course representative training 2011/12. welcome!
TRANSCRIPT
Course Representative
Training 2011/12
Welcome!
Your Handbook
• Contains all the key information to support you – wherever you are!
www.susu.org/education
- Introduce you to your roles and why the role exists
- Give you a basic understanding of the structures within SUSU and the University
- Give you an idea of what issues you might expect and how to deal with them
- Introduce you to some key events and campaigns coming up this year
Aims of Training:
What is SUSU?
What is a Course Rep?What you Do?
• Speak up for students• Ensure the quality of your course is maintained• Raise issues with staff• Ensure issues are appropriately dealt with• Inform students of the resulting action by the University
Why the University needs YOU
• Education is constantly changing• You are living the student experience• You provide an informed assessment• You deserve a good quality standard of service• You affect the University League Table standing
So why do we need you?
• As Representation is one of our key objectives – we need you to keep us informed so that we are representing students on the right issues
• As elected students, you carry the voice of SUSU when you go to meetings
• Your voice should matter – and if staff ignore you, we need to know about it so that we can raise it within the University
What Issues might you deal with?
• Lecture Quality
• Use of technology
• Access to resources
• Timetabling
• Tutor support
• Quality of Feedback
• Exam issues
• Admin support
What’s in it for you?
Meet lots of other
students
Have an opportunity to
shape your degree – to really
influence your experience
Develop your own skills:
• Taking the Initiative,• Interpersonal Communication,• Problem Solving & Negotiation,• Planning and Organisation,• Teamwork
Where do you fit in?
24,000 Students
You’re kind of important...
24,000 Students
• Communicate with your Course mates
• Meet your Academic President every 3 weeks
Course Reps
Academic Presidents
Faculty Officers
VP Academic Affairs
Students
The University
8 Faculties
Over 30 Academic Units
Over 500 Programmes
Over 30 Academic Units
Staff-Student Liaison Committees
• Generally around 4-6 meetings per year• You chance to voice your concerns
• You control the discussion
Staff-Student Liaison Committees
• Read any papers before the meeting
• Meet up as a group beforehand to discuss issues• Ask students what they think of the issues• Make a note of any Action Points from the meeting
• Have the right attitude – be readyto compromise
Brenda Masters – [email protected]
• Point of Contact• Communication• Support• Information• Build up an understanding of key issues
Policy & RepresentationCo-ordinator
Case Study 1:
You’ve had a bad lecture – no one really understood what was going on
• Talk to students, see if others were struggling• If it is a group issue – approach the class tutor and ask them to either clarify the points in the next lecture, or put something online• Make a mental note about the module, in case it becomes a reoccurring issue
Case Study 2:
Students have an issue with a lecturer• Talk to students, see what people specifically have an issue with – clarity, attitude, use of technology, language barrier etc. • Talk to your Academic President about the lecturer – it may be an issue affecting all years of study. They will take the specific concerns to the head of your course• Do NOT raise this at SSLC or discuss thisopenly – remember confidentiality!
Case Study 3:
Students are not happy with feedback• Talk to students, see what people specifically have an issue with – timeliness, effectiveness, fairness etc.• Raise this with the marker and ask for a resolution• Raise this with your Academic President, who will also involve your Faculty Officer and the VP Academic Affairs• Discuss the issue of feedback more widely at an SSLC – is this the only instance of badfeedback? How can it be improved?
Time to meet your Academic Presidents!
So… did anyone actually complete the grid?
What did you talk about?
Being active – not reactive
• A lot of issues can be dealt with quickly if noticed early
• You need to ask students if something is wrong, rather than wait for them to come to you with issues
• You need to report back to students what is going on, so that they understand the current situation
• If you have an idea, you can proactively drum up support for an idea.
Ways of Communicating• Lectures – ask to speak quickly for one minute
about something you’re working on or need information for
• Email – your emails are all on the Course Rep website, and will soon be on the SUSU website, so do signpost people to them
• Surgeries – why not hold an hour a week in a set venue where people know they can come and find you
• Social Media – use your Academic President’s Facebook profile or society pages
Key issues this year
• IT Downtime
• Knowing Our Students survey
• Preparing for 2012 and £9k fees
• QAA Institutional Review
Questions?
So where do we go from here?
• Newsletter every 3 weeks – to keep you informed of what I’m doing
• Facebook Group – so you can keep in touch with each other and help each other out
• Introduce yourselves to you course mates!
• Next training session before Christmas
Key messages
• Be proactive – and use the elected voice that you have been given – inside AND outside of meetings
• Make sure you feedback to students and your Academic President about the things you are doing, so that we can all work together
• Be aware of the support around you – your elected officers and staff in the Advice Centre, if you ever have any problems, send them an email
Thank you – and good luck!