Forthcoming events

This year’s Cumbria Study of Higher Education Network (C-SHEN) seminars will be held on a Wednesday between 12.00pm–1.00pm in the main video conferencing suites at Lancaster (LCMR) and Fusehill Street, Carlisle (SKF20).

Future dates

More information will be provided, for the following sessions, when the presenter and subject have been confirmed:

  • Wednesday 19 June 2013 
    Shop floor constructivists: academics implementing policy in higher education
    Mike Wray, Learning Support Service Manager, Student Services, York St. John University 
    This seminar will explore the role of academic staff in higher education in the implementation of UK equalities policy. Lipsky (1980) proposed that staff in public sector organisations are key players in interpreting and re-creating policy and act as filters to clients accessing services. Through an updated approach to these proposals the seminar will explore how the context of public services has changed in an environment of neo-liberalist approaches to education and the marketisation of HE alongside increased scrutiny from outside agencies such as the QAA. Recent research from one HEI in the north of England will be examined which investigates the constructivistic nature of responses to policy and how these are formed through an emergent process (Ashwin, 2012) of engagement between staff and students.
    Mike Wray is the Learning Support Team Manager at York St John University and has many years’ experience in higher education and UK public services. He currently acts as a consultant for the Higher Education Academy on inclusion issues and has participated in a number of policy forums at national level. These have included, the Disabled Teachers’ Task Group for the General Teaching Council for England and the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s Disability Consultation Group. Mike is also a Board member of the National Association of Disability Practitioners
  • Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 June 2013
    4th Assessment in HE Conference, Maple House, Birmingham

Previous events

To view the presentations and slides from previous conferences and seminars, please choose the appropriate event from the list on the left.