Transcript course representative training

Senior Rep Training
name of trainer
associate trainer | sparqs
sparqs
 student participation in quality scotland.
 Aim: to improve student engagement in quality enhancement.
 2549 representatives trained in the academic year 2010-11.
 89% found the training useful or very useful.
 Funded by the Scottish Funding Council since 2003.
Learning outcomes for today
Session Aim
 To develop your understanding of what it means to be a
senior rep and the importance of being proactive.

To begin to think about how to make the case for change in
your institution.

To develop the skills required for pro-actively seeking student
opinion to improve the student learning experience.
Exercise 1- Your representative
role
Task

What do you think is the purpose of a faculty level
representative?

What do you think some of the tasks will be?

What skills do you think you will need and develop as a
representative?

How do you think being a faculty level representative will
benefit you?
The representative role
Purpose

To continuously improve the student learning
experience in partnership with the institution and student
association by helping create solutions to problems.

To represent your fellow students’ views and opinions on all
matters relating to learning and teaching at a more senior
level.

To provide both positive and negative feedback to staff.

To act as a communication channel between staff and
students.
The representative role
Tasks
 Introduce yourself to your
class.
 Gather student opinion.
 Provide feedback to staff
and students.
 Present student views at
meetings.
 Attend meetings.
Speak to people outside of
meetings.
 Develop solutions to issues.
 Pass issues onto students
association.
 Contribute to institutional
activities.
 Deal with issues at a more
senior level.

The representative role
Skills developed

Research.

Organisation.

Meeting skills.

Presentation.

Networking.

Report writing.

Relationship building.

Diplomacy.

Communication.

Negotiation.

Listening.


Reflection.
Time management /
prioritisation.
The representative role
Benefits to you

Make a difference.

Networking opportunities.

Learn new skills.

Background for future representational roles.

Good experience for future employment.

Looks good on cv.
Why is representation important?
Improved learning
experience
Dialogue
with staff
Student
views
YOU ARE
THE
EXPERT!
The Student Learning Experience
Exercise 2- Issue? What issue?
In groups discuss where you think issues you might discuss at a
faculty level might come from.

Student feedback.

Course rep feedback.

Students’ association.

Institutional agendas.

National agendas.
Exercise 3- How are you going
to affect change?
Task
In groups take an issue that you think you may be working on
over the coming academic year then try to develop a solution to
that problem thinking about:

A world with reduced resources.

How creative the solution is.

How realistic the solution is.
Always remember when negotiating, aim high and negotiate
down.
Where’s your evidence?
There are a number of different sources you can use to back up
your case for change, they include:

ELIR reports.

Institutional-Led Internal Review reports.

QAA Codes of Practice.

Enhancement Themes.

Students’ association policy.

National Student Survey (NSS) data.

Student consultation.
Exercise 4- Developing a
consultation plan
Task

In your groups think about the type of information you would
want to collect from students about the issue you have
chosen.


How would you go about finding out this information?
Complete the template in your workbooks to develop a
consultation plan.
How are you going to present
your case?
Are you going to write a report or
deliver a presentation?
The A,B,C,D of effective feedback
Accurate
Depersonalised
Effective
Constructive
Balanced
Exercise 5- Closing the loop
Task
 How would you let students on your course let you know
what you have achieved?
Closing the loop





Stand up before/after class.
Emails.
Face to face chats.
Surveys.
Online spaces:
→Facebook.
→Twitter.
→Virtual Learning Environments.
Your future representative
career

Online training resources are available via www.sparqs.ac.uk

If you’re interested in becoming a sparqs Associate Trainer,
recruitment days will be held in March/April 2011.

For further info about any of these opportunities, contact Iain
Delworth at [email protected] or phone 0131 622
6599.
NUS Scottish Executive Committee
President:
Depute President:
Women’s Officer:
Black Students Officer:
Disabled Students Officer:
LGBT Officer:
Mature Students Officer:
International Students Officer:
Block Members:
Robin Parker.
Graeme Kirkpatrick.
Kelley Temple.
Surya Prakash Bhatta.
Jay Wakefield.
Nathan Sparling.
Sheila Josey.
Nikki Holder
Correen Dickson; Gordon Maloney;
Beneta Brown; Stefani Millar; Paul Murphy
& Charandeep Singh.
Contact them by emailing:
[email protected]
Learning outcomes for today
Session Aim
 To develop your understanding of what it means to be a
senior rep and the importance of being proactive.

To begin to think about how to make the case for change in
your institution.

To develop the skills required for pro-actively seeking student
opinion to improve the student learning experience.
Thank you for attending Senior
Rep Training!
Please fill in your evaluation forms and hand them in.
name of trainer (INSERT EMAIL
ADDRESS)
associate trainer | sparqs