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Student support and e-learning: parallel universes?. Donald Lush Director of Student Support WAES. Who am I?. Senior manager in ACL Fifteen years in student support Worked in FE, sixth form colleges, adult education
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Student support and e-learning: parallel universes? Donald Lush Director of Student Support WAES
Who am I? • Senior manager in ACL • Fifteen years in student support • Worked in FE, sixth form colleges, adult education • London convenor of NAMSS (National Association of Managers of Student Services)
Why is what I do important? • Budget of £1.7 million • Premises • Staff • Resources • Facilities • Training • Inspection
Why is what I do important? • Willy Russell “I wrote the play (Educating Rita) only a few years after having had to really go through a struggle to get back in to mainstream education myself. I’d left school without doing O-levels or A-levels or anything like that. And when I tried to get back in, I just met a stonewall of absolute resistance.”
Why is what I do important? • Mina’s story
Why it’s important - values • Equality • Access • Transformation • Excellence • Service
What is it like to be me? The Robin Hood scenario. • Sole practitioner • Unique viewpoint • Senior buy-in? • Peer support at college? • A “cost” • Lonely (sometimes) • Loved by the learners (ahem!)
SolutionsThe merry men and women • NAMSS - history and function • No external funding, no staff, no premises • Executive, regional groups, JISC mail list, website, annual conference • http://www.namss.ac.uk
NAMSS - purpose • NAMSS aims to provide members with a forum for developing quality services that promote and enhance the learning offered by colleges by: * Providing information to members * Developing and promoting quality standards of student services' practice * Representing the needs of students and student support services
NAMSS - mission • NAMSS aims to provide support and professional development for managers of services that support learners in post 16 education and training.
NAMSS - Strategy • To develop and implement strategies for enhancing the support NAMSS offers to its members to develop and implement strategies to support regional activities • To develop and strengthen alliances with other organisations • To review and develop the management of the association's resources, processes and procedures • To develop strategies to enable NAMSS to influence policy and practice on issues relevant to members • To develop strategies to market and publicise the association's activities
NAMSS - why is it successful? • Clear vision, mission and strategy • Meets real needs • Credibility/integrity • Self-help is an organising principle - ownership! • Achieves results • Mutual understanding and support • Excellent communication (some through ICT) • Valued and supported by members