Student Adviser
Issue 1
News Semester 2 2011/12
Welcome to the first issue of the Student Advisers’ Newsletter.
What’s Inside Welcome
1
Peer Mentoring
2
News Articles:
3
• Financial Aid for Students – Budget 2011 • News on Grants 2011 Highlights & Events (Semester 1 - 2011) Contacts
4
www.ucd.ie/studentadvisers Email: studentadvisers@ucd.ie
For those of you who are not familiar with Student Advisers, our role is to offer support and assistance to students in UCD. This newsletter is designed to inform University staff of what we do. Student Advisers meet with students on a one to one basis and also organise and implement a wide range of student engagement initativies across campus. Our involvement with Orientation, Peer Mentoring and the recently introduced Peer Assisted Learning, assists incoming students in the transition to University. Below is a brief outline of some of the reasons students call to see Student Advisers; these reasons are varied and wide ranging.
Top Ten Reasons Students seek student advisers (not in any order) • • • • •
Mental Health Study Skills, Time Management Personal Issues – e.g. family break up Financial Academic /Registration /Assessment queries
• • • • •
Anxiety, Coping Skills, Stress Physical Health Bereavement Disciplinary Immigration Issues
We are constantly working to ensure students become integrated into UCD community life. Our aim is that students have a high quality, student-centered education and can focus on their studies without feeling distracted and worried by issues that are causing concern.
PEER
G N I R O MENT
The UCD Peer Mentoring Programme is coordinated and managed by the Student Advisers Network and the Student Engagement Officer for the BA. It was introduced by Student Advisers in 2006 in response to a perceived need to further support students in their transition to university life. Peer Mentoring offers the opportunity to continuing students to share their experience of student life with incoming Stage 1 students.
Aims of the initiative: • To assist incoming students in their transition to UCD through the provision of student to student support. • To foster a sense of identity and connection between students and their classmates, their programme and their university.
Peer Mentor Interview Shane O Neill Stage 2 Engineering Student and Peer Mentor
Who is a Peer Mentor? A Peer Mentor is a student who has completed one or sometimes two years in UCD. Following a training day, Peer Mentors are assigned a group of 10 - 15 mentees during Orientation week and play a central role in facilitating the incoming students’ participation in Orientation Week events Significantly, their brief is then to continue the orientation experience for Stage 1 students throughout their first year at UCD, through a series of prescribed group meetings, informal group events and one-to-one contact through email, phone and/or individual meetings. The group meetings (4 in total) are arranged to coincide with times of potential stress for students in the academic year.
Why did you become a Peer Mentor? A couple of reasons, I had a Peer Mentor myself in Stage 1, which was great and I thought I would like to have a similar role and maybe even add something extra. I really wanted to help Stage 1 students. I knew that feeling of being lost. I came from the country and did not know UCD and I particularly wanted to help those students from the country.
Evaluation
What have you learnt from your Peer Mentoring experience?
On-going evaluation ensures the programme stays relevant and continues to meet students’ needs. The importance of Peer Mentoring to the student experience was recognised by a Teaching and Learning Award for Supporting Student Learning in April 2011. In September 2011, 500 Peer Mentors welcomed all incoming first year undergraduate UCD students.
I have learned a lot about students and also about myself. I now communicate a lot better, I have learned how to organise meetings. I have also learned about team work and how people work together.
Further Reading
What do you think is beneficial about the Peer Mentoring experience? It gives new students a friendly face or friend at the start of college life. Someone who is the same age, has the same experience and is a good mate from the start. It is a brilliant resource to have and no doubt helps students with the transition from school to college. Would you be a Peer Mentor again? Yes.
Fitzgerald, A., McFeely, R., Moloney, K., Murphy, J. (2008) UCD Links Peer Mentor Programme: An analysis of a Peer Mentoring Programme of four groups of students at University College Dublin: Paper delivered at 21st Annual International Mentoring Association Conference Murphy, J. McFeely, R.,Clarkin, N., Moloney, K., Farrell, A., O Regan, N. (2009) UCD Links Peer Mentoring Programme: Building a model – Challenges and Opportunities: Published conference proceedings Conference of the Confederation of Student Services in Ireland
S EW N
& Events Highlights 2011/2012 Semester 1
Student Finance
• 500 Peer Mentors welcomed new students to UCD
One-off extra allocation from European Social Fund In these straitened economic times more and more students are finding themselves in serious financial difficulty; family incomes have been decimated and part-time jobs are increasingly scarce. The Student Advisers have seen a significant increase in the number of students presenting with financial concerns, in some cases leading to students needing to take a year’s leave of absence or withdrawing completely.
• 365 students funded by the Student Assistance Fund • Parents Evenings • Study Skill Seminars • Relaxation Seminar
The Student Advisers can assist students in accessing three funds which offer limited financial support.
• Please Talk candlelight vigil
Student Assistance Fund This is a means tested fund which students apply for early in Semester 1. In 2010 students received a one-off payment of €400. In 2011 this went down to €325 due to an increase in the number of applicants, without a concomitant increase in the amount of funding.
• Further refining of Student Support Record system.
Student Welfare Fund This fund, which is not means tested, assists students who experience unforseen financial difficulties. The SWF Committee meets regularly during Semesters 1 and 2, and amounts granted are in line with those awarded by the Student Assistance Fund.
• Mature Student Orientation Day and Writing Academy
• Cultural adjustment talks for new International Students
• HEAR/DARE residential Orientation programme
Childcare Assistance Fund This is a means tested fund, which assists students who have childcare needs. Successful applicants are allocated a 50% subsidy of childcare costs up to a maximum of €600 per month.
• Enhanced student engagement strategy in science • Pre-Registration Academic Advisory session for BA Students.
Application forms and guidelines can be accessed at www.ucd.ie/studentadvisers These funds are aimed at assisting students with living expenses and cannot be used towards tuition fees. The monies for these funds come from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Higher Education Authority (HEA). For 2011/12 the European Social Fund provided additional funding of which €175,000 was earmarked by UCD to go towards the above funds. In the event, the whole of this amount has been allocated to the Student Welfare Fund.
Please Talk – Candlelight Vigil 2011 in rememberance of all students who have died
Higher Education Grants’ News Maintenance Grants severly cut in Budget The 2010 budget changed the qualifing living distance from college on grant levels from 25 km to 45 km. Both new and continuing students were affected by this change and in some cases grants were reduced by €2,000 or 60%. Levels of Grant
Non-adjacent Adjacent Rate Rate
Student Contribution Paid?
Special rate of maintenance grant
€6,100
€2,445
√
Standard rate 100% maintenance
€3,120
€1,250
√
Standard rate 75% maintenance
€2,340
€940
√
Standard rate 50% maintenance
€1,560
€625 UC
Standard rate 25% maintenance
€780
√
D Student Ad
visers
Student Advise rs provide suppo their university rt for all stude exper nts year. We are locate ience, particularly during during their first d in the five Colleg to particular es and either programmes attached or to specific We work closel groups of y with the admin as well as with istrative and acadestudents. the chaplains mic staff and other suppo rt staff. We are here to help you make your time at UCD and enjoyable as possible. You as fulfilling to personal, social can call to see us in for information or practical issues. From simpl relation to e we will give you more confidential and seriou requests the time and s matters, space to talk things through.
€315
√
rs
dvise www.ucd.ie/studenta
www.studentfinance.ie The 2011 budget further eroded grants by cutting the maintenance grant forwww.u cd.ie/ postgraduate students.The Student Advisers, whom it should be noted see a lot studentadvisers of postgraduate students as part of their work, believe there will be an upsurge in financial stress and withdrawal rates for postgraduate students as a consequence of these budget cuts. As well as being available to you basis, we are on a one to also involved in a range of activitone aimed at impro ies ving the stude nt experience: Ǧ Ǧ Ǡ Ǧ Ǧ Ǧ
Remember that we are here to help, so com and talk to us e if you have any concerns.
SUPPORT ADVICE INFORMATIO N ASSISTANC E UCD Student
Advisers
s
UCD Student Adviser
REPORT
January 2011 2 15/02/2011 11:30:38
1 student advisers REPORT
ORIGINAL NEW SKY.indd
1-2
This year’s report and our leaflet are available from our website www.ucd.ie/studentadvisers
CONTACsT Detail Name
Responsibility
Office
Telephone
Ros McFeely
Agriculture Science and Veterinary Medicine
201A Veterinary Science Centre, 2.48, Agriculture Building
(01) 716 6085 (087) 2669054
ros.mcfeely@ucd.ie
Aisling O’ Grady
Arts, Social Science
D001, Newman Building
(01) 716 8349
aisling.ogrady@ucd.ie
Kathleen KIely Quinn School of Business (in Jacquelines Levine’s absence)
Q020, Quinn Business School
(01) 716 4719
kathleen.kiely@ucd.ie (from January 2012)
Naoimh O’Regan Engineering and (in Colleen Architecture Doyle’s absence)
325A, Engineering and Materials Science Centre
(01) 716 1875
naoimh.oregan@ucd.ie (colleen.doyle@ucd.ie from March 2012)
Kieran Moloney
Social Science, Arts, College of Human Sciences
G003, Newman Building
(01) 716 8366
kieran.moloney@ucd.ie
Carl Lusby
International, Medicine & Biomedical Health and Life Sciences
International Office, Gerard (01) 716 8406 Manley Hopkins Centre (01) 716 6632 C2.16, Health Sciences Centre
carl.lusby@ucd.ie
Nadia Clarkin
Law, Graduate School of Business
E119, Smurfit Business School 127, Roebuck Castle
(01) 716 8953 (Smurfit)
nadia.clarkin@ucd.ie
(01) 716 8790 (Law)
Ronan Murphy
Mature Students, Access Centre
G101, Newman Building
(01) 716 8245
ronan.murphy@ucd.ie
Jennifer Murphy
HEAR, Access Centre
103, Tierney Building
(01) 716 1693
jennifer.murphy@ucd.ie
Anna Farrell
Diagnostic Imaging & Performance Science, Midwifery, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Sports &Exercise Management
C1.19, Health Sciences Centre
(01) 716 6497
anna.farrell@ucd.ie
Aoife Fitzgerald
Science
100. 1st floor, UCD Centre for PharmaChemical and Drug Discovery, (Science South), Science Building
(01) 716 2863
aoife.fitzgerald@ucd.ie
Julie Tonge
Disability Support
Level 1, Library Building
(01) 716 7179
julie.tonge@ucd.ie
Credits: Naoimh O Regan, Carl Lusby, Aisling O Grady, Jacqueline Levine , Ronan Murphy Contact: studentadvisers@ucd.ie