NUS Higher Education Conference

Added on 27/10/2008

We are really excited to launch the NUS Higher Education Conference. On the 15th & 16th January 2009 at the Britannia Hotel, Coventry we will be bringing to you the experts from the HE sector as well as the Government for two days of workshops, debate and discussion. This will be a perfect opportunity to learn more about some of the key challenges facing students and the HE Sector today and in the future.

The event is open to both officers and staff from students’ unions, although we have to limit each union to three delegates.

For a more information, a draft agenda and online booking, please click here.

Survey of Student Parents

Added on 17/10/2008

This year NUS has been carrying out a major piece of research into the experiences of parents studying in further and higher education. The aim of the research is to shed light on the barriers faced by student parents, as well as to investigate the positive impact that learning can have on individuals and their families.

We know from the research that we have already carried out that learners can face problems to do with student finance and benefits, course organisation and childcare, and that studying with children can sometimes be an isolating and stressful experience. We also know that individuals and their families benefit enormously from parental education and that further and higher education can have a huge impact on child poverty and children's educational attainment.

We need further evidence of the issues facing student parents so that we can campaign for changes to improve their experience of education now and in the future. For this reason we are asking student parents to fill in an online survey which you can access here:

NUS Student Parents Survey

We really need your help to promote this survey to students within your institution and would be grateful if you could distribute it via any newsletters you send out or on your website. Please feel free to use the text from this article in any of your publications.

Anyone filling in the survey will be entered into a prize draw to win one of three £50 High St Vouchers! All survey responses are anonymous.

If you have any questions about the project, please e-mail studentparents@nus.org.uk.

Quality Matters Resources

Added on 29/09/2008

Bellow you can download presentations and notes from most of the sessions from Quality Matters which took place on 11th September 2008 at the Palace Hotel, Manchester. We hope you find these useful.

Course Reps: Building an Effective System:

http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/Course Rep1.ppt

http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/CRnotes1.docx

http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/Repchecklist.docx

Quality Assurance in HE in FE:

http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/QMHEinFE1.ppt

NUS Education Information on NSS in HE in FE:

http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/EINSS.pdf

Using course reps to engage the learner voice:

http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/coursereps2.ppt

NUS Briefing on Institutional Audits:

http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/qm6.pdf

Institutional Audit - University of Leicester:

http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/JennyRiceIA.ppt

Anglia Ruskin Student Written Submission Case Study:

http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/AngliaRuskinSWS.ppt

Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union SWS:

http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/angliaruskin.pdf

European Quality Assurance:

http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/QMinEurope.ppt

Engaging Students in internal institutional audits:

http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/programmeReview.ppt

http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/StudentAuditors.ppt

The Great NUS Feedback Amnesty

Added on 18/09/2008

The release of the 2008 National Student Survey (NSS) results once again highlights feedback on assessment is a key concern for students. Regardless of institution, background or course, students were significantly less satisfied about the feedback that they received than their overall learning experience.

This follows the same discontentment that arose in 2007, 2006 and 2005, indicating that the issue is both pervasive and continuous. However, this will not surprise many within the sector. It seems poor mechanisms of feedback have been part and parcel of higher education for a long time. Furthermore the problem is not simply confined to under-graduate students as other research, recently published by the Higher Education Academy (HEA), shows post-graduate share similar experiences too.

The NUS Feedback Amnesty has been a major programme of work running throughout 2008. Using focus groups, student networks, websites and summer training sessions, it has explored the opinions and experiences of current students around feedback mechanisms. We have used our findings to compile a briefing paper on the issue and to identify ten principles on which good practise of feedback should be based. We have also published a campaign tool kit to aid you to campaign for change on this issue.

For further information contact us at feedbackamnesty@nus.org.uk or vist our policy corner page on this issue.

Quality Matters

Added on 10/09/2008

Tomorrow, Officers and Staff from students’ unions across the UK are coming to Quality Matters, a one day event to discuss, debate and learn about everything Quality. You can read more about it here. After the event, we will put the notes and presentations from the day online for those that couldn’t come.

Today we launch the first in a series of Quality Matters presentations – Institutional Audits.

Download it here.

Supporting the briefing is a new page at the Policy Corner with a bank of example Student Written Submissions to help inform your work as you respond to Institutional Audits locally.

We hope you find this useful, and look forward to welcoming you to Quality Matters in Manchester. If you are working on, or have just completed a Student Written Submission, send it to qualitymatters@nus.org.uk so it can be added to our archive for all to see.