Deciding to volunteer

• Why volunteer?

• Past history of being involved in Course/Student Representation

• Didn’t want to sit on the side-lines in 1st year

• Gave me a chance to be involved in making a difference

• Chance to develop vital skills for work – i.e. diplomacy

Deciding to volunteer

What someone told me it would involve:

• Take a notes of the problems students were having

• Take these along to the next SSCC• Module coordinator deals with what they can• End of story

But that was not actually what happensCourse Seminar Structure

My Experience

• Needed to represent the views of over 360 students– All from different backgrounds making the HE transition– Many hold you personally responsible for their education

• Practical approach to recording views and opinions required– Launched a module wide survey examining thoughts on

lectures, seminars and assignment structure.– Results shared with management school – starting point for

the rest of semester.

• Continual communication allowed us to remain on top of everything

– Regular meetings; continual emailing gave us a shared understanding of concerns with the module.

• Model replicated throughout 2nd semester

The Partnership: My Perspective

Effective:

Presented us as a united front – working together

to get things done

Ensured solutions were perceived as fair by the

students

Increased our shared understanding

Allowed us to promote shared ideas

– i.e. increasing engagement

Convenient:

Students could go between MC and CR, knowing

their view would be represented

Communication:EmailSucceedFacebookOne on One

Case Study: Self-Support Study Groups

Approached by a student very early on in the module

Students wanted to be able to meet up and study together in a productive environment – could we facilitate this?

Agreed it would be extremely valuable asset to the module

Christine dealt with the timetabling requests and I would help out in coordinating the group.

It was a huge success and built the confidence of many students

Replicated throughout the 2nd semester and we’re looking to carry this on.