Department Guidelines for Reps

8/3/2019 Department Guidelines for Reps

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DEPARTMENT GUIDELINES FOR REP

ELECTIONS

Department reps are probably the most important link in the formalized academic

representation structure at Lancaster University. They are at the heart of the department and

have their finger on the pulse of students, giving both the Union and University direct links to

the wider student population. LUSU has operated the rep system for both institutions for

several years although it has previously had other names such as StARs.

Facilitating meaningful student engagement at satisfaction remains a priority for the Union as

we move forward and develop our representation structures. To achieve this LUSU plans to

deliver a strong and efficient Department Representation system for the following year and

make it a priority for the Union.

As in previous years we are looking to departments to run Department Rep elections again for

the next year. To simplify this process for you, as we know how under strain you are at the start

of the year we have produced some guidelines on the process.

Alex Carlin/Alex Holley

KEY DATESNominations open: Monday 10th October.

Nominations close: Friday 28th October.

Voting opens: Monday 10th October.

Voting closes: Friday 4th November.

PROMOTIONContinuing from the previous year we have developed a consistent set of publicity materials to

promote Course Reps. The promotion will start from summer when in the book we send out to

prospective students there will be information on representation under a section entitled

getting involved as to raise awareness of how it could add to your degree.

Following on from this there will be promotion in Weeks 1 & 2 with posters and flyers

describing the importance of the role and raise awareness for the system as a whole. From this

we aim not just to recruit reps, but raise awareness of the Department Rep system.


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NOMINATIONFollowing on what is considered good practice across departments, we recommend that

students nominate themselves to their department secretary or otherwise at the beginning of

their first lecture. We ask you to send out at least one email between the start of nominations

and close of nominations to remind and inform students about the elections. To save valuable

time weve created an email to send out to students.

Hey Guys

Basically this is an overview of the talk we would give on why you should become an Academic

Rep;

Firstly Department Reps play a vital role in communicating the views of their peers to staff in

departments and faculties. As a student rep you will be a point of contact for students who have

a problem or a suggestion to make. You will ensure that all students can get their say on issues

affecting their education. Just as importantly, you will have to let your fellow students know

about any planned changes so they can have a say in them and feed information back on the

outcome of issues you have raised on their behalf with the staff-student committee. It also

happens to be a fairly good way to meet people, so dont feel youll be overwhelmed, it is not a

huge amount of work if you are well organised.

We asked some people like you guys why they should be an Academic Rep and they said the

following:

In order to gain an intimate knowledge of my course, the decision making process in relation to

conveners picking specific modules, their reasoning for picking the modules and the benefits

and drawbacks of the modules from their perspective. Also to BE the voice of the students as I

know that I get things done, so I wanted my destiny in my own hands in essence.

As you can see he was genuinely intrigued by the idea of becoming a Rep and his experience

wasnt far removed from his expectations. This is something to get involved with if you are a

doer and you want to be involved with your Course.

There are tangible benefits to becoming a Department Rep and they include;

Actively seeking to find out if there are any issues that are affecting your studies orstudent experience.

Making sure you have your say about your course and how it is run. Raising your concerns and contribute your ideas. Getting involved in the development of your course Letting the people who make decisions know how your course could be improved

and raise issues and ideas.


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It also contributes towards your Lancaster Award.There are endless possibilities to how you could develop after becoming a Course Rep, some

remain Reps whilst others move into other elected positions within the Union, such as College

President, Social Events Chair, Student Trustee there is no set path for what you could do.

So in brief, being a Department Rep gets your voice heard, you have the chance to influence

university policy and it improves your own communication negotiation and problem solving

skills.

You receive full training for the role (which only takes an afternoon, with ongoing supportthroughout the year) and it is an invaluable addition to your CV. So if you have any enquiries

about how reps are elected in your department, dont hesitate to contact them! Each

department elects their reps slightly differently so they will have information on when

nominations/elections are.

A reasonably intelligent man once said to me Any experience is an experience gained so why

not get involved.

Cheers for your time guys.

Alex Carlin (VP Academic), Alex Holley (Representation Support Coordinator)

VOTINGLUSU is looking to departments to facilitate the elections of Department Reps. For guidance the

preferred systems we have are first past the post (as we consider it unreasonable to expect

each department to run STV or AV voting) using either emails or ballot boxes in departmental

offices. However, for first year elections we are happy for some departments previous practice

of a short hust in the first Part 1 lecture of the year.

For Part II elections/those who will not be holding elections in their first Part I lectures we arerelaxed in that we believe you current systems of using emails/ballot boxes will be sufficient.

Below is an email template you may want to use for soliciting votes for your reps.

Dear Students,

The chance to vote for who will be your Department Rep for this year has begun. Course Reps

provide the all important voice of students on campus and allow you to directly influence what

happens during your time at University. These are your go-to people for academic related issues

on your course in the first instance.


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To vote [insert your method of voting here]. To find out more visit the LUSU website

(http://advice.lusu.co.uk/dept-reps/info-for-students) to find out more.

Cheers!

Alex Carlin (VP Academic), Alex Holley (Representation Support Coordinator)

POST ELECTIONAfter the election process has been completed and you have a list of winning Department Reps

for 2011/2012 please forward them to Alexander Holley, the Representation Support

Coordinator [email protected]. We would hope this would be available immediately post

election but appreciate that there are other concerns that could delay this we would be grateful

if the information could be communicated by November 4th at 5pm. In addition, if you or your

newly elected reps could please either fill out the form here, so we could have everyones details

on record:http://advice.lusu.co.uk/dept-reps/registration.

Also, if you could inform us how many students stood for election for each year so we could

track how students are engaging in this important part of the democratic process of the

University that would be brilliant.

Training for Course Reps commences after voting closes and runs for 3 concurrent days during

week five.

1: Tuesday 8th November, 2: Wednesday 9th November, 3: Thursday 10th November

Please communicate these dates to the successfully elected reps in your department, we have

had extremely positive feedback from our sessions and we feel reps who have attended training

are better equipped to engage with their departments.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks in advance it is a sign of the continued strong and

positive relationship between University and Union that enables us to run an effective repsystem and hopefully continue to develop it.

If there are any questions about Reps, this document or how you see it being implemented in

your department then please get in touch with me and I would be happy to help. We hope this

advice will help you to run a smoother and less stressful recruitment of Reps during what is a

busy period for all of us.

Alexander Holley

Representation Support Coordinator

LUSU
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://advice.lusu.co.uk/dept-reps/registrationhttp://advice.lusu.co.uk/dept-reps/registrationhttp://advice.lusu.co.uk/dept-reps/registrationhttp://advice.lusu.co.uk/dept-reps/registrationmailto:[email protected]

Department Guidelines for Reps

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