The Wider Picture: The issues that students face

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• The Wider Picture The issues that students face
• Advanced Course Rep Training
• Lisa Burton and Richard Buckley

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Session Objectives

• To consider the contribution that you can make as
  a Course Rep to an individual students ability
  to tackle the issues that they face and enjoy a
  complete student life
• To explore the hardships and issues faced by
  students of all backgrounds, both within the
  context of the university and in wider society
• To identify and locate the role of the Students
  Union in having a positive impact on the lives
  of all our students

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Contents

• Picturing the typical student
• Our survey says The Top 5 current student
  issues
• Who can students turn to?
• Your rights as a student the difference a Union
  can make
• Break

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Contents

• Fighting the good fight planning your own
  campaign
• The not so typical student being truly
  inclusive and representative
• Debrief/any questions?

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Picturing the typical student

• What qualities define the typical student and
  what do they have going through their mind?
• As we did at basic Course Rep training - draw
  them on flipchart paper, emphasising the parts of
  their anatomy relating to those qualities

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Our survey saysThe Top 5 student concerns

• What are the National Union of Students Top 5
  campaigns relating to student welfare?
• What do you think the Top 5 campaigns should be?
  Does NUS have its priorities right? What are the
  Top 5 concerns for students in your
  halls/flat/course/School?

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Who can students turn to?

• In the University Student Services
• Access Funds Centre (debt financial hardship)
• Careers Service (employment and careers)
• Chaplaincy (pastoral matters) CofE, Reformist,
  Catholic, Methodist, Quaker, Buddhist
• Counselling Service (personal difficulties)
• Disabilities Service (mobility- and
  sensory-related disabilities, mental health
  issues and learning difficulties)

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Who can studentsturn to?

• In the University Student Services (cont)
• International Student Advisers
• Jobshop and Volunteer Centre (employability work
  experience transferrable skills development)
• Student Welfare Service (financial hardship and
  bursary/loan entitlements course-related issues
  and examination regulations)
• Also in the University
• Skills Plus
• Library Services

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Who can studentsturn to?

• In the Students Union
• Advice and Representation Centre (appeals,
  complaints, disciplinary cases, financial
  disputes, misconduct advice for reps and elected
  officers, including Caucus Groups for minority
  students)
• Student Activities Centre (Skills Sessions
  Student Community Action, One Planet for
  developing employability and making new friends)
• All 100 independent of the University and 100
  confidential

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Who can studentsturn to?

• If a student turns to you what help can you
  offer them and where can you point them?
• Look at the case study on the sheet in pairs,
  bearing in mind the sources of help available to
  you

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Your rights as a studentthe difference a Union
can make

• Current Experience
• i.e. My student experience
• e.g. Halls accommodation is 100 per week
• Problems or difficulties
• i.e. Could be better
• e.g. This leaves little money for food, clothes,
  transport
• Injustice injection
• i.e. Should be better
• e.g. Similar Unis to ours charge 85 per week!
• Action required
• i.e. What can I do about it?
• e.g. Sign petition come to meeting etc
• Source National Union of Students Campaigning
  Training

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Your rights as a studentthe difference a Union
can make

• Case study 1 24-Hour Library Campaign
• Students identified lack of library access at
  busy times exams and dissertation hand-in as
  an issue
• At AGM 2006, students voted for 24-Hour Library
  as their choice of Priority Campaign for the
  Union
• The Union collected over 3000 postcards signed by
  students calling for a 24-Hour Library service
• The Union also liaised with the Universitys
  Library Services and Senior Management to secure
  support for the proposals
• The postcard campaign was backed up with posters,
  T-shirts and flyers to raise awareness amongst
  the student community, all with the 24 theme
• The campaign was a huge success and 24-Hour
  Library services at peak times have been built
  into the Universitys opening policy

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Your rights as a studentthe difference a Union
can make

• Case study 2 Coach Lane Campus Cash-point
  Campaign
• Students at City Campus have long since enjoyed
  free cash-point machines, and School Reps and
  Course Reps from Newcastle Business School
  successfully argued for one to be installed
  around Easter
• But students in Coach Lane Campus still have to
  pay 1.75 for each withdrawal an unnecessary
  burden on students who already face unprecedented
  levels of debt
• The Students Union facility in Coach Lane offers
  free cash-back, but students are increasingly
  calling for a free ATM
• With support from academic staff, the Chair of
  Coach Lane Campus Students Union has established
  a feedback box on the campus to collect students
  views on having to pay for cash withdrawals
• Signatures are running in the hundreds its
  surely only a matter of time

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Your rights as a studentthe difference a Union
can make

• Case study 3 Fools Rush In The Housing
  Campaign
• Accommodation is normally the most expensive
  outlay that a student makes, with rents reaching
  up to 100 a week in areas such as Jesmond
• Housing is also a complicated social and
  political issue, with the local Council making
  political capital out of student housing in
  residential areas many students deciding who to
  live with before theyve really got to know them
  and students not being aware of their contractual
  rights and duties
• Meanwhile, the city of Newcastle actually has a
  housing surplus, meaning that theres no reason
  for students to rush into finding a house
• The VP Education and Welfare teamed up with the
  Unions Marketing team to devise the Fools Rush
  In logo to promote the message of not signing up
  for housing until after Christmas
• The Union also secured an agreement with the
  University to withhold the publication of Student
  Housing 08/09 which lists approved, accredited
  landlords until after Xmas and to include full
  advice from the Union on your rights and
  obligations as a tenant

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Fighting the good fightplanning your own
campaign

• What would you like to change or raise awareness
  of, in the University or in the student
  community?
• Devise your own campaign, bearing the following
  in mind
• Is it a change campaign or an awareness campaign?
• Who are you aiming to influence? (The University?
  Government? Students opinions?)
• Who are your potential allies? (Academic staff?
  Any groups in the wider community?)
• What kind of tactics will you be using? (High
  profile publicity campaign? Subtle engagement?)
• What would you like to see as the end result?
• Any catchy slogans/logo you could use to brand
  your campaign?

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The not so typical student being truly
inclusive and representative

• Think about how the difficulties that the
  following groups of students might face
• Black and Minority Ethnic Students
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Students
• Women Students
• Mature Students
• Part-Time Students
• International Students
• Each section of the student community has a
  Caucus Group, with a Chair who represents the
  Groups interests on Student Council to ensure
  that campaigns are truly inclusive.
• Lay Student Councillors are elected from the
  whole student community their job is to be
  representative of all students

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The not so typical student beingtruly
inclusive and representative

• Some questions to think about
• Is the University inclusive?
• Is the Union inclusive?
• How could you make your work as a Course Rep more
  inclusive?

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Those objectives again

• By the end of this session, you should have
• considered the contribution that you can make as
  a Course Rep to an individual students ability
  to tackle the issues that they face and enjoy a
  complete student life
• explored the hardships and issues faced by
  students of all backgrounds, both within the
  context of the university and in wider society
• identified and located the role of the Students
  Union in having a positive impact on the lives
  of all our students

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• Any questions?