Transcript Academic President Training 2011/12

Course Representative
Training 2011/12
Welcome!
Your Handbook
• Contains all the key
information to
support you –
wherever you are!
www.susu.org/education
Aims of Training:
- Introduce you to your roles and why the role exists
- Give you a basic understanding of the structures within SUSU
and the University
- Give you an idea of what issues you might expect and how to
deal with them
- Introduce you to some key events and campaigns coming up
this year
What is SUSU?
What is a Course Rep?
What you Do?
• Speak up for students
• Ensure the quality of
your course is maintained
• Raise issues with staff
• Ensure issues are
appropriately dealt with
• Inform students of the
resulting action by the
University
Why the University
needs YOU
• Education is constantly
changing
• You are living the student
experience
• You provide an informed
assessment
• You deserve a good quality
standard of service
• You affect the University
League Table standing
So why do we need you?
• As Representation is one of our key objectives – we
need you to keep us informed so that we are
representing students on the right issues
• As elected students, you carry the voice of SUSU when
you go to meetings
• Your voice should matter – and if staff ignore you, we
need to know about it so that we can raise it within the
University
What Issues might you
deal with?
• Lecture Quality
• Tutor support
• Use of technology
• Quality of Feedback
• Access to resources
• Exam issues
• Timetabling
• Admin support
What’s in it for you?
Meet lots of
other students
Develop your own skills:
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Taking the Initiative,
Interpersonal Communication,
Problem Solving & Negotiation,
Planning and Organisation,
Teamwork
Have an opportunity
to shape your degree
– to really influence
your experience
Where do you fit in?
24,000 Students
You’re kind of
important...
24,000 Students
• Communicate with
your Course mates
• Meet your Academic
President every 3 weeks
Course
Reps
Students
VP Academic
Affairs
Academic
Presidents
Faculty
Officers
The University
8 Faculties
Over 30 Academic Units
Over 500 Programmes
Staff-Student Liaison
Committees
Over 30 Academic Units
• Generally around 4-6 meetings per year
• You chance to voice your concerns
• You control the discussion
Staff-Student Liaison
Committees
• Read any papers before the meeting
• Meet up as a group beforehand to discuss issues
• Ask students what they think of the issues
• Make a note of any Action Points from the
meeting
• Have the right attitude – be ready
to compromise
Who’s there to support you?
[email protected]
Brenda Masters – [email protected]
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Point of Contact
Communication
Support
Information
Build up an understanding of key issues
Case Study 1:
You’ve had a bad lecture – no one really
understood what was going on
• Talk to students, see if others were struggling
• If it is a group issue – approach the class tutor and
ask them to either clarify the points in the next
lecture, or put something online
• Make a mental note about the module, in case it
becomes a reoccurring issue
Case Study 2:
Students have an issue with a lecturer
• Talk to students, see what people specifically have
an issue with – clarity, attitude, use of technology,
language barrier etc.
• Talk to your Academic President about the lecturer
– it may be an issue affecting all years of study. They
will take the specific concerns to the head of your
course
• Do NOT raise this at SSLC or discuss this
openly – remember confidentiality!
Case Study 3:
Students are not happy with feedback
• Talk to students, see what people specifically have
an issue with – timeliness, effectiveness, fairness etc.
• Raise this with the marker and ask for a resolution
• Raise this with your Academic President, who will
also involve your Faculty Officer and the VP
Academic Affairs
• Discuss the issue of feedback more widely at
an SSLC – is this the only instance of bad
feedback? How can it be improved?
Time to meet your
Academic Presidents!
So… did anyone actually
complete the grid?
What did you talk about?
Being active – not reactive
• A lot of issues can be dealt with quickly if noticed early
• You need to ask students if something is wrong, rather
than wait for them to come to you with issues
• You need to report back to students what is going on,
so that they understand the current situation
• If you have an idea, you can proactively drum up
support for an idea.
Ways of Communicating
• Lectures – ask to speak quickly for one minute about
something you’re working on or need information for
• Email – your emails are all on the Course Rep website,
and will soon be on the SUSU website, so do signpost
people to them
• Surgeries – why not hold an hour a week in a set venue
where people know they can come and find you
• Social Media – use your Academic President’s Facebook
profile or society pages
Key issues this year
• IT Downtime
• Knowing Our Students survey
• Preparing for 2012 and £9k fees
• QAA Institutional Review
Questions?
So where do we go from here?
• Newsletter every 3 weeks – to keep you
informed of what I’m doing
• Facebook Group – so you can keep in touch
with each other and help each other out
• Introduce yourselves to you course mates!
• Next training session before Christmas
Key messages
• Be proactive – and use the elected voice that you have
been given – inside AND outside of meetings
• Make sure you feedback to students and your Academic
President about the things you are doing, so that we
can all work together
• Be aware of the support around you – your elected
officers and staff in the Advice Centre, if you ever have
any problems, send them an email
Thank you –
and good luck!