2014/15
Course Rep Training
Welcome!
Congratulations on becoming your course representative!
You are part of an approximately 30,000 strong student body across the whole of the South
West Peninsula, spanning five counties and the Channel Islands.
Bicton College
Bridgwater College
City College Plymouth
City of Bristol College
Cornwall College
Deep Blue Sound
Exeter College
Highlands College
PETROC
South Devon College
Somerset College
By reading this training booklet you will be able to:
1. Identify the key requirements of your roles as Course
Reps.
2. Understand the structure of UPSU and how you fit into
it.
3. Confidently approach your peers and start
representing their view and voice.
Strode College
Tor Bridge High
Truro & Penwith College
Weymouth College
The Following areas will be covered in this training:
Students as Partners // UPSU Structure // Meetings // Feedback //
Challenges // Resources & Rewards // After Today
Students As Partners
‘Students as Partners’ is a term you will
often hear used during your time at
University, but what does it actually
mean?
Treating students as Partners is, in
essence, a more sophisticated way of
engaging with the student population.
By making the student body an integral
part of the decision making processes,
academic representation and teaching
boards,
higher
institutions
boards, higher education institutions are ensuring g
that
students
are education
maintaining
a constant
are
ensuring
that
students
are
presence with decision makers and authority figures.
maintaining a constant presence with
On a practical day to day level this means three things;
decision makers.
1. YOUR voice is important,
2. YOUR voice is listened too,
3. USE it!
What does ‘Representative’ mean?
•
R – Represent EVERYONE on your course!
•
E – Enable discussions and seek students views on their learning experience
•
P – Present students views at meetings, forums etc
•
R – Reflect on your own and other students experiences
•
E – Establish a partnership approach with PU, upsu and students
•
S – Share your experiences with other Course Reps and with upsu
•
E – Evaluate the positive difference you have made over the year
•
N – Notify students, upsu and PU of on-going developments (feedback)
•
T – Take time to celebrate your hard work and success!
Students As Partners
Your Role as a Course Rep – Why you are important
To represent the views of students on your course to your lecturers & programme leaders.
 AIM: to make changes to benefit students on your course.
To raise issues with other course reps and the student union, so common issues can be
raised at a higher level.
 AIM: to improve institution-wide procedures to the benefit all students, and to share
ideas and suggestions with other course reps.
To facilitate communication between the student body and your college, the University,
and the Students’ Union.
 AIM: to act as a representative and provide a flow of communication, about both
academic issues and other opportunities and events
As shown on the earlier map, the partner college network is very wide, so to help
communication between UPSU, Plymouth University, and you students, Course Reps fulfil a
valuable role in the communication process.
Course reps are fundamental to providing this student voice!
Your Tasks as a Course Rep
You will be required to carry out a variety of tasks and attend a number of meetings in
your role.
Some of these may include but are not exclusive to;








Attend Course Rep Training
Attend various meetings as required
Publicise yourself and what you can do for your fellow students
Feedback the outcomes and actions from meetings
Complete any actions from meetings
Publicise campaigns and opportunities from UPSU
Sign-post students to UPSU / College / University Services.
Gather students views and gauge if they need to be raised at programme
committee / rep forum meetings
UPSU Structure
UPSU Exec. VP Outreach
Outreach Officer
You are part of a wellestablished structure designed
to help, guide and support you
in your role as a course rep.
College Reps
Each College will elect a
College Rep to provide a
representative at higher
strategic meetings.
Course Reps
Student Body
Are you up for the job, could
this be you?
Who attends what meetings?
There are a number of different meetings that you will attend and feed into. They are:
Student Representative
Representing
Meetings Attended
UPSU President
All Plymouth University
Students
University Board of
Governors
VP Engagement
All Off Campus Students
Faculty Board
College Rep
All HE Students at your
college
Partner Institution Forum
College Rep
(or a few course reps)
All HE Students at your
college
College Joint Board of
Studies
Course Representatives
Representing students from
your group (possibly
including the views from
other years, part time
students)
Cross-College Student Rep
Forums
Course Representatives
Representing the views of
your specific class or group
Programme Committee &
Course Rep Meetings
Meetings
Accurate
How to Represent at Meetings
For each issue or topic raised, try to apply the
‘ABCD’ of representation...
Balanced
Depersonalised
Issues which fit into the ‘middle’ of the diagram
tend to achieve the most positive outcomes.
Constructive
Accurate - Get the facts, know the full story, try and be as accurate as you can (dates /
times / frequency of problem etc.)
Balanced - Does this issue affect the whole group? Are there two sides to the story?
Constructive - Come up with some suggestions for resolution. Share ideas and problems
with other student reps on other courses, there may be some suggestions for
improvement.
Depersonalised - Don’t name names or point fingers. Don’t criticise individual lecturing
staff. If an issue only affects one student, then maybe it’s a personal problem and that
student needs to find separate help.
Three Stages to Meeting Preparation
Before meetings
•
•
•
•
Be prepared
Research Gather & record
the student views
Go through the
‘ABCD of
representation
Read Agenda –
notes any points
of interest
During meetings
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Arrive ready
Be polite
Speak clearly
Represent the
views of your
group
Listen & make
notes of what’s
been said
Don’t interrupt
others
Be Confident
After meetings
•
•
•
Share feedback
on your points
raised
Follow up
anything you
have agreed to
Share best
practice across
the network
Feedback
Why is Feedback Important?
Gather
Student
Views
Feedback is crucial for many reasons but
the most important is to ensure that
everyone knows what is going on!
There are two types of feedback you
need to use most often; feedback to
UPSU & your college on the views of your
course group, and feedback to your
course group on the outcomes of
meetings and updates from your college
& UPSU.
You are the centre pin for all this
communication, never underestimate
the power and importance of the
student voice!
Share
Student
Views
Inform
Students
Action
Views
Ways of feeding back
There are many different methods of feedback, all with pros and cons. The best thing to
do would be to ask your course how they would like to receive updates and share their
views. To start off here are some ideas:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Create a course Facebook page – send out updates/ messages,
Use Survey Monkey to collate views – especially good for large groups or part time
courses,
Write a brief report,
Send around group emails to your class – be mindful that not all students use their
college email accounts,
Ask your lecturer for some time at the end of a lecture to present findings – There
can be time restrictions with this.
Use existing college media outlets to communicate updates etc – Not all
information may be relevant for all students.
Remember – There is no correct answer – use the best method for your course!
Challenges
Understand the boundaries of your role
Sometimes students may have incredibly emotional or personal issues that they turn to you
with. No matter how prepared you may feel to deal with such issues - DON’T! It is not in the
best interests of yourself or the student for you to do this.
There are professional advice services that are in place to support on these issues, it will be
in your benefit to take some time to learn about the support services on offer at your
college and at UPSU so you are able to sign post any students.
Student Issues
Your Issues
Personal emotional problems
Time Management
Financial problems
Confidence Building
Accommodation problems
Gaining input from your course
Visa / Immigration problems
Understanding jargon and acronyms
As well as issues that students may bring to you, it is also important to remember problems
that you may face. Additional training sessions can always be made available to help
overcome these. Speak to your college or UPSU for more details.
Anonymity & Confidentiality
Remember:
•
You should not refer to students by name
•
Assure students that matters are kept anonymous
•
If a student comes to you with a personal issue you must keep this confidential (& you
should refer them to SU advice or your college advice service).
•
Remember, as a course rep you are trusted to be responsible with information.
Resources & Rewards
Know the support out there
studywithplymouth.ac.uk
This will become an essential guide and source of
support throughout your studies with over 2,000,000
resources to help with every area of your
academics.
UPSU: Advice
UPSU: Advice offer a drop in, email and telephone support
service for all aspects of student life. You can contact them
on a number of issues including: Academic appeals,
Consumer help, Debt Advice, Housing Issues, Legal Problems
and Student Finance. Contact on: 0800 953 0155 or 01752
588373 or email advice@su.plymouth.ac.uk
Rewarding your hard work
•
Student Voice Recognition Scheme– Use your log book to record the meetings and
events you attend. Submit a copy of your log book to UPSU to receive your course rep
certificate. There are three levels of certificate to work towards... Bronze, Silver, Gold
with corresponding rewards! For more information speak to your Outreach Coordinator
at UPSU.
•
SSTAR Award – The Student & Staff Teaching and Representation Awards take place in
April each year. There is a Course Representative Award, designed to say a massive
thanks just to you and acknowledge your hard work. Look out for the opportunity to
nominate fellow course reps, or teaching staff from your programme.
National Student Survey (NSS) & Student Perception Questionnaire (SPQ)
Both the NSS and SPQ surveys are essential sources of information for both academics and
support staff.
All 1 year students will have to complete the SPQ and all 2nd years the NSS. A big part of
your role will be to promote these surveys in the spring term.
After Today
Key Contacts
Cat Tetreault,
Outreach Coordinator,
partnershipstudents@upsu.com
Will Holmes
VP International & Outreach Executive Officer
william.holmes@upsu.com
Remember
•
•
•
•
•
Read and use your Course Rep Handbook
Join the Course Rep Facebook Page
Find out when the first Course Rep Meeting is.
Don’t just wait for ‘big meetings’... start making the most of your role... communicate
with fellow students, speak to college staff, gather feedback, and participate in college
life.
Keep in touch, & contact us if you have any questions or would like additional training.
Notes