Beinga rep:
Student
Thecompleteguide
AbouttheAuthors
AnishBagga
Anish Bagga is the founder and CEO of Unitu, The Student Voice Platform. The platform was born throughhisexperienceandstrugglesasastudent rep. Through his observations, experience, and research, it was apparent that a better way was neededforstudents,reps,andstafftoengageand actonstudentfeedback.
Unitu is a purposefully built platform that helps student reps collect and act on student feedback. The platform allows students to give real-time feedbacktotheirreps,makingiteasiertogenerate representative feedback that can be escalated to staffquickly.
TolearnmoreabouthowUnituworksandcanhelp you,visitourwebsite.
JohnChoi
JohnChoiisanundergraduatestudentreadinglaw atUCL.HewasaCourseRepresentativeforayear before being re-elected as the Lead Department RepresentativefortheUCLFacultyofLaws.Hewas awarded the UCL Students’ Union Academic RepresentativeoftheYearawardin2019and2020 forhisrepresentativeefforts.
Beingastudentrep:Thecompleteguide
Being a student rep is an incredibly rewarding role, but it can also feel intimidatingwhenyouarestartingoff.Inthisguide,we’vegatheredthemost importantinformationregardingastudentrep’sroletohelpyousucceedand makeadifferenceduringyourtenure.
We hope you enjoy this guide and it proves to be of value in your role as a studentrep.
Whoisastudent representative?
Asastudentrepresentative,youhaveanessentialrole.You representoneofthemainpointsofconnectionbetweenthe universitystaffandthestudents.Yourrolewillbetomakesure thatyourfellowstudentsareheard,safeguardtheirinterests, andworkincollaborationwithuniversitystafftocreatethebest possibleuniversityexperienceforallstudents.
Ifthatsoundslikealottoask,itcanbehelpfultobreakitdown intoseveralbroadcategories.It’sworthremembering,however, thatyourdaytodayrolewillrarelysplitquitesoneatly.
The role of the student representative
Thereare4mainrolesastudentrepresentativehastocarryout:
1.The rep as point of contact
Asstudentrep,youwilloftenbethefirstperson studentscometowithquestionsorproblems. Ideally,youwillbeabletoprovidesupportand informationdirectly,butthiswon’talwaysbe possible.Yourrolewilloftenbetosignpostthem towardstherightpersonforassistance.
2. The rep as opinion researcher
Repsareabletoengagewiththestudentbodyto understandthestudentexperience.Bothrepsand staffwillrelyontheinformationrepscangatherto guidetheirprioritiesandactionsthroughoutthe year.Youwillneedtodecidewhatissuesto investigate,andthebestmethodstogatherthat information.
Learning more about your peers’ issues can be easily done through platforms such as Unitu, where you can learn and categorise the issues raised as well as taking steps to create change.
3. The rep as policy shaper
Ifyouhavehadanelectionorcreateda manifesto,youmayalreadyhaveaplanforthe policiesyouwouldliketopushforward,and possiblyamandatetodoso.
Asuccessfulrepisconstantlyseekingsolutionsto problemsfacedbythestudentbodyor proactivelylookingforwaystoimprovestudents’ experienceoftheirtimeatuniversity.
4. The rep as action taker
Studentrepsareresponsibleforhelpingtomake policiesasuccess;througheducation,outreach, Q&Asessionsandmore.Akeyroleforyouwillbe to‘closethefeedbackloop’,explainingto studentswhatactionshavebeentakenin responsetotheirconcerns,andwhy.
The role of the students’ union and university
AccordingtotheEducationAct(1994)astudents’union’s “principalpurposesincludepromotingthegeneralinterestsof itsmembersasstudents.”Thestudents’unionisindependentof theuniversity,withitsownstaff,governanceprocedures,and finances,butthetwoareinextricablylinked.
Asarep,yourresponsibilityistothestudents’union(andthe studentswhocompriseit),butyoureffectivenesswillbelargely basedonhowwellyoucanworkwithuniversitystaffand influencetheuniversity’splansandprocedures.
Bothpartieshaveavestedinterestintherelationshipbeing successful.Universitiesareexpectedtotraintheirstaffto collaboratewithstudents’unionstaff,includingrepsandsabs. Inturn,yourstudents’unionwillprovideyouwiththetraining, support,andguidanceyouneedtomakethemostofyourtime asastudentrep.
Asastudents’unionrep,youmaybeonvariouscommittees. Youwillbeanintegralpartoftheuniversity’sdecision-making process.Asastudentrep,youwillbefullyengagedwiththe decision-makingprocesses,askingdifficultquestionsand informingstaffofhowtheirideasandpoliciesareperceivedby thepeopletheyimpact.
Gatheringstudent feedback
Gatheringstudentfeedbackisoneofthemostimportantaspectsofyour role.Untilyouknowwhatstudentswant,youwon’tbeinapositionto influencedecisionsordrivechange.
Herearesomeofthemostimportantstepsyoucantaketohelpyoucollect theinformationyouneed.
Make yourself accessible and approachable
Thisprobablysoundsobvious,butit’svitallyimportant thatthestudentsyouarerepresentingknowwhoyou are,andwhatyoudo.Ifyou’vebeenfocusingongetting elected,itcanbedifficulttorememberthatothers mightnothavebeenpayingthesamekindofattention, somakesurethatyouintroduceyourselfandexplain yourrolewheneverpossible.
Trytouseavarietyofdifferentmethodstogetyourmessageacross. Consideraskinglecturersfortheopportunitytointroduceyourselfassoon aspossible,butbeawarethatsomestudentswillmissyour announcement.Followitupwithanemail,socialmediaannouncements, andevenposters.
Besuretoincludeinformationabouthowstudentscancontactyou.Dropinsessionssomewherecentralcanalsobeahugehelp.Everystudentyou reachcanbecomepartofyournetwork,increasingyourvisibilityand overallawarenessofhowyoucanhelp.
Types of issues to gather feedback on
Asastudentrep,yourjobistogatherfeedbackonanything importanttoyourpeers.Giventhatthisseemsalittle overwhelmingandjusttoovaguetobehelpful,wewilloffer somesuggestionsforwhereyoumightwanttofocus.Justbe awarethatthisisnotaprescriptivelist,andsometimes circumstances(orglobalpandemics)candefyall expectations.
Typically,academicissueswillcentrearoundafewkeyconcerns: Beinga
Thecurriculumandorganisation
Isthecoursewellstructured? Istheworkloadwelldistributed?
LearningResources
Doyouhavethefacilitiesyouneedtosucceed? Aretheteachingspacesfitforpurpose?
Teaching
Dothelecturesrunontime? Howwouldyourateyourteaching?
Assessmentandfeedback
Doyouunderstandtheassessmentcriteria? Isthefeedbackyoureceivehelpful?
Progression
Doyourpersonaltutorsdiscussyourprogressionwithyou? Doyoufeelyourcourseisimprovingyouremployability?
Studentsupport
Isacademicsupporteasytoaccess? Isyourpersonaltutorhelpful?
Coursequality&staffresponsiveness
Doesyourdepartmentrespondwelltoyourconcerns? Howwouldyouratethestandardofyourcourse?
Youshouldalsobeawareof,andreadytoengagewith,non-academic issuesthatstudentsareexperiencing.Thesemightbearoundsafetyon-or off-campus,housing,finances,andmore.
Someofthesewillfalloutsideoftheuniversity’sremit,butasurprising numberwillnot.Evenwhentheuniversityisn’tresponsibleforresolvinga particularissue,theywilloftenhaveexperienceorexpertisethatmight help.
Ways to gather feedback
Gatheringinformationisclearlyimmensely important,butthatdoesn’tmeanthatit’s easy.Youneedtomakesurethatyou’re hearingfromawiderangeofstudentvoices, notjusttheoneswhoarewillingtospeakup.
Togetthemostcompletepictureofstudents’ experiences,youwillneedtouseavarietyof differenttools.Differentstudentgroupswill respondbesttospecifictools,soincludeas manyasyoucantocapturethemostvoices.
Someofthemostcommonoptionsare:
Surveys
FocusGroups
Drop-insessions
Lectureshoutout
Ballotbox
Socialmedia
Informationconversation
Secondarydata
Unitu
Whilemostrepsarefamiliarwiththemorecommontechniques,theymight belesscomfortablewithsecondarydataandUnitu.
Thisisunfortunate,becausetheycanbevaluable.Secondarydatais typicallysurveysandreportsfrompreviousinvestigationsbytheuniversity orstudents’union.
THE STUDENT VOICE PLATFORM
Unitu isaparticularlyeffectivetool,asitallowsyoutogatherandanalyse studentfeedbackinrealtimeandrespondtoissuesastheyappear.
Categorising and prioritising your feedback
Althoughyouwillwanttogatherasmuchfeedbackaspossible,youwon’t beabletogiveitallyourfullattention.Todecidewhichareasneedtobe prioritised,usethreekeycriteria.
Widelyfelt
Issuesthataresharedacrossthestudentbodyshould beyourfocus.Themorepeopleaffected,themoreyou needtopayattention.Unitumakesiteasytoseewhen manystudentsshareaspecificconcern.
Deeplyfelt
Issuesthatleadtostrongemotionswillneedtobe addressed.Consideraskingstudentstoassigna numericalvaluetotheimportanceofanissue,or rankingtheircomplaints.
Achievability
Considerwhetherthereisarealisticprospectof success.Therearesomeissuesthatyouknowyou won'tbeabletomakeprogress.Inthesecases,itcan behelpfultoseewhethertheproblemcanbebroken downintosmaller,achievabletasks.
Workingwithstaffto drivechange&make themostoutofmeetings
Asastudentrep,youwillbespendingmuchofyourtimein meetings.Here’showtogetthebestresults
What to do before, during and after the meeting
Preparationiskeytothesuccessofanymeeting.
Ÿ Makesurethatyouhavereadallrelevantdocuments (suchasagendasorminutes).
Ÿ Researchhowstudentsfeelabouttheimportantissues
Ÿ Prepareanysuggestionsyouwanttoputforward,and provideevidencetobackthemup
Duringthemeeting,makesureyoupresent aprofessionalfront.
Ÿ Stayfocused,alert,andengaged
Ÿ Beassertive,butnotaggressive.
Ÿ Takenotes.Usethesetokeeptrackofpointsyou'rekeen tomakeduringthemeeting,andtohaverecordsofyour ownafterwards.Thesecanbeinvaluableforyour successor
Justbecausethemeetingisover,itdoesn't meanyourworkisdone.
Ÿ Closethefeedbackloopandexplaintostudentswhat wasagreed
Ÿ Bereliableincompletingactionsortasksassignedtoyou
Ÿ Askforfeedbacktodevelopyourskills
Presenting feedback to staff
Justasthereareavarietyofdifferentwaystogetfeedbackfrom students,youalsoneedtochoosehowbesttocommunicatethat feedbacktostaff.
Emails
Sendinganemailisoneoftheeasiestwaystoprovide feedbacktostaff.Emailsallowstafftoengagewith feedbackatatimethatsuitsthem.Unfortunately, messagescanbeoverlooked.Ifyourissueistime-sensitive, youmaywanttolookforalternatives.
Drop-in sessions
Havingregulardrop-inswithstaffisidealforworking togethertofindanuancedsolutiontoadifficultproblem. Thereisnorecordoftheconversation,however,soconsider keepingdetailednotes.Italsomaynotbeappropriatefor urgentissues.
Meetings
Mostinstitutionshaveregularlyscheduledmeetings.These areanopportunitytodiscussissueswithkeydecisionmakersandcanresultinpromptaction.Onceagain,there areissuesifthefeedbackisurgent,becausetheremayonly beoneortwoformalmeetingsperterm.
Unitu
Unitudoesn'tjustallowyoutocommunicatewithstudents. Ifyouruniversityhassignedup,itcanbeafastand effectivewayofcommunicatingwithstaffaswell.
Staffwilltypicallyhaveaccesstothefeedbackdirectlyfrom students,butyouareabletoraiseyourownconcernsand drawtheirattentiontoimportantconcerns.
If your department does not have Unitu, why not speak with one of our team members to help you explore if Unitu can help you in your role.
Discussing a solution
Greatstudents'repsworkwithstafftofindsolutions totheproblemsstudentsarereporting.Hereare someideastohelpyouformeffectiveworking relationships.
Professionalandeffectivecommunication
Thekeytoeffectiveprofessionalcommunicationisclear,concise,andnonaccusatory.TryusingtheDESOstrategy.
Describe. Express
Explaintheproblemin neutralterms,without assigningblame.
Offeryourproposed solution
Detailtheimpactthat theproblemhason students.Trytoemphasisethepositive aspectsofyoursolution,morethanthe negativeaspectsofthecurrentsituation.
Explainwhatyouthinkwillhappenifthe universityadoptsyoursuggestion, vstheoutcomeiftheydonothing. Specify. Outcome.
Avoidlumpingdifferentissuestogether.Whenyouhavealotofissuesto raise,itcanbetemptingtotrytogetthemalloutatonce.Thiscancome acrossasconfrontationalandoverwhelming.
Approachingeachproblemseparatelyusuallyhelpstokeepthe conversationfocusedonsolutions.Theexceptiontothisiswhenseveral issuesallcomefromthesameunderlyingproblemoriftheyshareasolution. Ifthisisthecase,focusontheconnectiontohighlightwhyyou'regrouping themtogether.
Meetingjargon
Herearesomeofthekeytermsitmighthelptobefamiliarwith:
Ÿ Actionpoints:Thingsthatneedtobedonefollowingthe meeting,andwhoisresponsibleforthem.
Ÿ Agenda:Listofitemstobediscussedinthemeeting.Thisissent outinadvance.
Ÿ A.O.B:Anyotherbusiness.Youropportunitytobringupanything notincludedontheagenda
Ÿ Apologies: Listofpeoplewhowouldnormallyattendthe meetingwhoareabsent.
Ÿ Mattersarising:Youropportunitytoreportbackonanything fromthepreviousmeeting.
Ÿ Minutes:Officialnotesofthemeeting.
Negotiatingwithstaff
Empathyiskeytoaneffectivenegotiation.Beforegoingintoameeting,it canbehelpfultothinkaboutwhystudentsareaskingforspecificchanges andalsowhythestaffmayhaveotherpreferences.Tryingtounderstand thestaff'spositioncanhelpyoufindasolutionthatsuitseveryone.
Chairing a meeting for the first time
Ifyouthoughtattendingmeetingswithseniorstaffwas intimidating,justwaituntilyou'reaskedtochairorcochairyourfirstmeeting.
Onceagain,preparationiskeytoboththesuccessof yourmeeting,andyourconfidence.
Prepareandcirculatetheagendaandotherrelated documents
Makingsurethatallparticipantshavetimelyaccesstoall theimportantinformationiskeytoasmoothmeeting. Gatheringit,ontheotherhand,israrelysmooth.Talktoall relevantstakeholdersandparticipantstogatheralistof itemsforinclusionontheagenda.Setadeadlineforitems tobeincluded,aswellasforanysupportingmaterialthat participantswouldlikethemeetingtoconsider.
Considertheorderandtheformat
Onceyouknowwhatpeoplewanttotalkabout,thinkabout howtheconversationislikelytogo.Iftherearerelated points,placethemnexttoeachother.Considerplacing fraughtitemsbetweenoneswithmoreconsensus.Estimate howlongyouwillhavetodiscusseachitemandmakea noteonyourcopyoftheagenda.
Duringthemeeting
Setthescene
Aschair,it'syourroletoremindeveryoneofanyrelevant rules(includingvirtualmeetingetiquette)andtogetthe ballrolling.Introductionscanbeagreatwaytostart.
iClockwatch
Keepaneyeonthetimeandmakesurepeopleknowwhen it'stimetomoveon.Remember,youwon'talwaysreach agreement.
Includeeveryone
Keepaneyeoutforanyonewho'sremainingquietandask fortheirthoughtsorcomments.
Draftactionpoints
Makesurethateveryoneknowswhatisexpectedofthem afterthemeeting.Trytosharetheworkloadifpossible.
Afterthemeeting
Ÿ Circulateandconfirmtheminutes
Ÿ Followuponanyactionpoints
Closingthe feedbackloop
Closingthefeedbackloopmeansmakingsurethatstudentsknowwhat hashappenedastheresultoftheinformationthey'vegivenyou.Students havespenttheirtimetellingyoutheirthoughtsandopinions.It'sonlypolite toletthemknowwhatyou'vebeenupto.
Moreimportantly,closingthefeedbackloopisessentialtobuildingtrust andmaintainingengagement.
What to feed back
Feedbackistheretohelpstudentsunderstandwhatis happening,letthemseetheimpacttheircommentshave had,showwhatyou'vebeendoing,andencouragethemto stayengaged.Generally,ifyouthinkstudentswouldbe interestedinsomething,it'sworthtalkingaboutit.
Letstudentsknowwhatissueshavebeenraised,any outcomesorsolutionsthathavebeenagreed,any potentialnextsteps,andanyplanstheuniversityor departmentmayhave.
How to feed back
Trytofeedbacktoyourstudentgroupsinawidevarietyof ways.Themoreimportanttheinformation,theharderyou willneedtoworktomakesurethateveryoneknowswhat's beengoingon.
Emailsareanimportantcomponentofanycommunication strategy,alongsideotherstrategiessuchassocialmedia.If anissueisofvitalimportanceandtime-sensitive,youmight asktocarryoutalectureshoutoutannouncement.Use thesesparingly,however,astheycanbedisruptive.
Who and when
Attheveryleast,youshouldbefeedingbacktothe studentsyourepresent.Often,it'simportantforyouto reportbacktootherstudentgroupswhomightbe affectedbythesameissues.Talktootherstudents'reps toidentifyanysharedconcernsandagreewhowillfeed backtoeachstudentgroup.
Thesooneryoufeedbacktostudents(withinreason), thebetter.Timelyfeedbackshowsstudentsthatyouare takingtheirconcernsseriouslyandletsthemfeel supported.
Conclusion
Beingastudents'repisabigresponsibility,andahuge opportunity.Preparationisthekeytomakingthemostofthis chance,andbeingabletomakethechangesyouandyourfellow studentswanttosee.
Unitu isanincrediblyhelpfultooltoassistwiththemost challengingandtime-consumingaspectsofyournewrole.If youruniversityhasn'tsignedupyet,tryaskingwhetherthisis somethingtheymightconsider.
Amplifyingstudentvoices,offeringsolutionstotheirproblems, andclosingthefeedbackloophelpsthewholeuniversity ecosystem.It'sinthebestinterestsofeveryoneinvolvedwiththe university,bothstaffandstudents,tohaveclear,fast,and effectivecommunicationacrossalllevelsofyourorganisation.
There'sgoingtobealotofworkfacingyouoverthenextyear,but youcanhandleit.Reachouttostaffwithinyourstudents'union, takeadvantageofanytrainingyouareoffered,andlookfortools andstrategiestohelpyoumanageyourworkload.
Goodluck.You'lldogreat.