Association at UCR through a routine meeting with the senior staff. Particular attention was given to the balance of available expenditure committed to supporting student success and financial support, and to the basis upon which financial support might best be organised. Subsequent input will come through StAR (Student Academic Representative) involvement in the HE Academic Board meetings at which this agreement is formally considered, approved and monitored.
Consulting with Students. 11.1 We have consulted with the Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxx Students’ Union (NTSU) Executive on the overall structure of the Access Agreement, with more detailed collaborative planning of the financial support elements of the proposed expenditure. As a result of feedback from the Students’ Union, the University has increased the value of the discretionary financial support fund, providing on-course financial assistance to students, by 100% - from £150,000 expected spend in 2012/13 to £300,000 in 2013/14.
11.2 The University will continue to work in partnership with the Students’ Union to ensure that the eligibility criteria for this assistance are appropriately targeted, fair and responsive to student need. Further partnership work between NTSU and NTU on the development of the NTSU Student Employment Store will bring added benefits for students, enhancing opportunities for paid part-time work.
11.3 The NTSU Executive has also provided key feedback to inform the development of the academic tutoring system and will contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of this initiative through the University’s Student Executive Forum, which meets termly to consider key issues arising from student fora in Schools and comprises Student Union Executive members, members of the University’s Senior Management Team and heads of key university services.
