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Contents

Page No.

Introduction 3

The importance of being a Course Representative 4

Benefits of being a Course Rep 4

Your Role as a Course Rep 5

Faculty and Year Reps 6

QMSU Course Rep Committee Structure 6

Student Staff Liaison Committees 7

Tips for meetings 7

Agendas Explained 7

Meeting Feedback Forms 8

The Meeting feedback Form 9

What kind of issues will I deal with 10

Know your limits 10

Building the case and getting results 11

Effective Communication 12

Student Research 13

National Student Survey (NSS) 14

Where to take an issue 15

What skills will I gain being a Course Rep? 15

Sources of help 16

Sources of Help cont. 17

Case studies 18

Top tips for what to do next 19

Contacts 20

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Introduction

Sophie Richardson VP Education and Welfare

Hi I‟m Sophie, your Vice

President Education &

Welfare at QMSU this year.

Congratulations on being

elected to be a Course Rep,

I‟m really looking forward to

supporting and working with

you all this year. Part of my

role includes working closely

with you to ensure we listen to

our students and represent

their academic views to the

College and staff.

As a Course Rep you have

the opportunity to create real

change and improve the

academic experience of

students here at QM. Make

sure you talk to your fellow

students and find out about

their positive and negative

academic experiences at

QM. The more effort you put

into being a Course Rep, the

more you will get out of it – so

make the most of this

fantastic opportunity and

most importantly, enjoy it!

Hello and welcome to the QMSU Course

Representative Handbook.

First off; congratulations on becoming a

representative for your course, this is an

amazing opportunity for you to take

advantage of where you have the ability to

make real changes to improve the student

experience.

This is one of our most successful Course Rep

elections to date, with over 560 candidates

standing in the election and an increase of

90% on the number of students voting in this

year‟s election in comparison to last year.

This truly demonstrates that students are

finding the role of their Course Rep more

and more relevant.

Philip Gilks Course Rep Co-ordinator

My name is Phil and I am the new Course

Representative Co-ordinator at the

Students‟ Union. I am responsible for

organising and managing the Course Rep

system, including training and its

development.

I am also there to provide you with support

on a more day to day basis, whether that is

assisting you in finding out information or

providing you with the necessary help so you

can win for the students on your course. I

should be your first point of contact with

regards to being a Course Rep in QMSU.

Email: philip.gilks@qmsu.org

Tel: 020 7882 2231

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The importance of being a

Course Representative Having a Course Representative is essential to the development of your course.

Course Reps are the official voice of students at course level providing the

necessary link between students, their Department, the College and the Students‟

Union.

It gives you, the Course Rep, the opportunity to shape decisions and make a big

difference to your experience at QMUL. As a Course Rep, you‟re there to make sure

that the College takes into account the needs of students ensuring that they receive

the best possible education.

Course Reps also have a far wider effect

on the College, as by feeding back to the

Students‟ Union you allow the officers to

lobby on those issues that are close to the

hearts of students.

The College has a high opinion of Course

Reps and you are seen as partners in the

development of the academic

experience. The college demonstrated

this commitment by providing £50K of

funding this year to improve course repre-

sentation at QMUL.

Why have student

representation?

To include student views in the

decision making process.

To promote the idea of a partnership

between students, staff, the College

and the Students‟ Union.

To give you and other students

ownership over your education.

To allow interaction and enhance

constructive debate between the

various stakeholders.

To act as a channel of

communication between the student

body and the College.

Benefits of being a

Course Rep

Making a difference:

Help to improve the quality

& delivery of education in

your department

Looks great on your CV:

Shows you have taken on

different responsibilities &

acquired new skills

Communication Skills:

Verbal communication &

active listening skills

Interpersonal Skills:

Networking, negotiation,

assertiveness & team

Working

Organisational Skills:

Time management & the

ability to prioritise tasks

Meet new people:

Socials throughout the year

Awards and rewards:

Receive a Certificate for

recognition of your efforts

and various other rewards

along the way.

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Your role as a Course Rep

As a Course Rep you are expected to:

1. Make yourself known to the students you represent.

- Make a poster advertising yourself to put up around your

department.

- Create an email list so you can stay in contact with people on

your course.

- Stand up at the beginning of a lecture introducing yourself so

they know that you are the Course Rep.

2. Attend training provided by the Students‟ Union.

3. Regularly find out issues from people on your course that you should

raise on their behalf at the Staff Student Liaison Committees (SSLC).

- Talk to them one on one, in groups or as a whole lecture;

- Set up a „facebook‟ (or similar) group to allow people to feed

back;

- Create questionnaires or feedback forms to collect student

Opinion; or

- by other means.

4. Attend all of the Staff Student Liaison Committees (SSLC) that are run

by your department and all relevant Students‟ Union meetings to raise

the student opinion.

5. Where necessary, follow up on any agreed action points from the

meetings you attend

6. Feedback information and outcomes from meetings to the students on

your course.

7. Report back on issues discussed at meetings to the Course

Representative Co-ordinator at philip.gilks@qmsu.org.

8. When necessary, refer students with individual problems to appropriate

sources of help- e.g. College departments or the Students‟ Union.

9. Maintain a record of your years activity.

- This is to be passed over to the next Course Rep so that they

have a wealth of information when they begin their role.

10. Ask for help when you need it. Contact Phil on philip.gilks@qmsu.org.

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Faculty & Year Reps Once the Course Reps have been elected the SU runs a second election to elect a

Faculty Rep for each „Humanities and Social Sciences‟ and „Science and

Engineering‟ as well as a Rep for each year.

These positions are elected from within the Course Reps, and only Course Reps can

run. If you wish to run for one of these position you will be required to write a short

manifesto explaining while you would be the ideal candidate so this can be

circulated. You are only able to run for the year you are in and/or the faculty you

are in.

QMSU Course Rep Committee Structure

Course Rep

Development

Committee

Post-

graduate

Committee

Year 1

Committee

Year 2

Committee

Year 3/4

Committee

Humanities

&

Social

Sciences

Science

and Engineering

Faculty Reps

As a Faculty Rep you would be

expected to chair the relevant

SU Faculty Committee, as well as

being the main student

spokesperson for your faculty.

You would be meeting regularly

with senior staff in your faculty as

well as taking the lead at the

College Faculty Forums.

Faculty meetings feed into the

Course Rep Development

Committee as shown below. You

would also be a member of the

Course Rep Development

Committee.

Year Reps

As well as their primary Course

Rep duties, their year

responsibilities are to facilitate SU

year meetings; to sound out stu-

dents on issues affecting their

year; and to liaise with College

staff on issues such as QMUL

surveys.

Year meetings feed into the

Course Rep Development

Committee as shown below. You

would also be a member of the

Course Rep Development

Committee.

All students are expected to

attend their relevant Faculty

and Year meetings which

take place every 2 months.

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Staff Student Liaison

Committees (SSLC) SSLC meetings are your opportunity to give detailed feedback on everything relating

to your course. For staff members of SSLC‟s, meetings can sometimes seem like a list

of complaints from students. Obviously, you‟ll want to highlight problem areas that

need to be resolved but it would be helpful if you could also identify positive aspects

of your course. Not only does positive feedback act as a driver for improvement, as

its evidence of what‟s working, but it makes for a better working relationship with

staff.

To find out the dates of your SSLC‟s please contact your Course Administrator who

would be able to advise you appropriately.

The format and remit of SSLC‟s may vary from

department to department, with some meetings

being more formal than others, and in some

department‟s Course Reps act as Chairs for all or

half of SSLC meetings. So it‟s important that you do

some research before your first meeting; you could

ask for tips from other Course Reps in your

department or from academic or support staff.

Tips for meetings: 1. Learn from the past Contact former Course Reps or speak to students who have

been Course Reps for more than one year. Ask them about

their experience –they will be able to give you an insight into

how it all works.

2. Collect Students’ views Before making any claim that you represent the „views of stu-

dents‟, make sure you have researched those views

thoroughly. Take a look at the communication section pg 12.

3. Submit a report Whilst you don‟t have to, your lecturers and tutors will tend to

take far more notice of a report that has been submitted than

a passing comment in a meeting.

4. Be prepared Make sure you know the date, time and location of the

meeting. Read the meeting papers and try to meet with other

Course Reps before to discuss any issues you are going to

speak on. If possible prepare a united front will give your

arguments a greater force.

5. Participate In order to be effective you must participate in the meetings,

raising issues aimed at enhancing the student learning experi-

ence.

- State the problem in a constructive manner

- Try to be assertive, but beware of sounding aggressive

- Sit where the Chair can see you

- If you have any doubts about what has been said or

agreed, ask for clarification.

- Take notes (even though official minutes will be taken), so

that you can report back to students and the Students‟ Union.

Agendas explained...

Apologies: This section records the

apologies of those who said

that they could not attend. If

you cannot attend a meeting

it is important that you give

your apologies in advance.

Minutes of the last meeting: These are a record of the

previous meeting. They have

to be recorded as an

accurate account.

Matters arising: These are matters that were

discussed at the last meeting

– this is the time to update the

committee on the progress of

action taken.

Items: Each „item‟ on the agenda is

discussed in turn- it could be

an issue a student has raised

with you or another Course

Rep, the results of a

department questionnaire or

a report. This is the time when

you can put forward your

views and opinions.

A.O.B. (Any Other Business) This is an opportunity to raise

any items that have not ap-

peared on the agenda e.g.

an issue that somebody

raised with you just before the

meeting that cannot wait

until the next meeting to be

discussed.

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Meeting Feedback Forms The more prepared you are for a meeting the better the results will be. On the

following page is an example of a „Meeting Feedback Form‟. We ask Course Reps to

use one of these for every SSLC they attend. Once you have attended the meeting

and filled in the form, please bring it into the Blomeley Centre, Feilden House to be

photocopied so we are aware of the good work you are doing. Blank forms can be

collected in hard copy from the SU or electronically at www.qmsu.org/coursereps.

The following are the sections on the ‘Meeting Feedback Form’.

Section A. This section allows you to document what students have said to you

and make sure those points are being raised at the meeting. Try to gain as much

detail as possible, if you need more space just use a second or third form. By having

these opinions in writing it will ensure you wont miss any out. This should be done well in

advance so that you can get things put on the agenda.

Section B. In this section you should write the response to each of the points in

section A. Make sure that you include any action points and dates agreed so that you

are able to use it to hold people to account for what they have committed to, this

include you and other Course Reps.

Section C. Without a doubt there will be issues and topics discussed that you were

unaware of or have missed, make a note of these in this section. Don‟t forget to

record the action points.

After an SSLC meeting . .

After the meeting, make sure you report back to students on the outcome of

issues you‟ve raised on their behalf and other matters discussed.

Check with students that they‟re happy with the outcomes and, if not, follow

up on unresolved issues with the department. It would also be helpful if you

could keep the SU informed of developments, so they can pick up on trends

across the College and raise them at the appropriate level if necessary.

Make sure that you celebrate success: if the department agrees to resolve

issues you‟ve raised you should let students know about it. That way, students

are more likely to come to you in future if they want to relay negative or

positive comments to the department.

Check the minutes to make sure they‟re an accurate record of the meeting.

They‟re not meant to be a word-by-word account of discussions but if you feel

they don‟t reflect what was agreed you should inform the department.

If you let inaccuracies pass it‟s very difficult at a later stage to put the record

straight.

Your department may already post the minutes of SSLC meetings on its

website. If it doesn‟t ask if this can be done, and ensure that the minutes are

kept up-to-date and posted in a timely fashion.

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Meeting Feedback Form

Name

Course/Year

Date of Meeting

Title of Meeting

This form is to assist you in the process of attending meetings. Fill in Section A before

you attend the meeting, then fill out Section B and C whilst you are there.

Please give a copy of this form to the Course Rep Co-ordinator in the Students‟ Union.

B. What was decided/resolved regarding the student issues in section A.

(include details of any action points and who is responsible)

C. Other matters that were raised and are of interest, including any resolutions and action

points.

A. Current student issues to be raised at the meeting.

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What kind of issues will I

deal with? As a Course Rep you should be the first person that students raise their academic

issues and concerns with. It is then your responsibility to take the appropriate actions;

these could include listening carefully to the student‟s problem, raising the issue at a

SSLC or raising their concern with the Course Representative Co-ordinator in the

Students‟ Union.

There are lots of questions and issues that students might raise with you, below are some examples.

Curriculum Issues

Are the learning outcomes being met?

What is the match between expectations of students, the

learning outcomes and curriculum content?

Does the curriculum content encourage the development of

knowledge and skills?

Are your timetables and workload appropriate?

Teaching and Learning Issues

Is the range of teaching and learning methods appropriate

for delivering your curriculum?

Should there be more lectures, labs or tutorials?

What teaching methods would students find more useful for

your course?

Issues relating to Learning Resources

How good was your induction process?

Are you happy with the library provision?

Are you happy with computer facilities?

Is the software you are expected to use matched to your

course needs and are you trained how to use it, if necessary?

What are the most helpful learning resources provided for

your course?

Are the lecture theatre/seminar rooms of an appropriate

size?

Issues relating to Assessment

Do you understand the criteria for assessment and the meth-

ods used?

What feedback do you receive? Is it prompt and useful?

Is the assessment policy and practice clearly described?

Is anonymous marking in place where necessary?

Is information given on plagiarism and how useful is it?

Issues relating to Student Progression (from one year to the next)

How many students drop out of the course?

How many students fail?

Issues about Quality and Standards

Are course evaluation forms used and collected?

Is evaluation feedback acted upon?

Do you consider that student views are influential? Can you

provide any examples?

Do you receive any information about what the department

or course have done in light of student feedback?

Know your Limits!

If a student approaches

you about any of the

following issues, you

should refer them to the

VP Education and

Welfare, Course Rep

Co-ordinator, Academic

Advice Manager or

Student Support Services–

so that we can provide

the necessary help.

You are not expected to

deal with these issues

yourself:

Disputes between

individual students &

academic staff (e.g.

harassment, discrimination

&victimisation)

Formal Procedures (e.g.

examination failures,

academic appeals,

individual complaints,

disciplinary hearings etc)

Financial and funding

queries (including debt)

Welfare problems, health

and personal issues (e.g.

housing, employment etc)

All other matters that you

do not feel comfortable

or able to deal with.

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Building the case and

getting results How to approach a problem

The QMSU recommend you follow a 4 step plan:

Problem

When a problem has been identified by you or one of

your course mates it is important that they are then

backed up by the majority view of the people on your

course, unless it‟s a specific individual problem. This can

be done through a questionnaire, or other methods of

feedback.

Information

To ensure that you are taken seriously it is important you

are able to give an educated opinion. So once a

problem has been identified, you will need to do some

research into it. Useful information can be found in the

University Regulation‟s, Student Handbook, NSS results,

Uni Prospectus amongst other publications or in some

cases you may just need to observe the problem or

record down some views of the people on your course.

Negotiation

Once you have identified the problem and gathered all

the relevant information you then need to decide how

you are going to negotiate a solution. In negotiation it‟s

important to remember there always 2 sides. You should

always try to find out what students want, what the

College wants and then it‟s important your try to be fair,

believe you deserve the outcome, listen carefully, be

friendly and finally were possible have an acceptable

alternative up your sleeve which you would be willing to

walk away with.

Justification

In the unfortunate case where you have been

unsuccessful it is always important that you get

justification from the relevant people explaining why. It

is essential that this is then reported back to your course

mates. You will find people to be far more

understanding of a problem if there is a good

justification. In cases where you believe there to be no

good justification approach the Students‟ Union for

additional advice.

A structured

approach... When trying to identify

problems and create

change it helps to

have a strategy.

What we have

provided here is just a

simple way to

approach an issue that

you might find on your

course and then how

best to make sure you

get a result. With some

of the larger more

complex issues it might

be useful to talk to the

Course Representative

Co-ordinator who can

help you with your

research.

By having a map of

the process you have

been through to get to

the recommendations

that you are providing

will add more weight

to your argument,

especially if you have

gained support from

your course mates.

Always remember as a

Course Rep you

represent the views of

the students on your

course, so it‟s essential

that you get their input.

Contact Phil on

philip.gilks@qmsu.org

for help.

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Effective Communication Communicating with the

Students on your Course As a Course Rep it is essential that you

communicate with other students. You

need to ensure they know who you are

and that you can find out what they are

concerned about.

Email:

If you talk to departments they may be

willing to send out emails on your behalf

to all students on your course. Speak to

your departmental secretary/

administrator and they should be able to

arrange this for you.

Lecture Talks

Ask your lecturer to give you a few

minutes either at the beginning or at the

end of a lecture so you can explain what

your roles is and encourage students to

talk to you if they have any problems

Facebook

Set up groups on Facebook. Use this to find out student views and to update your

course mates with the outcomes of meetings and campaigns

Notice Boards & Posters

The Union can provide you with

posters you can use to publicise

yourself, your role and your

contact details. Make sure you

have your details in visible areas

around your department

Informal Chats

Don‟t under-estimate the

importance of informal chats.

Waiting for a lecture to start or on

a coffee break, it‟s likely that

issues about your course will crop

up in conversation.

Remember to keep your course

mates informed about the work

you and other reps are doing!

Communicating with the

College

When communicating with the

College many of the staff will have high

expectations in the way you behave and

write.

Some tips:

When writing an email address it to

their full title, e.g.

Dear Professor Bloggs

Always remember to be

polite, manners can get you a

long way.

Be timely with all your

responses.

Don‟t use slang or „text‟ writing

when corresponding e.g. use hate

instead of h8.

Communicating with the

Students’ Union It‟s really important that you keep in touch with the

Students‟ Union as well as with the students on your

course.

Facebook:

Join the „QMSU Course Reps 10/11‟

Facebook group. This will give you the

opportunity to discuss problems with other Course

Reps and to ask advice from Phil and Sophie.

Feedback on Meetings:

Ensure that you report back on all Staff-Student Liai-

son Committee meetings by using the „Meeting

Feedback Form‟.

Questionnaires:

From time to time the Students‟ Union may ask you

to distribute questionnaires to students.

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Student Research General communication with your course

mates will allow you to identify the majority of

the problems on your course, however

sometimes things need to be explored that little

bit further. In these cases we suggest some

more detailed research, for instance creating a

questionnaire, hosting meetings, doing

interviews or holding focus groups.

In this day and age questionnaires could not

be simpler due to tools like surveymonkey and

google docs to name just two. These allow you

to create an online survey which can then be

circulated via either email or other means of

electronic communication.

You can also make hardcopy

Questionnaires if you would prefer,

however this will lead to lots of inputting data.

Please be aware that the College and SU run a

variety of questionnaires throughout the year so

try and time it so that there are no others going

on at the same time, especially the NSS

(National Student Survey).

Using Survey Monkey

You will need to create an account

to use this but it is a FREE tool.

There are a variety of tutorials avail-

able once you have signed up,

however

training will be provided on how to

create a survey using either this or

other programs.

www.surveymonkey.com

Once your online questionnaire has

been filled out you will be able to

access the results in a table which

allows you to easily analyse them.

You can contact the Students‟ Union

for more support.

Running Focus Groups Preparing for the session

Identify the key objectives Carefully develop 5 to 6 questions that will provoke a discussion

- Ask yourself what problem needs to be addressed

- Identify the information you need to gather

Plan your session

- Scheduling, plan meeting to be 1.5 hours long

- Settings and refreshments, choose the room appropriately and try to provide at

least a drink

- Ground rules, its useful to set some so people feel comfortable

- Agenda, create this so you stay on target

- Record it, using either video or audio so you can refer back to it

Find appropriate people to attend the focus group, and then call them the day

before to remind them. You normally want 8-10, any more will be hard to manage.

Facilitating the session

Introduce yourself

Explain why its being recorded

Carefully word each question

After each question summarise the students responses

Ensure even participation so that everyone feels able to contribute

Close the session and thank everyone for coming.

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National Student Survey

(NSS) The National Student Survey (NSS) is an annual

survey of final year students that takes place

between January and April. This is a fantastic

opportunity for students to feedback on their

course and academic experience at University.

The NSS is used all over the country so allows

institutions and students to compare one

University to another which encourages the

results to be taken very seriously.

It is extremely useful and carries a lot of gravity

within the College. Each department will have

created its own action plan on the results of this

survey. You can ask your department for their

results. The survey only takes 5 minutes to

complete and can be done online or by mail or

telephone. However at least half of the students

on each course must take part for the results to

become publically available, so it‟s important

for students on your course to get involved if

their views are to be heard. So if you are in your

final year please remember to complete the

questionnaire in the Spring Term and encourage

your class mates to do the same.

The results are published in August and are

available to view on the Unistats website

www.unistats.com.

Training will be run in January for final year

students providing advice on how to promote

the National Student Survey.

Using the NSS results

The NSS results can be found

at www.unistats.com.

To get the results for your

course go to the Unistats

website and type „Queen

Mary‟ into the search bar

where it says „which uni or

college are you interested

in?‟

Then click on your course,

(you may have to scroll

through a little bit). Once

you have done this click on

the tab which says „National

Student Survey‟.

You should receive a break

down of the results. If there

are no results displayed it

could be because there was

not sufficient people filling in

the National Student Survey

last year.

15

Where to take an issue? SSLC‟s are not very frequent and sometimes issues just can‟t wait, in these

circumstances it is most appropriate to approach certain members of staff. This

could be a tutor or someone more senior. Often the informal approach will achieve

the desired result. The College likes to remain informed as and when problems

occur, rather than it being too late for them to resolve the issue, they may not even

realise there is an issue.

It is usually not appropriate to bring up sensitive issue about a member of staff in an

open meeting.

Course Convenor

Your course convenor will be

able to discuss issues with you

that concern aspects of the

Course programme and

modules.

Head of School/Department

If issues have not been

resolved by discussion with

your course convenor, it may

be appropriate to take the

issue to your Head of

School/Department.

Course Board

If an issue can wait and is a

more formal issue that would

benefit from discussion with a

larger group then raise the

issue at your next Staff Student

Liaison Committee.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is important;

students may not want their

names mentioned. Raise

issues generically rather than

linking them to an individual. If

you are discussing a student‟s

issue with a third party such as

a lecturer or the Students ‟

Union ensure that you first

have the student‟s permission

to do so.

What skills will I gain being a

Course Rep?

Being a Course Rep will allow you to develop

a range of skills that will make your more

employable, better still it will show you to be

the sort of person willing to go the extra mile

to support others.

Some of the skills you‟ll develop during your

time as a Course Rep include:

• Public speaking

• Active listening

• Teamwork

• Communication

• Negotiation

• Decision-making

• Problem-solving

• Time management

• Leadership, and more.

We want to ensure you feel empowered, so if

you need further training at any point then

just contact the Course Rep Co-ordinator at

philip.gilks@qmsu.org.

16

During your role there is a variety of help available, the following two pages outline some which may

be relevant over your year.

Advice & Counselling Advice & Counselling offer a range of free and

confidential professional services to all Queen

Mary students. Their experienced welfare advisers

have specialist training and are able to offer you

professional advice on a range of financial,

practical and legal issues. Most of their work is

about helping you with your rights and

entitlements, including:

• Financial support (student loans, tuition fees,

grants etc)

• Immigration law

• International student issues

• Financial support for student parents (childcare

costs etc)

• Postgraduate funding

• Welfare benefits and tax credits

• Disability benefits

• interrupting your studies, re-sitting, withdrawing

or transferring

• extenuating circumstances affecting

academic performance

• Hardship funds and bursaries

• NHS funding

• Housing rights

• Council tax

As well as helping you to find solutions to problems, they can also give you information and advice to

help you to avoid problems before they happen. For example, they can help you to plan a budget,

and check that you are getting all the funding that you are entitled to. This type of preventative

advice can help you to make sure that practical and financial problems don‟t affect your academic

progress.

You can also access the support of their experienced counsellors, group therapist and psychologist, all

of whom have specialist training to provide support on range of emotional and psychological issues.

Reception opening hours

The Advice and Counselling Service is on the ground floor of the Geography Building, on the Mile End

Campus. The reception is open Monday to Friday, 10.30am to 3.00pm. The whole department is

closed on standard College closure days at Easter, Christmas and Bank Holidays.

Welfare advisers‟ drop-in service

During term-time, they offer drop-in sessions on Wednesday afternoons 2pm to 4pm and Friday

mornings 10am to 12. Drop in sessions are 15 minutes per student and take place in a confidential one

-to-one setting, in the same way as their 30-minute booked appointments.

Not all enquiries are suitable for our drop-in sessions as it is not always possible for advisers to offer

appropriate advice in 15 minutes. Please check with the reception staff whether a drop in session

would be appropriate for your enquiry. If not, you will be offered a 30 minute booked appointment

instead. Drop in sessions operate on a first come, first served basis, so you will need to wait in the

waiting area until it is your turn to be seen by a Welfare Adviser.

Sources of help

Nightline

Nightline is a confidential listening support

service run by students for students in

London.

Calls cover all areas of student life,

including relationship, course difficulties,

debt and family problems, as well as

information on cinema and club listings.

The lines are open from 6pm to 8am every

night of term.

Nightline is always on the look out for new

student volunteers. If you think this might be

your cup of tea (and no experience is

necessary), call the helpline on 020 7631

0101 and chat to one of the volunteers on

duty. Alternatively, e-mail

london@nightline.org.uk. For the new

e-mail listening service, see the website at

www.nightline.org.uk.

17

Sources of help cont. Personal Adviser

All students at QMUL are assigned a personal

adviser, who will be a tutor on your course. He

or she will provide you with guidance on

matters such as choice of modules,

assessment and progress. Students are

encouraged to talk to their adviser about

their work and progress and to seek

assistance, if required, with study or

examination skills. Your adviser will also be

able to provide you with information about

the range of support available, e.g. from

student support services, the chaplaincy and

careers and may also, if requested, be able

to make arrangements for students to seek

specialist advice or help.

Language and Learning Unit The LLU brings together a range of teaching

and learning programmes and initiatives,

including:

English Language Courses;

Writing Fellows;

Academic Study Programme;

Effective study strategies;

Time management and examination

preparation & revision;

Personal development planning;

Lecture comprehension and

note-taking;

Reading, note-taking and referencing;

Seminar skills;

Academic writing;

Writing techniques;

Speaking techniques.

They also run drop-in sessions on Wednesday

afternoons that cover any or all of the above

areas, according to demand.

Disability and Dyslexia Service

The Disability and Dyslexia Service provides

equipment, people and services to students

at QMUL who have a disability or condition

that affects their learning. The DDS has a

team of Educational Support Workers (ESWs)

who are QMUL students. They work with edu-

cational support users to provide many types

of help. If you are interested in becoming an

ESW, visit the DDS website for more informa-

tion. The DDS is there to support you if you dis-

cover or develop any medical or physical

condition that affects your learning.

Student Union Academic Advice

Service

Hopefully you won‟t have any academic

problems while you‟re at Queen Mary but if you

do the QMSU‟s academic advice service is here

to help. It can offer advice and representation

on a number of academic welfare issues,

including:

• Applications for extenuating circumstances;

• Requests for a review of an exam board

decision;

• Allegations of plagiarism or examination

offences;

• Allegations of breach of the code of student

discipline;

• Appeals against the outcome of a disciplinary

hearing, either under the examination offences

regulations or the code of student discipline;

• Appeals against deregistration from a module

or course;

• Complaints regarding a member of staff or

course delivery;

• Bullying or harassment by a member of staff or

fellow student;

• PhD supervision;

The service can offer advice on statements,

supply letters of support where necessary, and

accompany students to hearings, either to rep-

resent the student or to provide moral support. It

also acts as a referral point, for example to Ad-

vice & Counselling, on matters such as immigra-

tion, finance or mental health.

Location & Opening Hours

• The service is located at the Blomeley Centre

• Official opening hours are Tuesdays and

Thursdays 10am to 4pm, term time and

vacation.

Students can either drop in during these hours or

book an appointment by calling reception or

emailing the adviser.

• A drop in advice service also operates from

the Barts and The London Students‟ Association

in Whitechapel on Wednesdays 10am to 4pm.

• In exceptional circumstances appointments

can also be offered outside the stated opening hours.

If you want to discuss any of the above issues,

contact Annie Mitchell at

annie.mitchell@qmsu.org, or on 0207 882 8042.

18

Course Rep Case Studies The Course Rep System is well established at QMSU and the following are two case

studies from previous Course Reps.

There is a section on www.qmsu.org/coursereps with even more case studies. If you

want to be one of our new case studies then email Phil on Philip.gilks@qmsu.org with a

photo and a short piece and what it is like to be a Course Rep.

Name: Aslom Ullah

Post: Postgraduate English

“Prior to being a Postgraduate

Course Representative during my

MA, I had been an

undergraduate Course Rep

during my second year and final

year of my BA in English at Queen

Mary. I found it a thoroughly

enriching experience. The

Students‟ Union is passionate

about making sure students‟

voices are heard rather than

ignored. I must admit, I was as

shocked as the Course Rep next

to me when the Principal

suddenly said, „ok, I am all ears,

what changes would you like to

see?‟ The only question I find

needs asking is, “who is it that

wishes to take up the challenge

of using their voice as a student

to implement change on the

campus?”

Name: Lauri Stephenson

Post: 1st Year French

2nd Year German

“My role as a representative

involved many different tasks

which meant I could immerse

myself into the language

department and more

importantly make a difference to

not only my own but the student

life of my peers. As a Course

Representative you are the voice

of the students and when they

have an issue, you convey this in

semester meetings with the

lecturers. You are the link

between students and lecturers,

without the Course Rep‟s the

voice of the student might not be

heard. It also is extremely useful

to have on your CV as it shows

that you are trying to get

involved in student life as well as

studying for a degree. Acting as

a Course Representative enriches

and enhances your time here at

Queen Mary, so get involved!”

19

Top tips for what to do

next . . . Now after reading to this point you are well on you way to being a great Course Rep,

however here are a few of out top tips for what to do next.

1. Attend a QMSU training session if you haven‟t already been. This will be emailed

to all those who have been elected.

2. Join the „QMSU Course Reps 10/11‟ facebook group so you can talk to other

Course Reps at your institution.

3. Find out when your next meeting is and commit to putting something on the

agenda.

4. Find out who the other course reps are in your department – if you don‟t know

ask the students‟ union to help you.

5. Create publicity advertising yourself to the students on your course so they all

know how to contact you.

6. Make sure your departmental has your name and contact details on display so

students know how to contact you.

7. Stand up at the start of your next core lecture and re-introduce yourself to your

peers so that they know who you are.

8. Set up your own course facebook group so you are able to discuss issues with

your course mates.

9. Look at the National Student Survey (NSS) results for your department on the

unistats website and tell students which areas have fared poorly and ask why.

10. Join the „NUS Course Reps network‟ on facebook and introduce yourself to

other Reps.

11. Introduce yourself to the Course Rep Co-ordinator located in the Students‟

Union at the Blomeley Centre, Fielden House, Mile End.

12. Pencil in the dates of all the meetings for the rest of the year in your diary and

get a copy of the last meeting minutes to see if there is anything you should be

aware of.

13. Look at the resources available on the NUS website for Course Reps.

14. Make sure you ask for help if you need it from the Course Rep

Co-ordinator

20

Contact List

Students’ Union

Address: Blomeley Centre, Feilden House, Westfield Way, London, E1 4NP

Name: Philip Gilks

Role: Course Rep Co-ordinator

Email: philip.gilks@qmsu.org

Tel: 020 7882 2231

Name: Sophie Richardson

Role: VP Education and Welfare

Email: vpwelfare@qmsu.org

Tel: 020 7882 8039

Name: Laura Brenner

Role: BLSA President

Email: blpresident@qmsu.org

Tel: 020 7882 8685

Name: Annie Mitchell

Role: Academic Advice Service Manager

Email: annie.mitchell@qmsu.org

Tel: 020 7882 8042

College

Dept: Advice and Counselling

Tel: 020 7882 8717

Dept: Language and Learning Unit

Tel: 020 7882 2826/2827

Dept: Disability and Dyslexia Service

Tel: 020 7882 2756

Email: dds@qmul.ac.uk

Other

Org: Nightline

Tel: 020 7631 0101