Unsuccessful - what me? A summary of feedback on - UCAS

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APPLYING FOR STUDENT FINANCE STARTS IN TRACK Custo<strong>me</strong>r service has been a key the<strong>me</strong> in recent years. To find out more about these and other resources students and practitioners can: ■ go online to www.practitioners.studentfinanceengland.co.uk ■ email the regional consultants at sfconsultants@slc.co.uk ■ call 0845 602 0583 to speak to the practitioners’ support team (Monday – Friday, 10am - 4pm). Applicants can start their application for student finance in Track, the online facility for applicants to follow the progress <strong>of</strong> their UCAS application. Using the link makes the process easier for students as it allows UCAS to share so<strong>me</strong> <strong>of</strong> their application details with Student Finance England, Student Finance Wales or Student Finance Northern Ireland (depending on their domicile) and pre-populates their student finance application with their personal details and choice details. This makes applying for a student loan much quicker. Applicants who agree to share their data are then redirected to the appropriate student finance site. Scottish applicants need to apply direct to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland at www.saas.gov.uk. Claire McGhee, Campaign & Promotion Manager, Student Loans Company, the Student Loans Company explains <strong>what</strong> information is available for advisers in England. Student finance services for English students have changed significantly in the last 12 months. The key ele<strong>me</strong>nt <strong>of</strong> which was the centralisation <strong>of</strong> student finance services to Student Finance England. Student Finance England was launched to provide new and existing students, their sponsors and advisers, with a one-stop-shop for everything to do with financing higher education (HE). Since the service launched in February, the processing and custo<strong>me</strong>r support teams in Darlington have processed well over half a million student finance applications and distributed, largely through the UCAS advisors network, 400,000 copies <strong>of</strong> a new information and guidance resource Student finance in 3 easy steps. However, we recognise that for the vast majority <strong>of</strong> new students, the first port <strong>of</strong> call for help and advice will be you – their teachers and careers advisers – so we’ve also put in place a dedicated Practitioners’ Support Team and a team <strong>of</strong> 12 regional student finance consultants, to ensure that you have the support you need. All <strong>of</strong> this reflects our commit<strong>me</strong>nt to ensuring that those who are able and who want to go into HE, understand the range <strong>of</strong> student finance that is available to support them during their ti<strong>me</strong> at university. Students need to find out <strong>what</strong> financial support there is early on For many, financial concerns remain a barrier to applying for higher education, so we need to work together to help people understand <strong>what</strong>’s out there and how they can get it. The earlier students, their parents, partners or other sponsors have this information, the better equipped they will be to tackle financial concerns and find out exactly <strong>what</strong> student financial support they are likely to get, leaving them to get on with the bigger issues <strong>of</strong> <strong>what</strong> and where to study. The govern<strong>me</strong>nt estimates that around two out <strong>of</strong> three students (those whose household inco<strong>me</strong> is less than £50,020) are entitled to so<strong>me</strong> level <strong>of</strong> non-repayable grant. There is also a range <strong>of</strong> extra support for students with specific needs, such as the Disabled Students’ Allowance and the Parents’ Learning Allowance. These are in addition to bursaries which are available from the universities and the core student loans for fees and maintenance. Repaying their loan Students don’t start to repay any loans until they are working and earning more than £15,000, and then they pay 9% <strong>of</strong> their earnings above this threshold through the tax system. The average graduate will earn around £100,000 more in their lifeti<strong>me</strong> than so<strong>me</strong>one entering the workplace with A levels only; so HE is still an excellent personal invest<strong>me</strong>nt. Information packs for practitioners and students During the next year we want to work even more closely with our delivery partners; throughout the sum<strong>me</strong>r we will be reviewing the Practitioner’s Pack, a comprehensive resource containing presentations and workbooks designed for advisers to use in class or oneto-one tuition situations. At the end <strong>of</strong> this review we will distribute a revised pack with information for those entering HE in 2010/11. We hope this will provide you with everything you need to make student finance for HE easy to understand. In addition, the new student information pack (Student finance in 3 easy steps) will contain information for parents and sponsors to provide answers to the more detailed questions they <strong>of</strong>ten ask about things like repay<strong>me</strong>nt. This will be available when the funding application cycle for 2010/11 opens in November.
IN SEARCH OF A CHIEF EXECUTIVE Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Burgess was keen to explain a little about the recruit<strong>me</strong>nt <strong>of</strong> the new Chief Executive for UCAS … When Anthony McClaran telephoned <strong>me</strong> to say that Perrett Laver, the search consultants who were working on the appoint<strong>me</strong>nt <strong>of</strong> a new Chief Executive for the Quality Assurance Agency, would contact <strong>me</strong> for a reference, I knew that I would shortly be searching for a new Chief Executive at UCAS. By the end <strong>of</strong> February, Anthony’s appoint<strong>me</strong>nt was made public and I wrote, on behalf <strong>of</strong> the UCAS Board, to four search consultants inviting them to tender for the work. Inevitably this took a month (despite deciding that the selection would be by post based upon the submissions). When the UCAS Board <strong>me</strong>t in March it was clear that the ti<strong>me</strong>table was very tight. Anthony was to leave at the end <strong>of</strong> September and under the UCAS constitution we had to be able to agree the appoint<strong>me</strong>nt <strong>of</strong> Chief Executive at a formal Board <strong>me</strong>eting which was scheduled for mid-June. The Board therefore agreed to delegate authority to the appoint<strong>me</strong>nt panel (Sir Muir Russell and Pa<strong>me</strong>la Taylor and <strong>me</strong>). In addition, the Board supported my request to add the Chair <strong>of</strong> the UCAS Staff Council. We worked as a group with Perrett Laver who had won the UCAS contract. They spent ti<strong>me</strong> in UCAS and interviewed key stakeholders in order to develop the further particulars. On the basis <strong>of</strong> the search 34 people expressed an interest in the position and the appoint<strong>me</strong>nt panel long-listed 12 people for Perrett Laver to interview. On the basis <strong>of</strong> their reports and a discussion by the panel on the qualities we expected, we decided to shortlist six candidates (<strong>of</strong> whom two dropped out). The selection was based on three interviews and two presentations after which we were delighted to appoint Mary Curnock Cook who has great experience <strong>of</strong> the 14-19 curriculum and the skills agenda, all <strong>of</strong> which have implications for the future <strong>of</strong> UCAS. Mary Curnock Cook, UCAS Chief Executive Designate The recruit<strong>me</strong>nt from the eyes <strong>of</strong> UCAS staff – from Kathryn Farley-Osborne, Chair <strong>of</strong> the UCAS Staff Council … On the 26 March I heard that I would be joining Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Bob Burgess, Sir Muir Russell and Pa<strong>me</strong>la Taylor on the panel to recruit the new Chief Executive <strong>of</strong> UCAS. Their CVs included Chair and Deputy Chair <strong>of</strong> the UCAS Board, Principal <strong>of</strong> the University <strong>of</strong> Glasgow and Principal <strong>of</strong> Newman University College; I was impressed and slightly daunted! But I was encouraged by the number <strong>of</strong> emails from staff supporting <strong>me</strong>. They were really astonished that I was going to be on the panel to represent their views. What a state<strong>me</strong>nt from the Board, to invite the Chair <strong>of</strong> Staff Council into such a key position! I soon realised that it would be down to <strong>me</strong> to gather the views <strong>of</strong> everyone at UCAS and incorporate them into the recruit<strong>me</strong>nt process. Initially a daunting thought but I was encouraged by the enthusiasm and interest <strong>of</strong> my colleagues. Enthusiasm continued when we surveyed staff to gather their views. This identified characteristics and qualities that staff would like to find in their next Chief Executive; these were incorporated into the initial search criteria. The survey also asked staff to suggest questions that they would like to ask; these were used to guide the topics for the candidate’s presentations and the questions I asked at the formal interview! One <strong>of</strong> the selection activities involved a panel <strong>of</strong> UCAS staff (all volunteers!), including myself, <strong>me</strong>eting individual candidates to discuss their views on employee engage<strong>me</strong>nt and how best to recognise and encourage potential staff talent and ambition. Each candidate stimulated an interesting debate and the pr<strong>of</strong>essionalism <strong>of</strong> everyone was exceptional! I had never <strong>me</strong>t any <strong>of</strong> the panel and was naturally apprehensive. But having spoken to them on the telephone during conference calls I was encouraged at how I had been drawn into the process. My journey to London was spent pulling questions together from our survey and getting excited at the prospect <strong>of</strong> working as part <strong>of</strong> the interview panel. Throughout the whole process Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Burgess encouraged staff involve<strong>me</strong>nt and I was very impressed by the way staff responded to their opportunity to participate and ‘have their say’; this was recognised by the panel and greatly appreciated. For <strong>me</strong>, the experience has been fantastic and I’ve learnt a great deal from the process. I would like to think that we’ve now set a precedent for greater staff involve<strong>me</strong>nt with high pr<strong>of</strong>ile recruit<strong>me</strong>nt at UCAS. Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Bob Burgess, Chairman <strong>of</strong> the UCAS Board and Vice-Chancellor <strong>of</strong> the University <strong>of</strong> Leicester Kathryn Farley-Osborne, Chair <strong>of</strong> the UCAS Staff Council and Custo<strong>me</strong>r Service Team Coordinator UCAS news 5
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Page 15 and 16: DEADLINES ON THE HORIZON 2009 entry

Unsuccessful - what me? A summary of feedback on - UCAS

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