StARs Handbook October 2012
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Roles and Responsibilities Top Tips Institute Reps Communication Process Benefits Contacts StARs Handbook
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StARs Handbook October 2012
Transcript of StARs Handbook October 2012
Roles and Responsibilities
Top Tips
Institute Reps
Communication Process
Benefits
Contacts
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Welcome from your VP
Education
“Hello! Firstly, congratulations on becoming a
Student Academic Representative! This is a
really exciting opportunity for you as you have
the power to change things about the
University of Worcester that may not be working for your
course. By being the voice of your course, it allows the student
to be at the heart of decision making within the University, and
creates a link between the students and University. StARs are
partners in the management and quality of every university
course and therefore the input of the StARs is appreciated and
valued by all. Your role within the course team, in particular with
course leaders, allows you to have an integral role in the
development of your course.
You are now also volunteering for the Students’ Union by
being a StAR, and can therefore log your hours in a V record to
gain recognition and certification, by being a StAR you will
have a chance to influence how the University works as well as
gain valuable skills that will strengthen your CV.
This handbook is a tool for you to refer to once you have
completed your training as a StAR. Student Academic Reps are
vital for the Students’ Union and the University of Worcester so
if you have any questions don’t hesitate to refer to the
handbook or to contact me.
Thank you for choosing to represent the student voice.”
Sam Uppal
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Pro-Vice Chancellor Students;
John Ryan
“We need to be sure that there is effective
student representation. The StARs system is very important and
through it we hope that the views of students can be heard at
all levels within the University.
As Pro Vice Chancellor (Students), I will want to meet and work
with StARs to make sure that I understand well the issues of
concern to students – to find out what is going well and also
what we may need to do better. Student feedback is crucial and
StARs make an important contribution to effective feedback
through their membership of course committees and other
groups.
There are real opportunities for StARS to influence not only the
experience of students in their own year but the experience of
future students. We need to work in partnership so that
expectations are met – students’ expectations of the University
and the University’s expectations of students. The new
Worcester Charter for Students provides a good framework in
this regard. For all of these reasons, being a StAR is an
important undertaking.
The experience gained will be very marketable to potential
employers. This is especially so if individual StARs take
advantage of the new accreditation scheme that is being
introduced this year. Embrace the opportunities the role
presents and use this advantage to make a positive contribution
to the work of the University and build your CV at the same
time. I look forward to meeting and working with you and would
like to take this opportunity to thank you for volunteering to
undertake the role.”
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Professor David Green; Vice
Chancellor
“Congratulations on your election as a Student
Academic Representative. I was an elected
student academic rep in each of my 3 years as an
undergraduate student and I more convinced than ever that this
is a vital role for your fellow students, you and the University.
The University needs to know what works well, so we can do
more of it even better. We also need to know what needs to
change. Communication combined with sound judgement and
true professionalism is at the heart of each and every
successful course at University. Student feedback and
thoughtful representation is essential. All the best lecturers think
the world of high quality student reps. You make it possible for
us to be better teachers and to be a better University.
Your fellow students need a representative who will consult,
communicate and give voice to their concerns. Participation is a
vital ingredient in making sure that courses are enjoyable, high
quality and truly meaningful.
Of course, it is not just your fellow students, lecturers and the
University who benefit. You do. Each and every student
academic representative learns through doing. Your
communication skills, your teamwork, your ability to present a
case, your ability to research a problem, your ability to speak
and the quality of your professional judgement will all improve
through being an engaged, dynamic student representative.
This will really help you when you graduate. It will be a big plus
on your CV but, even more important, it will give you skills that
you will use for the rest of your life. Congratulations and good
luck!”
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Roles and Responsibilities of StARs
A StAR’s day-to-day role is to keep an ear to the ground and
talk to their course colleagues about any issues that may arise;
this could be about anything from lecture timetabling to course
content. A StAR can carry out their role using a variety of
methods including email or face-to-face chats with colleagues.
For course level problems, it is a good idea to speak to the
Course Leader, who will be able to try and find a solution to
these problems. Remember to feedback the results to the
students you represent so they know what the next steps are
going to be! StARs are also the voice of the SU, being an
effective communication channel between Students and the SU.
StARs are also full members of their Course Management
Committee (CMC). StARs are encouraged to attend VP
Forums to have clear communication between VP Education,
Institute Reps and Pro-Vice Chancellor Students.
CMC
CMC’s give you the
opportunity to feed any issues
from your course colleagues to
key members of academic
staff, and also to receive
information from them about
your course.
VP Forum
VP Forums are your chance to
speak to VP Education, John
Ryan (PVC Students) and
Institute Reps directly about
your student experience.
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Top Tips:
Make sure that students know that you are their representative
– make yourself identifiable and available.
Be proactive – seek out students’ views and ask whether they
have issues they want you to raise.
Develop effective means of communicating and consulting with
students, such as arranging to speak at the beginning or end of
lectures, using online questionnaires, comment cards, social
networking, SU website.
Provide a link between students and staff, communicating
information from students to staff and back from staff to
students.
Communicate with other Student Academic Representatives/
Institute Reps, so that common areas of concern or good
practice can be identified.
Issues you may deal with Issues you are not expected to deal with
Facilities and resources e.g. computers, books, library
Workload Course handbooks, espe-cially their accuracy and value
Hidden course costs
Feedback and communica-tions, including Blackboard, SOLE etc. Turnaround of marked work.
Welfare problems
Health and personal issues
Finances and funding Accommodation problems Issues concerning visas or im-migration
Employment problems
Disputes between individual students and academic staff, e.g. harassment, discrimina-tion, victimisation Formal procedures against a student
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Roles and Responsibilities of Institute Reps
As well as being a StAR, the Institute Reps have extra
responsibilities. The Institute Reps are the communication
channels between the StARs to and from the Students’ Union,
Institute Boards and the University.
The Institute Reps are expected to: Arrange and chair at least one meeting per semester of StARs in their Institute, providing a forum for feedback and the discussion of issues relevant to the student learning experience; Attend Institute Boards and, where possible, Institute Quality Committee and/or Learning and Teaching, and/or arrange for student representation on these and other Institute committees/working groups Attend the SU’s VP Forum, chaired by the Vice President Education Attend other feedback events where necessary and subject to other commitments they may have Help provide training for the StARs, promote the National Students’ Survey as well as other annual surveys Participate in other quality-related activities in conjunction with University staff, such as periodic reviews
It is essential that you communicate regularly with the
Institute Reps about the big issues and successes on your
course so they can take them to Institute Level meetings if
appropriate. Sending an email to an Institute Rep may only
take you 5 minutes and it can really make a difference. Your
Institute Reps’ email addresses will be under the Contacts
section of this handbook.
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StAR/Institute Rep Communication Process
Benefits of Being a StAR
A StAR’s CV includes many brilliant skills, desirable to employers looking to recruit a graduate of the University of Worcester including:
Decision-making Time management Listening skills Self-confidence Public speaking Problem solving Leadership Organisation Teamwork Meeting/Committee skills
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Accreditation
New for 2012/2013 an Accreditation system is being introduced
for the StARs to boost their employability and to evidence your
time as a StAR.
The accreditation will follow a Bronze, Silver and Gold ‘stepping
stone’ system with a StAR having to evidence that they have
attended meetings, training and write a statement explaining
their achievements as a StAR.
Once you have completed a stage of accreditation, you will be
given a certificate and attend a ceremony in ‘Celebration Week’
where your achievements will be recognised.
For more information contact Sam Uppal.
V-records
Another way to gain
r e c o g n i t i o n f o r
volunteering as a StAR is
to pick up a V-record from
SU Welcome Desk and log
your hours. As a volunteer who will put a substantial amount of
time and effort into their role, you can work towards a 10, 20, 50
or 100 hour volunteering certificate.
StARs who fill out the log can also attend the Volunteering and
Societies Awards (VoScAs) a free celebration event, where you
will receive your volunteering certificate and could receive a
StAR of the year award for your efforts!
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Main Contacts
Vice President Education - Sam Uppal
Sam will email you throughout the year and is your main point
of contact for the StAR system.
StAR Co-ordinators
There is a StAR Co-ordinator for each institute to support you
in your role. They will be able to support you through any
committees you may have to go to and are a point of contact
for you should you have any questions.
Joy Carroll
Institute of Education [email protected]
Maggie Andrews
Institute of Humanities and Creative Arts
Sue Barnes
Business School
Roger Saunders
Business School [email protected]
Tina Dennis
Institute of Health and Society
Tory Milner
Institute of Science and the Environment
Leverne Barber
Institute of Sport and Exercise Science
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Institute Reps
Membership Services Manager – Ruth Christie
Ruth assists the VP Education in working with the StARs.
Institute of Education [email protected]
Institute of Humanities and
Creative Arts
Business School
Institute of Health and Society
Institute of Science and the Environment
Institute of Sport and Exercise Science
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Visit: www.worcsu.com/stars
