MDXSU Student Voice Leader Handbook

STUDENT VOICE LEADER

GUIDE 2015/2016

WELCOME FROM YOUR STUDENT OFFICERS

Congratulations ...on being elected, you are now part of a movement of hundreds of students working together to make a better experience for all students at Middlesex.

Your role is very important - you are now the link between the University, MDXSU and your course.

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You will represent students at Boards of Studies meetings and Student Voice Conferences, and work with your teachers and MDXSU to make the changes at Middlesex that students want to see.

ORLA sAYED

ANDRÉ

Aman Siddiqi

Sayed Alkadiri

T: 020 8411 6763 E: a.siddiqi@mdx.ac.uk

T: 020 8411 6412 E: s.alkadiri@mdx.ac.uk

AndrÉ Thompson

Orla Hillary

VP Art & Design and Media & Performing Arts

VP Health & Education and Science & Technology

President

VP Business and Law

T: 020 8411 4793 T: 020 8411 6771 E: a.thompson@mdx.ac.uk E: o.hillary@mdx.ac.uk

Welcome, and we look forward to working with you.

intro to your students’ union

LIBERATION ASSEMBLIES Are you a woman, LGBT, a black student or a disabled student? Our Liberation Assemblies provide a friendly and welcoming community for you to meet people, share experiences and campaign for positive change.

To find out more email studentvoice@mdx.ac.uk or go to www.mdxsu.com/liberations

blackstudents@mdxsu.com

mdxdisabledstudents@gmail.com

mdxwomen@gmail.com

mdxlgbt@gmail.com

what is a student voice leader?

As an elected Student Voice Leader you have the power to make positive changes for students here at Middlesex University.

how to gather feedback

examples of ways to talk to students on your course Communicating with students on your course is key to your role. Here are some ways that you can get the conversation going with your course mates.

One of the main parts of your job is to speak and listen to students on your course, and there are a number of different ways that you can do this:

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How quickly do your tutors give you feedback on your work?

Sending emails

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Are you having any problems with your timetable?

Creating surveys

Doing lecture shout-outs

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Do you have access to the computers and rooms that you need?

Using social media: Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, creating WhatsApp groups

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Is the dyslexia/disability support service useful?

Arranging meetings

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Do you find My Uni Hub easy to navigate?

Using Skype

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What do you think of your course handbook?

Creating comment boxes to place in a communal space

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Meeting up for a tea or coffee

Tell me some things that you would change about the way our course is run.

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Can you easily access all your core books?

It is important to remember that all of these methods have their strengths and weaknesses. You will also need to consider that students will have different preferred methods of communication.

STUDENT VOICE LEADER GUIDE

boards of studies WHAT ARE THEY? The Boards of Studies, sometimes referred to as ‘BoS’ are meetings that take place twice a year (one in each term) for every programme. These meetings are a chance for you to present the feedback that you have collected to the relevant staff.

what to expect?

These are University meetings with Student Voice Leaders, programme leaders, tutors and support staff. The meeting is led by the Chair who you will have a chance to speak to before it starts. They will be able to help you with any questions or apprehensions you might have about raising an issue.

During the meeting someone will be taking notes to make sure that everything you say is followed up with an action from various staff members. Afterward, these notes will be emailed to you and are called the meeting ‘minutes’.

STUDENT VOICE LEADER GUIDE

WHAT ISSUES CAN BE BROUGHT UP?

These meetings are a space for academic issues to be discussed. The issues you raise could be relevant to students on your programme, your year group or the whole course.

Don’t forget to include modules you might not be studying, as you represent all students on your programme and year group.

Resources and timetabling

Assessment criteria and procedures

Teaching methods

Student development

Course deadlines

Turnaround of marked work

Hidden course costs

BEFORE BOARDS OF STUDIES CHECKLIST

AFTER BOARDS OF STUDIES CHECKLIST

Get to the meeting in good time, or be early if you can, as this is an official meeting.

Take all previously prepared notes with you.

Once you get the minutes sent to you, make them available to your peers so that they can see what progress has happened with their concerns.

Sit with other students and staff that you have built a positive relationship with. This will help in making you feel more comfortable.

Don’t forget to continue gathering feedback, and be aware of what’s happening next regarding the issues that were brought up.

Have a meeting before the Board to talk about your issues and ideas.

Inform your School Voice Leader and the SU of any developments; especially if there have been wins (positive changes) or problems.

Remember to give positive as well as negative feedback.

Refer to the programme or module name not individuals.

Propose solutions to problems if you can, and pay attention to what is being said.

Be positive, constructive, assertive, respectful, helpful and honest.

STUDENT VOICE LEADER GUIDE

“

Being a school voice leader is not only a great opportunity to make observable changes to the student academic experience but also helps build up your CV!

”

Matilda - Law School Student Voice Leader

student voice conference what is it?

Student Voice Conferences happen 3 times each academic year, and are essentially an open discussion where you can take issues and ideas that are school based or university wide.

The conference is led by your Student Officers and School Voice Leaders and is attended by Student Voice Leaders from across the University.

What to expect?

Each conference will have different sections and these will be outlined on an agenda that will be sent to you a few days before. During the conference you will have Schoolwide meetings, skill training sessions, and speeches from your Student Officers, as well as the chance to vote on new ‘Ideas for Change’ that will be presented by other Student Voice Leaders.

WHAT ARE IDEAS FOR CHANGE? At Student Voice Conferences you will have the chance to put forward and present ‘Ideas for Change’ and other Student Voice Leaders will then be asked to vote ‘for’ or ‘against’ your idea. If students vote in favour of the idea, that idea is made into policy that mandates MDXSU to work towards making it happen.

The basis of an ‘Idea for Change’ is the identification of an issue that is affecting you and other students at Middlesex University. You can discuss and create these ideas at Conference when you break into your School meetings.

Examples of previously passed policy

There should be no exams in April; all exams should be in May, to avoid clashing with coursework deadlines, so that there is adequate space for students to revise.

Facilities access for alumni.

Better access to academic writing support.

You can find a record of all passed ‘Ideas for Change’ on the Student Voice Leader page on MyUniHub.

STUDENT VOICE LEADER GUIDE

student voice leader MYUNIHUB page MyUniHub is a space for all Student Voice Leaders from across Middlesex University to come together. It works in the same way as your courses do. the SVL page is with tons of useful resources and tools for you to use.

login details To access the Student Voice Leader MyUniHub page you will need to follow the link you have been emailed or type this link into your browser: http://mdx.mrooms.net/course/view.php?id=3917 Once you land on the page you will need to enrol yourself onto the course using this password: MDXSUsvl2015 After enrolling you can access training, meeting notes, information, chat forums and much more.

Once you have logged on you will find loads of useful resources. Use the checkboxes below to tick items off the list once you have found them:

STUDENT VOICE LEADER GUIDE

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School forums for contacting your School Voice Leaders and discussing issues

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Notes from previous Student Voice Conferences

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Boards of Studies Preparation sheet

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Tips for public speaking

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Four steps to take when raising an issue

Contact information for your relevant Student Officer

The Student Voice Leader Quiz

STUDENT VOICE LEADER GUIDE

The Quad

3:30pm 7:30pm 9/11/15 Student Voice Conference

Student Voice Conference

Board of Study 2

Student Voice Conference

Board of Study 1

place

time Date

Meeting

Meeting Schedule

Notes

Key Contacts

Key Terms

Executive committee: A committee made up of elected student officers and Student Voice Leaders that puts ideas into action - “executing” student desires.

Student Officer: Full-time elected students who lead MDXSU and represent you.

MDXSU President:

School Voice Leader: Elected students who represent their entire school. They also attend the executive committee, making sure that Student Voice Leaders’ ideas are acted upon.

MDXSU Vice President for your school: School Voice Leader:

Liberation assembly: A group where students who identify as LGBT, disabled, black or women can discuss particular challenges and experiences for those groups.

Board of Studies Chair:

BOS: Boards of Studies.

MDXSU Student Voice Team:

“

studentvoice@mdx.ac.uk

Chair: the person who leads a meeting.

Minutes: the written record of a meeting Agenda: a list of items to be discussed at a meeting.

The amazing ideas and suggestions from the students helped to shape the quality of support available to each and everyone of us

”

- Udeme Anthonia Essien Student Voice Leader Science and Technology (2nd year) STUDENT VOICE LEADER GUIDE

NSS: National Student Survey.

Referendum: A cross-campus vote that is open to all students at Middlesex. This process allows for discussions that are just too big to be settled at one meeting.

Quoracy/quorum: Enough people in a meeting in order for it to truly represent Middlesex.

f facebook.com/mdxsu t @MDXSU m studentvoice@mdx.ac.uk