THE COURSE REP HANDBOOK EXETER
fxu.org.uk fxu.org.uk/ros facebook.com/fxunion instagram.com/fxu_insta Falmouth & Exeter Students’ Union is a registered charity in England & Wales No. 1145405
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Welcome Your Students’ Union What Does Representation Look Like? The Course Rep Role Gathering Feedback Introducing ROS Representing Feedback Meetings Key Contacts Thank You
WELCOME Hello! I’m Izi, and I am your President Exeter! I have been elected into this role by the Exeter students in Cornwall and it is my responsibility to act as your representative regarding all things academic, which includes the Course Rep structure. In my role, I go to a lot of meetings with the senior management of the University and present feedback from the students of the Cornwall Campuses, much of which will have been gathered by Course Reps. This year we’re bringing in an online reporting tool called ros ; Rep Online System; you
will learn about that in training and there’s a guide to using it on page 12 in this booklet. We’re also introducing the big rep meetings , where all Course Reps can get together to focus on the big themes arising from student feedback alongside the Presidents and key senior staff from the University. This handbook and our Course Rep training will help you get going in your role but if you have any questions, need support or have any ideas then please don’t hesitate to contact me or the Student Voice team.
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YOUR STUDENTS’ UNION
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Your Students’ Union (FXU) is a membership-led charity; run by students, for students, and we are the only union in the country to represent students from two different universities. We focus on the academic, social and support needs of all students and we do that through three teams: student voice (representation and democracy), activities (Sports, Societies, Volunteering, Fundraising) and advice (free impartial and confidential service on housing, finance, academic appeals etc). Course Reps are part of the Student Voice Team and are managed via the Representatives Coordinator.
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WHAT DOES REPRESENTATION LOOK LIKE? are elected students who are ‘team leaders’ for their subject or department. They chair the SSLC meetings, attend Subject Chair Working Group, meet regularly with their Directors of Education (DoE) and represent their students at College level.
Student Presidents
subject chairs
are part of the FXU Leadership Team; an elected team of students who manage change in the interests of the student communities across the Cornwall campuses. Education Officers chair the Subject Chair Working Group and work with the FXU Presidents to identify opportunities to develop the academic experience of Exeter students. education officers
Education Officers
Subject Chairs
Course Reps
Student Body
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2300 STUDENTS
2 CAMPUSES PENRYN & TRURO
EDUCATION OFFICERS
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COURSE REPS SUBJECT CHAIRS
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THE COURSE REP ROLE
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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES feedback from your peers and give it to ROS. represent that feedback! Liaise with individual staff, attend meetings, speak to FXU. share what happened next! Let students know what happened as a result of their feedback. gather
Course Reps act as the voice of the students they have been elected to represent. They do this by gathering feedback and getting the student voice to where decisions about your student experience are made.
PERSONAL QUALITIES Proactive and organised Passionate about your course Keen to make a difference Good communication skills Able to separate your role from your opinion
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GATHERING FEEDBACK The first step is to think about how you are going to get feedback from the students you represent. Talk to them, give out sticky notes at the end of a lecture, send an email, set up a messaging group, create a physical or virtual drop box, whatever works for you. You might need to use more than one approach. Don’t just ask for problems, make sure you ask what is working well too or if anyone has any new ideas. Once you have your feedback you need to give it to ROS .
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Sometimes it can be hard to know what areas to get feedback on. Here are some example questions to get you going: HOW ORGANISED IS THE COURSE? HOW CLEAR IS THE TIMETABLE? ARE THERE ANY FORMS OF TEACHING (LECTURES, SEMINARS ETC) YOU REALLY ENJOY OR WOULD LIKE TO SEE ADDED? DO ASSESSMENTS ADEQUATELY AND FAIRLY REPRESENT THE CONTENT OF THE MODULES? CAN YOU COMMENT ON THE TYPES AND TIMINGS OF ASSESSMENTS; ARE THEY VARIED AND EQUALLY SPACED? ARE THERE ADEQUATE LIBRARY AND IT FACILITIES? DO YOU THINK THE DEPARTMENT VALUES YOUR FEEDBACK? HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE TEACHING? WHY HAVE YOU RATED IT IN THAT WAY? WHAT OTHER RESOURCES WOULD ENHANCE YOUR LEARNING?
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ROS (Rep Online System) is our brand spanking new tool to help you gather and manage your students’ feedback about the whole university experience. ROS has three questions: Is there anything working well ? Is there anything working less well ? Do you have any new ideas ? This means you should be able to collect balanced feedback about any topic. The best way to use ROS is to get together with the students you represent and record the feedback you get as you’re talking, that way you can ensure the appropriate tone and language is used. When you input feedback as a Rep, you will get an email with a summary of that feedback so you know what things you need to take action on quickly. Additionally, when you input against a particular service, for example the Library or Accommodation, that service will also be emailed with the details, so they can take action. You should use ROS to record all the online and /or face to face conversations you have with students; by doing that all your feedback will be in one place and you can get a report from FXU in advance of your SSLC meetings . That report will help you evidence what might need further discussion or investigation. ROS does not collect the name of individual students, only the Reps, so students can be reassured any feedback given to ROS is anonymous .
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REPRESENTING FEEDBACK Once you’ve got your feedback you need to represent it . Sometimes that will be a quick and easy action, like emailing a module leader to alert them to missing resources on ELE. Other times there might be bigger issues that need discussion before action is taken. Maybe students feel there needs to be a different balance of assessment in a module. With issues like that you need to raise them at your SSLC. An SSLC is a student staff liaison committee . There is an SSLC for each discipline (or sometimes a group of disciplines) and it meets to talk through the feedback gathered by Course Reps, and confirm a set of action points to be delivered which address that feedback . It is chaired by the subject chair , and is attended by all Course Reps within the discipline/subject area, the Director of Education, other lead academics, and staff from relevant services such as Careers and FXU. The SSLC should also 14
hear about the progress on previously agreed actions points and decide upon a plan to report back to students about what’s happened because of their feedback. The SSLC meetings are a vital part of the University Quality Assurance system, and help close the feedback loop for students. You should always do your best to attend your SSLC, but if you can’t then make sure you send apologies to the Subject Chair and submit any feedback to them that you feel needs discussing.
KEY TERMS agenda This sets out what will be discussed at the meeting, if there
is something specific you want to talk about at the meeting you need to ask the Chair for it to be added in advance of the meeting. It will be sent to members before the meeting so everyone can prepare. apologies Record of who has let the Chair know they cannot
attend the meeting. matters arising Discussion of actions taken or required
regarding issues raised at the last meeting. minutes Approved written record of the previous meeting. Minutes
from the previous meeting will usually be circulated with the agenda. any other business An opportunity to raise something urgent
that hasn’t appeared on the agenda. Usually it will only have come to your attention after the agenda has been set.
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THE BIG REP MEETINGS The Big Rep Meetings take place once a term and, as you might have guessed, bring together all the Reps to talk about the big themes coming out of ROS . The meetings will be chaired by the FXU Presidents, and senior staff from relevant areas will be invited to join in with the discussions and hear directly from you about the student experience. The meetings will also be a chance for the Presidents to report back to Reps about the work they’ve been doing because of student feedback and give you the chance to ask them questions. There might be other meetings you’re invited to from time to time, like focus groups or approval panels. Let us know if you need any support with them.
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BEFORE THE MEETING aa Get your ROS report from FXU. aa Check that you have done everything you can to resolve any issues before the meeting. aa Contact the Subject Chair if there’s anything you want to put on the agenda — they will be happy to meet with you to discuss this if you’re not sure. aa Read the agenda, and the minutes from the previous meeting. Make sure you’ve completed any actions assigned to you! aa Talk to staff beforehand if you have concerns about a major issue. This will help build a good working relationship, and will give staff time to prepare before the meeting.
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IN THE MEETING Don’t raise issues concerning individual students or staff; these issues should be addressed out of the meeting with the member of staff/ student in question, or, if preferred, with the DoE or FXU Advice.
When representing feedback, remember to always follow the
Be polite and considerate of others. Try phrases such as, “wouldn’t it be better if…” or “could we consider…”
C onstructive
Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t understand something. It’s always more powerful to give positive solutions rather than a list of problems. Remember you are not there to represent your own personal experience but be a representative . positive feedback is just as important !
If staff know what students like they can try to do more of it! 18
ABCDE code:
A ccurate B alanced
D epersonalised E videnced
KEY CONTACTS It’s worth spending time getting to know who the key staff are in your discipline area. That way when an issue arises you’ll be able to take action more quickly.
You could write in here who your
key contacts
are.
SUBJECT CHAIR: DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION: HEAD OF DEPARTMENT/PROGRAMME: SENIOR TUTOR: COURSE ADMINISTRATOR: FXU REP COORDINATOR:
You’ll also find lots of information, like module leads and lead tutors on the ELE pages for each module. And there are more resources to support you as a Rep on the FXU website fxu.org.uk/reps
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There are lots of ways we say thank amazing Reps.
you
to our
First of all, you can register to be an official legend . No matter how much time you give, if you volunteer, you are a Legend to your Students’ Union. fxu.org.uk/legends We hold an annual Rep social where you can let us shower you with praise, provide you with food and hang out with other awesome humans . At the end of the year we will hold a glitzy and glamorous student voice awards ceremony, where we’ll crown Reps of the Year from every SSLC and an overall winner of winners! Plus, you’ll be able to access lots of skill based workshops and further training opportunities, and count your Rep work towards the Exeter Award!
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