Distance newsletter trialed by Te Tira Ahu Pae

Massey students’ association has published its first distance newsletter as part of a campaign to improve communication with students. 

Te Tira Ahu Pae’s distance vice president, Flynn O’Hallahan hopes the newsletter “sticks around for a long time”. 

The newsletter, which will be published in the first week of every month, aims to inform students about Te Tira Ahu Pae’s achievements and upcoming events.  

“I’ve labelled it as a trial as it’s something we haven’t tried before and didn’t know how students would perceive it.”  

It was unclear whether other campuses will receive the newsletter as O’Hallahan said, “This is an initiative I’ve started as the distance VP, as I believed this is a form of communication suited our campus”.  

“Each campus is different and it’s up to each VP to decide which method of communication works best for them.”  

The newsletter can be found on the Distance Stream Forum and the Distance@Massey Facebook page. The association intends to have future issues accessible via their website. 

Distance students have reacted positively to the newsletter, one student saying, “This was a great wealth of information – thank you for putting this together!”  

O’Hallahan said, “We’ve had hundreds of views and have received good feedback, so it’s looking like this method of communication with distance students is a success.” 

Before Massive was created in 2012, there was a different student magazine for every Massey campus, including Off Campus, which was for Massey extramural students.  

The April/May newsletter explored Te Tira Ahu Pae’s communication plan and the results of a recent O-Week/Events consultation survey. 

The survey received 1108 responses, with 62% of respondents saying that events are important to them.  

Another 52.9% of respondents stated that they would prefer events that are a mix of informative and engaging.  

In response to the survey, Te Tira Ahu Pae announced a list of upcoming events throughout May, including a Student Service Fee Quiz, Maori Pre-Hui Get Together, Pasifika Virtual Social Event and Maori Kahoot Night.