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Welcome to the Course Representatives’ Induction 2014-15

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Welcome and Introductions• The Course Representation scheme is collaboratively overseen by the

University’s Quality department and the Students’ Union (UWSU).

• Day to day support is provided to Course Reps by UWSU’s Research, Representation and Welfare team (RRW). There are four RRWs, one located at each campus. (Contact & location details can be found at uwsu.com )

The role of an RRW is to: • Support students during their studies by providing information, advice or

advocacy• Represent the views of students to the University in order to improve the

student experience • Provide opportunities for students to take up leadership positions

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Purpose of the sessionAims -To learn and develop the skills and knowledge to be an effective Course Representative

Learning Objectives - After this training session, you should be able to:a) Know the benefits and responsibilities of being a course rep

b) Be aware of how course reps fit into the University structure

c) Be able to prepare for a course committee.

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IcebreakerKnowing me, knowing you!

Group exercise :• Name• Faculty• Course • Describe one interesting fact about yourself

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Session 1

Being a Course Representative

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The Responsibilities of a Course Representative

Class exercise 1:

What do you think are your responsibilities as a Course Representative?

Who are Course Representatives accountable to?

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Course Representative Responsibilities• Identifying students’ issues, concerns and needs relating to learning and

teaching.• Keeping students informed of decisions regarding the course• Attending meetings and communicating student issues, views and needs• Negotiating on behalf of students to get what’s best for them• Liaising with other Course Representatives and the SU on issues• Campaigning on relevant issues• Reporting back to students on development • Consulting with students on what they want• Providing a link between students and staff and building a relationship

with the University• Initiating change • Referring relevant welfare issues to the RRW team. • Course Rep report

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Course Reps & AccountabilityCourse Reps are accountable to the following:

• The University • The Students• The Committees you sit on • The Faculty• The Students’ Union• Other Reps

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The role is not all work

Benefits of being a Course Rep

• You are the voice of the students on your course• Being a Course Rep provides you with the opportunity to provide

critical commentary on your total student experience• Rewards and recognition: Each Course Rep will receive a certificate

if they attend at least one induction session held by UWSU, as well as both Course Committee meetings.

• You have the opportunity to make a difference on your course by giving the University constructive feedback on any improvements needed.

• You will develop new skills which may help boost your employability

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Session 2

Being a Rep

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Course Reps in the University StructureCourse Committees are:• Designed to allow feedback to your Course Leader on matters related to learning and teaching• Part of the University’s quality enhancement, which includes annual monitoring and periodic

course review (at least every 6 years).

• Concerns, suggestions & positive feedback can be escalated through the Committee framework• The UWSU have Officer Representatives on high-level Committees; if you believe your

comments need to be heard higher up, the UWSU Sabbatical Team will be able to advise you. The University Committees usually decide the policies and strategies to be adopted by the University.

Faculty Board

learning and

teaching

Quality Review

Course Committee Academic

Council

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Where Course Reps fit inCourse CommitteesCourse Committees deal with matters related to your course. There is one Course Committee for every course, which meets once a semester. Normally there will be two or three representatives for each level of study in attendance, as well as the Course Leader (Chair), teaching teams and representatives from the library and IT services. A formal agenda sent to you by your Course Leader or their nominee will be followed, and minutes of the discussion will be taken. Course Rep ForumFor the first time this year, UWSU will be holding Course Rep Forums. The Forums will give Course Reps the opportunity to tell the Officer Representatives about issues or successes, and how UWSU can work with the University to enhance their experience.Course Rep Forums will be held at all four campuses and will take place during the last week of November and first week of December. Details to follow. Annual Student ConferenceCourse Reps are welcome to attend the Annual Student Conference (ASC), which gives all students the opportunity to review what UWSU has been doing to support students in various areas. The next ASC will take place on January 20th 2015 – Location tbc.

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Where do Course Reps fit inAs well as the Course Committees outlined above, some Course Reps may be nominated to attend Faculty-level Committees, such as the Faculty Student Forum and the Faculty Learning, Teaching and Assessment Committee. At these meetings, you will represent the views of students from your Faculty, not just your course.

Faculty Learning, Teaching and Assessment Committee Meets three times a year to discuss matters relating to strategic and operational management. The Committee reports directly to the Learning & Teaching Committee and to the Faculty Board and Faculty Executive Group.

Faculty Student ForumMeets three times a year, and seeks to develop and review Faculty policies and strategies to improve the student experience including student employability. The Committee reports to the Faculty Executive Group.

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Key points to remember Issues should be dealt with informally as they arise if possible, then at Course Committees. As a Course Representative it is your role not just to bring up student issues but also to give

a student perspective on other issues that may be discussed at the meetings you attend.

Course Committees should discuss:• Student concerns• Proposed changes to the content of the course e.g. curriculum design• Issues arising to do with progression and/or academic support• Learning resources • Quality enhancement issues• Teaching, learning and assessment

Course Committees do not discuss:• Personal problems of staff or students• Academic difficulties of individual students• Allegations of unfair/inappropriate treatment • Complaints about individual members of staff

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Session 3

Communication Skills

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CommunicationClass exercise 2: Your Course Leader informs you that a number of modifications are going

to be proposed, which will affect the balance of core and option modules on your programme of study. He/she intends to put this as an agenda item for the next course committee meeting.

What would be your course of action prior to the meeting? How do you address any resulting issues at the Course Committee

meeting?

What are the different ways communicate with your student group?

When will you need to communicate with your student group?

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What are the different ways we can communicate?

Find out in detail what the changes are. When is it proposed that they will come into effect? Consider whether all students will be affected, or whether it will only be

the new cohort next year. Find ways to contact your fellow students to publicise the changes and

seek their views, e.g. course notice board, website, Blackboard, texting, email distribution list, stay behind after a core module lecture. See the list below.

Collate their feedback and present it to the committee in a structured way: highlighting positive aspects and negative points.

Ask what happens next, so you can feed this back to students

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What different methods of communication can you use with your student groups

• Emails

• Flyers

• Posters

• Organise drop-in sessions

• Forums

• Speeches at the start and end of lectures

• Informally asking students how they are getting on

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When will you need to communicate with your student group?

• When you are first elected – to introduce yourself

• Before meetings

• After meetings

• When students bring issues to your attention, and later when you feed back or have the information which they require to resolve it

• When you need to promote a campaign or event e.g. National Student Survey

• To collect fairly regular feedback from students

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Session 4

Listening skills

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Listening skillsThe role of the listener

An effective listener allows the person speaking to:

• Explore any problems they might have and the issues surrounding them• Arrive at their own solution to their problems if they want to• Talk in a safe, confidential, impartial and comfortable environment

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Listening skillsTherefore the listener should not:• Give advice• Try to find a solution to a problem if the other person does not want to

find a solution• Attempt to steer anyone to a solution that they see as the most preferable

if the other person wants to find a solution. • Attempt to focus discussion on issues that they think are significant, but

that the other person finds irrelevant.• Impress their own beliefs upon anyone who comes to talk to them.• Talk about the details of any conversation with anyone other than the

person unless given the express permission of that person or in extreme circumstances (for example when you feel that they are a threat to their own well being)

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Confidentiality

In your capacity as a Course Representative, you are responsible for upholding the confidentiality of students who approach you, and it is expected that you understand the importance of this.

Confidentiality can be defined in many ways; UWSU understands confidentiality to mean that no information given to a Course Rep should be given directly or indirectly to any third party without the student’s consent to do so. This consent can be verbal, but must be made completely clear. In most cases, written consent is preferred.

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Session 5

Meeting skills

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Why we have meetingsMeetings are held:

• To share information or get information across• To gain commitment to a proposal• To make decisions collectively as a result of discussion• To share ideas and hear others points of view• To review and monitor progress

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What sorts of meetings are there?Class Exercise 3:

What sorts of meetings are there?

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What sort of meetings are there• Social meetings• Telephone meetings/ conference• Public meetings • Formal committees• Impromptu• Disciplinary/Misconduct• Interviews• One to one• Course Committees and Faculty Forums

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Meeting skillsClass Exercise 3:

Thinking of the formal meetings you will attend as Course Rep, what do you think are the tasks you should do before, during and after to get the most out of them?

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Before meetings

Get to know the rules

• Find out about how the committee works

• Get to know the terms of reference

• How often does the committee meet?

• What are its decision-making powers and where does it sit in terms of the institutional decision-making process?

• How can you get an item on the agenda?

• How do students perceive the committee?

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Before meetings cont.Learn from the past

• Locate past papers and minutes• Talk to former reps and other reps• Find out what other committee members are like

Be prepared• Check committee and agenda deadlines• Confirm time, date and location• Check with other reps about ambiguous, confusing or controversial items• Try to meet other reps beforehand to gauge reaction to issues and refine your

strategy • Prepare notes if you want to speak on an item• Talk to students to get their views on agenda items• Post the agenda on the notice board/Blackboard for students to see• Think about what you want to achieve from the meeting• Gain advice from the SU if you feel unsure about certain items

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During meetingsThings to do

• Be prompt; even early• Take all your papers with you• Sit where the Chair can see you• Sit with your peers if it makes you feel more comfortable• Be positive and constructive• Be assertive• Ask questions• Make notes• Consider ideas• Listen to others• Be helpful in finding a solution

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During meetings cont.Things to do

• Speak clearly and slowly• Time your contributions carefully• Decide what you are going to make a stand on• Keep good eye contact with everyone • Ask questions through the Chair and wait for your turn to speak• Keep your contributions factual – use the evidence base to make your

argument• If you do agree with something - say so

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During meetings cont.Things not to do

• Be late• Forget to take information with you• Be negative• Interrupt people• Read from prepared notes• Get into discussions with just one person• Be aggressive • Lose your temper• Speak on every issue unless it is necessary• Waffle• Shout

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After meetingsYou should

• Report back to students• Decide how you are going to achieve any items assigned to you• If you have successes, publicise these through emails, UWSU website etc.• Check minutes to ensure accuracy• Identify any action that needs to be taken• Identify who else you need to speak to• Review objectives• Inform SU of any developments • Follow up with programme leader in between meetings

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Reflecting on our Aims & ObjectivesYou should now:

a) Know the benefits and responsibilities of being a course rep

b) Be aware of how course reps fit into the University structure

c) Be able to prepare for a course committee.

Was there anything you feel was not covered?

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To reflectDebrief

How do you feel about the role?

Feedback• We need to make sure that the advice we give is both constructive and

valuable. Please take a few minutes to complete the feedback form relating to the training.

• We will also send you a link at the end of Semester 1, after you have had your Course Committee, to see if the training was useful and provide us with constructive feedback.

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Things to be aware of:

SMYLRsThe Students Union are currently undertaking research into how the University of Westminster Students Union (UWSU) can better support course representatives.

How SMYLRs works:• Student reps will be able to log onto the application via their desktop, tablet

or smartphone to complete the insight profile. • The user experience is designed to be engaging, compelling, rewarding and

quick. It should take between 1.5 to 2 minutes to complete it.

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Things to be aware of:Course Reps and Academic societies:

What is an Academic society and what do they do?• A society that represents and facilitates events for a community of students of a respective academic course

Why we have Academic societies:• Statistics from the NUS Success in the Student Market reveal that the ‘primary focus of students is academic

activities.’• Academic societies enhance student learning, build a community and increase student interaction.

Course Reps and societies – how can you work together?• You are the link between the student community and academic staff• Meet regularly with society presidents • Meet with academics

• Reward and recognition scheme:• Course Reps and society interaction will be recorded in the upcoming Reward and Recognition scheme.

For more information please contact: Societies Coordinator, Andita Santoso:a.santoso@westminster.ac.uk

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Things to be aware of:National Student Survey (NSS)A survey which gives Level 6 students the opportunity to voice their opinions on what they liked about their time at your institution/ course as well as things that they feel could have been improved.

The next survey is due to take place in February- March 2015. Look out for opportunities to get involved in the promotion of the survey in the near future!

There will be training in January 2015 on how Course Reps can use NSS data to improve the learning experience on their course.

Learning FuturesA project to ensure that the University deliver a distinctive, transformative and engaging Westminster learning experience for all students. Look out for more information on Blackboard to get involved with future opportunities.

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Things to be aware of:Mind Your Mates!

• This is specialist training to enable students to help when someone is feeling down, low or depressed.

• These sessions will empower you to feel able to intervene if you are concerned about a friend, rather than doing nothing for fear of saying the wrong thing.

• Not only could this training help you save a life, you will learn listening, communication and interpersonal skills that will boost your employability.

Dates and times Harrow Mon 24th Nov 10.30-13.30 & 14.30-17.30

Regent Street Tues 25th Nov 10:30 until 13:30

Regent Street Tues 25th Nov 14:30 until 17:30

Cavendish Wed 26th Nov 14:00 until 17:30

Harrow Thurs 27th Nov 10.30-1.30 & 2.30-5.30

Marylebone Fri 28th Nov 10.30-13.30 & 14.30-17.30

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Thank you for your timeWebsite:

http://www.westminster.ac.uk/study/current-students/westminster-extra/student-

representationhttp://www.uwsu.com/representation/

UWSU Advice Service:Email: advice.(your campus)@su.westminster.ac.uk

Website: http://www.uwsu.com/advice/

Research, Representation and Welfare teamhttp://www.uwsu.com/staff/