Residence Support- not just a job, a way of ( student) life!

Residence Support - not just a job, a way of [student] life!

This coming Academic year sees some key developments to the way in which support is delivered within Halls of  Residence at Keele. These developments  present ALL of our students, current and incoming with a real opportunity to 1) get involved and 2) receive amazing support from our team of fantastic Residence Support Assistants

Living in Halls, particularly at a campus University can lead to some really special memories being forged - it is the place where friendships are made, relationships start and in some cases finish, where students leave doors open to ensure they don't miss the gossip (in spite of the fire hazards that can cause), where parties causes elation (and tension) and where communities are created.

Most of these things occur naturally....it is, though really important that a structure exists which can provide students with the support required, the assurance needed and the response requested in order that all those living within the community get the most from the experience.

At Keele for 2012/13, the Residence Support team will be working hard to ensure that all students living within Residence have a positve experience that they carry throughout there time at Keele and way beyond...

To support the team in fulfilling this goal, Residence Support Assistants; Student Volunteers, who are committed to supporting others, who are confident and who want to make a difference will be recruited. It is a great opportunity for a student to join a team of established as well as new Assistants and to make the biggest difference to the lives of those living within our Halls.

For those wanting to find out more and to apply, the details can be found at the following address: www.keele.ac.uk/vacancies/professionaltechnicalandsupportvacancies

Keele Mentors; something to really blog about!

After a rather lengthy hiatus, (virtually speaking) the associated guilt, fused with a colleague recently asking how the blog is going (which led to me having to admit that I had slammed into the blogging equivalent of the 19 mile wall - the reality being that I was only metres beyond the start line - shameful!) I have put finger to tablet, to again  record my thoughts and feelings with regard to life within the Student Affairs profession and to ensure that the amazing work undertaken by colleagues and students at Keele, to enhance the student experience is documented and celebrated.

It's actually a great time to reconnect. After months of work behind the scenes in gauging student reaction, meeting with colleagues, benchmarking great work across the sector, taking the constructive and welcoming the encouragement to commit and follow through we find ourselves taking some brave first steps towards establishing a Pan-University peer mentoring scheme - Keele Mentors http://bit.ly/xUwKSV will kick off this upcoming academic year by providing students in a number of Academic Schools as well as all international and mature students with the opportunity to connect with a current Keele student - someone who has been there, done it and who is very likely to have the Keele Hoodie!

We never underestimate just how varied the student experience, particularly in the first few days and weeks can be. As such, whether our new students are excited, nervous, intrepid, anxious, relaxed or unphased as they approach September and their start to life as a Keele student, our Keele Mentors will play an important role in ensuring that this important transition is supported and that new students  are provided with all the information, advice and support they need to make their Keele student experience a great one.

Thanks in advance to all of our Keele Mentors; we know you'll be amazing pioneers as we embark on this first year of the scheme  - we hope in a few years that mentoring at Keele is just something that you do; because it's the right thing to do.

Keele Compass - Supporting International Students as they Transition to University Life in the UK

The team in SSDS and staff from a number of other services were treated to an excellent presentation from our latest International intern, Andrea Sell. Andrea is studying for a  Masters in Higher Education at Michigan State University and has spent the last 7 weeks working with Careers and Employability and International Student Support to deliver two really exciting  projects that will (fingers crossed) have a real impact on our students. This presentation was a great opportunity for us all to celebrate the success of Andrea's time with us, recognise the contribution she has made to the team and the share in the legacy (in her project) that she has begun.

Andrea was tasked with developing an 'Interactive On-line International Student Induction Resource'. The brief was longer than that but not by much! What we got was so much more. Andrea has developed a sophisticated resource that aims to provide our International Students (in particular those arriving after Orientation/Welcome week and at other times during the academic year) with a resource that will assist them in negotiating what can be a very difficult and challenging transition. We think that this tool will provide our students with an increased knowledge and confidence  that will have a really positive effect upon their experience as an International student at Keele.

The Presentation an be found at http://prezi.com/sjdwcofo1u_e/the-keele-compass/?auth_key=7e3b6c84af65461cc72ce2cfc8a49839dce94a96

The Keele Compass Resource will be available to students from International Orientation in September. We cannot wait to see what impact it has  - well done Andrea

Ian

Returning from a Leave of Absence - getting it right second time around!

The student experience does not always follow a linear path. Students for all kinds of reasons make the decision (or have it made for them) to take some time out from University. Factors affecting decisions to leave can vary from mental ill health to financial pressures to caring responsibilities....there are many more!  It is really important that we as supporters and practitioners support all of our students as they make the difficult decision to leave and then accept and overcome the challenge of reintegrating back into life as a University student.

To support students as they prepare for there return we have produced a guide that offers advice and support and also provides important information about key services at Keele that are in place to ensure that returning to study is as seamless as it can be.

This document is in the process of being sent out to all students due to return to Keele this coming Septmeber. If you would like copies then don't hesitate to get in touch -   i.n.munton@acad.keele.ac.uk 

Student Support and Development Services (SSDS) is go!

As of tomorrow (1st July) the Centre for Learning and Student Support will cease to exist and instead the provision of centralised Student Support at Keele University will be delivered by the newly named and reconfigured; Student Support and Development Services (SSDS). This transition will not be without its challenges, however, the preparation and diligent planning of staff in SSDS will help to accelerate the time in which this great news for students, and staff spreads across and beyond Keele's campuses. I have no doubt that stray CLASS web pages or a random poster on a notice board will emerge in the coming days and weeks, however, as a result of the very hard work of staff within the Department, and our great colleagues across the University (in particular Dave Emley, Chris Beard and Andrew Thelwell) Student Support webpages and print publications are now ready to go live and be distributed across campus to both staff and students.

Perhaps the most striking and most immediate of changes is the creation of new Student Support Webpages which can be found at www.keele.ac.uk/studentsupport  These pages are designed to provide students and staff with a comprehesive and valuable resource that assists in the provision of effective student support,offers opportunities for students to enagage, get involved and enhance their Keele Student Experience and that provides student supporters with a better understanding of what support is available to students and how it can be accessed.

These pages will develop over time so please do revisit them from time to time. Any ideas for inclusion will be gratefully received.

As we approach the 2011/12 Academic Year,  Schools will receive student and staff facing publications and information. In particular a new publication titled 'Supporting Students Together' has been designed to make clear what support and services are available to staff and students across the University  and how Keele staff can appropriately and effectively support students in often difficult and challenging circumstances.

Staff and Services within SSDS will, in the coming weeks be communicating with staff and students their plans for the future. It is then that the hard work really begins but the goal, that being to significantly enhance the lives of our studenst here at Keele, is one worth striving for.

A warm welcome to our new Student Support and Development Assistant.....

...Sam Clarke will be joining SSDS to work in Counselling and Emotional Wellbeing and will start on 15th August. Next week she will be shown the ropes by Jane Richardson and the CEW team so do say hello if you see her.

 

I asked Sam to say a few words about her current role and interests away from work ...hope it wasn't too embarassing Sam!?

 

"I currently work part time as an Undergraduate Programmes Administrator at Keele Law School. I am the main contact for students who come to our school reception and also have special responsibility for Level 1 students. During term time I assist students with timetabling concerns and help with a range of different processes and queries that relate to attendance monitoring and student evaluation. Outside of term time I support the administrative team with assessment duties; from the entering of marks to the preparation of student feedback.

 

In my free time I enjoy travelling (whenever possible) and good food! My hobbies include music, reading, film and going to the gym"

Keele on Film - excellent new media resource

They say a picture paints a thousand words...well, in that case, what value  a YouTube video clip. 

 

The  Widening Participation and Outreach Department have been working hard to produce an excellent resource that will assist us all as we communicate how the University and Keele experience is lived and felt by our staff and students. The resource was put together by a KeeleLink leader, a graduating student who has done wonders to produce such a well connected and watchable resource. Early indicators have been great with 2100 views as of now, only a few weeks after it went live.

Take a look and enjoy spotting familiar student and staff faces, some very recent (such as my favourite, the Keele Link 2011 Awards)  and some a little further back in time.

http://www.youtube.com/user/KeelelinkVideos

Supporting Keele Students through Transition

A small team made up of staff from across the Institution  met this week to commence a project aimed at exploring how students experience and could be better supported through the many transitions they make throughout their student journey...the catchy and perhaps predictable title for the group being 'Student Transitions'. Transitions (plural) is a term that has fast become part of the everyday language of academic and administrative staff alike. We talk about students moving through transition as if they are passing through an x-ray machine at the airport. Is though,  it really that straightforward?  Can we foresee the challenges that students will encounter and have to overcome to be successfull in their educational experience? Can we also predict and therefore put  in place appropriate measures and support in order that our students pass seamlessly from our campus and into what awaits them on the other side of that transition?

These questions were a starting point to discussions which we hope will lead to us providing our students with the opportunity to successfully negotiate the challenges that they may be faced with whilst at the same time supporting them to better understand what is happening as they move through that potentially challenging transition.

Work in this area has moved at pace in the UK. Many Universities are now employing 'Transitions' teams, there are Student transitions conferences...I even have a pen that says Student Transition on it!  In North America the term is far more established with theory relating to student transition informing  curriculum development, programming and student support  - http://www.sc.edu/fye/

The first stage of the project will require the team to gain a greater understanding of what the initial transition INTO Keele  feels like for our students (and our student supporters) and how it is encountered, experienced and overcome by our, be they Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Mature Students, from the local area, repeating the year etc. From that point it is anticipated that the very many transitions and the varied experiences of our students will be explored in great detail in order that we are able to better develop services that support all of our students.

We will endeavor to keep our colleagues aware of the work we are doing but welcome any feedback in regard to this work through this blog. Your experiences and thoughts would be most welcome and really valued by the team. Alternatively please feel free to get in touch with me at i.n.munton@acad.keele.ac.uk

The Team: Ian Munton, Sarah Traylor, John Easom, Kylie Hazeldine, Simone Clarke, Sam Higham, Rebecca Leach, Katherine Haxton, Verity Aiken and Jenny Smith.

Peer Mentoring - An American's take on the Value and Impact of Peer Support within UK HE

It is over a fortnight since our most recent Student Intern, Eric Aiken  returned to his native North Carolina to continue his MA in College Student Development and marry next month in Michigan -  we wish him well.. In the four short weeks he was with us he was tasked with  presenting a case (or not!) for the development of a peer support model here at Keele. This was no easy task but in those few days Eric, as well as learning alot about UK Student culture (played out by several educational trips to the bar facilities of KUSU and KPA)   gained a comprehensive understanding of how peer mentoring/support has benefitted University students here in the UK.  Many of us were fortunate to listen to Eric's excellent presentation that he delivered on his final day at Keele and will have left enthused and keen for us to continue the discussions that arose out of that session.

I will be sending Eric's final report to you all this week but the following link will take you to the presentation that Eric gave to us a few weeks ago - http://prezi.com/d3zeianrlgv_/keele-university-finding-a-peer-to-mentor-the-trees/

Lots to consider, no end to explore and much to be positive about!

Supporting our students - blogging our journey to enhance the student experience

Take me back even a few years (days more like!)and these words would be composed on a Word Doc; this would be an electronic team newsletter with a splurge of clipart breaking up the narrative. How archaic that all appears now. I am informed that the only way to chart your life in the modern world is by blog. As such and for convenience for you, and indeed I, this site intends to provide a regular update on the activity taking place at Keele to enhance the student experience. It will provide a place and space for the work of the staff and teams across Student Support and Development Services and other service providers to be highlighted.
There is no shortage of excellent initiatives and activity taking place across Keele University at the moment. A commitment to transforming the student experience, the development of the Distinctive Keele Curriculum, the restructure of Student Support which sees the Centre for Learning and Student Support (CLASS) change to Student Support and Development Services (SSDS) present us all with an opportunity to create an environment within which staff and students alike are able to reach their potential through partnership, active engagement and a development of community and belonging.
Your stories and updates for inclusion in what is a blog for all that is Student Support and Development will be greatly appreciated- so an email or a conversation is all it will take for me to get your experiences and great work online so we and all our colleagues can see what is happening across and beyond the Keele campus in relation to the support and development of our students.
Here's to blogging in it's infancy
Ian Munton