1. Please sign the register and take a seat
Student Rep training
Welcome!
Please sign the register and take a seat

2. What today’s session will cover
Welcome & Ice-breaker
Quality Assurance
Role of a Student Rep
Advice and Support
Make yourself known
Weblearn Course Sites
Feedback
Identifying & dealing with issues
Course committee meetings
Campaigning and taking action
Evaluation Form

4. Getting started
The university divided into six schools. Each school may itself be divided into subject areas.
There should be student rep for each year of each course
Student Reps identify and raise academic and related issues on behalf of their course mates, usually to their lecturer, module or course leader.
Issues which remain unresolved or are more serious can be raised with the Student Experience & Outcomes (see handbook p16) who have a specific responsibility to respond to student concerns.
Student reps can raise academic and related issues informally to staff, at course committee meetings and student rep forums.
Student reps can ramie estates issues (physical infrastructure, heating, blocked toilets etc) by ing and IT issues by ing

5. Quality Assurance Agency
The QAA, along with HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council England) act as ‘Watchdogs’ for Higher Education in the UK. The university has to follow the UK Quality Code, which regulate quality and standards in the sector.
The Quality Enhancement Unit at London Met is there to keep the University's’ Quality Framework and make sure the university is working towards the very highest quality and standards. They work closely with the schools in this regard.
The Quality Enhancement Unit is VERY keen to work with student reps from all schools of London Met as student reps provide invaluable feedback.
Catherine Connor, Head of Quality Enhancement Unit
Habib Rahman, Deputy Head of QEU,
Harvey Hurree, Quality Manager (Assurance & Information)

6. Student Rep - advice and support
Student Rep handbook
Student Rep Facebook groups (see p13 of handbook)
Students’ Union website:
and another page per school
SU Officers & staff (see p15 & 19)
Student Engagement Partnership (NUS and Higher Education sector collaboration) for best practice, training, support, engagement with institution etc):
Connect Student Engagement & Course Rep website:
London Met student zone (for school and University information)

7. Student Reps: Sabbatical Officers and senior school staff
Sabbatical Officer with education remit: Florence Onwumere
School
Sabbatical Officer
Student Experience & Outcomes staff member
Guildhall School of Business & Law
Tunde Toki
Jan Bamford
CASS School
Georgia Robinson
Cecile Tschirhart
School of Computing & Digital Media
Florence Onwumere
Elena Moschini
School of Human Science
Sheelagh Heugh
School of Social Science
Mark Boansi
Steven Curtis
School of Social Professions
Victoria Mummery
Student Voice Coordinator: Eddie Rowley

8. What is the role of a Student Rep?

9. What is the role of a Student Rep
To represent students’ views and opinions on all matters relating to teaching and learning in an effort to continuously improve the student learning experience in partnership with the University and Students’ Union.
Identify relevant issues on the ground
Raise issues and concerns with school
Be a channel of communication between school, student and students’ union
Feedback to course mates on any, some or no progress on the issues
Provide general and specific feedback (positive and negative) to school
Build strong working-relationship with course leader & module leader etc

10. Making yourself known
Introduce yourself to your class mates and make regular announcements in class ‘lecture shout-outs’
Collect the names and s of the students on your course stay in regular contact
Make use of new Course Sites feature on Weblearn (see next slide)
Work with the sabbatical officers and other student reps
Communicate information your receive from the students’ union, university, National Union of Students (NUS) and others
Introduce yourself to and work with student reps for different years of your course and similar years of your course – work together! Student Reps for each course are listed on the Students’ Union website on the page for each school under ‘Student Reps’ (you need to log-in)
e.g.

11. Weblearn – course sites
This is a new weblearn feature which will much imprve the presence of student reps. You will need to your course leader the following to activate it:
Confirmation you wish to be mentioned on the Course Site
Your and photo (jpeg)
Link to Student Rep page on SU website
Link to a survey or google spreadsheet you may want to create to get feedback from course mates on their academic experience

12. Feedback What areas could you feedback on?
Providing feedback to the teaching staff on the course is a key part of the job
Teaching on the course
Assessments (exams and coursework)
Academic feedback from lecturers
Style and delivery by academics
Academic support
Lab, studio and other specialist facilities
Learning resources (such as the library, weblearn)
Rooming and time-tabling
Placements and other course specific activities

13. Identifying issues Group Activity 1 Resource: Scenario cards
Spend a few minutes reading each scenario individually to start with
Then discuss the scenarios in your group
As a group please divide the scenarios up between issues which you think are within the remit of a student rep to deal with and issues which you feel do not fall within the remit of a student rep
Nominate one group member who is going to feed this back to the rest of the class

14. Ways to tackle issues
Do other students feel it is an issue? Do a number feel the same?
Discuss it with other students reps and sabbatical officers. If its a wider issue you might find the SU are already aware of it and have raised it.
If so try to gather some evidence. You could summarise the issue in an and ask course mates if you can add their name to it, demonstrating that its is widely felt.
Raise it with you lecturer, module or course leader via or ideally in person. If needed ask to meet them at a pre-arranged time so you can sit down and discuss the issue in a quiet environment.
Raise at the next course committee meeting if it has not been resolved
If it remains unresolved then you can escalate it by raising it with Student Experience & Outcomes Coordinator for your school. (p16 handbook)
If no satisfactory response or resolution, speak to the sabbatical officer again and we can discuss option escalation options

15. Solving issues Group Activity 2
Resource: Decision-making flowchart (handbook p10-11) and what we have covered in the train so far
Take one issue which you as a group have decided is within the remit of a student rep.
Draw up a 4-5 point action plan covering the steps you are now going to take with the aim being to get the issue resolved.
Think about what you are going to do? who are you going to speak to? Remember you will need to stay in communication wit all stakeholders such as students, sabbatical officers and staff.
Set out your action plan in bullet point form and have someone ready to feed it back to the rest of the class

16. Course Committee Structure
Ask your course leader when your course committee meeting is and write it in your diary
Course committees usually meet once each semester
Course leaders will chair them. Staff who teach on the course and the student reps should attend. Library and Quality Enhancement Unit may also attend
Should consider teaching, teaching and administrative issues surrounding the course
Minutes are taken of course committee meetings and the minutes logged. You should receive copies of the minutes.
Course Committees are useful but by no means the only forums to raise issues – so don’t wait until they come around. Be ready to raise issues as and when they crop up throughout the year.

17. Before a Course Committee meeting

18. Before a course committee meeting
Meet course leader beforehand so they can let you know what to expect
Read the agenda, be aware what is and what is not on it.
Make sure you have identified the issues you wish to raise and have feedback from your class mates to back it up
If you have a complicated issue to raise or/and have the research/evidence to produce e.g. survey, s from course mates; send them to the course leader before the committee meeting so they have a chance to digest the issue.
Liaise with other student rep who may attend (ask you course leader to put you in touch or look on the SU website)
Speak to your school sabbatical officer, ask them to come along with you
Makes sure you know where the meeting is and be on time. Being late will not help your cause!

19. During a Course Committee meeting

20. During a course committee meeting
Listen
Raise hand to speak
Raise you issues clearly and concisely
Present any evidence you have
Don’t be confrontational, work in partnership
Take notes, ask for clarification if you are not sure what is being said
Remembers to note down action points
If you don’t understand a term used, ask!
At the end of the meeting clarify the decisions taken and when they are to be actioned (this prevents drift)
Confirm the date of the next meeting. Request a follow-up meeting to deal with a specific issues if required.
Make sure the secretary has your

21. After a course committee meeting

22. After a course committee meeting
If other Student Reps are present have a debrief straight away
Write up you notes and action points right away
Feedback to your course mates and your sabbatical officer ASAP
If you are not happy with the conduct of the meeting then speak to another academic in your faculty and express your concern
Provide any constructive criticism you have of the committee to the school

23. Campaigning and taking action
Sometimes you may have a deeply felt and winnable issue which you can’t make any real progress on. In this situation you may decide to launch a campaign and take some action.
In this situation you should discuss with the students’ union officers. They, along with students’ union staff can assist you in planning what to do

24. Careers and Employability Service
Student Reps can use our services for your own development and please regularly inform and remind other students to use services :
Careers advice and guidance for planning, CVs, applications, interviews, employability skills, postgrad study
Book through the student Hubs, call or

25. Careers and Employability Service
Job Shop – employer vacancies, on campus jobs and volunteering opportunities
Events and Workshops -

26. Any questions and evaluation