Panelists' Answers:
As part of the conference, we invited you to ask your questions to our expert panel. Jim, Hillary and the Sabbatical Officers discussed "Do students better than they are getting?" and answered a few questions from the floor. Any questions that weren't asked - we sent to them anyway, so that you can hear their thoughts!
You asked:
Why are the decision makers so out of touch with what the students feel and want? And what steps can be taken rectify this situation?
Jim said:
"I guess that depends on who you mean when you say “decision makers”. My general impression is that everyone - from individual academics to university managers to the government all “know” what students feel and want but either feel powerless to act on it, or think it’s someone else in the system that should be addressing the issue(s)."
Hillary said:
"Often the main reason that decision makers are out of touch with students is down to a lack of engagement with the current reality students live in, and because they engage in ways that are inaccessible and unrelatable to students. Another major reason is that they approach students with an already decided agenda that they just want to tick box. It is important that this is undone as an approach and I would recommend 3 big steps that are important in ensuring students are really engaged with meaningfully:
- Find ways to engage students in their own natural environments. Allow for these spaces to be formed, led, and navigated by them - and find ways to feedback in ways that students feel empowered and truly represented.
- Make sure you have ongoing, natural ways of having continued student feedback. The student opinion changes, new ideas pop up all the time, and to capture the, universities must work with SUs to keep listening to students to really keep in touch with what they feel, need and want.
Remunerate your students! It is important that whilst students shouldn't be incentivised to fit their opinions into the university, they shouldn't be made to give the opinions without anything to show appreciation / value of the work that takes. This is especially important for students from liberation backgrounds."
You asked:
It does not feel like decisions were made consulting students. Why were students not part of the conversation sooner?
Jim said:
"At the beginning of the pandemic, there was limited opportunity for meaningful student engagement - we were effectively in an emergency. The question is whether we ever left that emergency!"
Hillary said:
"This is dependent on institutions, but this can largely be answered by the above answer, with a focus on point 2. When there aren't structures in place to allow for a truly democratised university, then students are easily locked out of the conversation like we've seen time and time again."
You asked:
Our Modules were cancelled due to the logistics on how to deliver it, now I find that the key skills that employers looked for in my degree is missing, putting me at a disadvantage. How can this be allowed to happen?
Jim said:
"It certainly shouldn’t happen. It’s hard to address this question in the generality, but the government, the sector and individual universities have all pledged that while the delivery of programmes will have been affected, the learning outcomes should not have been.
See https://wonkhe.com/blogs/students-prepare-to-board-the-bandwagon-of-covid-complaints/
Clearly if you feel you should have been getting something out of your programme that the change in delivery has now prevented you should raise the issue formally, potentially as a (group) complaint if necessary. The SU should be able to advise you in more detail on how to do that."
Hillary said:
"This is one that's answered by the above again!"
You asked:
I feel like universities are neglecting 2nd and 3rd years, with the mentality of “the damage is done for those students lets prevent this with the next batch”. What measures can be taken to prevent this?
Jim said:
See above. See also
https://wonkhe.com/blogs/classic-cars-careers-consumerism-and-confidence-how-to-address-students-complaints-during-the-pandemic/ and
https://wonkhe.com/blogs/is-it-too-late-to-resolve-students-practical-concerns/
Hillary said:
"We must look for the long-, medium- and short-term solutions needed in every situation to make sure no student/cohort is neglected or left out. That's why NUS' #StudentsDeserveBetter campaign sits under our New Vision for Education priority campaign, because the issues here are structural and need to be addressed looking at the root of where these issues are born.
Our current asks to ensure all year groups are covered include:
- A true student support package: upwards of £700m (HE)? - Equivalent of NI Student Covid Disruption Payment?
- Underwrite tuition fees, not just this year but every year (HE)
- Academic mitigation at every institution where it is needed (HE)? - Working on, and beyond, no detriment policies to ensure that students can catch up on missed learning: opportunities to access resources, build portfolios, do placements
- An end to digital poverty (FE and HE)? - From technology, software and hardware to free broadband.
Join us to campaign for these measures and more!"
You asked:
Who do we approach to complain about lectures/ tutors without it seeming like we are attacking them, as obviously that isn’t what we want to do?
Jim said:
That depends on whether your complaint is about the way they have been teaching, or wider aspects of organisation and management, or the way modules have been run this year, and so on. The SU should be able to advise you on the right approach depending on the detail.
Hillary said:
"This is definitely one to take to your SU officers - if it's a general/widespread issue - they can speak to the local UCU branch and other relevant staff networks to open dialogues about any issues, but if it's more specific your SU advice service can take you through more proper processes."
You asked:
Why have the number of lectures been delivered gone down - why the change in structure? Would it not have been simpler or possible to maintain the same about of contact time but online?
Jim said:
"The government says that its expectations are very clear: HE providers should “maintain the quality and quantity of tuition” and seek to ensure that all students regardless of their background “have the resources to study remotely”
There are complexities about whether changes to courses were subject to consultation with students and whether students consented to those changes. A good summary of rights in this area is here
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-a-short-guide-to-consumer-rights-for-students
...and Which? has a guide here
https://conversation.which.co.uk/parenting/universities-uni-students-unfair-course-degree-changes-law/
Neither have the pandemic specifically in mind but both should still apply. If you feel your rights have been breached in ways described at the links, you should raise it formally, using the complaints process if necessary."
Hillary said:
"I'm sure there's research or data out there showing the difference in working online and in person, but online, the workload and ways of working are very different which means that it often takes a lot more behind the scenes work to make digital engagement work. This means the capacity, and the health implications of trying to do the same amount of lectures as before just doesn't translate well for those teaching and those learning. Staff working conditions are student learning conditions!
There's a lot of opportunity to rethink how teaching and learning is done, especially with the move to online teaching and learning. The traditional lecture style may be no more if it means that students can learn and study in much more engaging and meaningful ways. It's important that we use this time to rethink what actually works and doesn't and remodel how we do education to shape it for the students now and for the future!"
You asked:
I feel we need more engagement from lectures, not just a couple hours of lectures a week and an hour of office hours a week. How can we ask for more?
Jim said:
"This seems to be a version of the vertical/horizontal support issue that I have been discussing this year in relation to mental health. The vertical is the support “provided” by the university – contact time, office hours, formal support services and so on. The horizontal is the peer to peer social learning environment that allows students to thrive. Both combine to create learning.
But when the horizontal is stilted or missing (as during a pandemic), students naturally feel they need more vertical – and in many cases they can’t access it, and deeply resent the implication that they are selfish for wanting it. As a rep if you have good evidence that there is a widespread concern that students aren’t getting the support they need, you should raise that formally. The SU will be able to support you to do this effectively."
Hillary said:
"Work with your SU officers, academic reps and faculties to lobby for deeper engagement and contact hours. Your officers will know how the structures work to make this happen, but always be upfront and try and find a way to work with staff to make sure this is done in a way that ensures they're not strained as a result of it."