£800 honey..

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"

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

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

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?

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

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.

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

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..

I finally got on top of my emails!

I am actually quite happy about that...

The problem with £1,300

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

"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

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

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...

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?

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

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

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

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?

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

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

Found this on Youtube...

Learning spaces

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?

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

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

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!