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: Student Community & Partnerships Associate: Academic Librarian: SU Student Voice Coordinator:

You’ll also find lots of information on the ELE pages for each module to help you find the right member of staff.

Student Services: studentservices@fxplus.ac.uk SU Advice Service: advice@thesu.org.uk Porters’ Lodge: 01326 253503

Key Contacts

Student Rep Code Of Conduct

TRAINING Attendance at the relevant Rep Training is compulsory for all Reps. Completing training allows Reps to carry out their roles effectively and build networks across departments. The only exception to mandatory attendance is for those who have been appointed and trained in a similar role in previous years with the agreement of the SU Rep & Dem Manager. Reps have the opportunity to engage with additional training opportunities over the course of the academic year.

MEETING ATTENDANCE All reps will be expected to attend the meetings outlined in their relevant role descriptor. Where attendance is not possible, Reps should communicate their apologies to the Chair and / or secretary of the meeting. It is expected that Reps who are unable to attend a meeting will send a report/comments, detailing any issues to be discussed, to the meeting secretary or another Representative. Failure to attend (without providing apologies) two meetings, as outlined above, may result in the process to remove you as a Representative.

FEEDBACK COLLECTION The collection of feedback from the students you represent is the cornerstone of successful representation. All reps are expected to communicate consistently and effectively with their students, with the objective of gathering a representative view of opinions and concerns on all matters relating to the student experience. To ensure that this is the case, any presented feedback should adhere to the ABCDE rule, and be Accurate, Balanced, Constructive, De-personalised and Evidenced. Reps should log all feedback collected in the Rep Online System (ROS). Reps should ensure they pass information / raise issues in a timely manner.

BEHAVIOUR AND ATTITUDE Reps must act respectfully and with professionalism at all times, including at any meetings they attend, throughout the undertaking of their roles. This includes verbal and written communication. Bullying and harassment of any kind are unacceptable. Reps are expected to abide by Students’ Union by-laws and policies and /or University regulations as appropriate. If you have concerns about the conduct of another Rep then please contact the Students’ Union.

SENSITIVE INFORMATION Collected information which is of a sensitive nature, whether pertaining to a student or member of staff, should be treated as confidential, and anonymity should be retained for all parties concerned when appropriate.

DATA Personal data is shared with reps with a view to providing information necessary for effective undertaking of core responsibilities. This information should be used exclusively for reps to carry out these responsibilities, and must not be used for any other purpose, or shared externally. Any breach of Data Protection laws could result in substantial fines, and additional consequences for the Students’ Union and University. As part of a legitimate interest to facilitate representation and communication, the names and contact details of Reps are shared with the students they represent.

Procedure For The Removal Of Representatives

Occasionally there may be issues where the conduct of a Representative may be called into question, and the suggestion for a Representative to be removed from their role. This will tend to rise from a Representative breaching anything in this code of conduct, such as not turning up to meetings and not providing apologies, or conducting themselves in an unacceptable way. We want to ensure that this is a rarity, and that Representatives know what the process will be for their removal. The following is the procedure for dealing with the removal:

Stage 1: The Representative will receive an email inviting them to a meeting with an SU President and / or Representation & Democracy Coordinator to discuss the concern informally.

Stage 2: If a resolution has not been sought, or the incident is more serious, the Representative will be brought to a formal meeting with the Students’ Union and Course Leader / Director of Education. The result may be for the Representative to either address the discussed issue with action, or the University and Students’ Union may decide that the Representative should be removed from their position.

Stage 3: The Representative will have a right to appeal, which if they choose to, a panel will be formed, comprising of members of their School, the University and the Students’ Union and they will be invited to discuss why they are appealing the decision. The Representative will be notified as to the decision of their appeal. A Representative can only be dismissed from their role from a joint decision by the Course Leader / Director of Education and Students’ Union, and after Stage 1 and Stage 2 have taken place. At all stages, we encourage Representatives to stay in communication with the Students’ Union and University throughout the year.