Senior Rep Training name of trainer associate trainer | sparqs

sparqs s tudent par ticipation in q uality s cotland. Aim: to improve student engagement in quality enhancement representatives trained in the academic year % 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. Meeting skills. Networking. Relationship building. Communication. Listening. Reflection. Organisation. Presentation. Report writing. Diplomacy. Negotiation. 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? Student views Dialogue with staff Improved learning experience 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 Effective

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. s. Face to face chats. Surveys. Online spaces: → Facebook. → Twitter. → Virtual Learning Environments.

Your future representative career Online training resources are available via If you’re interested in becoming a sparqs Associate Trainer, recruitment days will be held in March/April For further info about any of these opportunities, contact Iain Delworth at or phone

NUS Scottish Executive Committee President:Robin Parker. Depute President:Graeme Kirkpatrick. Women’s Officer:Kelley Temple. Black Students Officer:Surya Prakash Bhatta. Disabled Students Officer:Jay Wakefield. LGBT Officer:Nathan Sparling. Mature Students Officer:Sheila Josey. International Students Officer:Nikki Holder Block Members:Correen Dickson; Gordon Maloney; Beneta Brown; Stefani Millar; Paul Murphy & Charandeep Singh. Contact them by ing:

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 ADDRESS) associate trainer | sparqs