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Sophie Blanks
UCSU Vice-President - Education
01243 816397
Matthew Harris
UCSU Bognor Academic Representative
Anna O’Neill
Director of Learning & Information Services
01243 816090
Laura Farrant
Faculty Operations Co-ordinator
01243 816312
Liz George
Head of Careers and Employability Service
01243 816036
Casper Beade-Rioseco
Volunteering & Activities Co-ordinator
01243 816339
Useful Contacts
14 14
Student Rep
Handbook
2017/18
Thank you for being a rep!
“I am delighted that you have chosen to come forward this year as a University of Chichester Student Voice. Thank you very much indeed for taking on this vital partner-ship role that enables valuable feedback to and dialogue with your academic pro-gramme staff team, so important in helping us know both what is working well, and what could be better. We take this seriously, and we will listen and where possible act to ensure positive development is a hallmark of our Student Voice system. I hope that you have an enjoyable year, and thank you again!”
Catherine Harper, Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Sophie Blanks, Vice-President
“As a student rep you will have the
opportunity to enable yourself and
your course mates a more enjoya-
ble student experience.
This is an amazing opportunity that
can count towards volunteering
hours and help to build your CV
It is an enjoyable experience that
you should be proud to be a part
of.
Congratulations and enjoy it! “
Sophie Blanks , SU Vice President
Digital Ambassador
Opportunity!
13
This is YOUR opportunity to feed-
back on existing technology at
the University, have input into fu-
ture tech, develop your digital
skills, enhance your employability
and earn volunteering hours to-
wards your HEAR!
We welcome students of all IT abilities to:
Attend 4 IT workshops a year Improve your digital literacy and learn more about the Learning
Technology available.
Feedback to us Discuss the digital expectations and student opinion on current
Learning Technology.
Spread the word! Tell others about the Learning Tech available
Promote the skills team Attend at least one on-campus promotional event
TO APPLY E-MAIL HELEN REA ON:
13
12
Any volunteering (Bronze,
Silver, Gold) awards will be
given at the prestigious SU
Volunteering Hours Count!
Your status as a Student Rep will
also be included in your HEAR
(Higher Education Achievement
Report). HEAR is an electronic
portfolio where all achievements
throughout University can be recorded. By registering
and logging your volunteering hours on the UCSU website
we can update your HEAR for you!
awards at the end of the year. You can also win the Stu-
dent Rep of the Year Award! So make sure you tell us
everything you’ve been up to!
SKILLS GAINED: Public speaking, Negotiation, Team-
work, Meeting skills, Leadership, Self-Discipline, Time
-management
ALL hours you do
as a Student
Rep count as volunteering hours. There are different
awards given for the amount of hours you have served in
your role. To get a bronze award you need just 10 hours
logged! To log your volunteering hours, REGISTER at
www.ucsu.org/volunteering
12
Contents
02
What is a Student Rep?
03
Get Started
04
Roles and
Responsibilities
06
Programme Board
Meetings
08
Take Your Lecturer for
Coffee
09
Student Rep Council
10
Meeting Conduct
11
Support for You
12
Volunteering Hours
Count!
13
Digital Ambassador
Opportunity!
14
Useful Contacts
1
1
Expectations of a Student Rep
2
“The purpose of the Student Rep system is
to encourage students to have an active
and positive input into the continued
improvement and development of the
University’s teaching programmes.”
Student Reps provide an essential link between; students,
their courses, their departments, the university and the Stu-
dents’ Union.
We rely on Student Reps to be active, campaigning members
of the Students’ Union (SU) who work towards the goal of
improving the academic student experience.
Informing the department about what works well, what the
students on your course have enjoyed and what should be built
upon in the future is essentially the role of the Student Rep.
As such you are our ears on the ground. You will work to resolve
department issues such as feedback standards, the facilities
available to the students and much more.
By feeding into Programme Board Meetings (page 6) and
through the Student Reps Council (page 9), we can focus on
best practice, highlight issues that arise across campus and
lobby our university to create and implement change for the
better.
You have 2 elected Academic Representatives within the SU
who will support you in your role as well as pick up any issues
that are prevalent across departments or the university.
2 11
Support for You
The University and the Students’ Union are very
appreciative of the work you do and are here to support
you every step of the way.
Your Programme Administrator can assist you by;
Giving information about meetings; dates/ times and
venues
Providing documentation when requested, such as an
agenda and minutes for your meetings (which you have a
right to)
Recommending appropriate members of staff to refer
student issues to
Your Academic Reps can help you by;
Advising you on where you can raise a certain issue or
concern to
Being someone to share ideas with
Supporting you with any serious concerns or issues and
taking them to the relevant university committee
Your Students’ Union can help you by;
Being there to listen if you have any concerns or queries
Offering you relevant support and advice
Signposting you to where you can get further help or
assistance
11
Meeting Conduct
10
Whilst within a meeting you should follow this simple code
of conduct so that everyone can get their views across:
Send apologies in plenty of time if you cannot attend
Be on time (5 minutes early is on time)
Introduce yourself if it is your first meeting
Take any relevant papers and notes - have something to say!
Be positive and constructive
Get straight to the point
Support your fellow representatives
Ask questions, especially if you do not understand
Make notes
Consider how ideas will affect ALL students on your programme
Maintain eye contact
Speak clearly and slowly
Interrupt people
Be aggressive
Represent only your own views
Be intimidated by anyone
Take things to heart
Give up something that you’re passionate about
Do...
Don’t...
10 2
Get Started
3
Set up a way to communicate with all of the students
you represent (email, Facebook, pigeon hole for
anonymous comments, etc.)
Get the dates for all your meetings including
Programme Board and put them in your calendar
Attend the Student Rep Training on , this is your train-
ing for the year
Set out your main priorities for the year. What do you
want to change? What works that you want to keep?
What doesn’t happen that you think would help?
Register at ucsu.org/studentvoice to log everything
you do
Take a member of staff to coffee (page 8) to ask
anything you are unsure of or to find out how things
work in your department
Student Rep Training
Training will be at the start of each academic year. If you
missed it contact [email protected]
Student Rep Council (page 9)
….
….. 3
Role of a Student Rep
Collect feedback from your fellow students
(resources available at ucsu.org/Studentvoice)
Identify students’ issues and needs
Summarise feedback objectively, identifying what
has gone well and what needs to be improved**
Think about possible strategies for improvement
Attend Programme Board Meetings (page 6) and
Student Rep Council (page 9)
Work in partnership with academic staff to achieve
positive solutions to any issues
Feed forward relevant information to the students
that you represent
Roles and
Responsibilities
Some things may take longer to change than
others. However, if you feel uncomfortable
that an issue hasn’t been addressed or
acknowledged appropriately please contact
the SU President or talk to your Academic Rep
so we can make sure any areas of concern
are dealt with as quickly as possible.
4 **Remember: offer solutions, don’t just present problems
4
Student Rep
Council
9
The Student Rep Council meets twice a year.
Every elected Student Rep is automatically a member of
the Student Rep Council and it provides Student Reps the
chance to share ideas, concerns or issues with one anoth-
er.
It also serves as an opportunity for your Academic Reps to
pick up any issues that are shared across departments,
year groups or the university and direct the work of the
Students Union.
The Council is chaired by a member of the Students Union
and any Student Rep has the power to put an item on the
agenda.
“Student Reps are in the privileged position
of being able to influence the future
direction and quality of their course, and
have a positive impact on how the
University delivers the higher education
experience to its students.”
9
Take your Lecturer
for Coffee
8
One of the most important parts of being
a Student Rep is building relationships.
In order to facilitate the communication
between Student Reps and staff in a
more informal environment, the Students
Union provides free hot or soft drinks for
this purpose.
Each Student Rep will be issued with a
voucher that they can use to invite a
member of staff to discuss any issues or
uncertainties prior to or after a formal
board meeting.
Vouchers can be used at either Zee Bar
or The Hub anytime throughout the year.
In every meeting, for every
negative comment you
bring with you, why not try
and bring a positive one
too?
8
Responsibilities of a Student Rep
Make yourself known to the students that you
represent. Students can’t talk to you about their
experiences if they do not know who you are!
Gather information about students’ issues, problems
and views concerning academic matters.
Present positive views too. Ask students what aspects
of the course they are particularly happy with, what
their favourite modules are, and why they have
enjoyed the modules they have taken. Encourage
students to vote in the SU Teaching Awards.
Find out when Programme Board Meetings are being
held, so you have time to prepare. If you cannot
attend a Programme Board Meeting, send your
apologies.
Present the views of the students that you represent
to meetings in accordance with the ‘Meeting
Conduct’ (page 10)
Feed forward information from your meetings to the
students you’re representing. Even if an issue is not yet
resolved, it is important to explain what is being done
about it to ensure they are aware of what is
happening.
Know where to go for help, advice and
support. Check your list of useful contacts on page
14.
5 5
Programme Board
Meetings
6
A Programme Board Meeting is a meeting between
departmental staff and Student Reps to discuss what’s go-
ing on in your programme or department. Every Student
Rep is automatically a member of their department’s Pro-
gramme Board.
Programme Board meetings will be held twice per
academic year. Make sure you attend, as it is the most
important way for you to communicate directly with senior
staff and to raise and resolve issues and concerns.
Between 5-10 minutes is allocated to each year group so
content is critical.
Not only should you report problems and suggestions
through the Programme Board but also feedback good
practice to your department so that systems which are
working well continue to be used.
What topics can I discuss?
Assessments & Feedback
Resources & Support
Programme/Course Content
Learning Environment
Staff/Student Relationship
6
The University of Chichester
Department of X
Programme Board: BA (Hons) Y
Agenda: [date]
Apologies
Minutes of last meeting
Matters arising
External Examiners reports or up-date on previously agreed
actions
Annual Monitoring / Periodic Review actions up-date
Programme Co-ordinator’s report (to include NSS feedback)
Module evaluations for Semester
Minor changes
Student feedback (including suggestions of best practice)
Post-Graduate Student Reps
Level 6 Student Reps (3rd Year)
Level 5 Student Reps (2nd Year)
Level 4 Student Reps (1st Year)
Learning Resources matters
Learning & Teaching matters
Health & Safety
Equality & Diversity
Any other business (AOB)
Date of next meeting
7
You can request to add
topics you wish to discuss
to the agenda. Just ask the
Programme Board Meeting
Secretary (usually the
Programme Administrator),
but make sure you ask in
plenty of time before the
meeting takes place.
You will get a copy of the
agenda for an upcoming
meeting; this gives details of
what will be discussed. It will
look something like this.
7
