► Postgraduate Students

Bucks Students’ Union loves Postgraduate Students

Advice, support and guidance from our Advice Centre on issues ranging from funding to accommodation

The Advice Centre listen to and support students on accommodation, legal issues, personal problems, money advice, international problems and course problems.

The Welfare Advisors use experience and knowledge on student issues to influence University thinking to help create a positive impact on your time at Bucks.

The Advice Centre recognises that sometimes Postgraduate students have more responsibilities than Undergraduate students and may require more support and advice on wider issues. The Advice Centre can also offer support around the financing of Postgraduate studies that fall outside of the statutory funding arrangements in place for Undergraduate students.

Please feel free to contact any of us if you are experiencing any problems, all Advice Centre staff operate within a confidentiality policy:

Julia Crooks or Kirti Soni
High Wycombe Campus
Ground Floor, North Wing
email: suadvice@bucks.ac.uk
Tel: 01494 605 038 (direct)
01494 603 016 (reception)

Kay Corden or Susie Kelsey
Uxbridge Campus
First Floor
email: suadvice@bucks.ac.uk
Tel: 01494 605 181 (direct)
01494 605 180 (reception)

A campaign to reinstate bursaries for Postgraduate Research Students led by Vice President Laz Wood

Bucks Students’ Union originally campaigned for an increase in the level of Postgraduate Research Bursary in the 2009 Education Campaign document when the results of the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) highlighted that students were unhappy with the level of financial support that they received whilst researching at Bucks New University. The proposal to increase the bursary from £7,500 per year to £9,000 per year was adopted and bettered by the University who increased the Postgraduate Research Bursary to £9,500 per year.

However in a recent strategic redeployment of funds, the University completely withdrew this funding allocation, leaving Postgraduate Research Students to fund themselves entirely through their PhD.

Bucks Students’ Union understands that completing a PhD is an incredibly lengthy and detailed process: the Union believes that the choice here is clear and that we should do all we can to better support Postgraduate Research students to achieve their potential and is lobbying for the reinstatement of this bursary. The numbers of research students are low here at Bucks, meaning a relatively small monetary investment from the institution would help secure the future of an area that is vital for the further development of the institution.

For more information please contact our Vice President Education & Welfare, Laz Wood by email at laz.wood@bucks.ac.uk or telephone 01494 601 600.

A new Forum for Postgraduate Taught Students that allows them to air their issues

Representation of most student groups has grown considerably over the past few years, with new and improved structures being put in place to ensure that students have feedback mechanisms available to them through which they can raise issues, concerns or ideas. However the representation of Postgraduate taught students has been inconsistent and uneven: some departments have applied Undergraduate models of representation with varying levels of success; others have received bespoke methods of representation; whilst others have gone with no link to their Union at all!

Bucks Students’ Union believes that all students should have equal access to our services regardless of their mode or level of study, and as representation is our core function we are keen to improve the situation in this area for Postgraduate Taught students. It has become apparent that many postgraduate students do not feel that the undergraduate model of representation is applicable to them and as many postgraduate students often have a huge number of competing priorities alongside their studies, a new approach is required.

Following the successful launch of a Research Students Forum for Postgraduate Research students, we are in the process of setting up a similar group for Postgraduate Taught students: an open meeting with a fixed Student Chair and Students’ Union representative in attendance but otherwise open door policy (students attend when they have something to raise). Brief minutes are to be taken as a record of points raised, resolved, and actions required that can be circulated more widely amongst the Postgraduate Taught student community. Any actions can then be taken forward by a member of the Students’ Union team and reported to the relevant Faculty Student Experience Committee.

For more information or to get involved please contact amy.mclaughlan@bucks.ac.uk.