Dear all
I hope you
are getting into the swing of things for the new academic
year. Yesterday was a gloriously sunny day here in Plymouth
and the campus was buzzing with young folks starting out on
their university journey. The excitement, animated
conversations, laughter and music, along with the colourful
posters promoting events and societies all make the
university feel properly alive again after the summer break.
Our support services – counselling, learning development and
disability advice are busier than ever and our Peer Learning
team have just finished training two hundred new leaders for
the PALS scheme …
All this
noise, enthusiasm and optimism are great and we’re all
raring to go – but it’s not all sunshine and smiles, of
course. There is already evidence of significant financial
worries on the part of many students; some with social
anxieties; or personal troubles; and there was some very
ugly violence on campus just a couple of weeks back
involving a serious sexual assault. There are cultural
tensions below the surface too over issues such what
facilities are provided for whom …
Thinking
this over last night I was wondering how ‘connected’
learning developers in other universities feel to broader
‘support’ services, and how LD might play a part in what you
might call ‘community development’. I’m keen to foster a
‘joined up’ culture here and am finding it quite
inspirational to see our LDers and PALS staff working
alongside our counsellors and disability advisors, with
mutual learning happening! The vagaries of
structuring/restructuring of university functions by our
seniors across the sector mean that it can be arbitrary as
to where LD is positioned. I know some colleagues are part
of library services, others are in academic/educational
development units (as we were until the last restructure);
are some of you alongside accommodation or careers services?
or embedded in a discipline grouping such as a Faculty,
School or within a programme ...?
I wonder how
where you are placed affects the kind of LD work you do (or
if it does) – are some structures more or less likely to
foster an approach to LD that sees it as being part of an
initiative to develop / facilitate the university as a
community, or the communication between the communities of
students, academics and others who work together?
I know the
ALDinHE Research Working group is going to be launching a
project to look into some of issues around LD provision and
positioning later in the year, so it will be interesting to
see how these questions are raised and answered. I’d be
interested to hear from anyone with thoughts about their
positioning and how it relates to the wider academic and
social functions of their university – or more generally
about how LD and identity work with students in the academic
and social spheres “works”, or how you think it might work
better …
Cheers for
now
John
This email and any files with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the recipient to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient then copying, distribution or other use of the information contained is strictly prohibited and you should not rely on it. If you have received this email in error please let the sender know immediately and delete it from your system(s). Internet emails are not necessarily secure. While we take every care, Plymouth University accepts no responsibility for viruses and it is your responsibility to scan emails and their attachments. Plymouth University does not accept responsibility for any changes made after it was sent. Nothing in this email or its attachments constitutes an order for goods or services unless accompanied by an official order form.