y 2011
■■ This issue includes: ■■ Message from Julie Walkling pg 1
■■ januar
■■ Key Department Events pg 4 ■■ New Staff pg 8 ■■ Farewell Interviews pg 19
d-stress workshops for students pg 13 LEANing pg 6 Teaching Job Fair pg 12 Sports Events pg 16
■■ Student Services Departmental Newsletter
www.anglia.ac.uk/studentservices
january 2011
Message from Julie Walkling New Year – a time to look backwards and forwards. A Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you have all had the kind of Christmas break you wished for and have returned to work ready for the challenges that face us. I am writing this on the 4th of January. This marks my first anniversary here at Anglia Ruskin and it seems a good point to reflect. I still remember vividly how very friendly and welcoming everyone was when I started. It isn’t like that everywhere in the sector and I know I am not alone in thinking that this is a special characteristic we have here that we should be proud of. I enjoyed finding out more about Anglia Ruskin and trying to get to the bottom of why our NSS results were the same as the university I’d just left when we seemed so much happier. Unfortunately I was also told that I would be expected to make staffing cuts. This is never easy or without anxiety for everyone, and especially so for those whose posts were cut. It must have made it much harder for those of you here at the time to have a new director that you didn’t know telling longstanding colleagues their jobs were at risk. I hope we will not have
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to make cuts in the same way in future, despite the uncertain outlook for higher education just now. My other early priority was to restructure Student Services. We are still not quite finished with this process, but comparing what I see now with then, I see a more collaborative Student Services, one developing a group identity, less defined by campus or building (though we still have a way to go here) and with increasing numbers of you proposing developments and initiatives to improve our students’ experience. The recent awayday was a wonderful example of this (despite the sub zero temperatures) with a really buzzy atmosphere in the afternoon when you were all coming up with ideas to use technology. As a consequence we now have a working group that has produced a whole set of suggestions and I have signed us up with Txttools to get going asap! I have developed a close working relationship with the Students’ Union, other Corporate Management Team members and a wide range of other colleagues here. I have been involved in a range of
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work intended to improve the student experience, employment outcomes and encourage our students to tell us how they find us – good or bad. I also discovered that a part of my job no-one had told me about was to stop students bringing cars in to Cambridge. This provides me with hours of activity! Other memories that spring to mind from my first year include an afternoon at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party on behalf of Anglia Ruskin, dinner with Lord Ashcroft and other lords and MPs from our region, meeting the delightful respective mayors of Cambridge and Chelmsford and my first official engagement on behalf of the Vice Chancellor – helping to present the proceeds of the Marathong to local charities in Chelmsford, against the backdrop of a huge pair of pink knickers. Looking ahead, what will the next year bring? I swing between feeling gloomy and optimistic. Apart from the economic issues we are all facing the changes in the funding of higher education are a fundamental shift in UK policy. On a personal basis as a taxpayer I am happy to contribute to the funding of UK HE because I believe that HE
january 2011
Message from Julie Walkling
has a value to a civil society and brings all sorts of benefits to us as a whole, so I don’t believe that shifting the entire cost of teaching on to students is the right one on the basis that HE is a personal benefit. However, here we are so we need to make the best of it and I am determined to do all that I can to ensure that we come out of this difficult time stronger and more vibrant than before. I will need you all to be responsive to changes in practice or culture we may need to make to not just adapt to changing circumstance but to find the silver lining in any cloud that comes our way and succeed. There are some key areas we will all need to focus on and improving the student experience is the key one. Whatever our respective roles are, we can all ensure that we are offering our students the best ‘customer service’ – even if that sometimes means saying we can’t do something. We need to keep developing our services to make sure they stay relevant to what our students are doing rather than what simply works for us. A big issue here is communication with students. Letters are pretty
much a thing of the past and we struggle with email as so many students just don’t use it and think it’s ‘for old people’! This is the kind of area we need to try to get some balance and get students understanding that we need to communicate officially and this is the medium we’ll use, but be willing to text, chat, tweet or Facebook where that’s appropriate. We also need to think about what it is we deliver to students and how much can be delivered online in media they find comfortable and accessible, even if we have trouble grappling with it sometimes. We also need to do all we can to keep students on-course and stop them dropping out (rather than make a considered decision to withdraw if that’s right for them) and get them to start thinking about employment and lifeskills right from the start. We need our students to feel that not only are they getting a good academic education but they are leaving Anglia Ruskin with fond memories and a sense of time very well spent.
Time to go now. I have been reading a book about JFK and thought that this quote was perhaps an apposite ending given current circumstances; “We choose to go...not because [it is] easy, but because [it is] hard, because that goal will serve to measure and organize the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.” Alternately I could sign off with “Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more”. Pick the one you like best!
Julie Walkling Director of Student Services
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january 2011
Note from the editor
The Road Ahead Welcome to 2011 and a new edition of Link-Up. Last year brought a number of challenges and changes to Student Services so we thought it was appropriate to have time to adjust to these before relaunching this newsletter. Hopefully you have already read Julie Walkling’s article with her thoughts concerning the last year and plans for our future. I don’t want to repeat all Julie has said but as most of you heard at our Away Day on 6th December the Vice Chancellor said that the road ahead is likely to be a bumpy ride with further Government policies still to be announced. However I think it is worth repeating our Student Services Vision which I think we all support “To deliver outstanding support and opportunities to our students, promote our students’ success and increase their satisfaction, champion the student experience in our University, be an exemplar of best practice for the sector.” Mike Thorne emphasised the need for us to all look at how we are working; this includes his ‘LEAN’ initiative that Donna Franklin is taking on for Student Services as part of her new role, please take time to read Donna’s article. There is also work in progress to support employability as a key factor in motivating students – jobs to be a priority in their planning right from the start of their life at university. What we expect from students as well as what students can expect from us will be clearly explained in our Student Charter which is in the process of being revised for 2011. We all need to be aware of what we have promised so that we do not fail to deliver. There are also a number of new initiatives that make it easier for students
Mike Thorne at the away day in December
to receive feedback on any complaints they have and Student Services is leading on many of these innovations. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all new staff, some have been brave enough to write a short article for inclusion here; but this also extends to anybody who has not been included. You will also see a couple of articles saying farewell to valued colleagues; others who are not mentioned are also fondly remembered. The original idea when Link-Up started in 2009 was to help us all feel part of Student Services as a whole and to improve communication, there has been progress over the last year with new initiatives across our services and we hope to build on this in 2011. I would particularly like to thank all those members of staff who took the trouble to write an article for Link-Up at a very busy time. I hope you all had a well-deserved rest over the Christmas and New Year break and have come back with renewed vigour to face the challenges ahead. Kind regards, Jean. Jean Ryan ext: 4278 email: jean.ryan@anglia.ac.uk
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january 2011
Departmental News
The Counselling and Wellbeing Service We have had a very challenging time since the beginning of the academic year, being drastically understaffed whilst at the same time facing huge student demand. Nevertheless, we have responded as effectively as possible, given the circumstances, and have still managed to be positive and pro-active with our students, as well as staff who come to us about their students. We have set up a number of initiatives, across our two main campuses, such as establishing university wide Mental Health Days, corresponding to World Mental Health Days in order to promote mental health and wellbeing ideas, which received extensive support from a number of mental health charities locally (see article in December’s Bulletin), and aroused considerable interest amongst our students.
Dispelling myths about mental illness is an important task to grapple with, both within and outside the university population. Mental Health Days provide opportunities for important conversations about this to take place. In addition, we have set up settling-in groups, anxiety management groups and stress workshops - all to be repeated throughout the year. We have also begun some staff training for front line staff facing students in distress and will continue to roll out a stafftraining programme throughout the year. Please let us know how we can help you with some front-line skills. In the New Year we plan to set up some health promotion events, especially in the area of sexual health - so look out across campuses for your free Chlamydia testing and health checks.
We have also successfully recruited new staff to establish a full complement of staff for our service. All people to be in place by the end of January we hope. We are entering a period of huge challenge and uncertainty in higher education at the moment and levels of stress are very high amongst both staff and students. The Counselling and Wellbeing team are committed to playing our part in responding to these new challenges in whatever ways we can to continue to enhance the student experience and contribute to the wellbeing of our university population. Bev Gold Counselling and Wellbeing Manager
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january 2011
Departmental News
Our New Information Team This academic year has brought many positive changes and new practice in Student Services to better inform and support our Students on their academic journey. From September a new cross-campus Team was created within Student Services, aptly named the “Information Team”, managed by Lesley Green our Information Co-ordinator. The Information Team assistants include Clare Gregory, Sue Webb, Margery Evans and Alison Wilson in Cambridge and Sam Coldwell and Andrina Watson in Chelmsford. One of our new strategies that the Student Services Information Team has implemented for keeping our Students up to date is the “Info Boards”. The boards are situated in the Helmore Street and the Coslett Foyer in Cambridge and on the ground floor in Tindal, the foyers of the Marconi building and beside the Costa coffee in Chelmsford. Cambridge Student Information Centre
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The boards have some general information regarding Student Services, where we are and what we offer. Added to this the boards reflected what happened each teaching week, this was called the “Long thin induction”, for example in week 5 we were looking at “How to manage your money” with Cheap as Chips promotions across both campuses. To help share this information further we are also using our Student Services Twitter accounts, updating them (or tweeting!) as and when events take place. In 2011 the Information Team are planning more initiatives to get the information “out there” and will be looking at other ways of reaching our student population, e.g. texting, Facebook and Apps. Clare Gregory Information Assistant, Cambridge.
january 2011
Departmental News
LEANing As part of the Student Services endeavour to increase student satisfaction and ‘add value’ to the student experience, I have been asked to allocate 50% of my time (15hrs per week) to work on projects with this in mind. During this period of time, Nigel Wills will look after the operational management of iCentre staff on the Chelmsford campus. One of the projects I shall be undertaking for 2011 will be to look at a LEANer approach to working. The aim is to improve the quality and the speed of the services we provide By identifying processes which appear to be very labour intensive, and in turn are affecting the service we
provide to students, we can un-pick processes and work out a more effective way. We have the technology available, for example, the Canon photocopier/scanners which can scan paperwork directly onto our record system (SITS Vision) and send trigger emails. All of this can be utilised to reduce postage/processing time between teams and departments. This is where I need the help of staff around the campuses to help identify systems/practices that are being carried out in a way that has been done purely historically, which may not be the most cost effective or efficient method. Once identified, we can work together to look at technologies available and the people involved to help streamline for the benefit of the service provided.
Therefore, if you are aware of a process which is unnecessarily labour-intensive and is crying out to be streamlined, do let me know! However small, or unachievable it may appear in the first instance – until we break it down, take a step back and ask the question ‘why are we doing this?’ then we cannot LEAN processes which are a burden to us. By ‘LEANing’ processes it will allow us more time to concentrate energy on things that matter...our students! Please get in touch. Donna Franklin iCentre Manager, Chelmsford
A helping hand! The iCentre teams have benefited tremendously by the collaborative working effort of staff across the whole of Student Services. The extra hands have covered the front-line student submission process exceptionally well, going above and beyond what was asked of them, which in turn allows iCentre staff to concentrate on processing scripts for Academic staff across the campus (within the 24
hours turnaround endeavour). The atmosphere has been fun (and festive!) and we are truly grateful to everyone for their help. It’s been a real team effort and most enjoyable! Donna Franklin iCentre Manager, Chelmsford
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january 2011
Departmental News Customer Service Excellence – the next steps As you will all be aware we did achieve the standard for Customer Service Excellence. This is great news! It clearly demonstrates our awareness of the need to provide excellent service provision. We know we can still improve and this will take time but we should be proud of what we have achieved in the past few months. To those that took part in the assessor visit – thank you. I hope to be able to circulate the full report in due course, which outlines areas of good practice. There are some areas institutionally that we need to improve but in general terms, considering where we started from, it is a remarkable achievement. The work continues though as we will have continual assessments! As a service we have work to do though! Now that we have our full management team in place I will be working with team managers to produce Service Standards and also consider ways in which we can effectively evaluation student satisfaction. I know teams currently use various methods to determine service usage and how these are rated but we do need to adopt a common approach. We also need to monitor usage and be able to produce statistical information – again I am aware it is happening in some areas. The need to evidence that we provide an invaluable service is now a necessity.
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Following neatly on from CSE, is the achievement of the Matrix standard. This is one of our strategic objectives and is perhaps more relevant to us then CSE. The following statement from the Matrix Standard website gives a bit more information about what it involves: The matrix Standard is the unique quality framework for the effective delivery of information, advice and/or guidance on learning and work. The matrix Standard is useful for employers who are committed to developing their people, and also for organisations that deliver information, advice and/or guidance to external clients as part of their core business. We will have to do quite a bit of work in order to achieve Matrix BUT we have a good start having achieved the CSE standard so it should not be too onerous and will be worth it! We are all aware of the external environment and the implications of increased funding. Students will expect more for their money and by us achieving these national standards of customer excellence, we can show students that we recognise these expectations and are actively working towards improving student satisfaction. Belinda Lennon Assistant Director (Information and Advice)
january 2011
New Staff
Welcome to Karen Burton Editor’s note – Karen kindly sent me this background information which I thought you would be interested in as well as Karen’s personal account of her time since taking up her post. Karen joined us at the beginning of November to take up her new role as Study Support Service Manager working across all campuses. As a mature student, Karen completed a first degree in sociology and social policy at Essex University and subsequently a postgraduate diploma. With her daughter now in her ‘teens’, Karen had more time available and took up a post as a learning advisor in an FE college. Based in the college library, she soon found herself at the centre of the library’s information service work. A master’s
Karen Burton’s personal message
in information science later, Karen became manager of the college’s library and information service, responsible for delivering a large programme of independent learning across all curriculum areas. Having a keen interest in the use of technology to support learning, she was happy when her remit expanded to cover ILT training for students and staff and the implementation of MOODLE VLE for the college. With over 14 years’ experience of supporting student learning, Karen is looking forward to the challenges ahead at Anglia Ruskin. Karen lives with her husband in the cluster of villages known as the ‘Belchamps’, on the Essex-Suffolk border. A keen gardener, Karen can be found with a trowel in her hand most weekends. When the weeding’s done, she also enjoys walking and cycling.
I was relieved and delighted in equal measure to find that I lead a knowledgeable, experienced and dedicated team which is patiently answering my many and varied questions. Thank you one and all! I’ve also been fortunate in joining Student Services at a great time to meet colleagues across the directorate. The new management team and the away-day provided perfect opportunities to say hello. Again, the friendliness, support and general ‘good steers’ are hugely appreciated by this newcomer!
How quickly the weeks have passed since I joined Anglia Ruskin at the beginning of November as Study Support Service Manager! Starting any new job has its challenges. Coming from a background of managing library services and general study support in the FE sector, my immediate task is to gain an understanding of the specialist area of disability support as quickly as possible.
Personal challenges aside, the away-day usefully highlighted that this is a time of major challenge for my team, the directorate, Anglia Ruskin and the HE sector in general. Here my background is useful. My experience in the FE sector has been one of meeting ever increasing demands and expectations with ever decreasing resources. I’m hoping to put this hard-won experience to good use in the coming months!
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january 2011
New Staff Brief Bio of Rev Tony Cant Chaplain to Anglia Ruskin University constructive critique to the structure where I may notice some unhealthy trends occurring.
G’day from one of Student Services’ newest additions. And yes, that really is an authentic ‘G’day’. Do I like BBQs? Yes. Am I the best BBQ chef around? Probably not. Did I grow up surfing and spending a lot of time at the beach? Very yes!! Do I like Fosters? Definitely not! In fact, I’m more partial to a good old English ale. I’m an Aussie who married a Kiwi 30 years ago, and in that time my wife Zoë, and our 3 children have moved 12 times in 3 countries: New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. The children are all adults now and have flown the nest. I’ve done a wide variety of work, from factory, farm, and fisherman, to youth & community development work, and vicaring in East London. I love the outdoors, am a Trustee of Fellowship Afloat Christian Sailing Centre (www.fact.org.uk); own a sailing yacht, and just love escaping for several days on it around the East Coast. And now, I’m the new Chaplain to Anglia Ruskin University – Chelmsford Campus. Now, technically, Chaplaincy falls under the large umbrella of Student Services. But it’s a bit weird from a corporate structure perspective, as I’m able to sit outside of the structure too. It’s a bit like ‘being in the structure but not of it’, if you know what I mean. No? Well, it means that as Chaplain, I have the privilege of confidentiality and critique. I can listen to anything you want to say to me and it remains confidential between us; but I can also bring
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Chaplaincy is here to help. And I’ve got time to help. Never, ever think that I might be too busy for you. I’m never too busy. A big part of what I DO is simply BE (go on, get your head around that!). I’m interested in helping anyone with encouragement, support, and advice if you need it. I find deep joy in being available for staff and students to come to a venue of peace where they find someone who has the time and willingness to really listen to whatever they want to talk about. I’m not always in the Chaplaincy Centre, as I like to get around and visit, use the gym, drink coffee and yarn in the various cafes, and see people in their place of work and study. The Big Message is: I’m available for you. So, don’t be shy. I’m easily contactable, and easy to spot and find (how many other blokes are walking around in a dog collar?!). I’ve got an office too: Chaplaincy Centre Ground Floor 90 Ransomes Way, in the Student Village. E: tony.cant@anglia.ac.uk T: 0845 196 7722 (that’s extension 7722) M: 07860 407 722 Twitter: @ARU_CfordChpln Facebook: Anglia Ruskin University Chelmsford Chaplain Yes, I really am glad to be here, and aim to offer myself as a positive contribution to the multifaceted Student Services, and our wider life-giving community. Rev Tony Cant.
january 2011
New Staff New Student Advisers in Mental Health Emma Carroll (Chelmsford) Claire Nicholls (Cambridge)
I’m Emma Carroll the student adviser in mental health. I started in the post in April 2010 and will have met most of you. My background is in mental health nursing. I qualified from City University in 1997 and worked in acute mental health in Hackney for several years. This was a very challenging but also an interesting time. I then worked in Day Hospital settings in Woodgreen and then Epping, gradually leaving London for a slower pace of life in Essex. I was a student at Anglia Ruskin University and completed a BSc in Specialist Mental Health Practice in 2006. I have been working as a Community Psychiatric Nurse in Chelmsford for five years in a very busy team. I continue to work part time in this role alongside my part time post within the counselling and wellbeing service.
I am Claire Nicholls, the student advisor for mental health. I’ve been working here on the Cambridge Campus since June 2010. I trained as an Occupational Therapist and qualified from St Andrew’s School of Occupational Therapy in 2000 and from this point on I have specialised in mental health. I have worked in a multitude of settings from Intensive rehabilitation Units through to Forensic Medium Secure Psychiatric Hospitals. My previous post was in a Day Services where I Care Co-ordinated clients and ran a variety of groups to support people with their mental health needs. I have recently achieved my Advanced Certificate in Counselling and this is certainly very handy for working within the Counselling and Wellbeing Team.
For any advice around mental health issues or any students you would like to refer, please do not hesitate to contact me on 0845196 4286 or email emma.carrol@anglia.ac.uk
Should you have any questions or concerns about mental health issues, or should you be worried about any specific students, please do not hesitate to contact me on 0845 196 5070 or email claire. nicholls@anglia.ac.uk
I work on Wednesday afternoons and all day Thursday and Fridays.
I work on Wednesdays, Thursday mornings and Fridays.
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january 2011
New Staff Evis Bakiri-Read - The Internal Student Advice Team
My name is Evis Bakiri-Read and I started as International Student Adviser at Chelmsford campus in October 2010. I work on Mondays, Wednesday’s and Thursdays. I have been a member of Student Services for only 2 months and I already feel settled in my new role; it has been a very welcoming environment to work in. I am originally from Albania and moved to the UK in 2001 after college. I am an OU graduate and obtained my BSc in International Studies in 2007. Whilst studying part time I worked as International Admissions Officer at Colchester Institute. Teaching employers and students at the Teaching Jobs Fair in Mildmay Sport Hall
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I had always been interested in Human Rights and after I graduated I worked for a TDA funded project at the Refugee Council in Brixton. The aim of the project was to research the needs of refugee teachers and retrain them. In 2008 I qualified to give immigration advice and worked for a legal charity in their Ipswich office. In the last two and a half years I represented many clients in their asylum, immigration or human rights applications to the Home Office and the Tribunal. The training and work were very challenging but they were also very interesting and eye opening, especially as many clients were in immigration detention centres, in prisons or they were minors in the care of Social Services. However I decided to leave the refugee sector due to increasingly restrictive political context and funding system and I am very happy to be advising students once again. I hope to be able to help them make the most of their time in the UK and at the University. Evis Bakiri Read International Student Adviser
january 2011
Events
Teaching Jobs Fair The Employability and Careers Service organised a very successful Teaching Jobs Fair in conjunction with the Faculty of Education on 28th October 2010. Over 20 teaching employers take the opportunity to get together with PGCE and final year teaching students to recruit Newly Qualified Teachers from the Essex Campus at our university. For the first time the event was held in Mildmay Sports Hall. This proved to be a popular venue for both the exhibitors and students, despite the fact that there was some competition from the music from the legs bums and tums lunchtime exercise class!
Comments from the students included different music, more sweets, give more time to Barry’s talk, keep it up! Barry Hancock a recruitment consultant from Redbridge gave two entertaining and informative lectures and fired the students with enthusiasm to obtain their first teaching post. The teaching employers are always very impressed by the quality of the students, the organisation, catering and the campus itself and many return year after year to recruit our newly qualified teachers (NQTs) Thanks to the staff of the Faculty of Education who encouraged the students to attend – over 200 were seen over the lunchtime period.
Thanks to my colleagues in the Employability and Careers Service who staffed a very busy stand full of information on applying for teaching jobs, on how to produce CVs, and that all important supporting statement. They also handed out evaluation sheets, put up stands and generally answer any queries from both employers and students. Jo Boyton Employability and Careers Adviser Student Services 2nd Floor Tindal 0845 196 4269 jo.boyton@anglia.ac.uk
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january 2011
Events
D-Stress for All At the end of the long thin induction Bonny Flowers and myself, from the Counselling and Wellbeing Service and Kate McGann from Study Support Service promoted the need to d–stress. Two workshops were well attended and feedback from students reflected how useful they were. Throughout the week promotional stalls were set up in the Tindal, Marconi and Michael Ashcroft buildings. The aim was to promote awareness of day-to-day stress that students and staff experience and the need to take time out and develop positive coping strategies. Students were encouraged to participate through free bottles of water courtesy of Britvic.
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One talented member of the Study Support Service wrote the encouraging words: Got no time to stop and think, always on the go? Pause a while, make sure you drink a drop of H2O. (Sue Butler!) Information on coping with negative thoughts, the need to improve sleep, reduce alcohol and develop stress-reducing activities were well received by all. Emma Carroll Counselling and Wellbeing Service.
january 2011
Events
Extra Study Skills Sessions As you may know, each semester the Study Support Service and the University Library run a programme of drop-in study skills sessions – Skills@Uni. See the University Library website for details: http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/helpdesk/ train.htm If you encounter students who are interested in these sessions but are unable to make the programmed times, please let them know that, if they approach us in small groups, identifying a topic/area of concern (whether it’s a topic included in the main programme or something different), with possible alternative dates/times we will do our best to arrange separate sessions. Generally we are moving away from individual study skills support towards small group work (unless a student has special funding for oneto-one support because they have a Specific Learning Difficulty). As an experiment, Chelmsford Study Support offered a number of small group sessions at set times in October and November on assignment planning, proofreading, spelling, commas and apostrophes. The Cambridge Team have also been offering sessions on time management and planning. So far these have been poorly attended but we are hoping that by spreading the word in different ways we will start to attract more students.
Drop in sessions for Semester 2 Throughout Semester 2 in Cambridge there will be drop in sessions for any study related support and advice. These will be held on Thursdays in MUM202 between 10.00 and 12.00.
On the Chelmsford campus, sessions are also held on Thursdays in QUE117 betwen 13.00 and 15.00. Students should contact the following for further information: Sue Butler (Study Support, Chelmsford) Ext 4281, Email susan.butler@anglia.ac.uk or Deborah Stebbing (University Library, Chelmsford) Ext 3610, Email deborah.stebbing@anglia.ac.uk). Jane Bousfield (Study Support, Cambridge) Ext 2434; Email Jane.Bousfield@anglia.ac.uk) or Elaine Newell (University Library, Cambridge) Ext 2064, Email elaine.newell@anglia.ac.uk). Sandra Cross (Study Support, Peterborough and Fulbourn)
Ext 5598 (F) or 5550 (P), Email: Sandra.Cross@anglia.ac.uk or Jo van der Hulks (University Library, Fulbourn) Ext 5392, Email joanne.vanderhulks@anglia.ac.uk or Elaine Pocklington (University Library, Peterborough) Ext 5570, Email elaine.pocklington@anglia.ac.uk.
Meanwhile, students and staff can access a range of self help guides at: www.anglia.ac.uk/studysupportservice and http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/guides/guides.htm
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january 2011
Events
Free concerts every Friday in Cambridge For any of us based at Cambridge, I thought that you might be interested to find that our Department of Music and Performing Arts offers free lunchtime concerts each Friday from 1 to 2 in the Mumford Theatre during the semester. You can see this semester’s programme at: http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ ruskin/en/home/faculties/alss/ deps/mpa/events/lunchtime_ concerts.html - and it will be updated for next Semester shortly. The concerts are by professional musicians and are a great way to spend a Friday lunchtime. Later in the year, the students
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themselves provide the entertainment as part of their Performance modules – last year there were some really excellent performances. The Anglia orchestra and chorus also put on concerts each semester either on campus or at the West Road concert hall. If you are a keen theatre goer, the students also put on various shows through out the year, in January in the Mumford Theatre (the 2nd years on Drama and Performing Arts courses) and in June at the Junction venue, off Hills Road (by the 3rd years who devise the pieces as their final pieces of assessment). These ones aren’t free I’m afraid but are still good value for money and tickets are
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available via the Mumford box office. The performers also work with Cambridge School of Art students to create the designs and costumes so it’s a cross departmental production for ALSS! You can see more information about this at:
http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ ruskin/en/home/faculties/alss/ deps/mpa/events/concerts_ productions_2010_2011.html So if any of you are interested, I might well see you there next Semester…. Katie Porrer Faculty Student Adviser (who covers the Music and Performing Arts courses)
january 2011
Events
Sports and Active Lifestyles Editor’s note – please see the picture gallery below showing some of the wide range of sports events Steve and Claire have organised for Sports and Active Lifestyles since the last issue of Link-Up. Steve put this together in rather a rush before the Christmas Break and it was completed by Claire.
March 2010 Fairtrade Football
Wheeling out the hose!
Fairtrade Football Staff v Students
My goodness it was cold, so very cold - but all in a good cause, we won last year, but this year will be a different affair I think, our new football coach; Frank Hodge has stirred up the students.
Anything to get our local fireman on site and working in collaboration with our Environmental Team.
May 2010 SESSA Cricket
April 2010 Walking and Wheeling Week
Photo (walking and wheeling)
Walking up Ben Nevis!
Last year we held a 6-a-side cricket tournament at Chelmer Park, which was organised and run by William Metcalfe and helped by Max Castledine who was with us on work experience. Our Students did well, reaching the final.
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january 2011
Events
Sports and Active Lifestyles (cont) Fun Rounders Tournament
June 2010 Dragon Boat Racing
Organised by England Rounders at Essex University, I have to say this was great fun, and with the combined might of some Student Services staff and some borrowed help from our Student Union, we reached the final in this round robin tournament.
Little Havens Countryside Bike Ride
Based on the theme of the Football World Cup, we represented Anglia Ruskin in our First Dragon boat Race to help raise funds and awareness for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research in support of the Tim Reeve Charitable Trust. We finished 11th out of 30 teams.
The summer ended on a high - Claire guided us to both a Green Impact Award, and herself being a very well deserved recipient of the Vice Chancellors Award.
Green Impact Awards
We host it, others ride it! The date for 2011 has moved to June so hopefully it will be a little warmer! 17
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Mike Thorne presenting the team with the Green Impact Award
january 2011
Events
VC Award
October 2010 Marathong
Enthusiasm is everything; even the BBC Essex crew were persuaded! Mike Thorne presenting Claire with the VC Award
Hockey
September 2010 Editor’s note – the new academic year started with Steve enthusiastically encouraging all new students to participate in taster sessions during Freshers and Mildmay has been a hive of activity since then. Due to lack of time and space I have included just two special events from this last semester. This is the second year that Claire has organised the Marathong to raise funds for a variety of charities. Steve has worked hard to develop this new partnership with the Chelmsford Hockey club and Writtle College.
We launched a new partnership with Chelmsford Hockey club, months of work into the agreement, and working closely in partnership with Writtle College!
Well done Steve and Claire! link-up Student Services Departmental Newsletter
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january 2011
Farewell
Farewell to Jean Lambert On Monday 13th December colleagues, past and present, gathered together to mark the retirement of Jean who retired in December after 22 years of working in Student Services.
about Jean over the years – her empathy with students, her calmness in times of crisis, her passion for learning and indeed her willingness to participate in many “jollies”.
Jean joined the then Anglia Higher Education College (AHEC) in 1988 as a Careers Adviser. She lived through the many name changes of our university from AHEC to Anglia Ruskin University, and progressed from Careers Adviser to Assistant Director of Student Services.
Jean was joined in her celebrations by friends and colleagues from both Student Services and the Department of English where she is currently studying for her PhD and also teaches.
I first met Jean in January 1990 when I was sent by an employment agency to temp for 2-3 weeks. She was very warm and welcoming to me then, as I’m sure she will have been to many of you since.
Many people had contributed to her leaving gift of Flowers, Champagne (what else!) and Liberty Gift Coins and Jean thanked everyone for making such an effort on her behalf, particularly at such a busy time of year. Lorraine Silk Student Services
Paul McHugh returned “not necessarily to say how sorry he was that she was leaving (as he’d already left), but to welcome her into the wonderful world of retirement’. He wished her well with her PhD and outlined some of the qualities he had noted video still from left to right - Helen Valentine, Jean Lambert, Katie Morris and Paul McHugh’
Please go to the J Drive at Services\ Student Services\Public\test folder to see a brief video of Jean’s gathering compiled by Katie Morris.
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january 2011
Farewell Debbie Burden A farewell interview by Jean Ryan JR: You have worked for Student Services for 11 years; can you remember what first attracted you to the job? DB: Previously I had worked as a Tudor Goodwife at Cressing Temple with school children and in a voluntary position with rebellious teenagers in a youth centre. It seemed a natural progression to work in HE and the fact that I would get paid for it rather than working on a voluntary basis was a bonus. JR: How have you managed to remain so cheerful and positive when students are mainly coming in to Student Services with problems that they want you to solve. DB: Having very supportive colleagues, particularly Sam Coldwell, we were at the same interview and started at the same time, with us working and bouncing off of each other together ever since. The experience of bringing up two sons has also helped when things have been tough! I like trying to solve people’s problems – maybe it brings out my mothering instinct. JR: We moved to Tindal five years ago, what do you think the differences are between here and the Student Centre on Central. DB: The Student Centre had more of a noisier drop-in appeal with
a more multi purpose approach, students would come in to meet friends, read, study, relax and chat if they didn’t want to go to the bar or refectory. Initially Tindal was much quieter but as the campus has gradually grown we have become much busier again and the students have returned showing that SS is a very important factor in the university. Long may it reign! One negative aspect of the move has been the long walk to the shops and the subsequent reduction of my wardrobe! JR: What do you think is the best advice you can give anybody who might be following in your footsteps. DB: Be unshockable because you never know what you are going to be asked, but my lips are sealed. And don’t take things personally when students vent their anger on you because they are not getting the answer they want, it is rewarding when you see 85% walk out looking calm and happier because you have listened to them. JR: There have been quite a few characters, both students and staff, who you have been associated with during your time at Anglia Ruskin, would you like to share any particular incidents for anecdotes with us. DB: One particular member of staff I fondly remember is Rob Flowers, one of the FHSC lecturers.
Rob used to come in wearing a huge fur hat in winter and very flamboyant shirts that he would raffle off once a year to raise funds for the students. He would always come in and shout out ‘hello you tart’ – I took this as a term of endearment! One of the students I particularly remember is Jay, a Malaysian student who, because of coming from a wealthy background, had never had to cater for himself. Jay rapidly lost weight and became quite poorly, so I started looking up simple recipes that Jay could cook for himself. Jenni Grundy our ex Student Affairs director realised that this could be popular and from this small start the ‘Cheap-as-Chips’ promotion was born and is still very popular with students to this day JR: Are there any high points that stand out from your working life here. DB: Many. High points are friendships with students who have asked me to attend their graduation and to meet their families, and some of them have kept in touch for long after they have completed their studies here. This personal aspect is one of the nicest aspects of the job. JR: Lastly, can I thank you for being my Link-Up co-editor, it will be hard to find a replacement that will make the articles so lively and interesting.
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january 2011
Farewell
And a Fond Farewell from Staff ‘left to right - Sheila Burke, Sam Coldwell, Debbie Burden, Debbie Mason, Gwen Skinner, Jan Shipperd’
Many of you, especially those staff based in Chelmsford, will know that colleagues gathered on Friday 26th November at 4.00pm to say a fond farewell to Debbie. From the photos you will see that Steve Dupree kindly agreed to say a few words, reflecting on Debbie’s time working for Student Services - the laughs, the tears and the joys that have been part of the mix that has seen Debbie become a much appreciated colleague over the past 11 years. You will realise from the cross section of staff from other departments that attended this gathering that Debbie reached out to many different people and was a key point of contact for any query or question that needed answering. I am sure we would all like to pay tribute to her hard work,
her capacity to deal with anyone coming to the front desk for advice no matter what this involved – pictured are a number of colleagues, past and present, who worked with Debbie on reception either in East Building on the Central campus or here in Tindal. As most of you know, Debbie is leaving so she can be placed on the register for her lung and heart transplant. Understandably the journey ahead will be a difficult one for Debbie and I know we will be thinking of her and supporting her as much as we can. We will look forward to the times she pops in to brighten our days – and although we don’t know the timescale we would especially like to say hello to a ‘remodelled’ Debbie with her new organs in place!
Editor’s note: We have not set a date yet for the next edition of Link-Up but if anybody would like to take up the challenge of being a co-editor with me, especially if you are based in Cambridge, I would be very grateful. If any staff have comments, either negative or positive, about this edition of Link-Up please do feed them back to me so we can consider them for future editions. Many thanks Jean
Jean Ryan ext 4278 21
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email: jean.ryan@anglia.ac.uk