Talking about course closures is one thing, actually seeing the fight to save a campus in action is something else. By 2006 Exeter Campus of Plymouth Uni will be closed and today I travelled down to Plymouth University Exmouth Rolle Campus where the University are planning to close the campus by 2008. It’s not closing because a lack of quality of teaching or course take up. The fact is that the Exmouth campus is renowned for hosting the best teaching courses in the country with an excellent Ofted inspection result. Closing the campus will not only have an effect on the students currently at uni it will have an effect on the future of higher education in that area. The course are due to move about 50 miles away to the Plymouth main site. This will have devastating effect on those who wish to study there in future but who are unable to travel.

CALLING ALL ACTIVISTS: It’s crucial that we help the officers at Plymouth in the fight against the campus closure. There is still time to act; they are hosting a demo on 24th September, day of action 7th October and the mass rally on 11th November. To get involved with the action and support the union and win the fight email presexmouth@su.plymouth.ac.uk for more details.

Campaigns Launch

The campaigns launch was an amazing day which had taken loads of planning and commitment. When the day came though it was an amazing opportunity to meet loads of officers and deliver NUS’ Priority Campaigns to the membership.

It was also good to get the feedback from officers about the campaigns that we had planned. I’m looking forward to rolling the out across the country, getting involvement from students and officers in their regions.

Mark My Words

Ever since I was a part time officer in my own Union I fought for anonymous marking across my department, school and university. As Education & Welfare Officer I began the fight for equality across the board in all assessments across the institution. As President, my VP Education and Welfare and I received an assurance that anonymous marking would implemented…we had succeeded.

However, across the rest of the UK it’s patchy. Its difficult to deliver a national campaign, a “one size fits all” campaign that will suit all institutions. But the principle is the same wherever you are. It’s about equality and ensuring that students’ work is treated equality is crucial.

Therefore I have got the ball rolling with the Brand New National Anonymous Marking Campaign. It’s called “Mark My Words…Not My Name.” I want you to get involved whether you have anonymous marking in your college or university across the board or even if you do not have it at all.

The first part of the campaign is to find out where work is anonymously marked and where it isn’t. This will help me to develop a comprehensive campaign to deliver across the country. You can also get involved by writing a few words for the “Mark My Words” web pages about what you think about equality in marking. Send us a photo and we’ll post your views online. Please let me know what you want to see from the campaign by emailing education@nus.org.uk

National Student Survey

This survey was rolled out for the first time earlier this year. It surveyed final year students in higher education and the results will be available to view on a new Teaching Quality Information (TQI) website from 20th September. The site is designed for prospective students who are thinking about going to university. Most universities response rate hit the 50% target needed so there will be information available on individual courses across the UK for students to compare courses in order to make an informed choice.

The survey is funded by the Higher Education Funding Councils and they plan to deliver another survey in the spring. NUS will be involved in the review of the survey and the crucial thing is that we need your input so that we can reflect your views on the survey. We have a new online questionnaire for you to complete, we will be holding focus groups across the country and you can also email our Student Feedback Coordinator at nss@nus.org.uk

Quality Takes Time event 7th September

Every year NUS and the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) host an event for students’ unions to attend where they can find out more information about quality processes and enhancing quality in their institution. This year though it’s a bit different. This event had a different focus; it was about demanding high quality even when the university isn’t due to be audited by the QAA.

The event took place in London and we will be hosting a similar event again in February. Venue to be confirmed. If you have any questions please look at officeronline/quality

Student Governor event 8th September

The Leadership Foundation ran an event for the first time aimed at student governors in higher education. It was really great to meet so many students and officers and hear their views on some of the issues that they face in their new roles. I was invited to speak at the event and put over NUS’ view of the value of student governance; some institutions are undergoing a governance review and possibly going to have their student governor quota reduced as a result. If you are going through a similar review please don’t hesitate to contact me at julian.nicholds@nus.org.uk

Party Conferences

I am going to be away at party conferences over the next few week, please contact me if you have any comments or questions regarding my blog or if there is anything I can help you with.

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