Tom Marley: Vice President (Education & Access)

My Leaving Speech

2009-06-22T14:52:00.002+01:00

Last Monday I made my leaving speech to Guild Council. Below I have reproduced it in full (besides the parts which I ad-libbed). Looking back I realise there is so much I didn't say and so many people I didn't mention - so if your feeling forgotten then my deepest apologies.

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Hello Guild Council,

I have in the past heard many leaving speeches at this Guild Council. They’re usually a nice opportunity to thank all the relevant people and sometimes make serious remarks about this organisation and how it must move forward. I’m probably going to stick to this script.

Firstly I want to thank Jen. She has been a dedicated and committed President. I will always think back to how this year it would usually be the two of us, last in the office, working late. You stayed committed to your aims throughout the year and your ability to deliver what you promised should make you proud.

To Sparky, I never really knew what the VPS did before this year. You have been the consummate master of your domain. Thanks for all the funny videos and emails that you forward on. I still don’t really know a lot of what you do, but you do it well.

Hannah, I have known you the longest out of everyone else in the team and it has been a pleasure to be a sabbatical with you. You have been a crucial part of the team, speaking a lot of sense in the meetings I’ve sat in you with and you have also been crucial at signing of the expenses which the Telegraph will never find out about. Thanks for that!

So now Oggy, Mr. Incredible just about does you justice. Few other sabbaticals in the history of the Guild can leave with as much to their name. You have also given the Guild a set-piece campaign this year to be proud of. Best of luck finishing your degree next year. I’m sure from the backbenches you will give next years team something to emulate and aspire to.

On to Rich, mate you should be proud. You have taken on your role with a passion no-one else could match. You put Development in Student Activities and Development. Guild Awards and Get Involved are a credit to your hard work and achievements.

And finally Hollie, our wandering VP Welfare. I hope she is having fun in South Africa. Hollie has taken the job of Welfare by the scruff of the neck and she too can be proud to have delivered. A Nightbus that is now running, a jobs agency on campus and a decent voter registration drive as well. I know she was disappointed to miss the last Guild Council.

I would also like to do a vote of thanks to the Guild staff, some of whom are here to night. In many ways you carry this organisation and for that you should be proud. I’ll be giving them all my thanks later.

So usually a leaving speech should be an opportunity to reflect. They do say you should never forget where you’ve come from…

I came on to Guild Council half-way through my first year. This was one of my first interactions with the Guild of Students and over the years I would faithfully attempt to represent the History department.

My initial activities lead to a spurt of motions to try and reform Guild Council itself. The fact that, if an Officer doesn’t submit a report they would face a censure, that was down to a motion that I proposed. All officers now have blogs, and this was started following a motion that I proposed. And the fact that we have electronic voting pads and got rid of the old card votes – that was decided after I proposed a motion calling for the voting on Guild Council to be made more accountable. However, in my third year I realised Guild Council was failing. Because even though we tried to change the edifice, the structure, it was apparent that would never be enough. As a Guild Councillor I focussed too much on the structure and maybe we forget the students who we were trying to represent.

Someone once said: “The trouble with organisational life is that people become obsessed with changing the edifice rather then the lives for which the organisation was designed around.” I have in the past been guilty of that, as has Guild Council. I hope that can change.

Guild Council should now be playing an even more crucial role because the road ahead is bumpy. We are looking at an increasing marketisation of higher education, a commercialisation of education. We need to adapt to face the challenges of the 21st century. The challenges facing the Guild are now crucial but it is equally crucial that you do not forget the students that you are here for.

But the challenges we face will not be solved with one meeting in one night. Change will not always come if you wait for some other Guild Councillor or if you wait for the Officers. You are the ones you've been waiting for. You are the change that you seek. Never doubt your own ability to make the change with a few emails to the Officers and a motion.

I ran because I wanted to make some of those changes. It was natural that I would want to run for education, and given the choice again I would change nothing.

This organisation has a single objective:
“To promote the educational purposes of the University of Birmingham through the promotion of the common interest of the student body.”

I often feared that we invested in other aspects of our work, the social intercourse perhaps, and lost sight of our overall aim.

That is what I have worked to rectify this year. I was able to progress the brilliant work of my predecessor and continue to enhance the Student Rep system. Student Rep names are now online, the training has been improved, we have a new strategy which builds upon the new policy that was introduced over a year ago – and eventually we will get there. Student Reps can one day be brilliant, though to coin a phrase, it takes a little patience.

Also I have tried to enhance the quality of the representation that this organisation does. As part of the quality assurance audit of the university this year the Guild had to produce a written submission on the quality of the learning experience at the University of Birmingham. This meant using statistical data, focus groups, Student Rep minutes and writing a detailed report. And the shocking thing was that this is something that we have no record of ever doing before.

My frustration is that when it comes to representation, this organisation has been amateurish, ill-resourced and pretty useless.

However, based on the back of that single report we have the university addressing key issues like the availability of core texts in the library, assessment feedback and hidden course costs.

Representation should never be seen in an end in itself. Too often we see representation as a question of communication and merely sitting on the appropriate committee. The purpose of representation is too secure educational and institutional change.

And the sad thing is I have barely had a question on either of those pieces of work all year. It pains me to say that as a body, that body which I was once a proud part of, Guild Council is ill-equipped, irrelevant to all but itself and not fit for purpose. Guild Officers are not held to account, and students are not engaged in what this body does.

My frustration amounts to one simple question: why do we do it that way? Guild Council we need to challenge ourselves more. Why do we have a Guild Council, what do students really thinks about their experience at university, what is the purpose of societies? These are all questions we should be talking about more often. In one of my more memorable speeches to Guild Council I claimed we were the modern incarnation of British steel; a nationalised industry that was prone to stagnation, potentially lacking dynamism. That is the role of Guild Council, challenge the status quo and make the Officers justify their actions. If Guild Council should do anything, it should be able to do that.

As I said before, those things can change. But it is now the job of you to make that happen.

I leave the Guild fairly happy – I’m content that what I’ve done this year has in many ways helped push this organisation forward.

I want to say a couple more thanks,

Tom Guise, everything I just said about Guild Council is now his problem and I wish him the best of luck.

To some of the non-sabbs; Emma, Chris, Pippa, Suzy, Siobhan, I’ve enjoyed Guild Officer Group meetings this year. Thanks for proofreading my motions and being great members of the team.

To my successor Brig, I think your going to be great. You understand the challenges going forward and are smart enough to work out how to solve them. I can’t promise you the next year won’t be hard for you, in fact I can only promise you blood, sweat, toil and tears. Despite that I’m going to do my best to get you ready during handover and I’m sure you’ll love it.

And finally a very special thank you goes to my girlfriend Kat. Thank you for listening to my drone on and on and on about the Guild. Thank you for putting up with my erratic diary: promising you lunch and then cancelling on a regular basis, and thank you for being a confidant who I could trust with everything. (Basically thanks for not talking to Redbrick…)

Which leaves me with one final exhortation to make…

You can make the change, but make the right change. Don’t forget the students we are all here to represent. It’s easy too, we’ve all done it! We get fixated on personal goals and ambitions and loose sight of the wider purpose, loose focus on what actually matters. Ask that fundamental question; why do we do it that way?, think about the students who you represent and be brave enough to stand up and make the change.

That’s all I really have to say about that!

So that’s it for me... My time on Guild Council and pretending to be a student ends. I hope I made a couple of worthwhile changes while here and I exhort all of you to try and do your bit too.

Thank you, that’s all folks!

Do you want to take part in a consultation on the library refurbishment?

2009-06-03T15:08:00.000+01:00

Do you have an opinion on how the Main Library could be improved?

Are you willing to spend an hour one day next week discussing your views in a focus group?

You will be paid £5.75 to take part in an hour-long focus group. These groups will run on Monday 8th, Tuesday 9th and Thursday 11th June from 1.00pm - 2.00pm. Please note that the focus group on Thursday 11th June will be for Postgraduates only.

All focus groups will be held in the Library I-lounge on the ground floor. A free lunch will also be provided.

Please e-mail t.marley@guild.bham.ac.uk with:
1. your name
2. programme
3. whether you are an Undergraduate or Postgraduate
4. what year of study you are in
5. which day you are able to attend (10th June is compulsory for Postgraduates).

Use your voice: Vote!

2009-06-01T11:08:00.005+01:00

This Thursday it is the European Elections. It is absolutely crucial that students' vote whilst they are studying. As residents of Birmingham we are 28,000 strong. However, for our opinions and interests to be taken seriously it is essential that we use our democratic right. Why would Birmingham City Council or the government take notice if students do not choose to vote? The truth is students often do not vote and often students can get overlooked.

So make sure you get your voice heard and vote this Thursday.

For more information about these elections go here.

What is WebCT like these days?

2009-05-20T17:54:00.003+01:00

Since the migration of WebCT to the new Blackboard Managed hostings which I blogged about previously I have heard significantly less complaints about WebCT. They say no news is good news so I assumed this to be the case. However, today someone mentioned that there were still concerns with the system and I was hoping to get some feedback..

So what is WebCT like right now??

Student Rep strategy

2009-05-18T15:35:00.002+01:00

This year I been working to develop a new strategy for the Student Rep scheme. This is to build on the new policy that was introduced last year.

The priorities will probably be:

Student engagement with the Student Rep Scheme
Recruiting and developing our Student Reps
Reporting structures (Making sure that something happens when Student Reps raise a concern)
Sharing best practice

A good strategy is very important because it can provide a direction for the scheme over the next few years. Hopefully we will have a draft together by June.

How do you want to see the Student Rep Scheme improving? Give your ideas as a comment or email me t.marley@guild.bham.ac.uk

Bursaries and Scholarships

2009-05-05T12:26:00.002+01:00

With it being nearly two weeks since I last blogged I wouldn't be surprised if people assumed I had walked out of the office for good.

Bursaries are a constant source of heartache for bleeding heart liberals like myself. In the past there were significant under spends on the money that was earmarked for student support. This has been the case at the University of Birmingham before now and I decided to conduct a little investigation.

Every university in the England and Wales has an 'Access Agreement'. This is an agreement between the institution and the Office for Fair Access regarding how the university will provide extra bursaries from its 'additional fee income' (the extra money that it got from top-up fees) and what outreach activities it will run.

Check out the Access Agreement for the University of Birmingham here.

In 2006-07, the first year of the new bursary scheme, the University of Birmingham pledged to spend £1,796,000 but underspent by £380,000.

However, the situation has improved. In 2007-08 the underspend equates to 0.1% and this year £3,078,000 was spent on bursaries and scholarships. In addition to this £254,000 was spent on additional outreach activities.

Despite this the University are concerned that students who are entitled to money may not be recieving it. if you think you may be eligible then check out the website here.

Library refurbishment

2009-04-23T17:19:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I attended a meeting which was discussing proposals for a major refurbishment of the Main Library. This is currently at a very early stage - it is not officially a 'project' yet as it is still required to go through the required committees. Those behind it are intent on creating a library that will be fit for the needs of students in the future.

I intend to provide more information to Guild Council about these exciting developments soon. Until then I want to hear your suggestions for what you want in the main library redevelopment..

More group study spaces?
Smaller computer clusters?
Air conditioning????

Easter

2009-04-20T14:37:00.003+01:00

So I'm back in work today after the Easter vacation. Today has been designated a 'house-keeping' day, officially the Guild is closed and we are using this opportunity to catch up on admin (and blogging). I am however back in the the thick of it! This week I will be working on putting together a draft for the Student Rep strategy and helping with preparations for the Higher Education debate on the 6th May with the new Vice Chancellor, Professor David Eastwood. I will be attending the Learning and Teaching Committee, Academic Policy and Regulation Committee and Educational Enhancement Group.

What do you want to see me working on this term? - leave any suggestions in the comments section...

More from NUS conference

2009-04-20T14:33:00.001+01:00

The NUS have just put up a video of some of the speeches by delegates from the University of Birmingham.

Hat tip to the Welfairy for beating me to it!

David Lammy visits the Guild

2009-04-20T14:28:00.001+01:00

On the 8th April the Minister for Higher Education, David Lammy, popped into the Guild of Students for a chat with the Officers. We discussed a range of issues including fees, issues facing international students and also the role marketisation has played in the US higher education system. Find out more about his visit here.

NUS conference

2009-04-03T16:21:00.002+01:00

From Tuesday to Thursday this week I was at NUS conference so I thought it worth doing a little report.

National Conference is the policy-making body of the National Union of Students. This year we discussed a raft of policies on higher education funding, student employment, and the student experience in general. This conference was themed as "Students in the Recession" demonstrating that, this year at least, NUS is relevant to the world that it exists within. There were also a series of elections. Find out all the detail from NUS conference here.

Birmingham was quite well represented this year. Myself and Fabian Neuner (President-elect) took speeches on a policy regarding assessment feedback. Hollie Jones spoke on employment rights, Jen took a speech on something (can't remember what though) as did my successor Brigid Jones.

Although it was technically a secret ballot I am happy to be held accountable for who I voted for in the elections. I voted:
- President: Wes Streeting
- Vice President (Higher Education): Aaron Porter
- Vice President (Welfare): Ben Whitacker
- Vice President (Society and Citizenship): Susan Nash
- Vice President (Union Development): Richard 'Bubble' Budden
Amusingly they all got elected!

I am not really sure what else to write about the conference but I would be happy to answer any questions in the comments section.

(some) Student Rep names now online

2009-03-27T17:12:00.002Z

A long standing intention of mine has been achieved as we now have (some) of the Student Rep names online.

There is still a lot of work to do on this though. I would estimate that only 25% of the names and email addresses are available. Unfortunately a lot of the Student Reps did not give us permission to pass on this information. This is something we will try to rectify next semester. I also realise that some of the big schools will have to be broken down into departments and it would also be useful to have the year of study of the Reps. For the College of Medical and Dental Science we will also need to ensure that the names of CAWC members (Reps for the MBChB) and the BMedSCi SSC are listed.

Any further thoughts would be much appreciated!

Joke post: Potter Puppet Pals

2009-03-26T18:10:00.002Z

To alleviate the intellectual rigours that fill my day I have decided to post another Joke post.

Enjoy!

After watching the trailer for the sixth Harry Potter film yesterday I am actually quite excited....

Feedback on exams...

2009-03-25T12:20:00.001Z

1) Do you get it?

2) Do you want it?

please leave any comments or thoughts or alternatively email me at t.marley@guild.bham.ac.uk

Guild Awards

2009-03-25T12:10:00.002Z

Last night was the 2009 Guild Awards.

I would just like to say a big-well done to Rich Walker, the Vice President (Student Activities and Development) for organising and hosting the event. I was sitting next to Edward Peck (head of the College of Social Sciences) and Brendan Casey (Director of Academic Services) and they were both hugely impressed with the array of activities and events that we have in the Guild of Students.

Also I would like to give a congratulations to Anna Speed who won the best Student Rep award!

The video-report!

2009-03-25T12:06:00.003Z

The QAA come to town

2009-03-20T17:22:00.002Z

Previously I have talked about the QAA Institutional Audit that will be taking place at the University of Birmingham. This is a very important process for the university. Institutional Audit and its result will be seen as an endorsement, or not, of the quality of the degrees which students receive.

Just over a week ago the audit team came on a Briefing Visit. They used this opportunity to talk to three sabbatical officers (me, Jen and Hollie) along with five Student Reps about our experience at the University of Birmingham. The auditors had read and questioned us on aspects of the Guild's written submission over the hour and a half. We discussed a range of issues including Enquiry-Based Learning, the my.bham portal and the Student Rep Scheme.

The QAA main audit visit will run from 27th April to the 1st May. The auditors have expressed an interest to talk to more students, both undergraduates and postgraduates, and I have emailed Student Reps asking for people who are available. Of the six meetings which the QAA will conduct two will be with students. The aim for the auditors is to follow up with university staff on what the students say. This highlights the importance which the QAA attach to student involvement in quality assurance and enhancement.

Turkey farmers vote for Xmas

2009-03-17T11:29:00.003Z

BBC News have conducted an anonymous survey of vice-chancellors in England and Wales and found two-thirds would like to see an increase in the cap on variable fees.

I can sympathise with the concerns of these vice-chancellors. For the UK to maintain its world leading position in Higher Education we must invest in the sector. Currently only 0.9% of GDP is invested into HE, below the 1.1% average for the OECD, and the government should do it's bit to cut the spending gap.

Guild Council took a position against any lifting of the cap earlier in the year. Despite the reintroduction of grants, fees are still a barrier to widening access. Fears of escalating levels of debt will only deter students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Piling more debt on to graduates during a recession would not be a smart move. Also if the cap is lifted the graduate premium (the amount extra a graduate earns by benefit of going to University) would be further whittled away and undercut the incentive for many students to attend.

Lifting the cap would also accelerate the marketisation of Higher Education. Students would be more likely to make their decision on which University to attend based on the price, and not the course that is right for them. This would undermine the culture of Higher Education and be detrimental for both students and staff.

But then what did we expect from the turkey farmers?

Joke post: All the leaves are brown...

2009-03-11T13:00:00.000Z

I thought I would inject some comic relief!

My Guild Council Report for March

2009-03-11T10:30:00.001Z

It has been another busy month in the life of your Vice President (Education and Access). In an attempt to enhance accountability I have increased the number of blogs I am making. To date I have written twelve blog posts since the last Guild Council. I intend to keep this pace up and invite all comments, queries and suggestions. www.tommarleyvpea.blogspt.com

I have held a Student Rep forum and a Postgraduate forum recently to ascertain the views and concerns of those groups. Attendance was not as high as I would like though both were new and I am looking for ways to improve them in the future.
I was part of a School Quality Review team for the reviews of Theology and B Med Sci.
I attended the Scholarship Board and we discussed increasing the availability of scholarships for postgraduate students.
At a meeting of the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee I raised the issue of extensions for candidates in Guild Officer election. That committee is also taking the lead in preparations for the QAA Institutional Audit.
I have attended various plagiarism meetings with students who have been accused of plagiarism.
I was invited to a meeting with senior University staff to discuss contingency plans for any potential UCU industrial actions, including potential actions short of a strike.
I am now on the working group to revise the Code of Practice on Reasonable Diligence. We hope to have a new Code of Practice for the next academic year.
The Learning and Teaching Roadshows that are held by the Univeristy are currently underway. These are used to spread best practice across the institution and I attended the Engineering and Physical Sciences event to provide input. I hope to attend more in the future.
I have been coordinating the Guild’s delegation to the NUS Lobby of Parliament on 18th March. We will be sending over 10 students to Parliament to lobby MPs.
Work on improving assessment feedback continues. Watch this space for more info in the future…

The issue of experience

2009-03-10T16:07:00.004Z

The relative experience of different candidate can be an important determining factor for voters. Take for example the recent US election. Obama had some experience in the State and US Senate though this was far outweighed by John McCains experience. Funnily enough McCain actually had some experience 'changing Washington' and had put his name to major overhauls of campaign finance. However, the mind-boggling inexperience of Sarah Palin, the Republican Vice Presidential candidate, was simply in another league. The very fact that Palin was literally "a heart-beat away from the presidency" (not letting us forget that McCain was also very old) was a major concern for many voters.

See this clip below for a justification of Palin's foreign policy experience.

Yes you heard it... Alaska is close to Russia.... That says it all.

So what is the value of experience when you are running for elected office? Some champion their experience and point out they have the know-how to fulfil their manifesto promises. Your experience may demonstrate you have been campaigning for students for a period of time. It may also be shown that you can get results.

Alternatively, the lack of experience can be used to show that you are an insurgent or an outsider, willing to go in and bring Change. This tactic certainly worked for Obama. The reasoning goes; if you have been on the outside you can see objectively how things can be improved and you have not been corrupted, you are part of no clique or faction of power.

In the Guild Officer elections all the candidates have very differing levels of experience. Some may even feel they are more deserving of a position. In almost every other walk of life if you demonstrate effectiveness and commitment to a cause then you will proceed. Only in the world of elections can a 'less-qualified' individual beat a 'well-qualified' individual. The real criteria that we are looking for in our potential Officers is their ability to gather votes. Surely the only experience that counts is in the ability to run an election campaign?

But then in any democracy the voters know best... surely?

£800 honey..

2009-03-10T12:10:00.001Z

Yesterday I took part in a shortlisting exercise for students who had applied for the Honey Pot funding.

The Honey Pot provides financial support for undergraduate students on work placements during the summer vacations. They can be awarded up to £800 to cover costs such as transport, accomodation and for those travelling abroad visas and vaccinations. There was a great variety of applications from those looking to do humanitarian placements in Africa to those undertaking research projects at the University of Birmingham. Every application I viewed was of a high quality and the Honey Pot scheme, which is provided by the Careers Centre, is very commendable!

Best of luck to all those who put an application in.

"Birmingham is confirmed as top research player in the region"

2009-03-10T09:17:00.000Z

So says the headline of the latest news story on the University of Birmingham website:

The Higher Education Funding Council for England announced today that it will award the University of Birmingham funding of £44.6 million for research, placing the University top in the region and 11th nationally.
This is the first award of funding that reflects Birmingham’s performance in the Research Assessment Exercise 2008 - a UK-wide survey of research quality - which ranked 89.9% of the University’s research as being “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, Professor Michael Sterling, said:

“At the University of Birmingham, we are committed to carrying out research that has global impact; that is agenda-setting; that changes lives. This award recognises that the quality and quantity of research activity undertaken at Birmingham is delivering just that. This confirms the University’s position as a major international research player and the biggest in the region.”

I can't argue with that!

I have now received my ballot paper... tough choices need making

2009-03-09T15:59:00.002Z

If you are on the main campus or live in halls you cannot fail to notice there is an election on. Various peers will be making impressive pledges, the viability of their claims something that is open to dispute. Students will be harassed while their harassers nothing short of messianic, even by Obamamaina standards. And fundamentally, every candidate proposes Change; of the what, where, when and why of the Guild. I should not be so cynical as I was messianic once.

Being a Guild Officer is hard. I know many of the candidates and their supporters assume otherwise (and I probably did too). You are constantly balancing the expectations of a student body, attempting to meet you manifesto promises and, certainly for myself, reflecting on the organisation to try and make it better. These elements are often not in sync and as a Guild Officer you have difficult decisions, this job is literally a roller coaster.

It was always my aim after the election to do a series of blogs deconstructing the role of democracy within the Guild. As it is the first day of voting I thought I would play my cards now.

In 1790 Edmund Burke, the farther of conservatism, published his Reflections on the Revolution in France. This shaped the way many viewed the French Revolution. However, it is also a political doctrine and one from which we can learn important lessons. His text was written at the onset political turmoil in France. Burke provided a critique of Liberalism, the belief that abstract notions can inform our reality, and signalled his belief in gradual, organic change as opposed to revolutionary overhaul. He pointed out that the masses could not always be trusted and that there is value in order and tradition.

Burke would point out that as a Guild Officer (ie a representative) you are not a delegate of the people. By this you do not do simply what people ask. Your own judgment is important and sometimes representing students means you don't listen to the voices of those students who are in closest proximity. Tony Blair once said: "the hardest thing in politics is not saying yes, it's saying no" and that is an important skill for any Guild Officer to have.

So when you decide to vote, don't vote for the Officer with nice promises or who promises to listen and 'do everything that students want'. Personally I have one question: would they be brave enough to say no to you?

If the answer is yes then I think we have a winner...

With this in mind I point you to the GTV hustings of the two candidates for Vice President (Education and Access): Brigid Jones and Timm Smith!

A quick message from the NUS Vice President - Aaron Porter

2009-03-09T13:04:00.000Z

The National Union of Students has recently taken to video-messages.

Here is one about the National Student Survey...

If you are a final year undergraduate and not filled in the suvey yet then make sure you do!

DVDs in the library?

2009-03-09T09:58:00.000Z

Last week a student raised with me their concerns that there were not a suitable range of DVDs in the library. Since then I have been liasing with library services to look into this issue. Although this is a slightly more obscure request, I didn't realise before now that for many students DVDs will be on their reading lists.

This got me wondering: is there anything else students would like to see in the libraries?

If you copy from one author, it's plagiarism. If you copy from two, it's research

2009-03-06T14:26:00.002Z

Over the last two weeks I have been helping quite a few students who have been accused of plagiarism. For varying reasons they were asked to attend an interview with the department to discuss pieces of work within which their lecturers feel the student has lifted passages verbatim from other sources. The ARC often plays an important role providing advice to the students in advance of the meeting with their department. As Vice President (Education and Access) I attend the meeting to support the student. The outcome of these meetings can be hugely significant to a student, they can either be given a warning to ensure that they don't plagiarise again or they can be referred to a College Misconduct Committee were sanctions include withdrawal from the University.

The University website has some very useful information on plagiarism and, most importantly, how to avoid it. If you are ever in doubt about what plagiarism is then talk to your personal tutor.

Back by popular demand.

2009-03-06T10:13:00.003Z

I've been blogging so much recently that soon students will start wondering if I'm actually doing any work...

The University has decided to rewrite its Code of Practice on 'Reasonable Diligence' and I attended a meeting on this issue yesterday. This is to ensure the institution is in line with statutory responsibilities with regards to the new points-based immigration system. Rather than attendance monitoring for all international (non EEA) students, the University has decided to strengthen its reasonable diligence procedures for all students. This approach ensures that international students are not singled out nor treated differently from their colleagues.

Currently the policy explains the procedures for how a student can be removed from the University for failing to show due diligence. It was felt by all there that the current process should be streamlined. A fine balance needs to be struck however. Many students feel there is a stigma attached to asking their department for mitigations and a student may fail to attend lectures for a perfectly understandable reason. The new policy should recognise this while balancing the need for the university to deal with those students who apply little or no application to their course in a fair and effective way.

I would welcome peoples thoughts on the issue of due diligence.

Student Rep forum

2009-03-04T18:47:00.002Z

Today I held a forum for Student Reps. These are to facilitate ongoing support for Student Reps by allowing them to raise issue with the Vice President (Education and Access) and enabling the VPEA (me) to let them know what is going on.

Turnout was OK. Unfortunately we are not sure that all Student Reps are on our email list. If you are a Student Rep and were not notified please email studentreps@guild.bham.ac.uk

A number of issues were discussed including welfare tutors, assessment feedback and short loan library books, all of which the Guild will now be able to take action on. I hope the Student Reps found the forum useful and these exercises can be repeated again.

Today there was a great success..

2009-03-04T18:45:00.001Z

I finally got on top of my emails!

I am actually quite happy about that...

The problem with £1,300

2009-03-03T19:44:00.002Z

In a previous post the Guild's You View survey was criticised for being a waste of money. As one who is keen to deal with issues head on I thought I would dedicate a blog to this matter.

No one can criticise the Guild for not attempting to communicate. This year we have set up the GOS and very soon it should be going out to all registered students. We also have a new website which we are constantly enhancing. I sometimes get frustrated as people assume it is easier to communicate to students then it actually is. If we channeled £1,300 into 'communications' tomorrow what would you have us do with the money? More posters and flyers?

That was the very purpose of the You View survey. To ask students directly what we should be campaigning on and how they want to be communicated with. The problem with £1,300 is that we can spend it, but we want to know how we can spend it effectively.

A democracy of the people, for the people

2009-03-02T17:21:00.001Z

"The greatest argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter."

- Winston Churchill -

"A democracy is nothing more than an angry mob, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine."

- Abraham Lincoln -

"Democracy is a very admirable form of government — for dogs."

- Edgar Allan Poe -

"Those who vote count for nothing; those who count the vote count for everything."

- Joseph Stalin -

"Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

- Winston Churchill -

Your view

2009-03-02T11:43:00.001Z

The Guild of Students wants to hear ‘YOUR VIEW’ to help us plan for the future and ensure we’re providing the kind of activities, services and support you need. If you haven’t already you can still have your say by completing a short online survey which should take around 4 minutes. Your input is important to us!

As a thank you for your valued input, four of the completed surveys will be picked at random to win a top prize of £1,000 cash, or one of three runner-up prizes of £100 cash.

To complete the survey please click the following link: http://sirius.redbrickmediagroup.co.uk/survey/bgs/default.aspx

'Big R' representation

2009-02-26T14:13:00.002Z

When not playing Scrabble on facebook (feel free to challenge me to a game) I can be found representing students. More recently when not doing either of those things I am a prolific blogger.

In a previous thread a commentator speculated it may be worth merging Student Reps and Guild Councillors. This suggestion has been muted before and even though it is an interesting debate I don't personally support merging the two systems. Here's why:

Student Reps work on a department/school/programme level, there is flexibility built into the system to allow Student Staff Committees to take place at the most effective level. Guild Councillors on the other hand have a uniform constituency, which is their school.

Student Reps attend Student Staff Committees (SSC) while Guild Councillors attend Guild Council. (GC) For each meeting a Student Rep/Guild Councillor is expected to canvass those they represent and feedback after the meeting. As someone who undertook both roles (to varying success) this is a considerable workload, the job would simply be too big.

SSCs and GC also have different purposes. Student Staff Committees look very specifically issues affecting students on their programme of study. On the other hand Guild Councillors represent students on a wide range of issues including housing, welfare and student activities.

The key to representation is simple structures and that is what we have.

It's about quality, not quantity...

2009-02-25T16:00:00.003Z

The first line on my manifesto clearly stated: My first priority as Vice President Education and Access would be to ensure that your degree is really worth the paper it is written on. Little did I know about BIQAES (pronounced bikes) processes at the time...

Every year the University of Birmingham conducts a number of School Quality Reviews. (SQR) These are designed to "test and improve the effectiveness of the internal processes carried out by Schools." These take place on a six-year cycle and on every review team a sabbatical officer is present. An SQR is not directly concerned with what you are taught and how this is delivered. Instead it "focuses instead on the effectiveness of systems in place within the School to assure and enhance the quality of provision, the standards of awards, and the student learning experience." The review team usually compromises of 3-4 academics and a secretary from the University Academic Quality Unit. We spend a whole day in a series of meetings with that school and give them a grilling Paxman would be proud of.

This may all seem a little dull and you may ask why I spend a day a part of a review team, interrogating the systems a school will have in place.

Quality assurance and quality enhancement are important. It is quite simply how we know that our education is good and that it is constantly improving. Pretty simple.

The student voice within these processes are very important. Each review team will meet with students from that school and this is often the most illuminating discussion of the day. The sabbatical officer can also provide a unique perspective on how effective these systems may be.

I have spent Monday and Tuesday reviewing Theology and BMedSci respectively. It was quite intensive, but also very worthwhile.

What is to be done?

2009-02-20T14:15:00.002Z

Two months ago the Guild was provided with the results of the Student Satisfaction Survey. These were general questions on the attitudes which students' have of services provided by the Guild of Students. The results confirmed what most of us already know; that the Guild suffers from its location on campus and while many students use the services and entertainments, more can be done. The survey also generated vast amounts of qualitative comments and one afternoon I made some time and read through them all. To no surprise there were a vast number of comments relating to the Guild's ability to communicate with its members, the student body, and this is something we have to improve.

This year we have piloted a newsletter called The GOS. You can check out the archives here. This was an idea developed by the sabbatical team. Over Welcome Week we signed people up to receive these newsletters and we collected over 2,000 email addresses. Since then we have been in discussions with the University about getting the academic email addresses of all students and ensure every member of the Guild gets these updates.

Also, with a new website provider we have enhanced our online presence. Our current website is a vast improvement on what we have had previously.

The issue of communication is a tough nut to crack.

The key is developing channels of communication, in other worths methods of communicating. We cannot rely on word of mouth, or officers popping on to campus to talk to the students they can grab hold of in a short space of time. We need to have systems in place to promote the message of the Guild. Therefore we need processes in place to ensure that the Guild is visible to our membership as part of our normal activities.

The sabbaticals have continued working on this throughout the year. We have been exploring how we can use Student Media Groups to provide alternative mediums for students to find out about the Guild. Our very own VPSAD has some exciting ideas about promoting student group events in the pipeline. Redbrick is also a vital method of communication, providing not just news but analysis and comment.

More then anything I am keen to hear what you think about communication. How should we do it? What methods can we use that we haven't thought of yet? I genuinely want to hear the thoughts of our students.

A note from the backroom

2009-02-19T14:22:00.002Z

Most will realise that blogging has not been my highest priority over the last few months. The job of a sabbatical officer is a whirlwind of endless activity, made more difficult by the reality that at best my own activities are opaque and clothed in a seeming veil of secrecy.

As I have mentioned previously the QAA audit has kept me busy. A great deal of my time was taken up with preparing the student written submission, a lengthy and sometimes difficult document. It is to some frustration yet no great surprise that this rather un-sexy activity has not generated any real interest. Any student who wishes to view the document is more then welcome so email me at t.marley@guild.bham.ac.uk Student Reps also remain my key priority, though still to limited success. Five Student Rep college forums were held over the last two weeks. These were not as successful as could have been hoped though there are some successes that can be built upon. The Student Rep system is currently undergoing a major evaluation as the three-year improvement strategy has come to its end.

The job of a sabbatical is an incrementalist, not a revolutionary. We may want change now but there are very few easy wins, in fact someone once said if it wasn't hard it wasn't worth doing.. or something like that. Despite this very few people seem over the moon.

Around two years ago a motion was passed by Guild Council calling on Guild Officers to blog regularly. It also proposed a huge reform of the reports that were presented to Guild Council. That motion was proposed by me and I seem to, two years on, be unable to live up to my own expectation of an officer. Surely I should have been put up for a censure already.

Well here's to getting back to basics and our number one priority (communicating with students) and I'm going to try and start blogging at least once a week.

Youtube lectures

2008-11-10T11:52:00.002Z

A student recently brought this to my attention.

At MIT lectures are put on Youtube for students to download and watch in their own time. Check out how it is down here.

I don't think there is much chance of this happening in Birmingham yet, but what are your thoughts on this?

Lee Saunders, Senate and a cold

2008-11-10T11:29:00.002Z

These have been the highlights of my last week.

Last Wednesday was University Senate. Senate is the top academic body in the university and receives reports from the Learning and Reaching Committee and Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee. I cannot claim a whole lot happened and the meeting was over in just over an hour.

On Friday some of the sabbs met Lee Saunders, the new Registrar and Secretary at the University. We discussed quite a range of issues from students in the community and student safety to investment in estates on campus.

By no means a quiet week.

Did you HEAR about the new grading plan?

2008-10-26T16:54:00.002Z

Currently students who graduate are awarded a first, second of third class degree. Recently though there has been concern from employers that this does not provide enough information about the achievements of a graduate nor allows them to distinguish between job applicants. In 2004 Bob Burgess, the VC of Leciester, led a review into the classification system and found that the current system had outlived its usefulness. In 2007 Burgess advocated a Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR). This will provide more detailed information then the final year transcript, showing individual modules and assessments. The HEAR is not designed to replace the current classification system but enhance it.

This year 18 universities will trial this new grading system for degrees. Last year Guild Council passed a motion supporting the Higher Education Achievement Report and the results of the pilot will be watched with interest.

Web CT

2008-10-24T13:05:00.002+01:00

Last night at Guild Council I was asked a question regarding the performance of WebCT in the first few months of term. The University has recognised there some students are having problems logging-on and using the system. This is partly die to the fact that there has been at 30% increase in start of term log-ons by both students and staff. Some of the hardware is also reaching the end of its life-cycle.

The University are taking these issues very seriously and the performance of WebCT has already been discussed at the Learning and Teaching Committee. It has been decided to switch to Blackboard Managed Hostings which will have increased campacity and be more effective.

Feel free to email me any questions at t.marley@guild.bham.ac.uk

Finding your way to the library

2008-10-22T11:28:00.002+01:00

Found this on Youtube...

Learning spaces

2008-10-22T11:12:00.002+01:00

Last week I attended the opening of the Green Room in the Orchard Leaning Resources Centre. The OLRC is the main library on the Selly Oak campus. The Green Room is located on the ground floor. One half is a social space which facilities group work. The other half of the room has new IT facilities including whiteboards.

The University is currently investing £9 million over a three year period into upgrading learning spaces. What lecture theatres/seminar rooms/labs etc do you think need upgrading??

(please leave comments)

Do you know who your Student Rep is?

2008-10-16T16:27:00.000+01:00

Student Reps exist to make sure the University knows what the real issues facing students in different departments are. Whether it is the length of time it takes for students to receive feedback on their assessment, the quality of teaching facilities or hidden course costs, Student Reps exist to make your voice heard. There are elected Student Reps in every subject area, both undergraduate and postgraduate, and they work to make the learning experience for other students better.

Student Reps canvass all students within their school to listen to their views and find any issues affecting students. They then attend Student-Staff Committee meetings to present these problems and work with staff to resolve them. In the last academic year Student Reps achieved significant changes across the University. As well as general improvements to modules, timetabling, assessment and lecture facilities, Student Reps have worked to ensure better IT provision for several subjects and new provision of counselling services to students on satellite sites.

Keep an eye on the Guild of Students website as the names of your Student Reps will be going up soon. Alternatively check out the Student Rep noticeboard in your school for the latest news.

Guild Council papers online

2008-10-16T16:17:00.001+01:00

The papers for Guild Council, which will be held on the on the 23rd October from 6pm in the Guild Council Chambers, are now online. Check them out here.

Birmingham Uni: 75th in the world

2008-10-15T17:49:00.002+01:00

The latest world rankings have been released in the Times Higher Education magazine and the University of Birmingham has come 75th. Yes, students at Birmingham are studying at the 75th best institution in the world!

The sabbatical team, 08-09

2008-09-19T10:52:00.012+01:00

From left to right: James Ogden, Vice President (Housing and Community); Rich Walker, Vice President (Student Activities and Development); Hannah Lazell, Vice President (Democracy and Resources); Hollie Jones, Vice President (Welfare); Jennifer Larbie, President; Tom Marley, Vice President (Education and Access); Mark 'Sparky' Smith, Vice President (Sport).

Q, A, eh???

2008-09-19T10:52:00.009+01:00

If you have been around my office over the past few weeks you will have heard me incessantly talking about an obscure acronym, the QAA.

Every four years the University is audited to measure the academic quality and standards by an independent body called the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). The purpose of this is to safeguard the public interest in sound standards of higher education qualifications.

This audit will take place between the 29th April and the 1st May. Before then the QAA will be visiting the University to prepare. As part of the audit process the University submit a self-reflection document informing the QAA of what they think are their strengths and weaknesses. The Guild also make a submission, the student written submission, highlighting what students believe to be the University's strong and weak points. This is due in Febuary though it is our intention to complete a first draft in November so it can go to students for consultation.

You will be hearing more on this issue in the future...

Getting ready for freshers...

2008-09-19T10:52:00.007+01:00

Tomorrow students start moving into university halls. For over a week Selly Oak has seemed increasingly busy, students are coming back and gearing up for the new academic year.

In the Guild a lot of preparation has, and still is, going on for Welcome Week. On Monday will be the Wellbeing fair which is your opportunity to find out about healthy living and sport. On Tuesday there will be the Community Fair where you will be able discover more about the area where you live. Also on Tuesday is the Change the World Fair where you can find out about the various campaigning opportunities in the Guild to make the world a better place. Wednesday sees the Volunteering Fair, the first opportunity student have to find out about the ways to get involved in volunteering. On Wednesday and Thursday there is the Jobs Fair, for students who think they will have to earn while they study. Also on Wednesday up at the Munrow Sports Centre is the Sports Fair.

On Tuesday and Wednesday is the Freshers Fair. This is your opportunity to pick up all the amazing freebies you think you need but may eventually throw away. There will be a range of local and national companies with amazing offers for various bars, nightclubs and entertainment. On Thursday and Friday is the Societies Fair. This is the big opportunity students have to see all the societies within the Guild, sign up for emails, and get involved! With over 160 societies there is something to suit everyone...

Whatever you do over the next week, make sure you pop along!

Manchester United now sponsored by the US Federal Reserve

2008-09-19T10:52:00.002+01:00

HE funding: Broke and Broken

2008-09-10T16:19:00.002+01:00

The NUS have produced a new report on the state of Higher Education funding in England and Wales. Entitled Broke and Broken, it is an damning inditement of the consequences of variable fees and the marketisation of HE. This report has been written in anticipation of the 2009 review of HE funding. It lays out the pitfalls in the various aguments that may be used by those who want to see the cap lifted.

Over the next few weeks I will write a series of blogs setting out the main themes of Broke and Broken. At some point over the next semester this issue will also be coming to Guild Council.

The most interesting part of my job so far...

2008-09-02T13:51:00.001+01:00

...signing cheques. I have now personally seen off over £100,000.

Black history month

2008-08-31T16:50:00.002+01:00

Black history month is October and in anticipation of this the Guild is planning a number of events and campaigns. We will be particularly looking to increase involvement of BME students in the Student Rep system. BME students make up very few of the Student Reps and for the system to be fully representative all groups, whether it be postgraduate, international or ethnic shoudl be represented. Also, at Guild Council we will also be looking to renew our committment to anonymous marking. It has been shown that where anonymous marking is in place the results of BME students improve by 12%. Keep an eye out for those campaigns.

Liberation is at the heart of the mission of the Guild of Students. While collectively we strive to defend and improve student rights we all seek to empower those very students with the ability to access a world class education. Despite this some groups still suffer discrimination because of their gender/sexuality/disability or ethnicity. While this discrimination exists at a university and national level we have a responsibility to make the case for equality. I hope everybody takes an interest in the upcoming black history month.

Is it really that long since I blogged?

2008-08-31T16:38:00.002+01:00

With it being over a month since I made a post on this site I thought it about time I added something.

Towards the beginning of this month I spent two weeks on annual leave. The occasion was an extended family holiday to County Cork in Ireland. The weather was nice and the food was good. I came back to Birmingham at the end of it refreshed and ready to go.

The I went on the second of my two NUS training courses. This one was called Action through Advocacy and held at the University of Hertfordshire (again). Whereas the first training course I attended (Active Political Leadership) was designed for all officers these sessions were designed to be useful for education/welfare/housing sabbaticals. Accordingly me, Hollie and Oggy went. I found this training particularly useful - the apathy staicase, communication action networks, a better understanding of the Bologna process - most of which I think should be helpful to me during the coming year.

Then finally I had my first day in the office. I have now replied to a huge backlog of emails and and started planning my campaigns. Importantly I have made the resolution to keep adding to this blog regularly.

So what have I been getting up to in July?

2008-07-19T16:30:00.006+01:00

Many people assume that as there are no students around the summer is a quiet time in the Guild. This has certainly not been the case. Throughout the month of July the officer team for 08-09 have been receiving training. This has included a behind the scenes tour of the guild building and sessions with the various departments. This week I attended 'Active Political Leadership', a training event run by the NUS. This was an intensive course in skills which are relevant to running a students' union.

On Friday Baroness Amos officially opened the Amos Room in the Guild of Students. Lady Amos is an alumni of the Unversity of Birmingham and was the first black female cabinet minister.

Below are a few pictures to give you some idea of what has been going on.

Why I ran for election

2008-07-18T20:54:00.000+01:00

This is a question I get asked on a regular basis.

On the right is a picture of me making a speech at a hustings event outside Avanti. My speech was about whether students are getting value for money in their time at the University of Birmingham. Although they pay fees of over £3,000 they still question the quality of feedback on their work, why they feel they do not get enough contact hours and why there are not enough core texts in the library.

I was a Student Rep and a Guild Councillor for history. Those were the kind of issues I used to raise. Now as Vice President I will campaign on those same issues and more.

My aim is to create a vibrant and responsive Student Rep system. Representation should exist at every level (from the lecture theatre to the Vice Chancellor's office) but it is in every school and department where students should feel empowered to be able to have an impact on the issues that affect them.

My election website

2008-07-18T20:32:00.001+01:00

When I was running for election I created a website to display my policies.

Check it out here.

Feel free to pull me up on any of my promises which you feel I am not working on...

The Manifesto

2008-07-18T20:14:00.000+01:00

My new blog

2008-07-18T11:34:00.000+01:00

Hello and welcome to my blog. As the Guild's Vice President (Education and Access) it is my job to represent students to the university on academic issues. This blog will be a forum for feedback on what I am doing and the education campaigns that the Guild is running.