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MINISTERS ANNOUNCE FRESH APPROACH TO PUT STUDENT VOICES AT THE HEART OF GOVERNMENT

An ambitious student listening programme which will put the voices of England's 2.3 million university students at the heart of Government was launched today by John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

The new approach will ensure students are able to make their views and ideas heard with Ministers responding to specific issues raised. Today's policy announcements are:

  • Lord Triesman appointed the first Minister for Students, allowing students to be heard at the centre of Government;
  • Ministerial visits to university campuses across England with Ministers meeting students face-to-face to hear their experiences first-hand;
  • five 'student juries' made up of students from across the country in the run up to Christmas looking at high profile issues that matter to them such as student finance, widening participation and learning support;
  • a new independent National Student Forum, reflecting the diverse student population, with the jobs of informing Government policy and publishing an annual report to Ministers and Parliament.

The programme was launched today at a press conference for journalists from the student media and senior figures from the National Union of Students (NUS) at the House of Commons. Student representatives were invited to quiz the Secretary of State and first Minister for Students on the plans and how they will work.

Secretary of State John Denham said:

The Prime Minister has made it clear that he wants to listen to people across the country to capitalise on their insights and expertise.

My Ministerial team and I have already been engaging with students up and down the country to hear for ourselves, first hand, their concerns, aspirations and experiences.

This new approach I have announced today will mean that for the first time students' voices are heard at the heart of Government.

I am delighted that Lord Triesman with his wealth of experience and knowledge of higher education has become the first Minister for Students.

Minister for Students Lord Triesman said:

Students are among the best placed to tell Government what's going right in the system and what needs to be done better.

As the first Minister for Students I am committed that their voices are heard across Government, and I will make sure that we respond.

We need students to tell us how higher education is working for them and what more can be looked at to make things better. The NUS has been urging us to talk more to students and I am confident that the programme of listening we have announced will allow us to do just that.

President of the National Union of Students Gemma Tumelty said:

For far too long students have been out in the cold when it comes to decisions about their futures.

We're delighted that the Government is willing to listen to the voice of the learner in its approach to education. It is incredibly important that we find ways of involving the new voices in our increasingly diverse sector. A student's learning experience should be central to any education policy change. This initiative could give students the ability to advise Ministers on the formation of policy at the highest level.

The NUS is pleased to be involved in this new project, which we hope will add more weight to the national representation from NUS to the Government.

Notes to Editors

  1. Lord Triesman studied at the University of Essex and followed postgraduate studies at King's College, Cambridge, before an academic career which has taken him to the Institute of Psychiatry, London University, South Bank University, University of Cambridge and Warwick University. Lord Triesman was General Secretary of the Association of University Teachers from 1993 to 2001.
  2. Over the last months DIUS Ministers have been meeting students at universities across the country to hear for themselves about the concerns, aspirations and experiences of students. The aim is for Ministers to consider issues they may not otherwise have had raised with them. DIUS is already giving consideration as to how issues raised to date are taken forward. Recent visits include Leeds Metropolitan University, Warwick University, York University and Newcastle University, where students were able to question ministers on any aspect of higher education policy.
  3. Today's announcement follows the Prime Minister's commitment in September that Government should aspire to find new ways to draw out the wisdom and experience that resides within the British people, to contribute to the policy-making process through informed debate. Student juries will do precisely that and will be held in London, Sheffield, Bristol and Manchester. They will ask what a student should expect from their higher education institutions, Government and publicly-funded organisations working in higher education.
  4. The National Student Forum will be made up of between 15 - 20 students from across the county and will represent the diversity of the modern student population. DIUS will work with partners from across the HE sector including:
    • The National Union of Students;
    • The National Postgraduate Committee;
    • The Mature Students Union;
    • The Open University Students' Association;
    • Skill: the national bureau for students with disabilities; and
    • The British Council.
    The forum will meet at least four times a year and will produce an annual report to Government covering its findings and recommendations to inform the formation of Government policy. The forum will set its own agenda, however Ministers expect that it will cover issues such as value for money, workload and post graduate application process.
  5. For more details contact Emma Griffiths at the DIUS press office on 0203 300 8093.