Passed Policies and Progress

The union should make space in its representation structure for Transnational Education (TNE) students to be specifically represented at student council. The union should allow for a TNE course representative for each course that is offered at a franchised institute. For example, there is currently space for one course representative for the MA in Creative Media Practice studying in Ayr. However, this course is also delivered via franchise at the International School of Creative Arts in Kochi, India. I suggest there be space for an additional course rep for the MA Creative Media Practice for those studying in Kochi, as their experiences and needs will necessarily be different to those studying at the Ayr campus. This goes as well for all courses offered via UWS’s TNE program. The union should also aim to help TNE reps effectively participate in student council meetings by recruiting volunteers who speak their home language to assist them with their English skills or provide translations. These volunteers could be recruited from UWS’s large pool of international students who are studying in the UK and are competent in English.

Though TNE students are studying a UWS course and, according to the Office for Students, should be “entitled to the same minimum level of quality and the same rigorous standards as students in the UK,” our actual experience is necessarily different from that of UWS students at UK campuses. TNE students are studying at a franchised institute with different facilities and instructors, which means we will likely run into different issues. A student who studies at the International School of Creative Arts in Kochi cannot have their interests and views adequately represented by a student on the ‘same’ course studying in Ayr. TNE students are UWS students and, as such, student members of the UWS Students’ Union; we should have equal chances to bring our concerns to our union through student representation.

The quotation from the Office for Students can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/blog/offshore-opportunity-protecting-students-in-transnational-education/

Yes.