At the end of the day at Otago we had time to discuss our overall feelings of tertiary education in New Zealand:
1. General impressions
2. Student services
3. Story of Maori for me
4. Expectations were they met?
Overall, my high expectations weren’t met, but this doesn’t mean that New Zealand’s tertiary systems is bad or sub-par by any means. I definitely put New Zealand on a pedestal… and I was happy/relieved/sad to see that they have the same problems as we do in the states. I think the help with funding they provide for students is great and much better than the states, but it stops there. The same pitfalls and problems that happen in New Zealand (like treating students like a number) happen in the United States. I guess never traveling outside of Ohio made me view ANYTHING and EVERYTHING as better, especially such a beautiful and friendly country. I don’t think they are preparing their students well for tertiary education (not forcing the math and English classes) nor helping their students explore their career direction. However, other aspects are handled really well.
I think it’s amazing how integrated the Maori and Pacific Islanders are in the education system and how services are offered for these students (but sometimes I think it stops there). Very little was talked about racism, sexism, etc. Maybe because it’s not a problem… or maybe because it’s a problem that they acknowledge as a problem. Who knows (I'm hoping it's not the later).
It made me uneasy that they didn't have academic advisors (because I’m an academic advisor). Perhaps this is because students are more mature and don’t need that kind of help (I would say students in New Zealand are MORE mature, but the help should be provided). The lack of academic advisors also makes me wonder how much we are enabling our students in the states. I work with so many students that, even if I give them a handout on how to register, cannot get registered for class on their own. Perhaps it’s the student population I work with, perhaps it’s because they have been helped so much along the way they are rendered helpless (harsh word), or maybe they think their entitled. Who knows? I know that since I have been back in the states, I have been holding MY students more accountable. You can give a man a fish and he eats for the night, teach him how to fish and he eats forever (however that saying goes). I think it definitely holds true. Students in New Zealand have been held accountable earlier (so it seems), and it seems to make them more independent at an earlier age (Climbing up those vectors). There’s some good and bad in that I think.
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life."
Overall I loved visiting the different institutions in New Zealand, but I think I learned more about myself OUTSIDE of the institutions and on the trip in general. I feel like I’ve been saved. Saved as in… I’m refusing to allow myself to sell myself short, to sell others short, and to just let go a little bit. I never really thought that I was going to meet such amazing people that I believe have truly changed my life for the better. The only problem? They just don’t live close enough. Ohio’s not the limit… and if I end up in Ohio, that’s also okay… I just can’t NOT look… explore… learn… meet.
Have you ever seen Titanic? It’s a story between a rich girl (Rose) and a poor boy (Jack) who fall in love . She said that he saved her... in the same way I think New Zealand has affected me.
… that’s how I feel about New Zealand. One of things that Jack promised Rose was that he would teach her to ride a horse "like a man"… Spoiler alert: The Titanic sinks and Jack dies, but she goes on and does all the things that she talked about with him… she was saved.
“He saved me... in every way that a person can be
saved. I don't even have a picture of him. He exists now... only in my
memory. “
Rose
Me
(lucky me, I HAVE pictures)
At the end of the movie, we get to see that she grew up and did all the things she always wanted (through pictures on her bedside table)... While going horse back riding, I kept thinking about this picture of Rose at the end of the movie (that part always GETS me)
Last stop, University of Otago in Dunedin. From many of our campus visits, Otago was given a “bad rep” for being a very big drinking school. Although it’s something that was talked about, I can’t help but think “so what?” I’m not saying that high accounts of drinking is a good thing, but guess what? It happens.
I liked the feel of the city of Dunedin. It felt like hybrid between Wellington and Auckland (maybe a bit big for me) but I enjoyed the night life feel that we had when exploring Dunedin after our campus visit. However, at our campus visit, I couldn’t help but get a feeling of elitism, and the pressure to be seen as “the best institution”.
Otago is New Zealands ’s oldest university (circa 1869), and was settled by Scottish settlers that had a strong connection to the church and the transforming power of education. There are about 21,000 students there so it is similar to Bowling Green State University’s size (or Owens Community College). According to our hos for the day, it has the highest percentage of full time students and has the highest Maori percentage of “any university”. Our host, David Richardson also made sure to note that 80% of the students that attend come from outside of Dunedin and they “serve the country not the city” (unlike Auckland… or so they say).
I’d just like to take the time to note that, though I can’t remember the stats were given to us from all the other institutions we visit, but I just have this feeling that stats vary widely depending on where you are and who you ask. Again, everyone wants to be the best in some way or another (at least with Auckland and Otago).
Several times the alcohol problem that was said to be very high on this campus was brought up in our discussion (broght up by someone in our group), but it was never really discussed. They admitted that it was a problem and kind of stopped there (the problem will figure itself out). Basically what he said was “it’s not about stopping fun but teaching them how to have safe fun”. I can see why they have this view, especially from a money standpoint. Hear me out: 1. They are known to have high drinking +2. That attracts students =3. More money in their pocket. Whatever attracts students… they’ll take it.
The Proctors office handles all of the discipline problems. Any interesting part of that office is the Campus Watch”
“Their role is essentially pastoral - acting as "walking information booths" on a range of issues, many associated with the transition from Residential Colleges to flatting.”
It was apparent that our host, David Richardson, was very proud of the campus watch and how it has helped cut down on drinking problems on an off campus (drinking problems are highest for second years who are “flatting”, and living off campus for the first time). He told us a story about one of the Campus Watch people who used to be a hair dresser but now works for the Campus Watch. This woman was worried that she wouldn’t have the skills needed for the interactions she would run into. However, her first night a girl’s boyfriend passed away unexpectedly and she sat with the girl all night and helped her through it (using the conversational skills that she used every day as a hairdresser). I believe he gave us this example to show that people from all walks of life work for the Campus Watch.
The Campus Watch idea reminds me of what we learn about UofM (or OSU, I honestly can’t remember) last summer in my Theory class. To help fix the problems of drinking and rioting behaviors on the nights of games, University employees walked around the neighborhoods outside of campus (where students lived) and emphasized the importance of community and respecting community (this was done every year if I’m remembering correctly), and this helped stop with the rioting, and massive drinking problems. Just having faces out there and showing that the administration cares about their students can really make a difference. I think Otago is on to something. .. At least with the Campus Watch. A lot of people in our group were discouraged by how little they talked about the alcohol issues on campus, or avoided answering the questions they had… I think Campus Watch was the answer they were looking for (in disguise). It’s not a solution, but it’s certainly something, and it’s Otago’s way of handling it.
Disability Services
At this campus they were looking for people to meet with Disability Services (I’m in the Counselling group), and after my experience with the Disability Services office at Waikato, I wanted to see what other campuses offered. This was the first employee of and institution that had an apparent disability (I say apparent, because there are plenty of disabilities that we can’t see), and she was a SPIT FIRE and knew her stuff.
Basics: The campus is flat and compact which means that those with mobile disabilities do not get fatigued. There is one office on campus, and it is shared with other offices (it isn’t apparent that a student visiting is a student with a disabilitiy to avoid stigma).
The idea of working with and helping students with disabilities is much more new than in the united states. Students that have impairments in high school are not helping because teachers are not trained to work with these students. Upon moving on to tertiary education, students with disabilities are able to get more help (a little late don’t you think? Especially knowing how well prepared students need to be before getting in to tertiary education). Last year, 6% of the student population had some sort of disability and was in need of assistance.
A statement she made that stood out was: “academic staff has a responsibility to THEIR student. Not OUR student, THEIR student”. Oftentimes there’s a diffusion on responsibilityin which academic staff believes that students with disability need to get all assistance elsewhere. Students are still students.
The Maori and Pacific students are welcome in the disability seervics office, but they often seek help elsewhere (from the Maori office of Pacfic Islanders office). From there, the offices will collaborates to ensure that students are receiving the help they need. The Maori and Pacific Islander student often don’t feel comfortable seeking out Disability Services, but do feel comfortable in Maori and Pacific Islander offices. Disability Services understands that and works hard to ensure they receive all the help that they need and would receive from their office otherwise.
Something that no other office talked about was John Kirwin, the rugby player that has been vocal about his depression. This huge star in New Zealand (rugby is BIG there), who has been open and honest about his mental health, which has started a campaign (like mind, like mine). I think it’s absolutely wonderful that a celebrity has been so candid about his illness, which can and has helped a lot of people.
http://www.likeminds.org.nz/page/5-Home
Small tidbit that I fould interesting: Psychology department has been the hardest department to work with. There was a student who was suffering from anxiety and missed a Psychology exam (they did not allow her to make it up).
Deaf Community:
There is a strong deaf community in Christchurch and Auckland (not so much in Dunedin) and New Zealand now has their first Deaf Member in Parliament (Mojo Mathers. With this dead woman in Parliament, they are realizing that they don’t have all the tools needed to help her function. I find this interesting because New Zealand sign in considered an official language of New Zealand, but they have a hard time
Conclusion
At the end of the day we met up again and discussed out thoughts about Otago (but David Richardson sat in… awkward). I have a lot of the same feelings about Otago as I did about Auckland (though I like Otago a bit more). Elitism. At the beginning of the day they still brought up statistics and tried to show why they are “better”.
Honestly, I don’t care who is “better”, I want to se how the STUDENTS feel, and what you are providing for them. When I was in Auckland I didn’t get as much of a “student affairs”-type feeling, Otago, definitely more (Disability Services was amazing). Then again, this is just one office. Again, I wish I could have interacted with students more and gotten an idea of what THEY think about Otago.
Note: The hostel we stayed in was haunted and I totally heard something creepy when I woke up in the middle of the night.
Our visit to the Ministry of Education left me wondering what New Zealand is doing for their secondary students to help them in the area of career development. There is so much pressure for students that are still in secondary school to take the necessary steps needed to attend university and students, in my opinion are having to choose their career path much sooner. This pressure comes from how they fund tertiary education along with making the decision to take the needed classes to get into tertiary education much sooner. IN the United States our education system “prepares” us for higher education. Obviously the better the education the better students perform on standardized tests. The point is, students, in general are required to take the same kinds of classes (math, science, English, etc). This isn’t necessarily true for New Zealand…the decision to go into tertiary education must be made a couple of years before they are 18 years old. One of the goals of the Ministry of Education is to get more students to level 2 (the base level).
As an academic advisor I work with many students that are undecided (or they choose a major and hate it). The Ministry explained that there is a cap on money, yet there was little talk about what kind of career development is being done in secondary schools to help.
I think it’s amazing that student loans are interest free if students reside in New Zealand after graduation. If a student moves out of New Zealand (basically, to Australia) there is interest placed on the loans. However, with the higher pay in Australia, the amount of interest is easily made up in pay. I remember Bay of Polytechnic talking about “Aussie fear” which is the fear that New Zealand will lose scholars to other countries because of job availability and a better economy. Sounds like they need to raise the interest rate ey?
I feel like the government in New Zealand cares more for its students and understands the importance of tertiary education. However, I”ll be honest, I don’t know a lot about the government. I’m the type of person that just goes with the flow that will pay extra fees if that means I don’t have to read the fine print. I never said that was a good thing, but I’ll admit, it’s hard for me to compare New Zealand’s government to the United States without being more informed about what the U.S. does for loans. However, I know that my loans have interest and I know that I was never given an allowance to live as a student (two things I wish I had) , so I definitely can appreciate what the New Zealand government does for the students.
Another aspect of the education system that I think is a great idea is their teacher education. For those that want to be teachers, they get a degree in an area of study like English or Math and then get post-secondary education in education (before they can teach). IN the U.S. teachers are required to get a Masters after so many years (in some states), but it is not an initial requirement. I think making it harder to become a teacher could definitely have its benefits. The idea is not to increase the number of teachers that we have but to increase the required qualifications to be teachers… I think that would make all the difference.
Overall I believe there are a lot of things that New Zealand is doing right with their education system. The only qualm I have is that career exploration is not a subject that is talked about (which is apparent in the lack of career services offices on campus). If students have only a certain amount of time to obtain their degree (With financial help), I think we need to help they make the best use of that time. However, I don’t think that’s happening quite yet. However, who am I to judge, when in the U.S. it’s an issue too.
I’m not sure what exactly can be done to help, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could implement a careers class in high school or junior high to help students learn about their strengths and things they enjoy and learn about what kind of things they can do. Yes, some exploration needs to be done on their own time, but I don’t think it would hurt to help. Or maybe, financially we benefit from the undecided student that has to stay in school longer
I just want to say, I LOVE WELLINGTON. It is a great mix of big city and homey. Wellington, in many ways, reminded me of Bowling Green. Obviously Wellington is MUCH bigger, but there was something about the atmosphere and the people that just felt very comfortable and familiar. I never felt overwhelmed when walking around Wellington (unlike Auckland of LA), and I think it would definitely be a place I’d want to live someday.
The beginning of the day didn’t start as planned, our bus was totally out of commission and we had to WALK there. Now, the walk wasn’t necessarily FAR, but living in Ohio my entire life has helped me get used to FLAT areas, something that Wellington is NOT. However, it was nice to get a bigger tour of the city in its entirety (when we went to the gardens we just took the trolly-thing up and didn’t walk much)
I believe the experience that we had at the marae in the Vicotoria, University of Wellington was the more thorough and explained than the marae at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic (see, it can’t be PERFECT). In this marae there were tons of carvings. Towards the back, it was expland, were the earlier gods and the front had stories that wer about the area. The marae had a “pole” for each area so that Maori, regardless of where they are from in New Zealand, feel at home. Something interesting to note, each pole was carved in the style of the area, and tell a story.
In the marae we all had to stand up an introduce ourselves. I felt this important to bring up but of the WAY we were told to introduce ourselves. In the Maori culture, they often say what river and mountain they are from, talking about their heritage FIRST, and then ending the introduction with their family name rather than their first name (something not used). So I’m from Finland and England from the Sims side and Germany and France from the Hoover side, I currently reside in Ohio, and my name is Claire. I really thought it was cool that the hertage had such an emphasis.
Career Development: Note: Liz Medford from the career center was originally from New York so she has both a United States and New Zealand perspective.
Still a very new concept in NEW Zealand (see what I did there… NEW, NEW). However, with the governments press on education outcomes, they are hoping this will be something that is going to grow in the future. Victoria is the first institution that I feel truly has a grasp on career services and it’s importance in higher education.
Something I found interesting is that Victoria goes around to other campuses to help with career counseling (so more than just Victoria). Not only that, but they work with prospective students, current students, and graduated students.
Although Holland’s theory is something we often use in the United States, it is controversial in New Zealand because of how it fits with the Maori and Pacfic population (just like my concerns on my pre-reflection assignment). However, they have implemented a program called future selves, a tool developed by Geoff Plimmer (works in the Victoria Business school and developed this tool for his PhD).
"FutureSelves programme is a quick, effective way to engage clients and build a positive future. It is designed for busy practitioners who must cover a lot of ground quickly."
From what I’ve gathered, in our equivalent of high school, students are not forced to take English and math and only do so if they wish to go on to college. I wonder if this is why career counseling (or at least the need for career counseling) is see as something unneeded or rare. I say this because a student is having to decide much sooner (like in high school) whether they want to go off to college, thus, figuring out their plan much sooner (at least this may be the view they have). However, it’s far from the true. The woman we met with explained that career counseling is in HIGH demand and there are MANY undecided students who end up doing something they don’t want to do because they were stuck choosing so soon (and they are only given financial help for so long).
Counseling
The counseling center at this institution is very similar to counseling centers in the United States. The physican and counseling center are in the same place so by going it isn’t apparent to others that students are visiting the counseling center or the doctors office. The type of counseling is solution focused because it is the quickest counseling method (Which is needed because the number of sessions a student can have is limited to 5 sessions per trimester)
The counseling center at Victoria has many of the same problems as counseling centers in the United states: Demand exceeds ability to supply and they are booked back by at least a month at a time. Although this is definitely an issue, I argue that it’s still a good problem to have. Often there is such a stigma on receiving mental health help, I suppose I’m happy to see that people are seeking the help they need. However, being booked back to far does not speak well for people who are in immediate crisis. To aid this they have a counselor that is on duty for 4 hours a day and they have emergency sessions for people that are in danger of suicide.
I was happy to see that counseling was free for students and a $50 fee for international students. I now that BGSU offers free counseling, but Owens still has nothing. Owens used to have one mental health counselor for all of campus and now we have none (I’m not sure having ONE would make a different but I think it would speak bounds about how/if Owens cares about their student population). The demographics of students that attend Owens is high demand and we have NOTHING in place if a student is in need. Referral services are ready shown, and none of the academic advisors are trained in how to deal with any sort of crisis, nor told who should be contacted (all information that advisors give is found on their own). Seeeing that it is possible to have free counseling (wellington, Auckaland etc) or referral services in place (Bay of Plenty Polytechnic), it makes me angry that Owens can’t or ISN’T doing more.
Overall I really enjoyed Victoria. I like that it had a big campus feel (like Auckland) but didn’t feel big. Again, just like Wellington felt familiar, Victoria just felt familiar and safe. I also liked that even though they are a bigger institution they didn’t talk about it or brag. It was a great experience, and I believe that I lived in New Zealand I would want to attend this institution.
