Universities
should develop charters setting out students’ rights and
responsibilities, Universities and Science Minister David Willetts
said today.
The Government today received the final report from the Student
Charter Group. It provides a good practice toolkit for
universities and students' unions to develop charters at
an institutional level.
Universities and Science Minister David Willetts said:
“Too many universities still don’t have a charter. Improving
student information is a key priority for the Government. Students
have a right to know how they will learn, how they will be
supported and what they need to do themselves to reach their potential.
“At a time of significant change in higher education students
have increased expectations of their university experience. I want
a system where students have real choice and universities respond
to what students need.
“Institution-specific charters will provide better information
and increased transparency. Universities should use the good
practice identified in this report to review the information which
they currently provide.”
David Willetts paid tribute to the Group which was led by NUS
President Aaron Porter and Oxford Brookes vice-chancellor
Professor Janet Beer.
The Government will consider the Group’s report during the
development of its strategy for higher education, which is to be
set out in the forthcoming White Paper.
Professor Janet Beer said:
“Higher education is fundamentally about a partnership between HE
staff and students – a collaborative approach is the key to
student success. We have found that charters which are living
documents - jointly developed by staff and students, and kept up
to date - capture the essence of how such partnerships can work.
Student charters do this by providing an accessible summary of
staff and students’ responsibilities and rights, and clear
signposts to greater detail at course level.”
Aaron Porter said:
“Students have the right to know what their university will
provide and what they need to do to make the most of their time in
higher education. We believe that jointly owned student charters
will help students to understand what they can expect and what to
do if their experience doesn’t match up to those expectations. The
next three years will be a very challenging time in the sector,
and we believe that it is in everyone’s interests to invest now in
establishing good partnerships between students’ unions and higher
education institutions. These charters will form one crucially
important part of a much wider range of policies and initiatives
that will be needed to cope with the implications of the new
funding regime.”
Notes to editors:
The Student Charter Group final report is available at
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/higher-education/docs/s/11-736-student-charter-group.pdf.
It is also being published on UUK, NUS and GuildHE websites.The
terms of reference for the Student Charter Group are available at
www.bis.gov.uk/student-charter.UUK and Guild HE surveyed members
about their use of student charters. Sixty per cent (60%) of
respondents in England reported that they have a student charter,
agreements or contract currently in place.BIS' online
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of BIS press office contacts. See http://www.bis.gov.uk/newsroom
for more information.
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
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Michael Gibbs
Phone: 020 7215 1635
michael.gibbs@bis.gsi.gov.uk