The QS World University rankings are based on a university’s academic reputation, employer reputation, academic citations, staff to student ratio, and proportion of international students and international staff. The QS release last week saw Auckland, Canterbury and Victoria all drop in their international ranking. Victoria, in particular, dropped from 225 to 237. The University of Otago was the only NZ University to improve its standing. So what does this mean for us as students?

Well, it is not just politicians in opposition, but QS themselves, who have attributed the fall of NZ universities in international rankings to the relatively low level of public investment in the Tertiary Sector.

You see, over the past few years there has been consistent under-investment in tertiary education. This has seen tertiary institutions, such as Vic, restrict entries into courses and programmes. What this means is that doors are shut to able students, fees continue to climb, courses and programmes are closed and resources (including staff) are stretched nearly to breaking point.

All of this is happening when more people are wanting to study at a tertiary level and are entering into tertiary study. Universities are in a bind, they have to select students upon entry who they think are ‘suitable’ for study, they also have to increase class size, restrict student-contact time with staff and increase staff to student ratios just to meet the societal demands within a tight budget-climate. On top of this, staff are under even more pressure as they also have to meet their research commitments in a PBRF environment.
So, what are the effects of this continued underfunding and why should it matter to you?

• Under-funding threatens the quality of education you receive in your institutions. Less money means fewer resources, fewer tutors, less contact time with lecturers as they focus on research, larger classes—the list goes on.
• As the funding gap between NZ and the rest of the world widens, NZ institutions will lose out in attracting international academics and teachers.
• Less money spent of vital student services, such as Student Health, Counselling and learning support, all of which contribute to a University retention and completion rate.
• A change in the types of students being allowed entry. Just due to current political changes, fewer mature students are entering into tertiary education and refugee and migrant students are finding it harder to get the support they need to enter and complete studies.
• Increased pressure to see internal budgets rationalised which, at Vic, has seen programmes and courses of study being cut, most notably Gender and Women’s studies last year.
• And upon writing this column, the University has just released a consultation document seeking to disestablish the current structure of the CUP Programme and consequently the CUP Programme itself. This is due to the fact that from 2012, Vic will no longer be funded to provide sub-degree programmes.

For the economic and social future of New Zealand it is vitally important that we have a well -funded tertiary sector. This is not an issue to be taken lightly. *

It’s not meant to be my week for the Exec column but Daniel Wilson is off debating in South Korea, so I thought I would write a few things about VUWSA and the services that we provide to students.

When you enrol to study at Vic, you automatically become a member of VUWSA. As a member of VUWSA you pay a membership subscription which helps to fund the services that we provide. The VUWSA subscription levy is set by students at a general meeting of VUWSA and is paid when you pay your course fees to the University.

I could spend this column listing the services that we provide from the VUWSA Levy, but from what a recent survey has told us is that a vast majority of students know at least the basic services that VUWSA provides. Better yet they are well utilised by a large percentage of the University. To find information about our services you can visit our website; vuwsa.org.nz – we are a lot more than bus passes and sausage sizzles.

Another big part of VUWSA’s role is looking after student representation on campus. VUWSA Executive members such as myself sit on boards and committees but VUWSA helps train other students to be effective student representatives at all levels of the University – from the lecture theatre to Academic Board. This helps to ensure academic integrity, fair decision making and an accountable University.

We are also there to offer advice and support to students who need it through our VUWSA Advocate. Whether is be advice on how to deal with a horrible landlord or issues related to your study at Vic, such as academic miscount – we are there to help you out!

400 words really isn’t enough space to go into detail about everything that we do, but PLEASE remember that we are YOUR students’ association. If you are unimpressed or don’t like something VUWSA is doing – let us know! If you love the things that we do – let us know! Students have input in everything we do – so make sure your voice is heard.

If you have any specific questions about VUWSA and/or how we operate you can give myself or the VUWSA President, Seamus Brady, an email. Or come say hi to us at the VUWSA Kelburn Offices.

Otherwise I hope you are all rested and have recovered from Re-Orientation Week!

And don’t forget you only have until the end of this week (22nd July) to withdraw from courses and get a full refund!

<3
Bridie Hood
evp@vuwsa.org.nz

As well as events, the start of a new trimester and new classes also means a new opportunity to put your hand up to be a Class Rep! Yay! I know I go on about it all the time, but student representation is so important and I urge you all to get involved.

Class repping provides you with some really awesome opportunities and skills, such as building professional relationships with staff, acquiring new skills, meeting new people and positively effecting student-driven change at the University. In addition, this year we have also introduced Class Rep Scholarships—these are awards that recognise the amazing work that Class Reps do. We have one scholarship available to a Class Rep in every faculty (FHSS has two scholarships available).

If you are keen to be a Class Rep this trimester make sure you check out the VUWSA website for training session times and dates!
Over the last few weeks the VUWSA Education Office has been busy working on the Review of Undergraduate Education. Our reps on the numerous committees have been busy ensuring that the student voice is being heard at all levels of the Review. Once again thank you to all the students who took the time to fill out our survey.

The student recommendations from the VUWSA Submission are beings discussed at the numerous committees and being integrated into recommendations that are to be put forward to the RUE Steering Committee. We can see that students are playing a massive role in this review and throughout this process the University have been really interested in hearing student opinion on the issues. If you are interested in hearing a bit more about how the Review is going, in the next few weeks we will be holding an information session to get students up to speed on how everything is going. This will also give students the opportunity to ask the student reps on the committees any specific questions.

I hope to see some of you around at re-Orientation events and as always, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in contact! *

Nga mihi,
Bridie Hood
evp@vuwsa.org.nz

While I have several more humorous anecdotes I could share about Mrs Hepburn with you all, I should probably move onto matters of slightly more substance.

VUW Policy Reviews

Victoria currently has several policies up for review and of particular importance is the ‘Student Workload policy’. This is the policy that deals with issues around student (and staff) workload at the University and sets up guidelines and rules regarding determination of workload, assessment, extensions and the monitoring of workloads. As always, VUWSA is keen to hear what students’ thoughts are about policy issues such as these, so if this is something that interests you, give me an email and we can discuss it further. Or else hopefully your Class Rep will be putting a link up on Blackboard for you to fill out.

Campus Angels

Campus Angels has started up again for 2011. This is a service provided to students by students. If you are leaving the campus late at night and feel uncomfortable walking around in the dark by yourself, one of our Campus Angles can help you. They operate at Kelburn, Pipitea and Te Aro Campuses. Check out the VUWSA website for more information.

This is my last column for this trimester, so good luck to you for the rest of Trimester 1! Hopefully I’ll see a lot of you at Stress Free Study Week Breakfasts! And as always, if you have any questions feel free to give me an email. *

<3
Bridie
evp@vuwsa.org.nz

Hopefully your first four weeks of Uni have been going well and you are not too far behind on your readings! It was awesome to see so many of you getting involved in O Week this year. It was definitely the best O Week VUWSA has put on in a long time.

Over the past fortnight I, along with Education Officer Jen Fellows and Education Organiser Dr. Fiona Beals, have been busy training Class Reps and Faculty Delegates over Kelburn, Pipetia, Te Aro and Karori campuses. This year we have the highest percentage of classes with Class Reps in the last decade at an amazing 83%. Better yet, the majority of these students have also attended Class Rep training, to help them be an effective port of call for students in their class.

It is clear to me that student representation and democracy is alive and kicking on campus. Especially when you look at our turnout at the VUWSA IGM and the first Education Action Group Meeting, featuring Winston Peters.

Now that Class Rep training is finished, we will be turning our focus to the Student Charter, which we have been working on with the University for the last few months. The aim of the Student Charter is to set out the minimum expectations you can have of this University and what, in turn, the University expects of you as a student.

The Charter is centrally focused around the creation of a ‘community of scholars’ at Victoria where we all feel engaged and respected. The last Charter was published in 2000, so students are well overdue for a revised edition. Seamus and I will keep you updated on the progression of the Charter throughout the trimester.

Upcoming things to note;

• Free Flu Shots—check out the VUWSA website for information on where and when flu shots are happening
• Uni Games 2011—if you are interested in representing Victoria for 2011, contact our Clubs and Events Manager Melissa at clubs@vuwsa.org.nz Uni Games are going to be held in Auckland this year and will run from Tuesday 26—Friday 29 April
Bridie Hood
evp@vuwsa.org.nz

I find the first week back at uni always the most exciting—new classes, new books, new people—then it tends to go slightly downhill with the reminder that you have deadlines and word limits. But it’s important to remember that your time at uni should not just be spent in classes and labs, but some of it should be spent enjoying many of the extra-curricular activities around the university.

So during clubs week, take a look at some of the stalls. Join a new club or try a new sport. If you are interested in politics, then join one of the youth political parties on campus, if you are studying or interested in learning a language, join one of the language clubs. Or better yet, if you and your friends are interested in starting up your own club, send our Clubs
and Events managers an email.

Another really important way to get involved at Victoria is to become a Class Rep. All classes at Victoria elect one student (sometimes more) to act as their Class Representative. These class reps act as an invaluable link between lecturers, students in that class and VUWSA. Their job is to provide feedback, ensure equity and welfare for students in their class, act as a contact point for students and help with low-level mediation.

Class reps are an important part of student representation at Victoria University, making sure that students are getting the most out of their academic experience and helping to ensure that there is a student voice at all levels of the University. This year we are also starting up a new initiative with our class rep system, Class Rep Scholarships. Each trimester we are giving away a $100 vicbooks voucher to an outstanding Class Rep from each Faculty. So this is even more incentive to get involved in student democracy on campus!

Good luck with your study this year, make sure you consider standing as Class Rep and I hope to see all of you at some of the AWESOME O Week events we have happening this year!
And as always, if you have any questions, about this column, student representation or VUWSA give me an email at evp@vuwsa.org.nz

Bridie

Kia Ora,

Second to last week of trimester – thank goodness – the end is in sight! I thought this I would keep my column nice and short this week, an update on what the education team has been up to and our plans for the rest of the trimester.

Education Team

Submissions—over the last few weeks we have been particularly busy submitting on University policy. We have made a submission regarding the quality of teaching and learning at Vic and we have also presented a student review to the Philosophy and Logic programme, after discussion with class representatives. While the university has been pretty good regarding student consultation it is great to see them really wanting to engage with students and discuss their educational experiences at Vic.

VASG—we are well into surveying for the second trimester. We have also begun looking at alternative methods for gathering information about courses, particularly about moving our surveying online, making it more accessible to students in the future.

Upcoming events

This week we will be heading out to Karori campus armed with a BBQ and some sausages! So if you are out at Karori campus this Thursday, between 12.30 and 1.30, head to the Common Room, grab a sausage and come have a chat to us! We are really interested in hearing in what ways we can improve our services to Karori and what issues in particular are facing Karori based students.

And finally, don’t forget to vote in the VUWSA elections – make sure your voice is heard!

Told you it would be short and sweet!

Bridie

GOOD MORNING VICTORIA UNIVERSITY!

Class Rep Training

We are having 3 additional training this week for students who have not yet attended training. They are on;

Tuesday 14th Sept, 3pm, Meeting Room 1
Thursday 16th September, 4pm AND 5pm, Meeting Room 3

These sessions will run for one hour each, please RSVP to the Education Organiser Fiona Beals at eo@vuwsa.org.nz.

Turnitin

As most of you are aware the University used at online anti-plagarism company called ‘Turnitin’. Many of you have probably had experience with the website having to submit your essays onto the website. Currently VUWSA is reviewing the University’s use of Turnitin after a several students have come to us with concerns about the company. A few facts about Turnitin;

• Turnitin derives economic gain from your work (by storing it and running it against other papers)
• Through the ‘click through agreement’ students are agreeing to have their work archived
• There are several ‘repositories’ in which student’s work can be archived, including an ‘institution’ repository, but Vic has no policy on which repository the work is archived into, but allows the lecturers to choose
• Turnitin claims that students attending institutions agree to policies set out by that institution, therefore, if Turnitin is within policy, students can be given a fail grade for non-submission via Turnitin
• Current VUW Policy: Turnitin is mentioned in the Assessment Handbook, though many students aren’t even aware that this exists or where to view the policy. There is a statement about Turnitin in ‘Assessment Communication’ (e.g. Course Outlines, websites etc.) but the vast majority of courses state that Turnitin ‘may’ be used, with no clear indication that it will or won’t. This causes a problem because if a student has an objection to using Turnitin and with no clear indication of it being used, this could lead to a student failing a course – a situation that is facing at least one student at the moment.

As a student I don’t feel we have been given enough information about Turnitin and VUWSA is looking at running a campaign to inform students about Turnitin, your rights and what happens to your work in the future.

Did you know this about Turnitin? Or is this all new to you? Do you have any bad experiences with using the programme? Get in contact with us; we’d love to hear what you think!

Bridie Hood
evp@vuwsa.org.nz

Kia Ora all,

Class Representatives

Class Representatives. Why do we have them I hear you ask? Because they provide an important democratic role at this university. They ensure that you are getting a fair deal, help find areas for improvement within the university and they provide valuable feedback to fellow students, faculties, VUWSA and the University in general. It is an effective way that students can contribute to the direction of Victoria University!

We have just finished our first week of training, but if you are a class rep and still haven’t been trained, there are still sessions available!

Basic Training Sessions (for students who have NOT been class representatives before):

Tuesday 10th August, 3.15pm
Meeting Room 2, Student Union Building, Kelburn

Wednesday 11th August, 10am
Meeting Room 3, Student Union Building, Kelburn
 
Supplementary Training (for previous class reps):
Thursday 12th August, 3pm
RWW501, Pipetia

Either send your RSVPs to evp@vuwsa.org.nz or if you are unable to, just turn up on the day.

This trimester we have included supplementary trainings, for students who have been class reps before, to work on their communication and decision making skills. These are being facilitated by Glenda Weston, who has worked closely with students before, leading workshops and seminars for Student Learning Support Service and the VUW Counselling Service.

Gettin’ involved

I think Sarah’s editorial last week made a lot of us start thing about the ‘campus life’ at Vic University. So much so I know James is writing his column about this. Over the rest of the trimester there are a lot of things to get involved with on campus, so make the most of them! University isn’t just about studying! Two of the biggies include;

• Fee setting: Oh fun! Remember last year, there were eggs thrown at the VC and everything! Not that I condone that sort of behavior, but it was rather exciting!
• VUWSA General Elections: Go on! Do it! Be crazy! Enter the world of student politics. Or at least vote right? This is YOUR association, YOU choose what should happen.

If all else fails email me, that’s a way to get involved! What are we doing well? What are we doing badly? What changes do you want to see? What new services should we be providing?

<3

Bridie
evp@vuwsa.org.nz

Hey everyone!

Hope your first week back was awesome! OMG! The start of trimester is soooo much fun! Apart from waiting in line for ages at Vic Books. That’s pretty shit. And wasting one whole lecture going through the course outline. But apart from that, good fun!

Class Representatives

Hopefully by this time your class would have picked a class representative. If not you should get onto your lecturer about it as they are an important part of representation here at Victoria. Making sure you and your classmates get the most out of your pingaz! If you have signed up to be a class rep, thanks! And we hope to see you at one of our trainings soon. If you have any doubts, questions or comments about the process give me an email—evp@vuwsa.org.nz

VUWSA Alternative Student Guide

So fingers crossed by the time you read this the VASG will be getting designed and soon will be off at the printers. Thank you to all the 100 level students who filled out these surveys. We have had some really great feedback from you all and all the lecturers who were surveyed have been contacted and most of them, with the exclusion of a few departments who I think want to kill me, have been really interested in your feedback and will be taking it on board for next year.

The VASG will be launched on August 27th, which is Study at Vic day, so look around for it when you come back to school (as it is released during the mid trimester break) or we will have a pdf version of out website.

VUWSA By-Election

Keep an eye out to see who is running in the VUWSA by-election and make sure you vote for someone (or no confidence if you’re more of a fan). VUWSA is YOUR Students’ Association, so you should make sure your voice is being heard!

On another note, make sure you all get involved in Environment Week; even if you have an argument that is so powerful you don’t need to talk about, create some controversy and get involved! Zack has organised some really awesome events to raise awareness on Environmental issues.

Until next time lovelies!

<3 Bridie

YAY! The end of trimester is sooooo close! So close you can taste it! Mine tastes like Pimms and lemonade, mixed with some Grey’s Anatomy and a good book. Can’t wait!

You can tell its end of trimester time. People crammed into the library, waiting an hour for the computer, people still in the cyber commons at 2am in the morning (I know!). Students are finishing off their essays and beginning study for exams. People running around panicked because they realise they should have done their assigned readings during the trimester instead of just before their exams.

To commemorate the end of the trimester (how many times have I said that now? Can you tell that I’m excited?!?) I have decided to write a ‘Top 10 tips for study’, which will probably be of no use to you, but the good intention is there.

1. Do you readings. Simple, I know, but commonly not done
2. Language students should go check out the Language Learning Center. They have heaps of resources to take advantage of
3. If you are having some major trouble contact Student Learning Support Services or Te Pūtahi Atawhai, they will be able to help you out
4. Draw mind maps. Go crazy, use highlighters and crayons! An easy way to remember lots of information
5. Don’t get drunk/stoned on the day of an exam. It does not appear to help you remember things
6. Remember to take a break from studying every hour or so. Go for a walk around the block, do some star jumps, run up and down Mount Street a few times
7. Facebook has proven, the world over, to be very unhelpful when studying
8. Eat some good kai. As tempting as it is to quick, shit food, its not good for your body. Good, healthy food will help you keep on top of your workload
9. Be confident. Even if you are freaking out, walking into an exam confident is likely to improve your grade!

And finally;

10. If all else fails look to Dumbledore for knowledge. The man is pretty smart.

So good enjoy the last two weeks of trimester and good luck with your exams. No doubt I’ll see a few of you in the cyber commons over the next few weeks.

May the force be with you, always.

¡Hola chicos!

I know when I enrolled at Vic Uni I knew exactly what papers I wanted to do. I had everything planned out. Then I decided that I actually wanted to learn Spanish and I didn’t like law and then everything changed. Like many other students I have chopped and changed between what subjects I want to study.

For students that don’t know what subjects to enroll in they only have the Vic Uni course catalogue for information on courses. You may be lucky enough to know someone who has previously taken the course, but in general you are pretty hard pressed to find alternative course information.

That’s where VUWSA steps in! In previous years VUWSA has published a magazine called the Alternative Student Guide. Its aim is to give students a real overview of what classes are like. It lets you know how previous students have rated course content, how effective lecturers are and information on course resources, among other things. While the guide isn’t gospel it’s another resource to help students make informed choices about their education.

This year we are planning to go a bit further with the Alternative Student Guide. Previously the guide has only reviewed 100 level classes, but this year we are widening the scope to include 200 and 300 level papers as well.

So in the next few weeks your class representative or a VUWSA executive member should be coming around to your classes to get you to fill out these surveys. They take less than two minutes, so please fill it out! Also be truthful about what your class is really like, we want to give a fair overview. If it really is boring, let us know. If the course content is a bit lame, your lecturer talks too fast or the course requires a lot of hours of work outside of class write it down!

You can look out for the guide towards the end of July!

On a side note, did you hear that a Justin Bieber concert had to be cancelled by Australian police for ‘safety reasons’? Those 10 year old girls can get pretty feisty!

I hope all of your classes are going well and as always if you’re having any education issues, get in contact with me at evp@vuwsa.org.nz

‘Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid’

Madam Smuttypants,

I am sorry for the offence my wild apostrophes have caused.
I shall try better next time.

Yours truly,
Bridie Hood

The last few weeks have been busy for the Education Team at VUWSA. We have been preparing for Class Representative training, interviewing students for Faculty Delegate positions and we are beginning to suss out a plan for the Alternative Student Guide.

We have decided to do things a bit different with our student reps this year at VUWSA, a brand new year, a brand new start. VUWSA is integrating the representative system at Victoria, from Class Reps to Council Reps, so that we as students have the best possible student representation. Last week Max, Seamus and I interviewed those who were keen to be a Faculty Delegate. A Faculty Delegate is a student who attends, would you have guessed it, Faculty Board meetings!

Their role is to keep an eye on the changes faculties are trying to make and to make sure student opinions are considered on all matters before it. Faculty Delegates are a really important part of student representation here at Victoria. They help to ensure that changes aren’t going to negatively affect students and they help to keep a check and balance on the faculties that make us pay $500+ for a 12 week course.

Another important aspect of representation here at VUWSA is Class Representatives.

I know when I started at Vic last year, my POLS teacher said that we had to elect a Class Rep. He said he didn’t know what they actually did, but VUWSA and the University said we needed one, so we should have one. I know that probably sounds familiar to a lot of you as well. But like Faculty Delegates, Class Representatives play a key role in monitoring your education standards.

If you have a problem with the lecturer, maybe they have changed the date of an assignment or you are just having trouble understanding, concepts because they don’t explain them well enough, your Class Rep is the one to see. They are given training and support from VUWSA so they know how to deal with issues that come their way.

I urge all of you to get involved with decisions making processes at the University. We’re the number one stakeholders of this institution, so we should be having HUGE input into decisions. So run in the VUWSA by-election, become a Class Representative next trimester or email me about what you think needs changing around here – get involved!

Arohanui,
Bridie Hood
evp@vuwsa.org.nz

Kia Ora fellow Victorians! My name is Bridie Hood and I am your Acting Vice – President (Education) and also you’re Campaigns Officer. It’s lovely to meet you! Hopefully all you first years are no longer getting lost on your way to class and you returning students aren’t getting too mad at the Laws121 kids blocking the walkway in New Kirk.

I find the start of a trimester to be so exciting (inner nerd)! New stationary, new textbooks for new papers, maybe some people are even picking a new major. The only downer on the start of year excitement is that email that you get from Victoria University:

Dear Miss Hood, you owe the University $6300.00. Pay now.

That’s when the downbuzz hits. And your student loan is only set to grow in the coming years. Not to mention the fact that your textbooks cost upwards of $300, your rent is due, you have no food in your cupboards and you have to find money for the bus to uni. And you get slightly more stressed out when you learn that Studylink hasn’t yet approved your loan because ‘they need more information’, even though you have already sent it to them. Twice.

Less than twenty years ago, there was no such thing as university fees. Tertiary education was basically free. Now students are landed with a student loan bill that jeopardises their entire financial future. It’s pretty hard to put a deposit on a house when you are in debt $40,000 from doing a LLB. Buying a car is a little harder with IRD continusly telling you that you owe the Government $20,000 for you BA. And lets not even talk about the wages a teaching graduate gets.

Students have made some gains in the past few years, like the introduction of interest free students loans, but we still have a long way to go. So if you want to be part of a group that stand ups for students, come along to the Education Action Group.

Our first meeting for 2010 is this Thursday (11th), at 11am in Meeting Room 2. Or give me an email if you want some more information evp@vuwsa.org.nz. We want to hear what you think!

Bridie

P.S If you can’t find the money to fill your cupboards at home, come down to VUWSA, we’ll give you some free food!