Harvard’s Roots: University of Oxford

Unlike the other instituions we visited on the tour, we only had the opportunity to take a tour of the sprawling campus of the University of Oxford. Because of this, we were unable to gain a greater understanding of how student services works presently at the institution.  However, the tour provided me with a greater depth of understanding of the roots of our higher education system in the U.S. as well as the foundation for modern student affairs.

On the tour, our guide showed us around a few of the different colleges and gave us detailed background information on the creation of each college and the physical environment. It is from this information that I was able to better understand the residential nature of many U.S. institutions.  When Oxford was founded, it was in the country, surrounded by a pastoral landscape; the vast town that exists now developed around the University. Because the University was originally not within a town, students lived on campus with faculty members.  In fact, all aspects of everyday life were covered by the institution: living quarters were on campus, faculty members performed parental services,  and learning, eating, and prayer occurred on campus.  The University was essentially a complete living environment within its own walls.

This establishment has clearly influenced the creation of higher educational institutions within the United States.  Most early institutions were residential in nature, providing all core services needed for students to live and succeed.  Today, institutions have taken this further, creating posh residence halls, lavish student unions, and up-to-date athletic facilities.  It is out of these humble roots that modern student affairs has developed.  What used to be the responsibilities of faculty members that lived within the college quadrangle building, has now shifted to full-time professional staff members. The University of Oxford and Cambridge acknowledged the importance of student development, albeit in a different manner.  Essentially, it is because of these two institutions, which our higher education system is widely believed to have been influenced by, that the profession of student affairs exists and is considered an integral aspect of the university.

Final Reflection: Where Autonomy Meets Tuition

Now that the pre-departure lessons and trip have concluded, what have I taken away? What have the essential themes been that will inform my practice as a student affairs professional?  Surprisingly, I find the answer to this question to be easy; the two main themes of the trip and sessions became self-evident.  I have alluded to and discussed these two themes throughout my journal entries.  The two most important concepts from this study tour are 1) the tuition increases and consumerism, and 2) student autonomy.

First, the most influential and pressing issue facing the UK higher education system, evident from pre-departure sessions and reaffirmed while visiting, is the tuition increase.  Before, it was free for UK residents to receive higher education.  However, due to budget limits and increasing costs, government officials decided to allow universities to charge up to, but no more than, 9000 pounds for a year’s education.  Because of this, most institutions will begin charging this full charge in the fall.

Although this is a pressing issue in itself, it is the impact it has on student services in the UK that is of great importance.  Receiving a free education, the student culture appears to have not demanded the most up-to-date student services.  However, with rising tuition fees, students are becoming consumers, which is increasing the demand for state-of-the-art student services and buildings.  For their money, students may begin to demand more.  Because of this, student services in the UK are going to have to change, adapt, and rise to the occasion.  As was evident at most of the institutions, student services already slightly resemble student affairs in the US.  I believe that in the coming years, UK services will begin to shift more towards a U.S. model of student affairs, where students have historically been consumers.

Second, the levels of student autonomy in the UK are astounding.  Here in the U.S., student affairs services professionals are constantly reaching out to students, advertising their support, and helping guide students to make developmentally appropriate decisions.  This, however, is not the case in the UK.  Although a few services do resemble this model, for the most part, institutions and student services require the student to be active and seek out any resources necessary.  For example, the student unions are student run, and leadership is dependent on students making the personal decision to run.  Another example can be seen in the classroom, where students may not be required to attend lectures and their final grades are dependent on a single essay or exam.  In this instance, it is the student’s responsibility to seek out academic support when needed.

Combined, this view of students as consumers and the high levels of autonomy in the UK have provided me with new insight into how I interact with students.  First, the UK’s expectation of and respect for student autonomy is inspiring and something that I would like to incorporate into my advising and supervisory style.  Providing my students with greater expectations and levels of autonomy could provide them with greater confidence and ownership of their experiences.  While this is ideal, it would need to be practiced within a developmentally appropriate manner; some students may not be able to succeed with such high levels of autonomy.  Because of this, it would need to be adjusted based upon developmental status.

Second, I may face difficulties in increasing student autonomy due to a consumer-based attitude.  Many students believe that as paying individuals, student affairs professionals should provide them with anything they may request.  I believe a reframing of this belief is necessary to ensure increased autonomy is successful.  As student affairs professionals, we must provide students with the tools necessary to empower students to meet their requests, but be careful not to do the requests ourselves.  This is a recurrent issue advisors and supervisors face: where do we draw the line between empowering students and doing students’ work?  Setting explicit expectations from the beginning of the year is one tool that may prove to be helpful in achieving this balancing act.

Professionally, this trip has left me with a greater appreciation for students affairs in the U.S.  I picked up a few tips and tricks from the UK, and the institutions we visited provided a great contrast to institutions I am familiar with here in the U.S.  Institutions such as Oxford and St Andrews helped to further explain and provide insight into our higher educational system.  Student autonomy, seen first-hand, and the idea of students as consumers, however, resonated most with me. As tuition in the U.S. continues to increase within a struggling economy, our students are demanding more and want to know how and where their money is being used.  I foresee student affairs needing to address the student consumer, which may be at odds with the notion of student autonomy.

 

Prior to this trip, I had never flown and the farthest I had traveled was Indiana.  It goes without saying that this trip was a first for me on many levels. As my biggest fear, flying for the first time was relatively painless and I am beyond proud of myself for conquering this fear.  Traveling with talented peers revealed a more complex world, full of history and experience waiting to be discovered.

Quite simply, I fell in love on this trip. I fell in love with the UK. I fell in love with the culture, the people, the scenery, and even the coinage (I find the pound system flawless).  I also fell in love again with higher education and came away with a greater appreciation for the power of education and student affairs.  Before the trip, I had no real expectations for the UK.  Having never left the eastern U.S. region (with the exception of Indiana and Ohio), I based all so-called “expectations” on popular culture and history class perceptions.  Because of this, I believe my “expectations” were met and the experience far exceeded all that I could imagine.  Thanks to this trip, I have a much greater and nuanced understanding of the British and Scottish cultures, as well as the Harry Potter books (who knew tomatoes were a typical breakfast food?).

Words truly cannot express the life lessons and experiences gained from this trip, my peers, and all the individuals I interacted with.  A quote from J.K. Rowling herself, etched upon a screen at the Harry Potter movie studios, sums up my view of this transformative experience: “The stories we love best do live in us forever….”

Mastering the Nontraditional: University of Westminster and Birkbeck

While in London, our tour group had the opportunity to visit two different institutions: the University of Westminster and the University of London, Birkbeck. The University of Westminster is located within downtown London and is a widening participation university, meaning that it focuses on learning support and remediation.  In recent years the institution has begun to transform into a recruiting school, rather than being open access.  Whereas the majority of the previous institutions catered to a high achieving, upperclass students, Westminster focuses on “learn and go” students interested in vocational studies.  Learn and go students refers to individuals that are similar to U.S. commuter students: they complete on-campus courses, but typically leave campus afterward.  Because of this, student services place a heavy emphasis on retention and fostering a sense of belonging within students.

Two aspects of our visit were unique to this institution: disability services and its self-image.  First, Westminster has an exceptional disability services office in comparison to the previous institutions.  Although disabled students (the British term for students with disabilities) were mentioned at the other universities, Westminster placed a heavier emphasis on this student population and the support services provided to it.  Specifically, the institution will contact all applying students with a disability.  This ensures that the institution is providing the necessary support at all stages of the students’ involvement with the university.  Although I have little experience with these services here in the U.S., I have never heard of such outreach to a specific student population before.  This sends a message of inclusion and mattering to this often invisible population.

Second, the representatives of Westminster defended the institution at great lengths.  During conversation, some sort of disparaging remark or defense would be peppered in every few minutes or so.  This caught me off guard, but upon reflection, does not surprise me.  As a former open enrollment institution and with rising tuition fees, Westminster is placed in a position that requires it to defend itself.  Oxford and Edinburgh are highly selective and sought out institutions; their reputations precede them, resulting in an easier sell to student consumers.  Westminster, on the other hand, is lesser known and may not be viewed as worth the 9000 pound tuition fee.  The defense of its worth and value underline the tuition increases, while also shedding light on the need for student services in the UK to improve offerings.  Ultimately, Westminster provided a stark contrast to the other visited institutions, while continuing to highlight a common theme among all institutions: as fees increase, students are beginning to expect more from student services.

After Westminster, we traveled to visit the University of London Birkbeck, another school that stands in sharp contrast with the Oxfords and St Andrews of the UK. What makes Birkbeck so unique in the UK is that it only offers classes at night, earning the nickname of “London’s Evening University.” This school of the University of London caters to the non-traditional student:  all classes are in the evening, as are the majority of exams.  Most students work full time, are part time students, and most are older than twenty-two years of age.

Because of its non-traditional target population, Birkbeck uses a variety of creative and useful modes of outreach.  To reach its potential student market, Birkbeck places advertisements on public transportation (e.g. subways, buses, taxis); they host tables at trade unions, the library, and the mall; and they hold non-accredited informational classes that lead to the application to and enrollment at the institution.  I found this level of outreach to be inspiring, practical, and ingenious.  At a broad level, Birkbeck’s model has potential for U.S. institutions, where the non-traditional student population is quickly growing.  If the U.S. is to meet this increasing population, not only do we need to use similar outreach tactics, we also need to provide similar services, such as child care and transportation.  At a smaller level, Birkbeck’s outreach strategy has implications for student affairs professionals and their quest to engage students with their services. Problems that the Office of Campus Activities has been facing at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) are getting students to participate in training sessions and reaching off-campus students for programming.  Following Birbeck’s lead, the office could be reaching out to locations that off-campus students frequent, such as local restaurants and apartment complexes, in an attempt to bring the University to the students.

Ultimately, Birkbeck and and Westminster provide excellent examples of how an institution of higher education can successfully meet the needs of a non-traditional student population.  Reaching out to students with disabilities from the beginning to ensure proper support, and using resourceful and practical outreach methods and services to engage nontraditional students are examples of services that could be influential within the U.S.

Students as Consumers: York St John

The fourth formal UK institution that we visited was York St John University in York, England.  Oxford, St Andrews, and Edinburgh were relatively similar universities: prestigious, old, and primarily traditional and liberal arts focused.  York, on the other hand, stands in contrast with these institutions as it is primarily vocational and attracts a less academically rigorous student.  The University is also unique from the former three in the fact that their student services appeared to be moving towards a U.S. model, especially their accommodation services.

Accommodation services at York St John has been undergoing a major renovation.  Before this academic school year, what we know as RAs were called Wardens.  However, this name has been changed to Residential Support Assistants (RSA) to remove stigma, as well as to better reflect the actual responsibilities of the position.  In the last year, the office has made a concerted effort, albeit difficult, to recruit more student RSAs, with twenty current RSAs.  One possible reason for the difficulty in recruiting is that the UK has had a tradition of free education, making free room and board not as appealing as it may be in the United States.  However, the office acknowledges that they predict that recruitment may increase once the tuition increase takes place int he coming academic year.

Our conversations with accommodation services also revealed an important aspect of student affairs in the U.S.  Many of the individuals we met on our tour commented on the immense amount of services we provide our students here in the States, such as state-of-the-art recreational facilities.  What explains this difference between student services in the two countries?  Katie Knowles, the director for accommodation services, believes that as tuition prices increase, so do student expectations.  Simply put, education is becoming a commodity in the UK, and students are becoming consumers.  As consumers, they will begin to want more from their financial contributions, reassuring them that the financial commitment is practical.  Here in the U.S., we have a long standing tradition of paying for higher education, therefore our innumerable student services may be a result of students being consumers.  And with tuition fees increasing every year, students are demanding more and more for their money.

How do we, as student affairs professionals, balance this consumerism notion with student autonomy?  How do we continue to provide services to students, while also ensuring that they are given autonomy and take control of their learning and development?  In a higher education consumer culture, students are expecting more from student affairs, and may even expect us to hand them solutions to their problems.  However, this conflicts with the student affairs idea of giving students the tools to solve their problems (not giving them the solution).  I acknowledge that students being consumers may not explain all student behaviors, but it is a notion that is highly applicable to campus activities, where programs are funded by general student fees.  As I progress within my internship, I will walk a fine line: advising my students to be responsible stewards of their funds, while also ensuring they have the autonomy to make decisions on their own.

An Urban Ivy: University of Edinburgh

The second institution we had the pleasure of visiting on the tour was the University of Edinburgh.  While touring and speaking with staff of the University, we discussed the role of residence life, the international office, the student union, as well as career, counseling, and chaplaincy services.  In this journal I will quickly discuss some highlights from each session before turning my attention to the biggest single takeaway from the institution.

Firstly, we met with the Edinburgh’s equivalent of residence life. Housing over 6,000 students within the city, Edinburgh’s residence life shocked me in how similar it is to residence life in the U.S. The University of Edinburgh’s residential life unit places a heavy emphasis on developing students and community within their halls, evident through event requirements.  The office also fosters academic connections outside of the classroom, such as hosting academic wine and cheese events.  Similar to the St. Andrews, Edinburgh has wardens, but it also has assistant directors and residence life coordinators who’s full time job is to focus on accommodations.  Surprising to me, Edinburgh also has 148 RAs, a position that St. Andrews did not have.  Ultimately, Edinburgh has found that their residence life model has resulted in less damage and discipline, as well as increased student satisfaction and feelings of community.

Secondly, the Robbie Willis of the International Office shared with us the importance of building international connections to the University.  Of the 30,000 students of the University, roughly 9,000 are international students, with the majority coming from China, India, and the U.S.  Edinburgh has a one-to-one exchange system, meaning that if for every international student coming to Edinburgh, an Edinburgh student must also go abroad to study.  Once students get to Edinburgh, the International Student Support Office provides services pre- and during their visit to help students make a successful transition.  In the United State, at least at my undergraduate institution, there appears to be a culture that pushes students to study abroad and gain a new cultural understanding, however Mr. Willis explained that this simply is not the case in the UK: only 2% of UK students study internationally.

Thirdly, the University of Edinburgh offers a variety of services similar to those offered in the U.S.  The Advice Place provides welfare and academic advisors, all of whom are professional and/or student volunteers.  The counseling center may work closely with the Advice Place, working with roughly 1,000 students and providing each student with up to six sessions.  Moreover, students can use the Chaplaincy, regardless of their religious or spiritual affiliation (or lack thereof), to talk and seek advice.  A shocking statistic from this session was that of all users of these services, 40% are international students.  Additionally, those on the panel discussed how students typically seek out these services, rather than the offices heavily targeting students.

As was evident from the visit, the University of Edinburgh’s student services closely resemble those within the United States.  This was surprising to me mostly due to the fewer similarities present at the University of St. Andrews.  Residence life focuses on the personal development of students outside of the classroom, counseling and advising provide generally similar services to students as they do in the States, and international education and outreach appears to be a significant aspect of the University.  However, upon reflection, there is one major difference between Edinburgh and the U.S.: autonomy.  The underlying theme of all of the sessions was student autonomy and the high levels of autonomy they are afforded.  Within the U.S., students are generally provided significant guidance throughout their time at a university and services are made available for students.  In the UK, however, students have to actively seek out these services and make their own decision to utilize them when necessary.  The services, although known, are not as heavily emphasized to students as they are in the U.S.  Because of this, it is up to the student to take advantage of all services provided to them, to fully engage within University life, and to be an active participant.  This heightened sense of autonomy is something that I would like to encourage within my own students; I believe that autonomy could lead to a greater sense of ownership of the experience.