Student Academic Rep Training
2015/16
Student Voice Team
Contents
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Overview of the Students’ Union
Role of a Student Academic Rep
SSPs
Scenarios
Dealing with Student Concerns
Advice & Support
Engaging with your cohort
Fighting Apathy
Date to Remember
Speak Week
Surveys
Recognising Hard Work
ARE & Periodic Review
Student Charter
Additional Training
Overview of the Students’ Union
• Based opposite the main University building, Park Place and in the IV
Lounge at the Heath Park Campus
• Representation
• Societies and Sports Teams
• Student Media
• Advice
• Nights Out and Food Outlets
• Study Space
• Volunteer Opportunities
• Give It A Go
• CV enhancement and employability
Elected Officers
Students either taking a sabbatical from their study or take up their role after they
complete their degree
Student Voice
• Student Academic Reps – training and support, College Forums, PGRR
Forum Speak Week, ESLAs
• Campaigns – supporting Campaign Officers and assisting with Union-led
campaigns i.e. voter registration drive
• Democracy – Officer elections, by-elections, Senate, AGM & Scrutiny
Committee
• Policy work – keeping abreast of University committees and government
policy relating to Higher Education in Wales and the UK
The role of a Student Academic Rep
• A volunteer student who voices the comments, concerns and questions of
their course
• Over 1,000 Academic Reps across the University
• As a Student Rep you act as the vital link between members of staff and
your fellow students
• It is your job to tell the School and University what your cohort enjoy about
their course and what they want to see improved
To listen
To represent
To signpost
Student Staff Panels
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What to do before the meeting
During the meeting
After the meeting
Some issues
College Forum
• The Students’ Union holds College Forum meetings which are like higherlevel Student Staff Panels. They bring together the Chairs of the all the
Student Staff Panel to discuss college wide issues, so for example if a
school-level problem isn’t being solved it can be brought to a College
Forum
• Chairs MUST go along to these meeting. Senior members of staff also
attend these meetings like the Pro Vice Chancellor for Student Experience
and Academic Standards, the Deans of the Colleges and representatives
from IT and Library, to name a few
• It is important to be in contact with your SSP Chair so you can give them
feedback to take the College Forum
Scenarios
Get into groups and discuss the
following scenarios
Scenario 1
• A student on your course Facebook messages you a week before the first
term starts. They have received an email from the school telling them that
a core module, which is planned to start the following week, can no longer
go ahead.
• The school’s justification is lack of staff resource
• The core module is an essential part of your course and has been taught
for a long time
• What are your next steps?
How the issue was dealt with
• The student asked how many people have been affected by the module
change – this gave them a good buy-in with the school
• Raised the issue with lecturer running the module and then met with the
Head of School, both revealed differing accounts of the issue
• The student came to the Students’ Union and informed us of the situation,
we met with the VP Education and Student Advice to discuss further
details
• The VP Education met with the Head of School separately and informed
the PVC about the situation
• The student put together a document clearly detailing events over a
prolonged period leading up to the module cancellation – presented this
to the board of studies – the module was subsequently reinstated in the
second term
Scenario 2
• You go out on a local work placement – you have to pay a fee and are not
given any additional financial support on that year away. You just assume
this is normal practice and think nothing more of it.
• Following your year away you return in September and meet up with a
course mate who was based in London. They explain they weren’t given
any financial support even though they were based in London
• What are your next steps?
Scenario explained
• The Rep put together a series of questions and conducted a school-wide
survey, for those who go on placement and those that did not – they
received over 200 responses.
• They contacted the VP Heath Park and the Student Voice team
• Presented the survey to the College Forum and sent to the Deans
Education and Students
Scenario 3
• It is a busy period of the year and access to study space is limited in your
school
• A number of students have raised their concerns about this use
• What do you do next to resolve this issue?
Scenario explained
• Raised the issue at the Student Staff Panel, as well as contacting the
Director of Learning & Teacher
• Started a wider conversation with School security and were able to give
card access to students
Dealing with Students’ concerns
• Your role is to signpost and direct students to the appropriate members of
staff within the University and Students’ Union
• Personal tutor – School-based academic advice, a good starting point for
students to have a chat with a member of staff on a one-to-one basis
• Student Advice – deal with academic and consumer issues
• Student Support – offer counselling, dyslexia support, financial assistance
and visa support
• Nightline for out of hours advice – 02920 870555
Student Advice
The Student Advice service is:• Independent
• Confidential
• Free
• Based on the third floor of the Students’ Union Park Place and dropin at the Heath Park site
• Generalist and specialist advice and information on range of issues
including: academic issues, consumer, housing, money matters,
employment, personal issues……
• Signpost and refer
• Events – Money Doctors, Housing Advice Week, Revision Aid, Consumer
Week….
• Policy and practice – provides evidence to inform and influence decision
makers, and improve service delivery and provision
Student Support Centre
Engaging with your cohort
• One of the most challenging parts of your role is gathering feedback from
your course mates
• We have put together a question prompt sheet for you – these are the key
questions you should be asking throughout the year
• Don’t be afraid to go and ask people in social spaces within your schools,
in the libraries, before lectures and seminars about their experiences
• You have got to frame your questions in a certain way and you can engage
with them by using these four steps…
Four Ways to Fight Apathy
• Step One…EXPERIENCE
• Step Two…INJUSTICE injection
• Step Three…BELIEF
• Step Four…ACTION
Step One…EXPERIENCE
• If you ask a student ‘how is your course’ they will probably
shrug and ‘say everything is fine’
• Narrow down the questions you ask – what is your experience
of the library? How do your modules compare? To what extent
did lecture X help shape your understanding of module Y?
• Reflecting on experience is a powerful tool
• You have to dig for information, relate to the person you’re
talking to and in turn they are far more likely to engage with
you and continue a conversation with you
Step Two…INJUSTICE injection
• By talking about a student’s experience you can pick out
particular issues they have raised and get them to think about
their course
• In a sense you have to play provocateur – you have to make
students aware of the inadequacies surrounding them.
• You can pinpoint students towards a particular set of issues
through your conversation. You can get people thinking how
they might be able to get more involved in changing their
course.
Step Three…BELIEF
• Use the injustice injection, convert the wrong into a right
• You can pick out the University’s Student Charter, the prospectus or
module handbook to enforce rights that are already enshrined
• Converting a right into a wrong is as much about helping students to come
up with practical solutions and working together to pitch your ideas or
points to your respective Schools
• This gives students the belief to take action
Step Four…Action
• You have talked about a student’s EXPERIENCE, you’ve made the
INJUSTICE injection and you’ve given the student BELIEF
• Now you need to turn your discussion into ACTION
• What are you going to do with that conversation, how are you going to
encourage the student to take ACTION?
• You might encourage the student to start a petition, talk to their lecturer,
or you might help them set up a meeting with the Director of Learning and
Teaching
Take the right steps
• You have to ensure that you spend the appropriate time and effort on
each step
• Talk vividly about EXPERIENCE should take 40% of your time, INJUSTICE
injection should take 30%, BELIEF should take 20% and ACTION should
take around 10%
• Reps often make the mistake of going straight to ACTION – ‘can you do
this please, this is wrong because’
• In Elections – ‘You should vote for me because…’
• Instead you should focus on experience first, get some buy-in from the
student/s you are talking to
Dates to Remember
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Chair and Secretary training
College Forums – AHSS 25th November
Speak Week 8th – 12th February
ELSA nominations – open on 8th February
NSS opens
ESLA night – May 2015
Annual Review and Enhancement (ARE)
Speak Week
Feedback from Speak Week
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Teaching = Lecture content and delivery. More contact hours. AHSS want more lectures. BLS want less lectures. Lectures to
be recorded. Increased online resources. More study tips, clinical and practical work.
Coursework = Module capping. More feedback. Faster feedback. Marking consistency. Increase in weighting of course.
Improvement in communication.
Exam = Better exam scheduling. Earlier exam release date. Exam scripts with feedback returned. Better past paper access
and guidance. Resits uncapped. Exam procedures for disabled students being clearer.
Academic Support = Increase in Personal/Academic Tutor support. More accessibility to the Tutors. More advice and
expertise. Increase resource in Student Support. Increase the amount of financial support.
Organisation Management = More organisation. Timetables released earlier. Increase in module options. More information
on modules. Coursework:Exam ratio to be changed. Consistency between lecturers. Improve communication between
courses. More interaction between year groups. Buddy system.
Learning resources = Library - Increase library opening hours. Increase availability of books. More study space. Library fines
reduced. Selling of second hand books. Cashpoint in library. IT - Reduced printing costs. Free printing. More and faster
computers. Improved WiFi. Improved online system e.g. emails. Recording lectures Facilities - Improvements of buildings
and lecture theatres. More prayer/quiet rooms. Places to sit and eat own lunch. Comfortable seating and social space.
More power sockets. Lab and equipment improvements. Personal Developments - Support and Advice. More career talks.
Further career opportunities. Students’ Union - More societies. More events across campus. More club funding. Building
improvements. Phone charging hub. International Students - More targeted communication. More volunteering
opportunities. International fees are very high. PG - More scholarship funding. Improvement of Communication. Other Better integration between Heath and Park place campus. Cheaper food on campus. Explanation of where fees go. Better
sports facilities. University swimming pool. More scholarships and bursaries.
NSS
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Overall satisfaction: 91
Teaching on my course: 92
Assessment and Feedback: 94
Academic Support: 95
Organisation and Management: 92
Learning Resources: 87
Personal Development: 82
Recognising Hard Work
ARE & Periodic Review
• Annual Review & Enhancement – a reporting process each school has to
take part in every year. Gathers together student feedback, NSS results,
SSP minutes, recruitment figures, progression data and student numbers
for UG, PGT & PGR – reviewed by both staff & students
• Periodic Review – every five years each school must conduct a review in
line with the Quality Code. This is like an ARE but is far more extensive and
intensive. Every aspect of a school is scrutinised and monitored
• Integral to ensuring Schools are delivering for students’ educational needs
Student Charter
Additional Training
• SDS delivers training sessions to make you more employable – including
certificates for professional development and externally accredited
courses
• You can take specific units which include public speaking, negotiation
skills and building confidence which will help you develop as a Student
Academic Rep
• Email: SDS@cardiff.ac.uk or you can talk to the SDS team based on the
second floor of the Students’ Union Park Place
Contact details
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Email studentreps@cardiff.ac.uk
Twitter @CU_StudentVoice
Facebook
Student Voice Department, 3rd Floor Students’ Union Park Place
Sophie Timbers Vice President Education – VPEducation@cardiff.ac.uk
Katie Kelly Vice President Postgraduate – VPPostgraduate@cardiff.ac.uk
Katey Beggan Vice President Heath Park – VPHeathPark@cardiff.ac.uk
Kate Delaney Vice President Welfare – VPWelfare@cardiff.ac.uk