Nsf Introduction

What is the National Student Forum?

The National Student Forum provides students with a direct line to Government and other national policy makers. It was set up by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS, now the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, BIS) in early 2008 to give a greater voice to students on higher education (HE) courses across England and to ensure that policies are the better for being informed by the student voice. The Forum consists of an independent Chair, Maeve Sherlock, appointed by BIS, a Vice-Chair (elected by members), and up to 18 other volunteer members who reflect the diversity of the undergraduate and postgraduate population. Forum members draw on their experience as students to identify the areas that they believe are genuinely important for students, to define a reasonable student expectation in these areas and, where appropriate, to make specific recommendations for improvement.

Report purpose, approach and targets for recommendations

This report summarises the Forum’s views on the topics selected for detailed consideration this year: teaching and learning, including technology-enhanced learning; employability, including information, advice and guidance services, and work placements; postgraduate study; the continuing issues faced by disabled and mature and part-time students; and student accommodation. It makes suggestions about how the Forum feels the student experience could be improved in these areas. This report is aimed at policymakers, sector organisations and universities and colleges,* but takes a differentiated approach for each audience, in acknowledgement of the sector’s autonomy. For each topic, it outlines the rationale for focusing on the subject, along with a summary of common issues faced by students. It also sets out: ‘ideal visions’ of how things should be if everything is working well outlines of how universities and colleges can support students in each area – with illustrative examples of where this is already happening recommendations for new policy or increased focus, for further consideration by Government and/ or sector organisations as appropriate

Report outcomes

BIS Ministers have committed to providing a formal response to the Forum’s recommendations. Where the focus of recommendations falls outside the immediate scope of BIS policy, the Forum invites sector organisations to consider how these relate to existing or potential activity and welcomes suggestions from the sector as to how these might best be achieved. NSF members look forward to engaging with sector organisations over the course of next year to explore how these might be approached in more detail. Finally, the Forum encourages individual universities and colleges to listen, reflect and consider any action that it might be appropriate to take at an institutional level to improve the student experience in the featured areas. It also actively encourages individual universities to feed back to the Forum on any specific actions, improvements or initiatives that are taken in response to this report.†

* We use the terms ‘universities’ and ‘universities and colleges’ interchangeably to refer all institutions providing higher education †

Contact details for the NSF can be found on its website at http://www.nationalstudentforum.com

Introduction 10 National Student Forum – Annual Report

National Student Forum: remit, membership and ways of working

Role and remit A key strand of the government’s Student Listening Programme was the launch of the National Student Forum (NSF) in early 2008, set up to provide students in higher education with an enhanced voice in the development of the policies that affect them. The NSF provides the Government and partner organisations with direct access to the views of students from a wide range of backgrounds and study environments. Its remit is to: advise Government on the reasonable expectations of students provide a student perspective on emerging policy areas, feeding views to policymakers help evaluate the impact of existing policies on students in different circumstances initiate discussion on areas of potential policy interest for the NSF or for Government produce an annual report for Ministers’ attention and comment which includes recommendations for Government

Membership During the academic year 08-09, the NSF had eighteen members, initially appointed for a two-year period, plus a Chair. Members were drawn from nominations put forward by the following stakeholder bodies, working together with BIS to ensure that the Forum is reasonably reflective of the diversity of the higher education student population: National Union of Students (NUS); National Postgraduate Committee (NPC); Mature Students’ Union (MSU); Open University Students’ Association (OUSA); Skill: the Bureau for Students with Disabilities (Skill); British Council (to nominate international students).

Forum Ways of Working The full Forum meets four times over the course of the academic year. In addition, subgroup meetings are held, where discussion of issues facing particular sections of the student population is needed, or to develop initial proposals for further consideration by the Forum as a whole. During the academic year 08-09, three such subgroups were held. The NSF sets its own agenda. Meetings are regularly attended by Ministers, policymakers and partner organisations, in accordance with the topic selected by the Forum. In addition, the NSF contributed to the BIS consultation on the Future of Higher Education.

11 National Student Forum – Annual Report