Otago Summer School
2014 Report
Photo by Anna Macdonald
Prepared for the
Summer School & Continuing Education Board
June 2014
1
Contents
Overview 2
Papers 3
Enrolments 6
Students 8
Student experience 10
Special features 13
S
3 in January with Cameron Toogood, Richard Jackson and David Howard
Photo by Gina Clouston-Cain
2
OTAGO SUMMER SCHOOL 2014
Overview
Summer School (SS) 2014 had several interesting features and achieved good
numbers overall. The school offered the lowest number of papers since 2005 (see
Table 1) with enrolment numbers only slightly down1. Although 19% fewer papers
were offered, student numbers dropped by only 2% and enrolments dropped by just
3%. This suggests that SS 2014 was close to the ideal size and that a reasonable
diversity of papers was offered. New paper opportunities at all levels remain
important to fulfill the purpose of SS however the ratio of enrolments to papers is an
excellent outcome from a financial point of view.
Table 1: Summer School student numbers since 2001
year papers students enrolments EFTS
2001 23 701 1062 154.0
2002 36 963 1329 195.1
2003 37 1123 1555 227.2
2004 38 1267 1707 250.2
2005 49 1554 2089 303.0
2006 65 1669 2199 319.1
2007 68 1617 2161 313.6
2008 76 1680 2166 313.0
2009 77 1821 2364 343.1
2010 80 2043 2629 372.6
2011 68 1689 2098 298.8
2012 72 1762 2257 294.1
2013 75 1714 2128 300.7
2014 61 1682 2066 294.2
Totals 825 21285 27810 3979
The decline in paper offerings was largely a response to the new funding
arrangements decided mid-2013 and implemented from 2014, and having major
impact on funding for SS papers. Several departments were risk averse, expressing the
desire to wait and see how these changes played out, either withdrawing or reducing
their offerings.
1 1Discrepancies in figures are the result of difference between strict counts for admissions purposes
and actual offerings. Figures above are derived from a report generated by Admissions & Enrolment on
24/1/14. Please note these figures include two papers offered at 200 and 300 levels (double-coded), one
of which is also offered by distance. LAWS480 is also included, although it is a limited entry research
paper with just one enrolment this year. Figures exclude Math 102 because it was not strictly speaking
‘offered’ but was made available for enrolment of one student to sit the exam.
Non-EFTS enrolments are not included here. Four Interest Only students took part in Summer School
this year.
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This change is significant for SS. Historically 80% of SS EFTS and fees income went
to departments, a financial arrangement set up when the school began in 2001.
Although always controversial in certain quarters, this incentive was very successful
in encouraging departments to participate in the early years and allowed the
development of a culture of participation. The incentive was never intended to replace
strategic and academic decision making and neither was the change intended to
undermine SS. Income now goes to the divisions, not departments, and the divisions
distribute income at the same rate as semesters. The historic incentive is gone, and
other factors are now in play.
In this climate a decline was almost inevitable and very concerning, since a vibrant
and broad SS programme is essential to retain and attract students. The programme
proved to be adequate and perhaps even corrective, although to meet its potential in
meeting the student market would need to refresh here and there and offer a handful
more papers.
The decline in 2014 was principally in Humanities. Humanities departments overall
were more cautious in their offerings, while Commerce numbers tended to remain
stable or increase. Both Commerce and Sciences increased their presence in SS as a
percentage of total offerings (see Table 2).
Table 2: Number and percentages of papers offered by Divisions 2012-14
2014 n 2014 % 2013 n 2013 % 2012 n 2012 %
Commerce 10 16.7 11 14.7 13 18.6
Health Science 3 5.0 4 5.3 5 7.1
Humanities 33 55.0 47 62.7 40 57.2
Science 14 23.3 13 17.3 12 17.1
Totals 60 100 75 100 70 100
Papers
Papers were spread across levels with the usual concentration of papers at 100 and
200 level (see Table 3). The distribution is reasonably consistent with previous years.
Table 3: Papers offerings by divisions by level in 2014
Number of SS Paper by level
100 200 300 400 Total % of
total
Commerce 6 2 2 0 10 16.7
Health Sciences 0 3 0 0 3 5.0
Humanities 9 10 7 6 32 53.3
Sciences 10 3 2 0 15 25.0
Totals
29
18
11
6
60
100%
4
Uptake
The trend in student uptake of papers by Division is shown below in Table 4.
Commerce and Sciences both attracted a higher proportion of students than previous
years, with Health Sciences slightly down. Humanities enrolments were down, not
surprising given that Humanities offered significantly fewer papers, and is also
consistent with the usual pattern of smaller class sizes in Humanities.
Table 4: Enrolment trends in papers by division 2012-2014
2012 % 2013 % 2014 %
Commerce 571 25.3 509 24.2 543 26.3
Health Sciences 219 9.7 207 9.9 189 9.2
Humanities 1085 48.2 1007 48.0 781 37.8
Sciences 378 16.8 376 17.9 552 26.7
Totals 2065 100
SS 2014 papers and enrolments
The full list of papers appears below showing final numbers and arranged by division.
Again this year two Law papers were offered in Auckland with 94 students enrolled,
and two were offered in Wellington attracting 42 students. Four papers were taught by
distance, six were new papers, and two papers were new to SS and offered in semester
time. Thirty-five papers are only available in SS.
Table 5: List of 2014 SS papers
Paper code
Paper name
Enrolments
as at 24/1/14
Commerce
BSNS103 Marketing and Consumption 87
BSNS105 Management and Organisations 72
COMP111 Information and Communications
Technology
14
ECON112 Principles of Economics 2 43
MANT358 Special Topic: Knowledge Management 44
MART202 Product and Brand Management 77
TOUR214 Introduction to Wine Business 70
TOUR306 Ecotourism and Sustainable
Development
26
TOUX101 Introduction to Tourism 75
TOUX102 Global Tourism 35
5
Health Sciences
BIOA201 Introduction to Biological Anthropology 44
BITC211 Bioethics and Film 23
FORB201 Forensic Biology 122
Humanities
ANTH 209 ST: Anthropology of Islam 16
ANTH326 ST: Sex and Culture 31
ARAB131 Arabic 1 12
CHIN131 Introductory Chinese 1 15
CLAS240 The Classical World in the Movies 17
EDUC101 Education and Society 24
ENGL127 Effective Writing 58
ENGL251 ST: Word and Image: Fantasy Worlds 52
ENGL351 ST: Jane Austen: The Phenomenon 22
FREN105 Intensive French for Beginners 11
HIST230 ST: Protest and Collaboration: the
History of Māori Politics
8
HIST 333 ST: Protest and Collaboration: the
History of Māori Politics
11
LAWS456 Media Law (Privacy & the Media) 76
LAWS471 ST 2: International Investment Law
(Wellington)
20
LAWS476 ST 7: European Union Law (Auckland) 57
LAWS479 ST 10: Charity Law in Theory and
Practice
66
LAWS486 ST 15: Forensic Law (Wellington) 22
LAWS487 ST 16: The Idea of Private Law
(Auckland)
37
MAOR110 Introduction to Conversational Māori 39
MFCO113 Screen Production: Light, Sound, Motion 16
MFCO219 Broadcast and News Media 20
MUSI260 ST: Mozart Opera 9
POLS230 US Intelligence and National Security 31
POLS301 Power and Liberty 33
POLS330 Governing the Global Environment 15
RELS218 Religion and the Internet 3
RELS318 Religion and the Internet 2
RELX218 Religion and the Internet 12
RELX318 Religion and the Internet 2
SPAN131 Introductory Spanish 1 10
THEA151 Improvisation 13
THEA251 Mask and Scenario 17
6
Sciences
CHEM150 Concepts in Chemistry 63
CHEM191 The Chemical Basis of Biology and
Human Health
110
COMP160 General Programming 37
COSC326 Effective Programming 19
COSC360 Computer Game Design 24
GEOL252 Field Studies and New Zealand Geology 50
HUNT233 Nutrition and Health: Concepts and
Controversies
52
MATH151 General Mathematics 21
MATH160 Mathematics 1 29
NAUT101 Nautical Studies 1 11
PHSE240 Principles of Exercise 27
PHSI170 Sun, Earth and Universe 23
PHSI191 Biological Physics 29
STAT110 Statistical Methods 57
Total
enrolments
2065
Summer School Students Summer School attracts students with particular characteristics and needs and they
differ in certain ways from students enrolling only in semester papers. Student profile
information is very important for planning and marketing, and is derived from various
sources, including university enrolment reports, surveys and the OUSA student rep
system.
Table 6: Summer School 2014 Student Summary
n %
Māori and Pacifika
students
Māori 150 8.9
Samoan 35 2.1
Fijian 24 1.4
Tongan 17 1.0
Cook Islander 8 0.5
Niuean 1 0.1
Other Pacific Island 4 0.2
International students 146 8.7
Enrolment category
Repeating 226 13.4
Finalist 221 13.1
Taking two papers 384 22.8
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Please note it not yet possible to complete a current profile of students taking part in
SS 2014, due to difficulties accessing Business Objects relevant reports, a result of the
transition to the new student management system. Missing reports relate to age,
gender and an enrolment category. To provide at least some information in these
categories, data from 2011-13 is provided instead.
Enrolment categories 2011-2013
2011 2012 2013
% % %
Returning 93.2 93.7 94.5
Transferring 3.9 4.8 3.6
First year /new 0.3 1.5 1.9
2013 Gender
In 2013 female students constituted 56% of the student body.
2013 Age group Nearly 80% of SS students were aged 24 or under.
6% were under 20
58% were aged 21 or 22
11% were aged between 25 and 30
10% were 31 or older, with the most senior student aged 75.
International students
International student numbers remain low overall, down slightly from last year.
Movement within the cohort is marked, with a sharp decline in Humanities and an
increase in Commerce (see Table 7).
Table 7: International student enrolments in papers by division 2012-14
2012 2013 2014
Commerce 74 78 88
Health Sciences 21 8 10
Humanities 61 46 15
Sciences 45 17 33
Totals 201 149 146
International teachers
In SS 2014 there were seven international teachers, with seven in 2013 and ten in
2012. Although numbers are holding, the funding model can be seen as a disincentive
for departments to bring in international teachers, yet this is a valued and practical
dimension of SS. International teachers bring a refreshing international perspective to
students (and to other staff), an opportunity that most students would not otherwise
have. They also provide an alternative to departments with limited expertise in an
important area of study, or where permanent staff members are not available to teach.
They can teach a whole course in six weeks, much more efficient and cost effective
than in semesters and can be accommodated more easily. International teachers have
been a valuable feature of SS and need to be encouraged.
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First year students
As a rule first year students are discouraged from enrolling, firstly it’s a tough way to
begin university study, and secondly when SS commences NCEA level 3 results have
not yet arrived which means their enrolment status is unconfirmed. Mechanisms are in
place to manage this situation, minimizing risk for students and the university.
Student Experience Student experience is monitored and evaluated using the OUSA class rep system and
the annual student survey.
Summer School Class Representatives
This system has a fine tradition in SS where its capacity to identify issues early has
been invaluable. The system and process was modified in 2014 by Philippa Keaney,
OUSA Advocate and Student Representative Coordinator.
In 2014 a total of 67students volunteered as class representatives, 38 of those attended
a training session conducted by OUSA. During the course of SS, three formal
opportunities were provided for class representatives to meet with the Director of SS
and OUSA to provide feedback on their respective papers. Feedback from those
sessions was overwhelmingly positive. Most of the issues raised were minor issues to
do with resourcing and scheduling and these were rectified swiftly once they had been
passed on to the relevant department staff.
Although there were some administrative glitches, feedback from representatives and
departments indicated that the rep system worked efficiently in terms of its main
focus: encouraging communication and consultation between students and staff and
providing a vehicle for students to communicate matters relating to teaching and
delivery of their papers. Class representatives reported feeling appreciated and valued
by SS staff and many expressed a desire to volunteer in that capacity again in future.
Student Questionnaire
SS was evaluated via the annual questionnaire administered during the last week of
classes. The survey focusses on the overall SS experience, not course content or
teaching. Not all classes received their survey material in time however 806 surveys
were completed, and the response rate was 48%.
The findings are summarized below.
SS student profile 2014
73% were enrolled in SS for the first time
26% students have taken SS papers previously
5% had taken part in SS three or more times.
Motivations to take part
31% speeding up degree
22% for interest or changing direction
18% catching up
15% influence of family, friends or lecturers
7% accessing student allowance
7% last paper to complete degree (about 13% are finalists this year)
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Work status
38% combined part-time work with study
3% combined study with voluntary work
Permanent home
33% Dunedin
37% elsewhere
27% Dunedin, just while studying
If they had not taken SS
44% would have taken the same paper during Semester time
18% would have gone elsewhere for the summer
5% would have taken papers at another university
Communication
68% consider email the most effective way to communicate with them, with 9%
preferring texts
88% accessed University website for SS information and 94% of users found it useful
or at least moderately useful
73% accessed SS website for SS information, and 91% of users found it useful or at
least moderately useful
35% accessed University Information Centre, of whom almost 99% found it useful or
at least moderately useful
26% used the SS handbook for information, of whom 85% found it useful or at least
moderately useful
35% would have found a hard copy prospectus useful, while 32% were unsure.
These results suggest that a hard copy prospectus which included material from the
handbook would be useful
21% used Facebook for information, and 13% found it useful or at least moderately
useful
Students heard about SS from a number of sources, with websites and posters the
major sources.
34% University website
22% Posters on campus
14% SS website
13% Other
5% Handbook
3% SS Info day
3% Facebook
Comments provided in the “Other” option indicate that people were important
communicators about SS, including friends and university staff members (lecturers,
course advisors, heads of department and the school liaison team). Information days
and Facebook are clearly not the best way to bring SS to people’s attention. Presence
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on the university website and visually on campus appear the most effective ways of
bringing SS to student attention.
Summer School experience
A few people commented on the weather, which was truly dismal this year. However
when rating their SS experience, 75% were very positive. A further 20% were neutral
while only 3% were less than positive.
Most appreciative comments were made in reference to the quiet campus, the smaller
classes and the consequently friendlier atmosphere.
Another important aspect was the paper, both content and teaching, and described as
enjoyable, engaging and useful.
Many people appreciated the focus on one paper and found the intensity and pace to
their liking although a small number found it too hard, especially those also in part
time work.
A few found the quiet campus difficult or lonely, and some asked for longer library
hours. Several really disliked the noise and disruption caused by the construction
work or the Masters Games.
Many expressed a desire for more social opportunities during SS.
A few students found courses disorganized or mentioned problems with Blackboard,
mainly when a lecturer did not use it.
71% students rated their learning at SS as fantastic or very good, and 57% found it a
better learning experience than semester time.
The best thing about SS was:
100 small classes and quieter campus
89 the paper, content and/or structure
85 efficient use of time, speeding up degree
83 focus and immersion
58 lecturer
53 people/friends
48 learning experience
48 flexibility and freedom
38 opportunity to take a particular paper
12 managing workload
10 other
4 access to student allowance
Students would most like to change:
75 lack of break between SS and semester one
62 improvements in course structure and/or delivery
51 more paper choice
27 students getting together more (with food)
25 remove timetable clashes
19 improved communication and information from university (especially
regarding enrolment status)
18 the weather
11 improved administration
7 no more construction on campus
6 extended library hours
4 other
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Overall the student learning experience was very good. Students appreciated the
smaller classes and quieter campus although more opportunities for students to get
together would be welcome. Students (and staff) really struggle with the overlap of
exam week and O’ week. There is also room for improvement in course structure and
administration, and in the way the university communicates about enrolment status.
Students wanted greater paper choice. Although they had clearly found at least one
suitable paper, 2014 did offer significantly fewer options than 2013. It is also
desirable that the library offer consistent hours throughout SS, instead of a reduced
service in the first two weeks. Timetable clashes are a problem for some yet are hard
to avoid. One 18 point paper is considered full time study, and given the high contact
hours during SS, plus general dislike of early and late classes, it is simply not feasible
to accommodate many combinations.
Features of Summer School 2014
S3
Summer School Sessions (S3) ran from week two and as in 2013 was very popular,
attracting increasing numbers as the weeks went by. Sessions were held in the Link on
Wednesday at 5.15pm, bringing academics, students and community together in
university public space. Refreshments were served. Sessions were promoted via
email, posters, Facebook, and newsletters attracting over 200 participants over five
sessions.
The over-arching theme was developed in consultation between the student moderator
Cameron Toogood and the Director, and then various sub themes identified, and
speakers invited to participate in the discussions. The sessions were well supported by
these academics and ably moderated by Cameron, as follows:
Perceptions of Reality
15 January
Approaches to Truth
Prof Richard Jackson and Burns Fellow David Howard
22 January
Truth and Ethics
Prof Grant Gillett and Dr Zach Weber
29 January
A General Theory of Love
Prof Kevin Clements, Pam Morrison and Dr Chris Holmes
4 February
Is Feeling just a Chemical?
Dr Christine Jasoni and Dr Tamlin Connor
12 February
Are Humans Inherently Warlike?
Prof Charles Higham, Prof Kevin Clements and Prof Robert Patman
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Summer Art Caravan
Kerry Mackay and Pamela Brown ran the Summer Art Caravan in the Link from
week one to week four. This community art project was part funded by a Humanities
Performing Arts Grant, and involved a small retro caravan parked in the Link and
slowly covered in artistic wallpaper cutouts made by all and sundry, with cheerful
encouragement and assistance from Kerry and Pamela. It was a delight and brought a
cultural and artistic focus to the campus.
Summer Art Project in the Link Artists Kerry Mackay and Pamela Brown
Photo by Anna Macdonald Photo by Anna Macdonald
SS Teaching Workshops
Two teaching workshops were held in October 2013, offering teachers a chance to
plan and reinvigorate their teaching in SS. Facilitated by Clinton Golding (HEDC)
and Elaine Webster (SS) the workshops attracted ten participants. Evaluation of the
workshops was very positive, with everyone finding them valuable and effective.
SS Staff
Gina Clouston-Cain joined the SS Office in December 2013, following the departure
of administrator Robin Frame in August. Maari McCluskey and Aggie O’Leary
provided invaluable temporary assistance between August and December.
SS Review
Summer School & Continuing Education was reviewed in September 2013 and in
early 2014 a report was released (confidential to University staff). Overall the review
found the school performing well and meeting the expectations of both students and
departments. University staff interested in reading the full report should contact the
Quality Advancement Unit.
Late 2013 SS papers
Two papers were offered late in 2013 as Pre-Christmas SS papers. Although this
period is not generally considered optimal for either departments or students, certain
advantages exist albeit in a limited way. In 2013 SS did not quite meet its EFTS quota
and it was in the interests of the wider university to try to fill them. Combined with
demand from Law students for a chance to complete or advance their study in this
period, alongside availability of a suitable lecturer, this option was worthwhile.
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Consequently the Faculty of Law offered LAWS 472 attracting paper sixty-nine
students and 6.9 additional EFTS.
There was also new demand from university staff for accredited learning in Māori
language and culture, following inclusion of new criteria in the PDR process. The
paper MAOR120 was offered by the School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies,
attracting twenty-eight students and staff members and 4.2 EFTS.
Papers were taught over the five weeks from 11 November to 13 December.
Dr Elaine Webster, Director June 2014