Course Representation Handbook...

Course RepresentationHandbook 2015/16

CONTENTS

1 – Welcome

2 – Your dedicated Support Team

3 – What do Course Reps do?

4 – Why be a Course Rep and what support is available?

5 – School Presidents

6 – Where do Course Reps fit in?

7 – Where do Course Reps fit in?

8 – Academic Forum & Students’ Council

9 – Gathering feedback

10 – Types of feedback

11 – Staff-Student Liaison Committees (SSLCs)

12 – How to make the most of Staff-Student Liaison Committees

13 – What shouldn’t Course Reps deal with?

14 – Support Services

15 – Communicating Effectively

16 – Written Communication

17 – Utilising Social Media

18 – Planning a Campaign

19 – Shouting about Successes

20 – Course Rep Conference

21 – Frequently Asked Questions

22 – Top-Tips for Effective Course Reps

CONGRATULATIONS ON BECOMING A COURSE REP…

You join a community of over 1000 students across the University who have taken

up the role of representing their course. As a Course Rep you are elected by your

peers to act as a vital link to share feedback between students’ on your course, the

University and the Students’ Union.

This handbook is designed to provide you with everything you need to know to

help you be a successful Course Rep.

WHY DO WE HAVE COURSE REPS?

Imagine the thousands of students we have here at UCLan in one room… all talking

at once, each raising academic feedback. You wouldn’t be able to hear anything

through the noise!

As a Course Rep you channel student feedback. Course Reps allow students

views to be included in the decision making process and promote the initiative

of ‘partnership’ between staff and students as well as the Students’ Union and the

University. The role also gives UCLan’s student population a sense of ownership

over their experience by providing them with the power to influence change.

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Hi there! I’m Tasmia and I will be your Education Officer for 2015/16! I work with the Advice and Representation Centre to ensure everyone has a positive, representative and fulfilling academic experience here at UCLan. I am the lead officer for both Course Reps and School Presidents responsible for your recruitment, training, support and recognition.

I am really looking forward to working with all of you in the coming year!

Hey everyone! As the Academic Representation Co-ordinators at UCLan Students’ Union, we are here to support you in your role as Course Rep so please feel free to pop in for a chat or email us any time! We are here to advise and guide you through your year as a rep as well as to develop the Course Rep system overall. Keep in touch with all the great work you are doing!

We look forward to working with you all!

YOUR DEDICATED SUPPORT TEAM

Tasmia Salim – Education Officer 2015/16

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 01772 894855

Sarah Thompson – Academic Representation Co-ordinator

Tasmia Salim – Education Officer 2015/16

Martin Dodd – Advice & Representation Manager

Email: [email protected] Phone: 01772 894880

Attend training and induction events provided by the Students’ Union.Ensure students on your course know who you are.

Gather feedback from all students on your course.

Act as an effective communicator and work in partnership with staff and students on your course to raise feedback and create shared solutions.

Attend all Staff-Student Liaison Committees to put forward the views of students on your course (two or three meetings per year).

Feedback the outcomes of meetings to students on your course.

Ensure that the student perspective is considered in all decisions made relating to your course.

Attend networking and social events such as Course Rep conference to network, meet other Course Reps, develop skills and discuss key matters affecting students at UCLan.

To keep the Students’ Union informed of relevant issues.

Refer any student with personal problems to the most appropriate Students’ Union or University service.

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WHAT DO COURSE REPS DO?

SIMPLY YOU...

REMEMBER!

Your attendance at Course Rep training and Staff-Student Liaison Committees is monitored in order to verify end of year recognition.

Gather feedback from students

Communicate feedback to staff

Report on feedback to students

The opportunity to create positive change on your course.

Recognition through the Union volunteering award scheme (i.e. Livesey Award).

The opportunity to develop key skills that will benefit you on your course, in your role and future employment.

Fun networking and social events throughout the year to make friends, share ideas and discuss matters affecting students.

End of year recognition in the form of a certificate and awards evening to celebrate Union volunteers.

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WHY BE A COURSE REP?

WHAT SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE TO YOU?

Helpful resources including factsheets, support guides and regular communications to provide on-going development and support.

Regular advice and support from the Education Officer and Academic Representation Co-ordinators.

Access to additional skill sessions through the Union’s training programme.

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SCHOOL PRESIDENTS

School Presidents are the next level of student representation within the University. They are elected to voice the opinions of students within each school to senior management. Their role is to communicate and work with Course Reps and students in their school, to gain feedback and create positive change at school level.

You can contact your School President to support you in your Course Rep role; dealing with a course issue, sharing ideas or discussing feedback for example.

Below is a breakdown of School Presidents for the current academic year by college and school.

School of Business

School of Management

School of Social Work, Care & Community

Lancashire Law School

Centre for Excellence in Learning & Teaching

School of Psychology

School of Forensic & Applied Sciences

School of Engineering

School of Physical Sciences & Computing

School of Nursing

School of Community Health & Midwifery

School of Health Sciences

School of Sport and Wellbeing

School of Medicine

School of Dentistry

School of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences

James Hofstetter

Gracie Donoghue

Bowen Perryman

Ife Adedeji

Carolina de Almeida

Keeley Louise Whitehead

Martin Joyce

Reece Doonan

Ali Miah [email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Interested? Email [email protected]




College of Business, Law & Applied Social Studies

College of Science and Technology

College of Health & Wellbeing

College of Clinical & Biomedical Sciences

School of Art, Design & Fashion

School of Film, Media and Performance

School of Journalism, Language and Communication

School of Humanities and the Social Sciences

Paige Denton

Abby Littler

Charlotte Holdsworth

Shannon Bartholomew

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

College of Culture & The Creative Industries

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WHERE DO COURSE REPS FIT IN?

Students’ Council

20 School Presidents

1000+ Course Reps

Students are represented at University committees by the Student Affairs Committee (SAC).

UNIVERSITY

Students are represented at Staff-Student Liaison Committees once per semester by an elected Course Rep. Each year of each undergraduate or postgraduate taught course is represented by at least one Course Rep.

COURSES

Students are represented at College Committees by the relevant School Presidents for that college. Each of the 20 schools group into one of five colleges.

COLLEGES

Courses are grouped by subject areas into one of 20 schools. School Presidents act as the lead representatives for Course Reps and students within their school as well as chair Staff-Student Liaison Committees within their school.

SCHOOLS

5 Elected OfficersStudent Affairs Committee (SAC)

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Students’ Council

20 School Presidents

STUDENTS’ COUNCIL

Students’ Council is the highest decision making and policy setting body of the Students’ Union.

ACADEMIC FORUM

Academic Forum is a regular meeting, which receives updates on the work of the Education Officer, discusses matters relating to academic course of study, and consider the structure and performance of the academic representation system.

STAFF-STUDENT LIAISON COMMITTEES

Staff-Student Liaison Committees are a termly meeting between Course Reps and academic staff to discuss feedback from students and to negotiate shared solutions.

5 Elected OfficersStudent Affairs Committee (SAC)

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ACADEMIC FORUM

Academic Forum is a regular meeting which receives updates on the work of the Education Officer, discusses matters relating to academic course of study, and considers the structure and perform of the academic representation system. It’s made up of all 20 School Presidents and is attended by the Education Officer.

As a Course Rep, you can get involved by communicating any feedback or issues you have to your School President, which they can then take to Academic Forum or you can even attend yourself!

The forum meets no more than three times per year and is open to all students who are welcome to speak but cannot vote. At the first meeting each year a chair and deputy Chair is elected from the School Presidents present.

STUDENTS’ COUNCIL

Students’ Council is the highest decision making and policy setting body of the Students’ Union. It’s made up of an elected chairperson and elected student representatives. The Council’s membership is completed by a representative from all student forums (including Academic Forum). The Student Affairs Committee also sit on the Council and have voting rights.

It meets no more than three times per year and is open to all students who are welcome to speak but cannot vote. Items for discussion must be submitted via an online petition and receive a majority of at least 50 likes to be referred to Council. Any petition that receives at least 250 likes will be referred for referendum.

Items referred require a simple majority to be decided and if agreed policies shall remain as policy of the Union for 3 calendar years.

GATHERING FEEDBACK

As a Course Rep it is essential that you communicate with students, and staff when gathering and raising feedback.

Follow the feedback chart below as an example of how to effectively gather feedback:

1. Gather feedback – Communicate with students within your school and identify key comments and feedback they want to raise. You can do this a number of ways including face-to-face, by email and via social media amongst many others.

2. Build evidence – You should always evidence the feedback you have received whether by using comments, data, statistics, reports, University policy or practice from elsewhere.

3. Engage and suggest solutions – You then need to raise the feedback to the most relevant staff member; you do not have to wait for your next committee meeting to raise feedback.

Remember to suggest solutions to the feedback, a students’ perspective will focus on a positive outcome and you are more likely to have ideas that staff may not have considered.

4. Feedback to students – Finally you can feedback to students within your schools the outcome of what you do, remember that you are representing them! You can use many of the methods you used to ‘gather feedback’ to ensure responses and actions are fed back. 9

Gather Feedback

Build Evidence

Engage & Suggest

Solutions

Feedback to Students

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TYPES OF FEEDBACK

Course Reps deal with a wide range of issues covering all aspects of UCLan student and academic life. Course Reps represent the collective voice of students on their course, not the problems of one particular student.

As a Course Rep you should be the first person that students raise their academic feedback, issues or concerns with. It is then your responsibility to take the appropriate actions:

The heart of your role is course quality, below are some questions and areas of discussion you should consider engaging with people on your course.

Listen carefully to the student’s feedback

Collate the student feedback and formulate the evidence

Decide whether you should raise the feedback promptly direct to a staff member of take the feedback to your next Staff-Student Liaison Committee.

• Are the learning outcomes being met?• Does module content encourage the development of knowledge and skills?• How relevant is the programme to future study and employment?

• Do you find there is a fair balance between self-study, lectures, seminars and lab/workshop sessions?• Do current lectures, lab sessions run as timetabled and in suitable spaces?• What teaching methods would you find most useful?• What is the standard of hand-outs and resources provided?

• Is the range of teaching 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?• Do you have enough regular contact?

• What pastoral support is available to students?• Do students know staff well enough to feel comfortable approaching them?• How many students go into relevant graduate employment?• Do you feel able to meet regularly with staff responsible for your personal and academic support?

• Is evaluation on student feedback acted upon?• Do you receive any information about what the department or course have done in light of student feedback?• Do you feel able to meet regularly with staff responsible for your personal and academic support?

• What feedback do you receive? Is it prompt, effective and useful?• Do you understand the criteria and methods used for assessment?• Is information given on plagiarism? How useful is it?

LEARNING AND RESOURCES

LEARNING AND RESOURCES QUALITY AND STANDARDS

CURRICULUM TEACHING AND LEARNING

STUDENT SUPPORT

Admin staff

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STAFF-STUDENT LIAISON COMMITTEES (SSLCS)

What is an SSLC?

Staff-Student Liaison Committees (or Staff-Student Liaison Meetings) are the formal mechanism for Course Reps to communicate feedback to staff and engage in finding collective solutions.

They are referred to differently within each school, usually abbreviated to SSLC or SSLM. There are two to three meetings per year and as a Course Rep, you are expected to attend all meetings.

Your school office or course leader will inform you of the time and location of the meeting by email so keep an eye out for an invite in your inbox.

Course Reps

Academic staff (including a co-chair)

School President (who co-chairs the meeting)

Other lecturers and admin staff

There should be a minimum ratio of 5 students to one member of staff to ensure students’ voices are heard.

It is important that you attend your Staff-Student Liaison Committees. If you cannot attend, you must send your apologies.

Who attends SSLCs?

Academic Staff

Academic co-chair

Course Reps

Admin staff School

President (chair)

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HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF STAFF-STUDENT LIAISON COMMITTEES/MEETINGS

Consult students – find out what the main issues are on your course by talking to the students you represent.

Prepare – give some consideration to what you wish to raise in the meeting. Make sure you read any paperwork where it is provided and wherever possible raise feedback prior to the meeting.

Avoid Negativity – Use a constructive approach to dealing with feedback on your course, staff will respond better to this. KEEP, STOP, START – Make sure you have a note of any positive aspects that you want to KEEP happening; to see STOP happening and to see START happening on your course.

Ask questions – Don’t be afraid to ask questions or clarify points you are unsure of. This can be a useful way of contributing and the meeting will not presume you know everything.

Be Professional – act in a professional manner, ensuring your feedback is clear and to the point, while being understanding of other’s opinions. It is also good to depersonalise comments by referring to modules and not naming lecturers.

Represent – While you can raise your own experiences, you should focus on communicating the views of the students you represent.

Close the Feedback Loop – after the meeting, make sure you know what decisions were made so you can feedback to your course peers.

Talk to your School President – it’s always useful to discuss your feedback with your School President so that they are aware of it when chairing the meeting; that way, they can help you during the meeting.

There is more information on what to expect as well as some helpful tips in the Course Rep resource hub on our website.

WHAT SHOULDN’T COURSE REPS DEAL WITH?

As a Course Rep the feedback and issues raised by students will be varied. However it is important to recognise your limits as a representative and when you should sign-post students onto other support services.

Examples of issues you should be dealing with include;

Despite the skills, training or experiences you may have in dealing with student’s personal issues it is important that your roles purpose is solely to gather feedback and represent the view of students.

Examples of issues you should not be dealing with include;

We always recommend where you are unsure if you should be dealing with a particular matter that you refer it to the most appropriate service.

Teaching resources including availability of lecture rooms and facilities.

Teaching methods including the variety of learning environments and methods used.

Access to study resources including the availability of books, resources and access to facilities.

Course content and structure and whether delivery matches what is in the course handbook.

Hidden course costs that student have not been given adequate information of prior.

Communication between all relevant stakeholders including staff and students.

Personal issues relating to finance, funding, health, housing or employment of students.

Academic issues including disputes or complaints about staff, appeals or disciplinaries.

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SUPPORT SERVICESTo support you in referring students the most appropriate service we have highlighted some useful services below.

For free, confidential and independent advice on academic matters (appeals, disciplinaries, plagiarism and complaints), housing and accommodation, money and finance, health and wellbeing, and employment;

For advice and support on all aspects of student life including referrals to appropriate specialist services;

For personal difficulties including short and long-term financial hardship or queries relating to funding;

For queries related to faith

For support in-relation to hate crime or incidents;

For personal difficulties including depression, anxiety, mental health issues or queries related to disability;

Students’ Union Advice and Representation Centre

The i

Student Financial Support Team

Multi Faith Centre

Third Party Hate Crime Reporting Centre

Student Support and Wellbeing

Counselling Service

Disability Service

Samaritans

Telephone: 01772 894880

Telephone: 01772 895000

Telephone: 01772 892583

Telephone: 01772 892583

Telephone: 01772 894880

Telephone: 01772 893020

Telephone: 01772 892572

Telephone: 01772 892593

Telephone: 08457 90 90 90










COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY

Focus group – Running focus groups are a great way of undertaking formal feedback into your course’s experiences.

Meetings and socials – Remember things don’t need to be so formal! Why not suggest activities or events where you can socialise and chat.

Ballot box at the front of lectures – Let students know you have set up an anonymous ballot box for student feedback.

Informal chat – Waiting for a lecture to start or on a coffee break, it’s likely that issues about your course will crop up, so take note. Don’t underestimate the benefit of informal chats with key individuals such as staff and students, these will be help build a rapport and make you more approachable in the year ahead.

Lecture talks – ask lecturers if you can have 10 minutes to introduce yourself at the start of the year and at key points in the year to communicate key messages to students.

Drop in’s – Holding drop-in sessions can be a good way to meet students with specific feedback.

The most important skill you will rely on as a Course Rep is your ability to communicate lots information and feedback to a variety of audiences and often in various levels of detail.

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 gain and present feedback. Below are some top-tips for communication:

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WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (EMAIL)

The most common form of written communication you will come across will be email and understandably it remains the most popular way to update and seek opinions of students.

Below are five top tips for getting the most out of email:

Use an eye catching subject line

Think about what you would want to read.

No-one likes a dull email of just text

Add emphasis by using bold, italics, underlining and easy to read colours.

Don’t include too much information

Phrase your emails so that it is clear

and relevant to your audience .

Keep the right tone Remember to

remain professional and remember your

audience.

Reply and respond Always acknowledge queries and

give a time-scale for a reply so they know you are on the case.

UTILISING SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media can be an excellent way to engage with students. Most of us use it in our daily lives so it can be a good way to bring your role into spaces students already inhabit.

The most important thing to remember with social media is not to assume it will engage everyone; not everyone has, wants or utilises Facebook and Twitter so you will need to back up any social media presence with face-to-face contact.

Below are five top tips for getting the most out of social media:

Remember you and those that you represent are still subject to all of the University’s rules and responsibilities regarding student conduct including those relating

to social media. We have dealt with cases previously of representatives being called up on their

social media postings so think twice and post once! 17

Sharing is Caring Use interesting

pieces of news or commentary to provoke debate.

Utilise Hashtags Perhaps create one for

your school and try to get staff on board.

Poll Opinion Facebook polls are a quick way of getting feedback on a variety

of options.

Follow the leader Follow relevant

accounts within your school and share/

re-tweet relevant posts.

Blog Away Write about your experiences

as a School President or relevant topics you are

passionate about.

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PLANNING A CAMPAIGN

Campaigns are how people achieve the change they want to see. To put it simply, we campaign to make things better for a specific group of people or to improve conditions surround a certain issue.

We all have the power to make change happen; through being effective campaigners, we really can make an impact. As a Course Rep, you may want to run or be involved with an academic campaign at course, school or even University level.

By following the steps below, you can ensure that your campaign is successful:

1. Identify and Know the Issue: find out what specific issue is deeply and widely felt on your course or in your school by talking to students and gathering feedback.

2. Become an Expert: find out everything you possibly can about your issue. Gather data and information to back up your arguments.

3. Set your Goals: what exactly do you want to achieve? Make sure your goal is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time- bound).

4. Know your Allies and Opponents: who can you bring on board to help with your campaign and who will challenge you?

5. Plan your Campaign! You need to have a clear vision of what needs to be done, who should do it and what the deadline for it should be. What small achievable tasks can you set along the way to meeting your overall aims?

6. Evaluate your Campaign: did you achieve your overall aims? What would you do differently next time?

COURSE REP OF THE MONTH

Each month we will be contacting Course Reps to find out what great work you have been doing so look out for our emails! Examples of good practice will be showcased in our newsletters, on our website and through our social media channels- it could be you!

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SHOUTING ABOUT SUCCESSES

COURSE REP WINS 2014/15

In addition to Course Rep of the Month, you can get in touch with us with examples of the impact you are having on improving the student experience. Submit a statement online or look out for forms to fill out at the end of your SSLCs about your achievements.

The best submissions from each semester will receive a voucher for Amazon, Ticketmaster or Waterstones- so don’t miss out!

Course Reps from Business Management in China were successful in securing 4 hours of extra revision classes for final year students.

Course Reps from Psychology routes raised the issue of the quality and quantity of feedback provided. As a result a substantial review of feedback has now taken place within the School and the final audit document has been circulated to all staff highlighting good practice and clarifying standards.

Course Reps secured extra drop in sessions for support on programming for computing students struggling with the topic.

In the Division of Sport Management, Studies and the Outdoors a new doodle app has been put in place and staff now have their contact times on their room door in order to ensure that information about office hours are easily accessible to students.

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COURSE REP CONFERENCE

YOUR VERY OWN COURSE REP HOODIE

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2015/16

Course Rep conference is an annual event exclusive for all Course Reps at UCLan. It is the opportunity to come together, meet other Course Reps, share practice, and develop your skills with the aim of making life better for students.

The event this year will be held on Wednesday 11th November and is free with lunch provided to all current Course Reps on a first-come, first-serve basis. Tickets will be available to reserve during the first term.

All Course Reps have the opportunity to purchase a Course Rep Hoodie, to make you stand out from the crowd.

They will be available to buy at Course Rep Conference, other events as well as by getting in touch with us at [email protected]

Course Rep recruitment

Course Rep training

Staff-Student Liaison Committees

Academic Forum

Course Rep Conference

Course Rep Social

Staff-Student Liaison Committees

Academic Forum

Students’ Union Elections

Golden Roses Teaching Awards

Union Awards

End of year recognition

SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. How are Course Reps recruited?A. Your class will be visited during induction by a Students’ Union staff member who will introduce the role to students, and then ask if anyone would like to nominate themselves for the role. If the number of students nominating themselves for the role is higher than the number of positions, an election will be held.

Q. How many Course Reps are recruited for every course?A. Students’ Union guidance is 1 Course Rep per 50 students.

Q. Once I have been recruited as a course rep, what’s next?A. You will be contacted by [email protected] with a welcome email including the Course Rep handbook and training dates. You should book onto a training session.

Q. When/where are the Course Rep training sessions?A. Initial and returners training sessions are held up until the end of October. You should receive a training timetable in your welcome email with available dates and times.We ask that all Course Reps to attend ONE of these sessions; this attendance will be monitored in relation to the end of year volunteer recognition. If you cannot attend, please contact [email protected] and we can arrange a session convenient for you.

Q. Who will invite me to my Staff-Student Liaison Committees?A. You should receive an invite from your hub or from academic staff with the details of your upcoming Staff-Student Liaison Committee; you will need to confirm your attendance.

Q. What do I do if I cannot attend my Staff-Student Liaison Committee?A. You must reply to your invitation and state that you cannot attend the meeting and the reason. Please ensure that you still provide feedback, either via email or in a separate meeting with your course leader separately to discuss the feedback.

Q. Where can I seek more support in my Course Rep role?A. You have access at any time to helpful resources including a number of factsheets and support guides via the online resource hub by visiting www.uclansu.co.uk/coursereps. You can also email [email protected] for further advice or guidance.

Q. What if I no longer wish to carry on with the Course Rep role? A. If you no longer wish to carry on in this role, please contact us at [email protected] to alert us to why you have decided to leave the position. 21

TOP TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE COURSE REPS

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1. Put items on the agenda: If you know you want to bring up an issue at a Staff-Student Liaison Committee ask for the issue to be put on the agenda in order to ensure that there is plenty of time to discuss it.

2. Communicate! This is an integral part of your role, do not forget to feedback outcomes to your course mates or they will not be aware of the hard work you do!

3. Ask for help: Do not be afraid to ask for help from the Students’ Union, your School President and the staff in your school.

4. Track progress: Keep a record of the issues that students have raised with you and track the progress that has been made so that you can feedback the correct information.

5. Make announcements in lectures: It’s a great way of getting students attention. Take a note pad to class with you and hand it round for people to leave comments, this is the quickest and easiest way to collect student feedback!

6. Be confident: Do not be intimidated of talking at meetings with staff members; they want to hear what students think!

7. Work as a team: Meeting frequently with other Course Reps in your department is one of the most efficient ways of ensuring things get done.

8. Be organised: Note down when you need to get feedback from your course by, when your staff student liaison meetings are, as well as actions from the meetings.

9. Don’t wait until your SSLC: Bring up an issue at the earliest convenience with your course staff, this ensures the issue is on the journey to getting resolved and isn’t left until your next meeting.

10. Celebrate your successes: You work hard so it is important to make time to send us your good news stories and ensure your class know of the great changes & impacts you have made.

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