Trades Unions Congress
13/14th September

This was my first Trade Union Congress; I was looking forward to speaking to other unions about their policy around education. It is crucial that we unite with our allies in the union movement to win on our national campaigns. As you know we are going to launch a coalition against the further marketisation of education, and this was a real opportunity to tell people about our campaign and get the message out there so that the priority campaign is really successful.

Plymouth (Rolle College) Demo

Plymouth University is currently in the process of attempting to shutdown the site at Exmouth. They want to move all teaching provision to the main site 5o miles away in Plymouth City Centre. We are supporting the students’ union officers, students, community, local activists and trade unions in the fight to keep it open. On the 24th October myself and some other NEC members went down to Exmouth to their Demo and Rally where Kat and myself spoke. The turnout was amazing and the community involvement was incredible. If ever there was a reason for students and community to work together…this is it. It’s also the time for all unions to come out in opposition of the closure. For more information on how to support the fight go back to officeronline homepage.

National Student Survey Steering Group
30th September

I attended this meeting so that we could have some input into the new survey for 2006. The survey has created a great deal of media attention, mainly because of the contention of some unions and universities lack of involvement in the survey. I have been working with students’ unions and also the NSS steering group to improve the response rate and add value to the survey next time around.

LOOK OUT…at Regional Conferences you will get a chance to vote for you favourite NSS designs and campaigns materials to get the best promotion for the NSS.

On Course…Priority Campaign

For too long NUS have been stating policy…we are opposed to all forms of tuition fees but we don’t explain why. That’s why we are about to announce National Action for the education priority campaign and we are going to hold some Activist Days across the country for you to get updated about why we are opposed to tuition fees and top-up fees and where the campaign goes from here.

For more information click on the campaigns bar on the main page.

Consultation, consultation, consultation

If there was one thing I knew I would have to do as VP Education, it was to influence government policy on education. Well, the consultation process is the way to do it. We are currently in the process of responding to the following:

Post Qualification Applications (PQA)

This was a white paper commitment by the government to look into the possibility of making changes so that students who are looking to go to university have a fairer way in to HE. The point is that currently around 50% of students at state schools have their A level grades incorrectly predicted. Something must change! The proposals outline two things:

Either to:

Change the system to allow applications process to take place once the student knows their A level result. This would allow students to make more informed decisions about where and what they want to study.

Or –

To reserve places for students who may have had their grades incorrectly predicted.

In my opinion the first option is by far the best way. It’s going to be hard work but far more favourable than the halfhearted, soft (second) option. NUS is in favour of PQA and insisted that the consultation is swift and responses are fed back as quickly as possible.

Measuring and Recording Student Achievement (Burgess) Group

In my role as VP Education I am a member of the Burgess Group. This group is looking at possible changes in the way that student achievement is recorded. Currently there is a six-point scale ranging from ‘first class’ to ‘third class’ degree to ‘fail’ classification. The Burgess report has come up with recommendations that aim to record achievement in a more meaningful way and move to a system of three levels of grade, merit, pass and fail with more narrative around the extra curricular activity while in higher education. It is also recommended that we move to a system of credits, which will make it easier for UK students and graduates to move to workplaces and institutions across Europe.

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