Crafting Futures: Diana Munoz on the Impact of Education for Non-Traditional Students

Diana Munoz 00:00:00

We're talking about students who come from an underprivileged background, who have run away from their own countries due to war or political reasons, who have come to the uk, who are working here very hard indeed to bring up their families.

Diana Munoz 00:00:17

We expose them to a world of leadership skills, digital skills, thinking skills, critical thinking skills, reading skills, and all of a sudden you have these people who are maybe in their 40s or their 50s, and most of them have only just finished their school and they had no opportunity to go into further education back home.

Diana Munoz 00:00:40

A college cannot succeed without listening to the student voice.

Diana Munoz 00:00:44

One of our students, 75 year old lady who graduated after four years with us and she almost got a distinction and when she came here five years ago, she didn't even speak English very well.

Diana Munoz 00:01:00

Going from lecturer, where I had my group of students or my groups of students, to taking over the entire student population of 7,000 students, it was a wonderful, wonderful opportunity for me.

Diana Munoz 00:01:14

The admissions process is actually quite strict.

Diana Munoz 00:01:16

It has to be really, because the student is going to do four years of a very difficult course.

Diana Munoz 00:01:23

Oxford Business College is very famous for its open door policy.

Diana Munoz 00:01:28

So all our doors are open.

Diana Munoz 00:01:31

Everybody, not just mine.

Diana Munoz 00:01:34

Knowledge opens your mind.

Diana Munoz 00:01:35

It doesn't matter if you're going to put that knowledge into practice in the future, it's just having that knowledge, it just makes you a better speaker, it makes people listen to you more, it makes you more interesting at dinner parties or, or, you know, in family parties, whatever.

Diana Munoz 00:01:52

But knowledge is very powerful and knowledge can open many doors.

Diana Munoz 00:01:58

The funny thing is that I'm here to teach them, but they have taught me, you know, they have taught me and I've changed a lot.

Mark Taylor 00:02:08

Now those are the insights and wise words over Diana Munoz and she's from the Oxford Business College.

Mark Taylor 00:02:14

And also, thank you so much again to the national association for Primary Education for their continued sponsorship and support of this Education on Far podcast.

Mark Taylor 00:02:21

It really is such a wonderful organisation.

Mark Taylor 00:02:24

Please do check them out@www.naep.org.

Mark Taylor 00:02:31

hello, my name is Mark Taylor and welcome to the Education On Far podcast.

Mark Taylor 00:02:40

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Mark Taylor 00:02:45

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Mark Taylor 00:02:54

Hi Diana, thank you so much for joining us here on the Education On Far podcast.

Mark Taylor 00:02:58

The different types of establishments and organizations and way of learning is something that we're really passionate about here.

Mark Taylor 00:03:04

So I'm really delighted to be able to chat to you and talk about your organization, the way it works.

Mark Taylor 00:03:09

Yeah.

Mark Taylor 00:03:09

Thanks so much for joining us.

Diana Munoz 00:03:11

My pleasure.

Diana Munoz 00:03:11

Thank you for inviting me and on this very cold day, actually.

Diana Munoz 00:03:16

So, yes, it's a pleasure to be here with you.

Mark Taylor 00:03:20

So take us into the Oxford Business College.

Mark Taylor 00:03:23

Tell us what it is, how it works, how it's slightly different from anything else which is available for people.

Diana Munoz 00:03:29

So Oxford Business College is an independent college of higher education and we are based in Oxford, but we have actually about six, seven campuses and we have 7,000 students.

Diana Munoz 00:03:43

We are, our mission is actually to change the world of students who are not really your typical student profile, who are 18 years old, who don't have a rent to pay, who can come into college at all times and even go home late.

Diana Munoz 00:04:02

We're talking about students who come from an underprivileged background, who have run away from their own countries due to war or political reasons, who have come to the uk, who are working here very hard indeed to bring up their families.

Diana Munoz 00:04:17

Some of them work in nighttime and night shifts at warehouses, they're raising a family, they work, some of them seven days a week.

Diana Munoz 00:04:26

And they are trying to establish a much better life for them and certainly for their children.

Diana Munoz 00:04:31

So we provide them with an opportunity to have a degree.

Diana Munoz 00:04:37

Usually the degrees are in business management.

Diana Munoz 00:04:39

They have to be with foundation year because obviously they don't meet the criteria of having a British curriculum in their past.

Diana Munoz 00:04:47

So they, they, they don't have the A levels and so on, but they are all people who are working very hard in the United Kingdom who all have, you know, all have, who are all dedicated in their jobs and they make this special commitment actually and they dedicate some time to coming into college twice a week and that can be at weekends or it can be during the week.

Diana Munoz 00:05:11

And they study business management and the objective is so that when they do complete their four year course, they are able to definitely change their career path.

Diana Munoz 00:05:22

That's what we do, what we do.

Diana Munoz 00:05:24

We want them to change their career path, to change their future.

Diana Munoz 00:05:29

And many of them do actually become entrepreneurs.

Diana Munoz 00:05:33

So we are very proud of the fact that, yes, there are many colleges in the UK at the moment who are offering the same kind of business module.

Diana Munoz 00:05:41

We are probably the one with the highest number of students or one off.

Diana Munoz 00:05:46

Our students are looked after, they are cared for, they have tremendous opportunity to change everything in their life, not just to acquire an education, but they all develop new skills which is going to help them anyway in their future.

Diana Munoz 00:06:02

So we expose them to a world of technology, we expose them to A world of leadership skills, digital skills, thinking skills, critical thinking skills, reading skills.

Diana Munoz 00:06:15

And all of a sudden you have these people who are maybe in their 40s or their 50s and most of them have only just finished their school and they had no opportunity to go into further education back home.

Diana Munoz 00:06:28

And yet here they are in the uk, which is renowned all over the world for their education and they are studying, you know, at one of our campuses and they end up with a degree, they end up with new skills.

Diana Munoz 00:06:42

I mean, I always tell them that they are like butterflies.

Diana Munoz 00:06:46

They go through a metamorphosis and they become, you know, educational butterflies.

Diana Munoz 00:06:51

And they, they really are so grateful after that.

Diana Munoz 00:06:54

And, and I think it's wonderful that we're part of their growth and their student journey.

Diana Munoz 00:06:59

So that's basically what we do.

Mark Taylor 00:07:02

So you've mentioned there about the idea of it being an independent college.

Mark Taylor 00:07:05

What's sort of the difference or the perception or difference of what that is compared to what people might believe a college is more traditionally.

Diana Munoz 00:07:13

So the independent colleges at the moment, they partner with universities in order to have the, in order to be able to award degrees.

Diana Munoz 00:07:21

So they can't award degrees, so they go into partnerships with universities which are all award, you know, award giving universities.

Diana Munoz 00:07:29

And we have at the moment four partnerships and we are able to award our students with degrees.

Diana Munoz 00:07:36

So colleges, the independent colleges in the UK now that's how they function.

Diana Munoz 00:07:40

They go into a partnership with a university and then they're able to teach the student, the student is a student of that university.

Diana Munoz 00:07:48

We provide all the tuition, we provide the premises, we provide all the resources, learning resources, everything.

Diana Munoz 00:07:55

But the student is a student of that university which is in our partnership, which is basically our partner.

Diana Munoz 00:08:01

This is how it works at the moment.

Diana Munoz 00:08:03

So compared to the colleges of when I was younger, you still couldn't get a degree, obviously university degree from a college that wasn't possible, it's still not possible.

Diana Munoz 00:08:14

But we, you know, it's, it's a different kind of concept.

Diana Munoz 00:08:17

So now it's more people who come from abroad who are working here have decided to make their life here vulnerable students we call them.

Diana Munoz 00:08:27

Because as you know, in the uk, education is for everybody in the uk.

Diana Munoz 00:08:33

Irrelevant of age, irrelevant of status, irrelevant of nationality.

Diana Munoz 00:08:38

Everybody is completely inclusive in the uk.

Diana Munoz 00:08:41

That is not the case back home in their countries.

Diana Munoz 00:08:44

So it's more like education is for the young ones, education is for when they leave school.

Diana Munoz 00:08:49

So I think that it's a fabulous idea, it's a fabulous concept that we are giving opportunities to These people that did not have an opportunity.

Diana Munoz 00:08:59

And it's wonderful when you are part of that tremendous change in their own life and in their own future.

Mark Taylor 00:09:08

And I completely understand sort of that format.

Mark Taylor 00:09:10

I went to music college and so I think we were then affiliated with Westminster University.

Mark Taylor 00:09:14

I was the first year that was able to do what was essentially the old performing course with various modules and academic stuff, which was then sort of reinforced with that.

Mark Taylor 00:09:23

So, yeah, I can, I can sort of see how that, how that works and how those things came together.

Mark Taylor 00:09:27

So tell me about your job specifically.

Mark Taylor 00:09:30

What's your role within the college and.

Mark Taylor 00:09:32

And what you love so much about it.

Diana Munoz 00:09:34

So I've been in the college since 2020, actually, because I was living abroad before that.

Diana Munoz 00:09:40

And so I joined the college in the middle of COVID So it was quite.

Diana Munoz 00:09:45

It was quite a.

Diana Munoz 00:09:46

An experience, unforgettable experience, because I was actually, at the time I was living abroad.

Diana Munoz 00:09:50

I was offered this position and of course I did move back to the uk, but I was recruited as a lecturer for the business management course and I had to lecture on Zoom.

Diana Munoz 00:10:04

So I had like 40, 50 students online.

Diana Munoz 00:10:08

Okay.

Diana Munoz 00:10:08

And I did that until Covid ended.

Diana Munoz 00:10:11

So for about a year and a half, 18 months, something like this, myself and my colleagues, we were all recruited and we had to teach our students online.

Diana Munoz 00:10:20

And we, we did all manage to.

Diana Munoz 00:10:22

I mean, that was very successful.

Diana Munoz 00:10:23

You know, we were all getting to know how to use Zoom and the techniques of Zoom.

Diana Munoz 00:10:29

So did they, by the way, because they had to connect and there was all sorts of, you know, it was a trial and error at the time because, you know, we had to learn how to use Zoom.

Diana Munoz 00:10:38

They had to learn how to use Zoom.

Diana Munoz 00:10:40

So it was a very.

Diana Munoz 00:10:41

It was a collective experience and it was wonderful.

Diana Munoz 00:10:45

And so that went on for 18 months.

Diana Munoz 00:10:46

And then after that I was a lecturer, and then after that we started coming into the campus.

Diana Munoz 00:10:51

At the time we only had two campuses.

Diana Munoz 00:10:54

I mean, now, like I told you, we've got seven campuses, we are acquiring more campuses and.

Diana Munoz 00:11:00

But it was quite exciting, you know, because when it was, it was a momentous affair because when we came into the classroom with all the 40 or 50 students that I had got to know online and suddenly see them in front of me, some were shorter than I remembered, some were taller than I expected, and.

Diana Munoz 00:11:21

But it was like a family reunion, you know, of.

Diana Munoz 00:11:23

Of people that you have grown very fond of for 18 months and suddenly you were in the classroom with them.

Diana Munoz 00:11:29

I mean, I think nothing beats the classroom experience.

Diana Munoz 00:11:31

I Know that virtual reality is the future.

Diana Munoz 00:11:35

I know that virtual teaching is the future, but I think that nothing beats the classroom.

Diana Munoz 00:11:40

You know, the feeling of being in a classroom and, and having that, that control over your students and having that kind of personal experience where you can face to face or give them a hug if they're a bit feeling, you know, down in the dumps or praise them and clap, you know, with them and rejoice any of their achievements or performances or anything that they have got, you know, good grades on.

Diana Munoz 00:12:05

So then in beginning of 2023, I was promoted to head of student services.

Diana Munoz 00:12:12

And that was a fantastic opportunity for me to get even closer to the student population.

Diana Munoz 00:12:20

And because we were growing in numbers and so it involved myself traveling to campuses and I always enjoy walking into a classroom and just sitting on a table and just chatting with them because we need to listen to them.

Diana Munoz 00:12:35

So the student voice, A college cannot succeed without listening to the student voice.

Diana Munoz 00:12:41

So it was wonderful to hear their perspective because for them it's a new experience.

Diana Munoz 00:12:45

I mean they're coping with a new country, a new language, new ways of doing things.

Diana Munoz 00:12:53

They're coping with a new educational system.

Diana Munoz 00:12:56

I mean the majority of our students come, come from ex communist countries.

Diana Munoz 00:13:02

And as we all know, education in ex communist countries can be quite strict and there's very little interaction between the professor and the student.

Diana Munoz 00:13:12

You know, like it's a little bit robotic, dare I say.

Diana Munoz 00:13:16

And so these students to actually sit down with us and have a coffee with us or come to us and, and tell me, you know, Diane, I'm just, I'm, I'm doing something wrong, I need some extra help.

Diana Munoz 00:13:29

Can you tell me, for example, what does the assignment brief mean?

Diana Munoz 00:13:33

It's a little bit difficult for me to understand that is unheard of back home for them.

Diana Munoz 00:13:38

So it was a new experience for them in all aspects and to be part of that growth.

Diana Munoz 00:13:44

Having said that last, I can give you an example.

Diana Munoz 00:13:47

Last June, one of our students, 75 year old lady who graduated after four years with us and she almost got a distinction, she just, you know, just failed to get a distinction.

Diana Munoz 00:14:02

And when she came here five years ago, she didn't even speak English very well.

Diana Munoz 00:14:07

And here she was speaking fluent English and obtaining her BA Honors degree.

Diana Munoz 00:14:12

And I was there with her at the graduation and I mean I had tears flowing, you know, I couldn't believe it.

Diana Munoz 00:14:19

She just, she just, you know, went up on that stage, bowed to everybody, the audience took a hat off like a, you know, like a 18 year old youngster and then went back home on the train with her cape and a hat on, with the gown and the hat, very proud of herself.

Diana Munoz 00:14:35

So it is wonderful to be part of their journey.

Diana Munoz 00:14:38

It's an experience that I would even say is.

Diana Munoz 00:14:41

You can't describe it and you're, you're not just being part.

Diana Munoz 00:14:45

I guess all teachers understand me and I guess all people who are involved in the development of a person's education, like for example, you know, dissertation supervisors and professors and all these wonderful people who spend so much time and they are so passionate about education.

Diana Munoz 00:15:04

But it's just wonderful.

Diana Munoz 00:15:06

So going from lecturer where I had my group of students or my groups of students to taken over the entire student population of 7,000 students, it was a wonderful, wonderful opportunity for me.

Diana Munoz 00:15:19

And only recently in the summer, I was now moved to head of events, which is also involves of course, being very much in touch with the students, but it also involves being in touch with the faculty just to provide inter, you know, very interactive events for students.

Diana Munoz 00:15:39

Giving our students a little bit of protagonism in order to organize events because we know education is important.

Diana Munoz 00:15:46

But of course being a different kind of student profile here we need to make their lessons engaging.

Diana Munoz 00:15:54

So we're not talking about future doctors or future surgeons.

Diana Munoz 00:15:58

You know, that if you put them in a classroom it has to be quite academic.

Diana Munoz 00:16:02

We're talking about students that they need some kind of other type of engagement.

Diana Munoz 00:16:07

It make it interesting.

Diana Munoz 00:16:09

If I take out a.

Diana Munoz 00:16:11

If I show them about Chaucer, how to read a couple of passages, they're going to probably fall asleep.

Diana Munoz 00:16:15

So, you know, so just interactive.

Diana Munoz 00:16:18

Like for example, the skyscraper event, you know, like leadership where you know, you, you do kind of tasks in class, like role plays, you know, make them be like a board of medical directors deciding on which students take priority, things like this, you know, so it's.

Diana Munoz 00:16:38

So now I'm doing events, but basically I'm still very much involved with, with students.

Diana Munoz 00:16:43

And of course my, my ex students who are still in contact with me and you know, they look up to me and I'm always there to help them.

Mark Taylor 00:16:52

And because of like say the circumstances of the students as well.

Mark Taylor 00:16:56

You sort of mentioned about classes being sort of not join the school.

Mark Taylor 00:17:01

What would be the traditionally the, the sort of, the normal sort of day, weekends and that kind of thing.

Mark Taylor 00:17:06

How does that work in terms of timetabling?

Mark Taylor 00:17:08

They still have to sort of come around, obviously the schedule that you're, that you're setting.

Mark Taylor 00:17:14

But how does that flexibility then work with staff as well as students as well, because that'll be interesting.

Diana Munoz 00:17:19

Yeah.

Diana Munoz 00:17:19

So the college provides, so students, they're all full time students, but they only have to attend two days per week.

Diana Munoz 00:17:28

So our students are either weekend students, which means Saturday and Sunday attendance, or they come on a Monday and Tuesday or they come on a Wednesday and Thursday.

Diana Munoz 00:17:38

Their choice is theirs.

Diana Munoz 00:17:40

So they have to look at their own timetable, how they can fit it in around their employer, how they, they've also got families they have to juggle, you know, it's a huge challenge for them because they have to juggle family, they have to juggle work commitments.

Diana Munoz 00:17:56

So they do succeed in doing so.

Diana Munoz 00:17:59

So the College has over 200 lecturers and some of the lecturers, some are full time, some are part time.

Diana Munoz 00:18:08

So you know, lecturers will come in to teach them and you know, we, we have the faculty members and we have excellent faculty members and the majority of our lecturers are all doctorates and they're all PhD holders in, in very, you know, in fantastic subjects.

Diana Munoz 00:18:28

And so they're able to supervise our students with their dissertations when they get to level six.

Diana Munoz 00:18:33

So that's how the college works.

Diana Munoz 00:18:35

The college, we don't offer any online classes, so all the classes are on the campuses and they are either weekends, you know, and usually the classes are from 10:00 till 5:00 with obviously a lunch break, coffee break in the morning, coffee break in the afternoon.

Diana Munoz 00:18:52

And that's how they work.

Diana Munoz 00:18:53

And you know, for the students it's like a little outing.

Diana Munoz 00:18:57

They actually, some of them come together in a car, you know, if it's people that live next to each other.

Diana Munoz 00:19:03

Some campuses have local students, other campuses, the students are not so local and they have to drive a little bit to come.

Diana Munoz 00:19:11

But they enjoy it, they see it more, they see it as a break from their work, from their daily work, you know, from the daily work schedule.

Diana Munoz 00:19:20

They come together and they enjoy that.

Diana Munoz 00:19:22

It's like, because they're very social people, you know, they're, they're sort of Europeans.

Diana Munoz 00:19:27

So, you know, they, the majority.

Diana Munoz 00:19:29

So we do have some English students as well, of course, who maybe were living abroad.

Diana Munoz 00:19:34

So they didn't complete the, you know, British curriculum.

Diana Munoz 00:19:36

So they, they have to do the foundation year.

Diana Munoz 00:19:39

And we have a total of, I think it's about 50 nationalities or something like that.

Diana Munoz 00:19:46

So we do, we're very inclusive and completely diverse.

Diana Munoz 00:19:51

But also the staff is very diverse.

Diana Munoz 00:19:54

So we've got staff members that speak multiple languages and it's a wonderful, wonderful place to work in because everybody comes from a different background.

Diana Munoz 00:20:06

I mean, for me that's always been important.

Diana Munoz 00:20:09

You can't grow as a person if you're always with the same people that you grew up with, all the same people you went to school with.

Diana Munoz 00:20:17

I mean, I've, I've lived in eight countries myself.

Diana Munoz 00:20:20

And so I think that you need this in your life.

Diana Munoz 00:20:23

You become very rich culturally.

Diana Munoz 00:20:26

And I think that our college is a testament to, to this, you know, cultural wealth that we have.

Diana Munoz 00:20:33

And, and we all have a great, you know, rapport between us and we all work very well.

Mark Taylor 00:20:39

And it's a very different perspective, I think from a student point of view, isn't it?

Mark Taylor 00:20:43

I've.

Mark Taylor 00:20:43

Yes, as opposed to.

Mark Taylor 00:20:45

I've just done my A levels, like you said, I'm 18, 19.

Mark Taylor 00:20:48

I'm going in that sor.

Mark Taylor 00:20:49

Traditional different.

Mark Taylor 00:20:51

When you've got a family, when you've got a reason to really want to educate yourself, like say, to change your opportunities and whatever's going to be happening, going, going forward.

Mark Taylor 00:21:01

I think your starting point is very different.

Diana Munoz 00:21:03

Yeah, it is very different.

Diana Munoz 00:21:05

Because, you know, if you're 18, I mean, I have an 18 year old who's at uni, they can hang out after their last class, they can go to all these clubs, they can go to the student union, they can, you know, not even go home if they don't want to, you know, but I mean, our students, they, they need to get home to cook for their families, they need to drive home, they need to travel home.

Diana Munoz 00:21:28

Some of them will even go to work, to the, you know, evening shift after class.

Diana Munoz 00:21:33

So that's why all the events that we create are, they are created around their availability, which is usually at lunchtime.

Diana Munoz 00:21:41

So when we do events like we just had a.

Diana Munoz 00:21:43

Halloween parties, the Halloween party will be during their lunch.

Diana Munoz 00:21:48

We will provide the food and the drinks and we ask them to come in costume if they want to.

Diana Munoz 00:21:53

For those that are more daring, we're now going to have Christmas fairs and that will be.

Diana Munoz 00:21:58

We don't obviously want to disrupt the classrooms because the academic value of the classroom is very important.

Diana Munoz 00:22:06

But you know, we tend to do things either during their breaks or during their lunch because we don't want to keep them because we know that they have responsibilities.

Diana Munoz 00:22:16

That's, you know, that's basically the reason.

Mark Taylor 00:22:18

Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense.

Mark Taylor 00:22:19

And I'm curious about the funding aspect as well because normally as a student goes to college or university, there are certain things that you have to pay for certain fees and that kind of thing.

Mark Taylor 00:22:30

How does that work for you?

Diana Munoz 00:22:32

So some students do receive the student loans.

Diana Munoz 00:22:35

That's not my department, but I do know that some students do receive student finance from the government as all the other students across the uk.

Diana Munoz 00:22:45

And then they know very well, and they're very well aware of this, that when they complete their four year course, they need to pay it back and they're fine, you know, it, they all, you know, they enjoy that facility as well because it does help them, you know, some of them, as I said, they have to travel and as we all know, in the United Kingdom, traveling by train before 9 o'clock in the morning is so expensive.

Diana Munoz 00:23:09

So that does help them with their travel costs.

Diana Munoz 00:23:12

And, and then because they're all, you know, they all work very hard, they're all extremely diligent, you know, they, they know that when they complete their course they will have to pay that back.

Diana Munoz 00:23:22

And that's fine, that's how it works.

Diana Munoz 00:23:24

You know, some of them, like the 75 year old lady that I, I referred to before, she funded her own cause.

Diana Munoz 00:23:31

Imagine, imagine she funded four years, you know, of tuition, which it was over 40, 50,000.

Diana Munoz 00:23:38

Right.

Diana Munoz 00:23:39

So she, I think she, I, I don't know what the circumstances were, but she founded it, you know, and now she's seeking to do a master's in artificial intelligence.

Diana Munoz 00:23:48

Incredible.

Diana Munoz 00:23:49

So, you know, we, we have both cases like, like most colleges across the UK and most universities, should I say some, some students do receive student finance and some students, they do actually fund their own degree.

Mark Taylor 00:24:01

And so in terms of sort of students coming to you, I mean, obviously things like these conversations are obviously going to be impactful because people are going to hear what it is that you're doing.

Mark Taylor 00:24:11

But is it very much sort of word of mouth within certain communities and they suddenly realize there's opportunities.

Mark Taylor 00:24:16

Is it a question of you going into the communities to sort of, to spread that word, to give them the opportunity to come in?

Mark Taylor 00:24:23

Sort of.

Mark Taylor 00:24:23

How does that sort of work from that perspective?

Diana Munoz 00:24:25

Do you mean how do we recruit students?

Mark Taylor 00:24:28

Yes.

Diana Munoz 00:24:28

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Diana Munoz 00:24:29

So, I mean, we have a great week, we have great marketing campaigns and we've got a very good social presence.

Diana Munoz 00:24:36

I would say we're very good on LinkedIn as well.

Diana Munoz 00:24:39

And of course, as well, you know, some students are so happy that they will say, oh, you know, I would love my, you know, maybe my, my sister to join as well.

Diana Munoz 00:24:51

And you know, that's fine.

Diana Munoz 00:24:53

This is how, you know, we would look into it, obviously, you know, because we have to admissions is a very strict process.

Diana Munoz 00:25:02

Students have to have a minimum of a B1, B2 English to join the course.

Diana Munoz 00:25:08

And the admissions process is actually quite strict.

Diana Munoz 00:25:11

It has to be really, because the student is going to do four years of a very difficult course.

Diana Munoz 00:25:16

I mean it's, the course is not easy.

Diana Munoz 00:25:19

It's a business management course.

Diana Munoz 00:25:21

So they need to be able to be capable to understand what goes on in the classroom.

Diana Munoz 00:25:26

So it's a combination of, you know, very strong marketing, increasing per day.

Diana Munoz 00:25:32

You know, we've, we've got some.

Diana Munoz 00:25:33

It's only just, I think over a year that we started with graduations because, you know, up until during COVID we didn't have any level six students.

Diana Munoz 00:25:42

So we've only just recently had some students that graduated.

Diana Munoz 00:25:46

So student testimonials, good marketing strategy.

Diana Munoz 00:25:52

We do a lot of advertising as well, open days, you know, things like this.

Diana Munoz 00:25:55

So.

Diana Munoz 00:25:56

And it is word of mouth, you know, all the colleges know each other in the uk.

Diana Munoz 00:26:00

It is word of mouth.

Diana Munoz 00:26:01

You know, it's like, oh, I went to Oxford Business College.

Diana Munoz 00:26:04

Oh really?

Diana Munoz 00:26:05

Or maybe I, I try and register.

Diana Munoz 00:26:06

We get a lot, a lot of students just registering online.

Diana Munoz 00:26:11

You know, they register online and of course we need to be able to decide which cohort they should join because it all depends when we're taking new students in.

Diana Munoz 00:26:21

You know, somebody, if I register today, it doesn't mean I'll be in the classroom tomorrow or the 1st of December.

Diana Munoz 00:26:27

You know, everything is carefully looked at and all the data is there.

Diana Munoz 00:26:32

So yeah, we do it the, you know, the, the normal way.

Mark Taylor 00:26:37

And I'm interested in sort of your role, like I said now with events, but as we were before in terms of that sort of student welfare and everything, in terms of the collaboration between the students and the college and the staff.

Mark Taylor 00:26:50

Because I think that cohesion is what really sets the environment, which is obviously so important for people that are attending your college.

Diana Munoz 00:26:58

Yes.

Diana Munoz 00:26:58

So Oxford Business College is very famous for its open door policy.

Diana Munoz 00:27:04

So all our doors are open, everybody, not just mine, but the tutor's door is open, the receptionists are always there.

Diana Munoz 00:27:15

It has to be an open door policy.

Diana Munoz 00:27:17

These students need to feel they're not like they're going back to the typical 18 year old that don't really want to seek any help because they think they know everything.

Diana Munoz 00:27:27

These are students that, you know, they're mature students, so they're vulnerable students, so they do need help.

Diana Munoz 00:27:33

So we've also got counselors in two or three campuses and they, she also has our Main counselor also has an open door policy and can always be reached, you know by phone, by, by emails when she's on the campus.

Diana Munoz 00:27:52

Students know we've got another counselor because, because our, one of our main campuses is Nottingham.

Diana Munoz 00:27:57

It's a huge, huge, huge campus.

Diana Munoz 00:28:00

It's beautiful campus and it's got three or four buildings.

Diana Munoz 00:28:04

Know I'm talking to you from the Oxford campus where I'm based east.

Diana Munoz 00:28:07

But we've got Nottingham, we've got Slough, we've got West London, we've got Brentford, we're in Oxford.

Diana Munoz 00:28:14

In Oxford we've got two or three campuses so we've got quite a few campuses.

Diana Munoz 00:28:19

Another one in Croydon now I think.

Diana Munoz 00:28:21

So we do have counsellors everywhere.

Diana Munoz 00:28:25

We've got welfare staff, we've got student support officers who speak to the students with their first name.

Diana Munoz 00:28:34

Very important you need to identify students, you need to make them feel that they are known, you know.

Diana Munoz 00:28:42

So we've got student reps for example that represent the voice of each classroom and these student reps have meetings with their campus president because all the campus have a president.

Diana Munoz 00:28:54

Then the campus presidents has meetings with the faculty.

Diana Munoz 00:28:59

So we don't ignore any voice that comes through from the students and students.

Diana Munoz 00:29:04

In fact the reason we have these meetings, I'll give you an example.

Diana Munoz 00:29:07

In this building where I am, which is only like a year and a half old, this building is quite a new building.

Diana Munoz 00:29:13

You know, students will say oh we need a vending machine because you know, sometimes it's too cold to go out and get coffee or to get a snack.

Diana Munoz 00:29:22

So we, we got vending machines, oh can we have a student canteen?

Diana Munoz 00:29:26

Because we want to sit and have a relaxed coffee.

Diana Munoz 00:29:30

So we got the microwaves, we got them, we turned one into the rooms into a student canteen.

Diana Munoz 00:29:36

We got new screens for them.

Diana Munoz 00:29:39

We have laptops as well where you know, if a student doesn't have a laptop they're very welcome to use one.

Diana Munoz 00:29:47

We learn them.

Diana Munoz 00:29:48

We have got an amazing assortment of very expensive books for them to use for their, for their projects, you know, project management for their business consulting projects for dissertation of course we also created very important IT rooms where there is an assortment of PCs and again books for them to use.

Diana Munoz 00:30:12

So we're constantly catering for their needs.

Diana Munoz 00:30:18

We can't be very successful if we don't have happy students.

Diana Munoz 00:30:22

So we need to cater to careful their needs.

Diana Munoz 00:30:24

You know we have a lot of students that will say to us, oh you know, well I, I need, I need for example to take a day off Maybe because, you know, my child needs to go to the hospital, then we're understanding, you know, we'll say of course, you know, just, you know, take, take the day off and, and they come in next week.

Diana Munoz 00:30:44

So they're very much in touch with us when they're going to be away, you know, because things happen to you, you know, your car mate breakdown or you may have a sick child or you may yourself need to go to, you know, a doctor's appointment.

Diana Munoz 00:30:57

We have some ladies as well that are pregnant.

Diana Munoz 00:31:00

So we work around their pregnancy with the academic year.

Diana Munoz 00:31:04

So we like to believe that we are making students our priority and that we're making them, you know, think that, that they, that they feel very comfortable and we like the campuses to be their comfort zone.

Diana Munoz 00:31:21

Actually a lot of them make friends along the way, you know, from back home, you know, their own country.

Diana Munoz 00:31:26

So they do have a wonderful student experience, which is our objective.

Mark Taylor 00:31:30

And I guess that's the thing, isn't it?

Mark Taylor 00:31:32

You have a shared learning journey with people within your class and you're sharing an environment which you don't get like say within your life outside of that, I guess us.

Diana Munoz 00:31:42

Yeah.

Diana Munoz 00:31:43

And we do have students, I'm telling you.

Diana Munoz 00:31:45

Well, when my car broke down two years ago, one of the students was my mechanic.

Diana Munoz 00:31:50

Did a wonderful job.

Diana Munoz 00:31:52

We have another student that has a wonderful coffee shop in the covered market here in Oxford and we go there.

Diana Munoz 00:31:58

Why should I go and, and buy a coffee somewhere else?

Diana Munoz 00:32:02

That I don't know.

Diana Munoz 00:32:02

I'd rather go to my student and make sure that I have a coffee there to help their business.

Diana Munoz 00:32:07

We have another student that runs a pizza place.

Diana Munoz 00:32:10

We have another student that is now starting with a beauty business.

Diana Munoz 00:32:14

So you know, we have another student that has a well being academy.

Diana Munoz 00:32:19

So we're all, and we, and in fact we do have a department called OXPIC which is like a business incubation hub.

Diana Munoz 00:32:26

And we are coaching students who want to become entrepreneurs and we are advising them about how to go about it, you know, which agencies to contact had to go about government funding and so on.

Diana Munoz 00:32:39

So we are there.

Diana Munoz 00:32:41

We'd like to think that we're holding their hand to prepare them for the big bad world.

Diana Munoz 00:32:46

Even though the reason why they're in the UK is because they are victims of the big bad, you know, big bad world.

Diana Munoz 00:32:52

Which is sad actually because a lot of us can't imagine what some of these students have been through.

Mark Taylor 00:32:57

And I guess that's where the entrepreneurship is a really valuable thing because it might be like Say because of their personal circumstances, having a traditional job isn't necessarily what's going to be supportive for them.

Mark Taylor 00:33:08

So understanding the world at large with their own experience, understanding the business elements from what they're being taught, actually being able to create something that fits around what they're doing, their families, their.

Mark Taylor 00:33:19

Their opportunities, actually, I can see how that can be a real benefit because you also taking control of your life in a way which is different than having a job.

Mark Taylor 00:33:26

And that must be a really positive thing for them as well.

Diana Munoz 00:33:29

Yeah.

Diana Munoz 00:33:29

And you know, it's.

Diana Munoz 00:33:30

They also remember that these people, they live in minorities here in communities.

Diana Munoz 00:33:35

Right.

Diana Munoz 00:33:35

So when they come here, they only sort of hang out with their own kind of community that speaks their language.

Diana Munoz 00:33:41

So they're integrating here.

Diana Munoz 00:33:43

So they'll come to the college.

Diana Munoz 00:33:45

They'll see so many different types of nationalities here that you'll have maybe some Pakistani students that are sitting with some Romanian students, or they go out for coffee or for lunch, or you'll see some Brazilian students.

Diana Munoz 00:33:57

We have a lot of Brazilian students.

Diana Munoz 00:33:58

And you know how happy they are.

Diana Munoz 00:34:00

They always come into the college with their own.

Diana Munoz 00:34:02

They bring cakes and they bring sweets and they're forever bringing, you know, trying to organize food events, you know.

Diana Munoz 00:34:11

So you'll get the Brazilian students sitting here and mixing with maybe some Italian students or some French students or, or some Bulgarian students, you know, and all the students, they are so grateful, actually, to be honest.

Diana Munoz 00:34:27

They are so grateful for the attention that they're getting from us and the attention they're getting from the, from the college that they always want to bring gifts into the college and they will always be there if you need them.

Diana Munoz 00:34:42

So for Christmas, we let them do the Christmas decorations and they're just willing to help all the time, you know, and that's, it's, it's.

Diana Munoz 00:34:51

It's quite a human touch to it as well.

Diana Munoz 00:34:54

There's a.

Diana Munoz 00:34:54

That is definitely an element of, of humanism, you know, in our, in our teaching methods here, I would say.

Mark Taylor 00:35:02

And is there a piece of advice you, you share a lot with people.

Mark Taylor 00:35:07

Is there sort of a common theme that comes up in terms of the sorts of support that you've actually doing in terms of whether that's how to study, how to make it fit within their lifestyle or, or anything like that?

Mark Taylor 00:35:16

But, but something which you think maybe people wanting to attend or thinking about this kind of life change, that would.

Diana Munoz 00:35:22

Be helpful advice I can give is that.

Diana Munoz 00:35:26

Well, I mean, my own personal opinion is that education is everything and you may not become the billionaire that maybe you want to become.

Diana Munoz 00:35:35

But having received education as a person just completely opens your mindset.

Diana Munoz 00:35:43

And I always tell students a piece of advice is knowledge is power and knowledge opens your mind.

Diana Munoz 00:35:51

It doesn't matter if you're going to put that knowledge into practice in the future.

Diana Munoz 00:35:55

It's just having that knowledge, it just makes, makes you a better speaker, it makes people listen to you more, it makes you more interesting at dinner parties or, you know, in family parties, whatever.

Diana Munoz 00:36:08

But knowledge is very powerful and knowledge can open many doors.

Diana Munoz 00:36:12

And of course, for this type of student, I always tell them, I don't want you to work night shifts, I don't want you to work from 8:00 at night until 10:00 in the morning and then have to go home and deal with a screaming child because you're not in the right center of mind.

Diana Munoz 00:36:31

So I always tell them, I have so many young students here and I always tell them, we're going to prepare you for an entry level job.

Diana Munoz 00:36:39

We're going to prepare you to start, I don't know, as a receptionist, as an administrator, as an office clerk.

Diana Munoz 00:36:46

But you need, you've got all, you've got the future ahead of you.

Diana Munoz 00:36:49

You've got so many.

Diana Munoz 00:36:50

And, and the uk, whatever is flawed, people are always in a rush to criticize the uk.

Diana Munoz 00:36:59

It is still a country of many opportunities like this, like, you know, offering education to underprivileged students.

Diana Munoz 00:37:08

So I always give them advice, you know, change your life, change your career, but more importantly, change your mindset, Learn, open your mind, open your mind to knowledge.

Diana Munoz 00:37:20

You have all of this.

Diana Munoz 00:37:21

We've got so many resources here.

Diana Munoz 00:37:25

Our libraries are almost as big as the National Library.

Diana Munoz 00:37:29

We've got amazing books here that cost a fortune.

Diana Munoz 00:37:33

You know, our chairman invests so much in library resources.

Diana Munoz 00:37:38

I mean, any scholar of, of any university in the world would feel very comfortable sitting in our libraries, you know, so you've got this at your fingertips.

Diana Munoz 00:37:48

Just take advantage.

Diana Munoz 00:37:49

And I tell them, after four years, my plan is to change your life.

Diana Munoz 00:37:54

If you don't want to take that advice, that's up to you.

Diana Munoz 00:37:57

But I do tell them, and I have, they have already come back to me that when they do complete their course, they are different people.

Mark Taylor 00:38:04

Yeah, I can really imagine.

Mark Taylor 00:38:06

And of course they've also different, they've also got a network of contacts as well, haven't they?

Mark Taylor 00:38:11

That's, that's the other thing you've got, you've got the support from the college and the staff, but you've also got this group of people that can be helped, helpful and supportive, whether it's on a social level, whether it's a professional level, whether it's a business level and you're starting something together.

Mark Taylor 00:38:24

It's an opportunity that you don't get in any other way.

Diana Munoz 00:38:27

And they've made friends from back home.

Diana Munoz 00:38:29

Imagine some of them are from the same village and they never even knew each other before.

Mark Taylor 00:38:33

Yeah.

Diana Munoz 00:38:33

And all of a sudden they have a great social life together.

Diana Munoz 00:38:36

They go on holiday together.

Diana Munoz 00:38:38

So it is, I mean, it is so important to be part of this.

Diana Munoz 00:38:42

It's like bringing up children.

Diana Munoz 00:38:43

When you bring up children, I mean, I'm a mother.

Diana Munoz 00:38:46

And then you see them become adults and you see what they're doing with their lives.

Diana Munoz 00:38:50

You know, you will always be so proud of what you have produced.

Diana Munoz 00:38:55

And so it's that I use that feeling with the students that I have taught and now the majority have graduated and they're always in touch with me.

Diana Munoz 00:39:04

One of them opened an accounting firm.

Diana Munoz 00:39:06

Many of them receive awards as well.

Diana Munoz 00:39:09

You know, they, they travel the world.

Diana Munoz 00:39:10

We've got one who is an expert, expert karate black belt and he's traveled the world.

Diana Munoz 00:39:15

And so it's.

Diana Munoz 00:39:16

We've got another one that's a singer and I put his songs on in the classroom, you know, so it's, it's.

Diana Munoz 00:39:22

And it's very important.

Diana Munoz 00:39:23

I also, when I was teaching, I was teaching them about respect.

Diana Munoz 00:39:26

Respect is important, you know, you have to respect each other every.

Diana Munoz 00:39:30

Each other's religion.

Diana Munoz 00:39:31

Because we've got so many different religions.

Diana Munoz 00:39:34

Some religions is not.

Diana Munoz 00:39:35

Some religions, they're not as tolerant as other religions.

Diana Munoz 00:39:38

So we do teach them, be respectful, be tolerant.

Diana Munoz 00:39:41

You know, you're living in a very diverse country.

Diana Munoz 00:39:43

The uk, if anything, is super diverse.

Diana Munoz 00:39:46

The college is very diverse.

Diana Munoz 00:39:49

All your lecturers are from different walks of life, different countries, you know, respect that.

Diana Munoz 00:39:54

And it's lovely when the, the immense experience of our lecturers bounces on the students.

Diana Munoz 00:40:01

That's amazing.

Mark Taylor 00:40:02

Yeah, I can really imagine it.

Mark Taylor 00:40:04

And I like the sort of, the sort of, the holistic in sort of 360 idea of what learning is all about.

Mark Taylor 00:40:09

Because, yeah, obviously the acronym FIRE is really important to us here at Education on Fire.

Mark Taylor 00:40:15

So we're sort of talking about feedback and inspiration, resilience and empowerment.

Mark Taylor 00:40:19

And I can see how a lot of these things sort of fit in with the sorts of things that you're talking about and how you're learning as well.

Diana Munoz 00:40:26

I mean, the feedback.

Diana Munoz 00:40:27

Yeah, it's not just Academic feedback, where you have to tell a student, oh, okay, well, your assignment was not this good because you didn't include this.

Diana Munoz 00:40:35

But the feedback is also on their own kind of, you know, lifestyle, you know, well, why don't you do this, you know, so that you can come to the college earlier?

Diana Munoz 00:40:46

Why don't you change your.

Diana Munoz 00:40:48

Your schedule?

Diana Munoz 00:40:49

Why don't you ask your employer?

Diana Munoz 00:40:51

So it's feedback and advice, really.

Diana Munoz 00:40:54

You know, it's all looped together.

Diana Munoz 00:40:56

You know, we're always doing that constantly.

Mark Taylor 00:40:59

Yeah, I think that's really true.

Mark Taylor 00:41:00

And I think.

Mark Taylor 00:41:01

I think for me, it very much is the fact that it.

Mark Taylor 00:41:03

It's elements of all the things that we're talking about that makes the progress and the success of any given student, isn't it?

Mark Taylor 00:41:10

Because, like I say, it's not just one element.

Mark Taylor 00:41:11

The.

Mark Taylor 00:41:12

The academic side and the social side and the ability to, I guess, sort of the impact on you as a human being to begin with, which then takes you forward in those things.

Diana Munoz 00:41:22

The funny thing is that I'm here to teach them, but they have taught me, you know, they have taught me, and I've changed a lot in the.

Diana Munoz 00:41:31

In the.

Diana Munoz 00:41:32

Since I've been here, 2020.

Diana Munoz 00:41:33

I'm definitely not the same person.

Diana Munoz 00:41:35

When I first joined in 2000, I've learned so much.

Diana Munoz 00:41:39

I have the advantage that I have worked in, in many countries, and I've been exposed to many, many cultures, so I have that cultural wealth anyway, but it's just been accentuated even further.

Diana Munoz 00:41:52

And to feel part.

Diana Munoz 00:41:54

You know, when students.

Diana Munoz 00:41:55

The other day, I had four or five students that received their degrees from one of the universities, and they sent me their degrees because they felt so proud.

Diana Munoz 00:42:05

They wanted to include me in their pride.

Diana Munoz 00:42:08

And I just.

Diana Munoz 00:42:09

That for me, that's touching.

Mark Taylor 00:42:11

Yeah.

Diana Munoz 00:42:13

So it's.

Diana Munoz 00:42:14

It's great.

Mark Taylor 00:42:15

And like I say, when you've got your own children, and you can understand that from a very personal point of view, and then you sort of realize that that relationship extends, like you say, into.

Mark Taylor 00:42:23

Into your students in that life.

Mark Taylor 00:42:25

It's like, say the impact's incredible.

Diana Munoz 00:42:28

Yes, it is.

Diana Munoz 00:42:29

It really is.

Mark Taylor 00:42:30

Diana, thank you so much for chatting to us.

Mark Taylor 00:42:32

It's been absolutely fascinating, and I think that's why I love the podcast.

Mark Taylor 00:42:36

Getting these insights into, like I say, different educational experiences and environments and how people can take that into their own environment as well, I think is incredibly important.

Mark Taylor 00:42:46

So for those listening who want to find out more, who may want to enroll, be involved, where's the best place for them to go?

Diana Munoz 00:42:53

So for Oxford Business College.

Diana Munoz 00:42:55

They can go onto the website and they can register there.

Mark Taylor 00:42:58

Fantastic.

Mark Taylor 00:42:58

Diana, thank you so much indeed.

Mark Taylor 00:42:59

And look forward to keeping up with the story and the students as they go.

Diana Munoz 00:43:03

Thank you for inviting me again and I hope that people enjoyed it and that they come to us.

Mark Taylor 00:43:10

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.