he bulletin spring 2013

HE BULLETINspring EDiTiOn 2013Welcome to the Spring edition of the HE Bulletin. We hope you enjoy reading and find the information useful to your social and academic lives.

CONTENTSPage 2 Sports Enrichment TeamPage 3 Financial SupportPage 4 Higher Education Study RoomPage 5 PlagiarismPage 6 Scholarly ActivityPage 7 New Uni Level coursesPage 8 Robin Jones wins uni prizePage 9 Landscape Design students’ win

silver gilt medal0 Social MediaPage 11 You said, We didPage 12 Speak Out and Be HEard

2 Air Your Views and speak Out...email [email protected]

THE STUDENT ENRICHMENT TEAM wAnTs YOU!

The Sports Department is looking for HE students to become voluntary Team Leaders as part of a new Student Enrichment Team. The Team Leaders will be responsible for one of three roles; Information Officer, Head of Delivery or Activity Co-ordinator.

What will I need to do?If you are chosen to be part of the Student Enrichment Team (SET) you will be required to meet on a weekly basis, to discuss projects and future plans. This will allow you to meet fellow members of the team, which will help form a bond and strong team work ethic. This is where any tasks, opportunities and challenges will be presented. You will be expected to give up approximately one hour of your time each week, or as much or as little as you can.If you are interested in being part of the SET, you don’t have to be sporty, but you do need to have a general interest in promoting and advertising enrichment sport. There is also a possibility that the tasks involved could provide you with an opportunity to work towards projects you may have to complete for your relevant courses. This will not only be a great addition to your CV but you will also get to meet other HE students and learn and develop new skills.

Team Leader roles, what do they involve?

Information OfficerThe Information Officer will predominantly be in charge of social media and will be responsible for updating the College’s Sports Facebook and Twitter accounts. This ensures as many students as possible are aware of all enrichment opportunities and aims to increase the amount of students following and liking these pages. The Information Officer may also be asked to undertake data collection in the form of qualitative and quantitative research.

Head of DeliveryThere will be two Heads of Delivery, one at our Cannington Centre, and the other at the Bridgwater Centre. Both roles will be responsible for overseeing the running of existing clubs, such as trampolining and volleyball as well as trying to increase the amount of sporting opportunities available by starting new sessions, subject to demand. The Heads of Delivery will also look to run and organise inter-College tournaments, whilst encouraging students to continue and expand their experiences in sport by joining community clubs and teams.

Activity Co-ordinatorThe Activity Co-ordinator will be in charge of a small team of students studying further education who will help promote and recruit students to take part in enrichment sports. The Activity Co-ordinator will take on numerous roles such as sports journalism, sport photography, the updating of College noticeboards and newsletters etc.

What else can you get involved in?From September we will be looking for Sports Interns to support our Sports Academy. You will be working within our Health and Fitness Suite and your responsibilities could include supervising activities, officiating, coaching and leading students. There is also an opportunity to gain a professional coaching qualification as well as acquiring transferable skills and excellent work experience for your CV.You do not have to be studying a Sports course at College, but you do need a keen interest in sport and helping young people. You will be working alongside our Sports Academy Directors and other members of staff in a fast-paced Sports section.To find out more information about any of these roles or any other information, contact Carly Martin (pictured below) on [email protected] or 01278 455464

3

FINANCIAL sUppOrT

While at College if you are finding it hard to financially support yourself, there are opportunities available for you to explore.

Access to Learning FundIf you are struggling with finance, you could get help from the Access to Learning Fund. This is aimed at students who may require a diagnostic assessment for Disabled Student Allowance purposes, or students who are parents and have a limited income. You can apply for this by contacting the Student Support team on 01278 441233 or email [email protected]

Childcare GrantThe Childcare Grant offers support for children up to the age of 15 (or 17 for children with special educational needs). This money is paid on top of your student finance and you don’t have to pay it back. You can get 85% of your childcare costs, and the amount you’ll get depends on your household income, the cost of your childcare and the number of children who are dependent on you.Full-time higher education students can apply for a Childcare Grant of up to £148.75 a week for one child or up to £255 for two or more children. This Grant will be paid in three instalments, one each term, directly into your bank account.You cannot claim the Grant if you or your partner are claiming the childcare element of Working Tax Credits , if your child is covered by the free care that all three and four year olds are entitled to (15 hours a week) or if your child is cared for by a relative or your partner mainly in the child’s home.To apply for this Grant, tick the relevant ‘Childcare Grant’ box on the main student finance application form. If you require any additional guidance please contact Student Finance Direct on 0845 300 5090; there is no email address for this service. Or contact our Student Support team for more information; call 01278 441233 or email [email protected]


NEW FACILITY –highEr EDUcATiOn sTUDY rOOm

As a result of your feedback, the Resources and eLearning team are delighted to announce that there is now a larger study room available in the LRC at our Bridgwater Centre. It is designed to be for the sole use of our HE students and those studying Access to Higher Education courses.

What is it?The new room is equipped with a number of PCs and two MACs, plus a scanner, printer and projection facilities so that you can practise your presentations or show DVDs to support your studies as a group activity. We also have large study tables and power sockets in the floor should you wish to bring your own device to College and need extra power during the day. These resources are being implemented to fully reflect the needs of our HE students.

Where is it?As you enter the LRC, proceed to the back and turn right into the workshop area; you will see the HE Study Room located on the right.

Facilities at a glance• Electronic door access for our HE students only.

Your student card is your swipe card and access has been added to your file. Part-time and Access to HE students – please go to the Technology Helpdesk who will be happy to help and issue you with an access card.

• Presentation facilities including two projectors. You can book these to help you practise presentations – to do so sign up to our new booking facility. You will need to register – to access the registration area and booking form visit http://www.supersaas.co.uk/schedule/Undergraduate_Study_Room/Presentation_Prep, the password is hestudent (lower case)

• Dedicated printer• Floor power sockets to accommodate student

laptops and other devices• Eight PCs and two MACs • Coffee and tea making facilities — however we

would respectfully ask you not to eat in the area in order to keep the room pleasant and odour free for other users.

• Scanner

When will it be open?

Term time• Monday – Thursday: 8.30am – 7.30pm• Friday: 8.30am – 4.30pm

Holiday periods:• Monday – Thursday: 8.30am – 5.00pm• Friday: 8.30am – 4.30pm

Future developments• Outdoor seating in a small courtyard area• Dedicated university partner boards where you will

find all the current information relating to your link university.

If you have any feedback or ideas for future development, please contact Virginia Power, Resources and eLearning Manager at [email protected]

5

PLAGIARISM –All YOU nEED TO knOw

As a higher education student, your studies are all about original ideas and demonstrating that you can create your own work. If you use somebody else’s work, including newspapers, journals, websites, books or a fellow student or graduate, it is fraudulent and you must credit it as theirs. The College runs each piece of assessed work through a sophisticated piece of software which is designed to find similarities between published literature and students’ work and is highly accurate!

The College and your university partners are all required to have a policy on student conduct in assessment (as stated in the QAA UK Quality Code for higher education), which you can find in your course handbook, or the HE information site on Blackboard. The policy underlines the importance of academic integrity; this means that as a higher education student you must practice honesty and responsibility in your work.If you require additional help or assistance on plagiarism and referencing, please ask for advice from a member of our HEADstart (HE Academic Development) team based in the LRCs at Bridgwater and Cannington. They are trained to provide you with specific information regarding how your university partner requires work to be referenced. They can also run one-to-one and group sessions at your convenience. Always remember that referencing and demonstrating the amount of research you have undertaken will improve the quality of your work and, hopefully, your mark as your references will be assessed as part of your overall grade!We highly recommend a new website called Cite This For Me, www.citethisforme.com which will help you with the compilation of referencing and bibliographies. You may also be interested in an app available for iPhone and iPad called Easy Harvard Referencing https://itunes.apple.com/mt/app/easy-harvard-referencing/id475233508?mt=8

ConsequencesIf you are found to have plagiarised someone else’s work, you will receive a zero/fail, or if you repeatedly plagiarise you can be removed from your programme of study.

When do you need to reference?You need to reference all work, whether published or not. Plagiarism can include copying from other students, known as collusion and paraphrasing (writing it in your own words). See examples below on how to paraphrase correctly.Original passage: “Critical care nurses function in a hierarchy of roles. In this open heart surgery unit, the nurse manager hires and fires the nursing personnel” (Chase, 1995, p. 156)Plagiarised text: “Critical care nurses have a hierarchy of roles. The nurse manager hires and fires nurses.”

Correct paraphrasing: “In her study of the roles of nurses in a critical care unit, Chase (1995) also found a hierarchy that distinguished the roles of experts and others.”


SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY –whAT is iT?

Many of our staff participate in additional learning to enhance their knowledge and understanding of their specialist subject. This enables them to keep up to date with new industry technology, policies, developments etc, which in return has a positive knock on effect to you, the student, as you are the lucky recipients of this information. All extra learning and study carried out by our staff is known as Scholarly Activity.

Scholarly Activity is essential for us as a College to advocate to our staff, as it helps us to create well rounded students and increase both our staff’s and students’ potential in terms of career and knowledge. Scholarly Activity can be undertaken in a variety of forms including anything from staff attending a conference, to them participating in research to writing a book on a specialist area.

Josh Smith, Programme Manager for Motorsport Engineering and Technology has undertaken some scholarly activity, writing a textbook, Smith’s Fundamentals of Motorsport Engineering. The book provides both students and practitioners with the fundamental theory necessary to work and advance in the industry and is aimed at Level 3 students up to degree level, allowing a wide range of students to benefit from the guide.Josh said, “I wrote this book as I didn’t feel there was an up to date manual that provided an insight into all elements of motorsport; the majority of books are topic

specific. It will allow students to be able to read a book and gain a good overview of all areas of motorsport. Of course if they want to know more then they can go and buy a more topic specific book.I think it’s good, particularly for higher education staff, to do scholarly activity and research etc., as most university staff have time allocated to this, but HE staff based in colleges don’t get this. Therefore there is no way of keeping up-to-date with technology and other developments without having time to do this. More time to do research would help our own personal development and the students we teach.”

7

From September 2013 we will be launching four new courses in Animal Conservation, Motorsport Technology, Countryside Management and Business, Management and Communication, in partnership with Oxford Brookes University.

The two year Animal Conservation Foundation Degree will be based at the Cannington Centre and will include work-based learning placements and projects, allowing students to make essential links with the industry. There is also a chance for students to go on study tours, including an optional field trip to South Africa.Rachel Legg-Wilde, Programme Manager for Animal Conservation said, “Animal conservation has become an increasingly important practice due to the negative effects of human activity on wildlife. This course is ideal for students looking to specialise in ecology, wildlife monitoring and habitats. The trip to South Africa will really allow the students to see conservation work in practice. We are introducing a BSc (Hons) top-up Degree in Animal Conservation in September 2015, for those wanting to progress from an animal-based Foundation Degree.”Our second new course is the Foundation Degree in Countryside Management which combines practical learning with scientific education, including learning in our College farm in Cannington and the Somerset countryside. We have numerous links to countryside organisations in the area, giving our students the best opportunities from the beginning to end of their course. Students will learn techniques such as dry stone walling,

hedge laying and maintenance work. A BSc (Hons) top-up degree is also being introduced from September 2015.Our BSc (Hons) top-up Degree in Motorsport Technology gives students currently studying the Foundation Degree in Motorsport Engineering or an HND in a related subject, the opportunity to complete their degree at Bridgwater College. The course covers key theoretical engineering modules, educational visits and talks from guest speakers, giving students access to industry professionals.Josh Smith, Programme Manager for Motorsport Engineering and Technology says, “The course offers our Foundation Degree and HND students a direct progression route within the College, and also opens the doors to external students who can now further their motorsport studies to Level 6. The course is a year-long top-up that will provide the students with knowledge and skills in a range of specialists modules.”We will also be offering a new Business, Management and Communications Foundation Degree, covering basic management concepts, theories and communication in relation to the functions of business.

NEW UNI LEVEL COURSESbEing inTrODUcED


ROBIN JONES WINS UniVErsiTY priZE

A former Bridgwater College student studying the BSc (Hons) Degree in Applied Computing was awarded £500 by Bournemouth University in recognition of his achievements.

Robin Jones, aged 28 and from Minehead, works at the Met Office in Exeter as a System Support and Installations Engineer. He first studied at Bridgwater College eight years ago when he completed his Higher National Diploma (HND) in Computing and returned last year with the support and sponsorship of his employer to top up his qualification to the full BSc in Applied Computing, achieving a highly sought after first class honours result.Greg Chamberlain, Programme Manager for Robin’s course, nominated Robin in recognition of his work on his final project. Greg said, “Robin produced a Metrological Information Display Prototype, which was written in C# and XAML using the WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) libraries. This project was so innovative and successful that it has subsequently been embraced by the Met Office for development into a complete production product. Robin should be very proud of his achievement.”Robin said, “I would recommend the course to anyone wanting to further their skills in computing either as

career/professional development or as a means to enter the industry. Although I found it very difficult to balance work, study and family time, it was possible and I am delighted that my hard work has paid off.”If you are interested in studying the BSc (Hons) top-up in Applied Computing, please contact our Admissions team on 01278 441220 or email [email protected].

100% of students studying the Foundation Degree successfully completed the course78% of students studying the BSc (Hons) top-up achieved a First or a 2.i

Did you know...

9

IDEAL HOME SHOWsilVEr gilT mEDAl

Eight students from Bridgwater College have won a silver gilt medal presented to them by Alan Titchmarsh at the 2013 Ideal Home Show held at London’s Earls Court Exhibition Centre, gaining third place overall.

Five students from the College’s BSc (Honours) Degree in Landscape Design were joined by three Level 3 Horticulture students for the competition. Competing against six of the UK’s leading horticultural colleges, they worked to a brief compiled by TV gardener, David Domoney, co-presenter of Love Your Garden, in collaboration with the Prince’s Trust for the Built Environment. The students, who are all based at the College’s Cannington Centre, produced and developed a design for the competition and managed the funding, materials, pre-build and installation of the garden, which took six days to complete. The finished product, constructed mainly of timber, included a pergola seating area, a water feature and planted, raised beds with under-lighting to create an effective display. Iain Truman, Programme Manager for Horticulture and Landscape Design at Bridgwater College said, “The whole experience of building a show garden at one of

Europe’s largest exhibitions is amazing for the students. A great amount of real-life learning takes place at these events - not only are the students building gardens for real, but also to a very high standard with a very tight deadline. The students have all done themselves, the College and their tutors proud; the finished garden was almost faultless and deserved the recognition it received from the judges, and continues to receive from the visitors to the show.”Bridgwater College has two more gardens in the events calendar for this year - BBC Gardeners’ World Live in June, where staff and students will also be staffing the design clinic, and the Taunton Flower Show, at Vivary Park in August.


SOCIAL MEDIA nEws

We are happy to announce our new website has been launched! A brand new site and design that is suitable to be viewed on any mobile device, www.bridgwater.ac.uk

Keep checking your post for information from your university partners about your re-enrolment dates for the next academic year

For anyone in their final year of an HE course, we can confirm this year’s Graduation Ceremony will be held on Tues 10 September #graduation

You will receive your #examresults, by Fri 19 July 2013, at the latest

If you are re-applying for #studentfinance you have until Fri 28 June to do so. If you are starting a new course the deadline is Fri 31 May

By now you should have your spring term #examtimetable, good luck!

Don’t forget you can get help with interview skills, job profiles and your CV at our INSIGHTS Advice Centre, upstairs in the LRC between 11am and 1pm Monday-Friday (drop-in sessions)

Congratulations to our Foundation Degree Public Services students who recently completed a sailing challenge to France and back! The students faced the worst weather conditions for several years

Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/BridgwaterCollege

Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/bridgwater_coll

11

YOU SAID... wE DiD...

In order for us to keep improving your HE experience, we need your feedback. We gather this information in a number of ways, including termly HE student forums and programme meetings, surveys and via Student Representatives. Your suggestions and ideas are always taken into consideration and every effort is made to ensure they are followed through, where possible within the academic year.

Information should be communicated by methods other than College email address.If you would like your emails to be sent to your personal email addresses (such as Hotmail and Gmail), you can easily divert your College emails to this address. The Resources and eLearning team can show you how it is done, although it is important you access the information in some way as it is helps us keep you updated over changes.

There isn’t enough hot food available in the evenings.We now offer a larger selection of hot food until 7.30pm. The Coffee Shop will be selling pasties, toasted sandwiches, paninis, jacket potatos and soup as well as occasional pasta dishes and pies.

The Library loan system could benefit from being accessed remotely.It is now possible for students to renew and reserve books online via our Library Catalogue link in Blackboard; you can also renew books over the telephone on 01278 441223.

Students would like to have guaranteed access to computers in the LRC and computer rooms, especially ones which can access Facebook and Twitter.We have computer pre-booking software, allowing students to make sure they will have a computer space available. You can use the My PC booking system, which is on the LRC pages on Blackboard and the Resources and eLearning teams can help you if you are unsure how to do it. We have also increased the amount of computers available to access Facebook and Twitter; these computers are located adjacent to the issue/returns counter.


BE HEARD

HE STUDENT FEEDBACkhAVE YOUr sAY

Be in with a chance to win an iPad!

What are they?These surveys are designed to get your honest and frank feedback on your HE course. Your feedback allows us to continually improve the individual components that make up your programme, as well as the overall College experience. It helps us find out where improvements need to be made, and also what we are doing right!

When and how?The surveys are quick and simple to complete and are normally in an electronic format. Most surveys will be available in the next few weeks. You will only ever have to answer surveys that are relevant to you and the course you are studying. If you need any additional support in completing the surveys visit the LRC or ask the Programme Managers.

spEAk OUT We have created a confidential email address especially for you where you can voice your opinion and make comments upon successful elements of your course and to highlight any particular issues you may have.

We want to hear from you about: • What you enjoy and don’t enjoy about studying at

Bridgwater College• What is going well and less well for you• Feedback on your assessed work and turnaround

times

• Exam and lesson timetables• Queries in relation to the publication of end of year

results• The opportunities available for HE students• Any other points you wish to raise.

[email protected]