Course Rep Handbook 22/23 by UCASU

HANDBOOK 2022-23

Contents 2: Congratulations 3: Your Role as a Course Rep 4: Gathering Student Opinions and Feeding Back 6: The ABCD of Representation 7: Course Board Meetings 9: The Dos and Don’ts 10: Course Rep Wins 11: Terminology and Meeting Jargon 13: Key Dates 14: Meeting Notes 17: Non-Academic Issues and Concerns 21: Key Contacts

Congratulations

on Becoming a Course Rep Congratulations on your election as a Course Representative for 2022-23! This handbook will guide you through the role, explain how the system works, and provide you with the tools you need to flourish as the best representative possible. At the end of the handbook you will find an area to write all key dates and well as pages to record student feedback and meeting notes. As a Course Rep, you play a crucial role in communicating how you and fellow students feel about things such as teaching, resources, and assessments. From this, you are able to work with the staff on your course and the university to positively impact changes to your overall learning experience. There are many benefits to being a Course Rep, on top of being the influential driving force for improvements to the student experience; • •

Gain professional skills such as networking, developing stronger relationships with academic staff, and meeting etiquette. Develop your feedback and communication skills by gathering the opinions of students, relaying this information to university staff, and reporting any comments and responses back to the student body.

What is the Students’ Union? Your Students’ Union (UCASU) is a student-run registered charity that is independent from the university. We use our annual strategic plan to better improve your student experience. Our • • • • •

strategic themes are: Change the world Students owning their experience Development Relevance Community and wellbeing

UCASU offers all students the opportunity to become involved in a range of activities, events, and support. For more information, visit ucasu.com - it will be valuable to familiarise yourself with our website should you need to sign-post students there for guidance.

Your Role as a Course Rep As a Course Rep, you have been elected by your peers to represent the views and opinions of everyone within your course to the University. Every course should have at least two Course Reps however, larger courses will have more. As a Course Rep, you are the link between students and staff. Your responsibilities primarily involve gathering feedback from peers, presenting this information to staff in Course Board meetings, working with staff on resolutions, and communicating outcomes back to students. As a Course Rep, you will be added to the Course Rep finder on the UCASU website which enables fellow students to contact you with points to bring forward at Course Board meetings. Remember to gather multiple opinions on a topic and to represent the whole course year! You will also be added to a ‘Teams’ group with all other Course Reps. This is managed by the Union Development Manager and will be used as the main channel for communication between you and UCASU. This will also mean that you have the opportunity to connect with other Course Reps across the UCA campuses!

Gathering Student Opinions and Feeding Back Anything and everything relevant to your course is open for discussion at Course Board meetings. Start conversations with peers about equipment, space, timetabling, curriculum, teaching, placement/ industry opportunities, material costs - anything related to your course learning experience.

UCASU Top Tips for Gathering Feedback 1. Let everyone know who you are and your role! • • •

Do a lecture ‘shout-out’ Ask your tutor and Programme Director to help promote who you are Connect with other Course Reps from your year and course

2. Listen to what students think • • •

Hold discussions during lectures (you can ask your tutor to step outside) Create Whatsapp/ social media groups Promote how students can contact you (this information can also be found on our Course Rep webpage ucasu.com/voice/course-reps/)

3. Focus on the information • • • • • •

Ask specific questions e.g. what do you think about the feedback we get from assignments? If a problem is brought to you, ask others if they have had similar experiences Keep anonymity and focus on the information, not an individual Don’t get lost in gossip Ask a variety of peers, not just those you know well Ask for positives and negatives!

What Should I Ask? How did you find the induction? Is all course information accessible to you? Are the lectures relevant to everyone? Do your tutors treat everyone fairly? Are you getting relevant feedback on time? How is the work paced? Are there enough library books for your area of study? Are there enough practical sessions? Have there been enough workshops? Is your timetable correct? Is your curriculum diverse and international enough? Do you have to buy additional materials and how has this impacted your learning experience? Do you have access to all the technical facilities you need? Are additional facilities open at suitable times? I.e. library, studios etc. And anything else that may affect your course! 5

The ABCD of Representation As a Course Rep, it is important to be:

Accurate Balanced

Constructive

Depersonalised

Make sure you have as much detailed information as possible about an issue that you plan to bring to a Course Board or staff member. Think about what you have been told, does this issue affect the whole group? Are there two sides to the story? Is it an individual problem that may be settled via another method? Come up with some suggestions for resolution. Share ideas and problems with other Course Reps (even ones on other courses), there may be some suggestions for improvement. The Union Development Manager can help arrange meetings with reps on other campuses. Don’t name names or point fingers, and don’t criticise individual staff members as this can cause a poor relationship between students and staff. If an issue only affects one student, it is an individual issue and that student should seek help from the UCASU Advice Service.

Course Board Meetings A Course Board is a meeting where all things course related are discussed. It’s attended by Programme Directors, some tutors, the Head of School, and you! Reps from all years will attend the meetings which provides a great opportunity to compare feedback and work together. It can feel daunting providing feedback to staff. Remember, your role is vital in ensuring your course is the best it can be! If you do have any concerns or any issues arise, please contact the Union Development Manager.

How to make a Course Board work for you • • • • • •

Let students know there is a meeting coming up and continue to gather feedback Represent the collective opinion Remain professional and focussed Be loud and make your voice heard If any issue takes a long time to resolve, report this to the Union Development Manager who can offer more support and guidance Present positives and negatives

Suggestions for topics to discuss • • • • • • •

Course facilities Access to resources Contact hours with your tutors Links to employers and your chosen industry Timetabling The National Student Survey (NSS) results Assessment feedback

Before meetings • •

Be prepared Gather and record student views (there is space at the end of this handbook for this) Go through the ABCD of representation Read the agenda and note any points of interest that you want to investigate before the meeting

• •

During meetings • • • • • •

Arrive ready and on time Be polite and clear when communicating Represent the views of your peers Listen and note what has been discussed (there is space for this at the end of the handbook) Be considerate of others Be confident

After meetings • • •

Share feedback on your points raised with your peers (feedback is crucial so that everyone knows what is going on), how you choose to do this is up to you Follow up on agreed actions Share your wins and recommendations with other Course Reps!

The Dos and Don’ts Do: • • • • • •

Be the student voice for your course Ask students on your course what changes they’d like to see Ask students what’s great about the course Work with staff to make improvements which work for everyone Think of solutions and present them at meetings Be the link between staff and students

Don’t: • • • • •

Always agree with staff - your perspectives will differ Only present your own ideas Bring forward problems in a rude or personal manner Feel pressured to take on more than you can - your wellbeing and studies comes first! Help students with personal problems - refer them to the Union’s Advice and Wellbeing Coordinator

Course Rep Wins What was achieved in 2021/22? Rochester FE Students were able to prioritise practical work relevant to their projects over recorded lectures.

Advocating for more accessible gender neutral facilities for gender queer students in Rochester.

MA Global Marketing & Comms in Epsom successfully pushed for in-person lecturers rather than online.

Ensuring students know how and where to raise issues.

Resolving significant assessment deadline issues to ensure fellow first years weren’t affected by course administration problems.

MA Fashion & Business Management in epsom consolidated lecture notes and course information in one place to support students with course work.

Securing additional study space for Photography students in Farnham.

Organised a cohort trip to a local wildlife park to work on course related disciplines such as drawing and photography.

Terminology & Meeting Jargon AAM - Annual Academic Monitoring A yearly review of how the course is doing. It looks at a range of factors including surveys, student feedback, dropout rates and results. Agenda A list of topics to be discussed at the meeting. This is given out before the meeting which you can add to. AOB - Any Other Business An opportunity at the end of the meeting to talk about things that are relevant but not on the agenda. BoE - Board of Examiners Board of examiners award grades and final degree classifications to students. BoG - Board of Governors A group of internal and externally appointed individuals that guide the overall strategy of the University and approve or reject high impact financial decisions. CCF - Common Credit Framework The framework that sets out how ‘credit’ is accumulated, marks, and grades are awarded, and outlines most of the academic rules for the undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Chair The person in charge of running the meeting. FE - Further Education Pre-degree level education (A-Levels, Foundation, etc). HE - Higher Education Degree level education, including Masters and PhDs. ISS - Internal Student Survey An annual survey of all students at UCA to track student satisfaction. KIS - Key Information Sets These are a set of information about individual courses for students to make informed decisions about where they go to university, see unistats.com.

LSS - Library and Student Services The joint department of library and student development services. This includes advice, counseling, disability support, English for academic purposes, careers and more. Minute taker / Clerk The person who writes down what is said, and actions to be taken. NSS - National Student Survey An annual survey of degree students, designed to assess student opinions on the quality of their degree programme. OfS - Office for Students The independent regulator of higher education in England OFSTED - Office for Standards in Education (“off-sted”) A non-ministerial government department for inspecting standards in schools and further education. PTS - Postgraduate Taught Survey An annual survey of postgraduate taught student opinions on the quality of their degree programme run by the Office for Students (OfS) QAA - Quality Assurance Agency Independent agency to ensure HE qualifications are at an acceptable standard. QAE - Quality, Assurance and Enhancement A UCA department working to ensure qualifications are of an acceptable standard, run validation events and that assessments are run fairly. ‘Validation’ is the process whereby a course is reviewed and agreed and recommendations or conditions are placed for the development of a course. Quoracy The number of people needed at the meeting to make decisions. VC - Vice-Chancellor The leader of a University. For UCA it’s Bashir Makhoul. UCA Leadership Team The Executive team who lead the University. It is headed by the Vice Chancellor.

Key Dates The Course Rep training questionnaire will be emailed to you shortly after election results are announced and MUST be completed by Friday 11th November 2022 4pm. If it is not, the Students’ Union can not confirm your role as Course Representative with your academic staff team and members of the Course Board.

Drop-in sessions with the Union Development Manager These are a great opportunity to come and talk to the Union in person for any advice, support, and guidance relating to your Course Rep role. You can discuss outcomes, share wins, or talk through any recurring topics from your feedback!

Epsom 1.30PM – 3.30PM 1.30PM – 3.30PM 1.30PM – 3.30PM

Farnham 10AM – 12PM 10AM – 12PM 10AM – 12PM

Canterbury Tue 6 Dec Tue 17 Mar Tue 23 May

1.30PM – 3.30PM 1.30PM – 3.30PM 1.30PM – 3.30PM

Fri 9 Dec Fri 17 Mar Fri 26 May

Rochester Tue 6 Dec Tue 17 Mar Tue 23 May

10AM – 12PM 10AM – 12PM 10AM – 12PM

Fri 9 Dec Fri 17 Mar Fri 26 May

Course Board Meeting Term 1 Time: Date: Location: Additional information: ...................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................. Course Board Meeting Term 2 Time: Date: Location: Additional information: ...................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................. Course Board Meeting Term 3 Time: Date: Location: Additional information: ...................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................................

Meeting Notes Date of meeting: Feedback from you course: Positives - .......................................................................................................................................... - .......................................................................................................................................... - .......................................................................................................................................... - .......................................................................................................................................... Student concerns and issues to highlight - .......................................................................................................................................... - .......................................................................................................................................... - .......................................................................................................................................... - .......................................................................................................................................... Suggestions for solutions - .......................................................................................................................................... - .......................................................................................................................................... - .......................................................................................................................................... - .......................................................................................................................................... To feedback to course peers after the meeting (note the outcomes to what you presented in the meeting, consider how you want to feed this back to students) - .......................................................................................................................................... - .......................................................................................................................................... - .......................................................................................................................................... - .......................................................................................................................................... Additional notes ............................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................ Suggestions on how to feedback this information to course peers; • Group email • Social media post for your course • Ask your tutor for time in class to discuss • Write a blog post for the Union website

Non-Academic Issues and Concerns Students may come to you for advice as they know and trust you. Sometimes the best thing to do is to offer them a little bit of your time and listen. Remember that you must only listen and signpost to the relevant services and never provide personal advice. If you feel at any time the discussion is becoming serious or uncomfortable you should direct students to contact your Students’ Union Advice services or Gateway. It is important to understand that sometimes students are not comfortable talking to someone from the university and don’t realise that the Students’ Union is autonomous. It may be useful to explain that the Students’ Union Advice service is not run by the university and offers confidential, nonjudgemental, independent advice. If a student is clearly in distress, (crying uncontrollably, having a panic attack, or unable to speak, reassure them and try to give them some space and time to breathe), it would be appropriate to contact a Mental Health officer on your campus and if a student is visibly in danger to themselves or others (including self-harming or threatening suicide), contact 999 and treat it as an emergency. If a student can speak and engage but is still very upset (and you are comfortable doing so), possibly explore if there is anyone the student trusts enough that they can talk to such as a family member or friend. You can refer students to Gateway and the Students’ Union Advice and Wellbeing Coordinator as well as the Samaritans and Big White Wall. Think about yourself, your safety is a priority. If you find yourself talking to a student privately, confirm with a member of staff where you are going and seat the student so that they are furthest from the door. Make sure you have clear access should you need to remove yourself from the room. In the case of a distressed student, it might be worthwhile to ring the Gateway Desk on your campus beforehand rather than bring a student along in person, as the student might find this embarrassing or disconcerting. The Gateway team can advise you if there are any members of staff free to talk to the student at that time. If not, they may be able to provide a private space where the student can contact an emotional support service. You can advise a student about the Counselling Service at UCA, which is free to any student. More information about counselling can be obtained from the Gateway Team or by visiting online at uca.ac.uk/student-services/counselling.

What if a student tells you that they have a mental health condition? If a student shares that they have a mental health condition, don’t panic! Approximately 1 in 4 people at any given time have a mental health condition. Having a mental health issue does not mean students are unable to engage. It is important not to treat them differently, and not to assume they require counselling. If students with a mental health condition express concerns they are struggling with their studies, they can be signposted to Gateway Services on their campus (or the Students’ Union Advice service if they want independent guidance) to arrange an appointment with a Learning Support Manager. What if a student tells me they are a victim of discrimination, bullying, victimisation or harassment? If the student would like to talk to someone about their experience and discuss their options, you should signpost the student to your Students’ Union for Advice, a Specialist Advisor via the Gateway, or contact one of the Bullying & Harassment Advisers. The university have a system called ‘report and support’ where students can report any behaviours including abuse, bullying, harassment, discrimination and assault - this can be accessed at reportandsupport.uca.ac.uk. You do not have to give personal details when reporting any incidents or concerns and may remain anonymous! What if a student is a victim of crime? Advise the student to report the crime to the police and make sure that they have the contact details for the local Police Service. They can either ring 101 (or 999 in an emergency) or go online: • Canterbury & Rochester: kent.police.uk/services/report-a-crime • Epsom & Farnham: surrey.police.uk/advice/victims-of-crime If the student does not want to do this, suggest that they talk to the Specialist Advisor at Gateway Services or the UCASU Advice & Wellbeing Coordinator.

Issue

Does it affect more than one person?

Does it relate to more than one course? Speak to the Programme Director

Is it an urgent problem?

Approach the Students’ Union advice service

Talk to the Students’ Union

Talk to your Course tutor about your next steps

Talk to the Students’ Union or the Student advice service

Talk to your Students’ Union President

Does it effect only your School? (Within the University e.g. Shool of Design)

Is it urgent?

Contact the Students’ Union

Could the problem be solved informally?

Speak to the relevant person

Discuss the issue with another Course Rep

Speak to Advice & Representation Service

Key Contacts UCASU President Kent: Sol Gjøines - sol.gjoines.su@uca.ac.uk President Surrey: Foysal Mobarock - foysal.mobarock.su@uca.ac.uk For advice and wellbeing support: advice.su@uca.ac.uk Union Development Manager, for support in your role as course rep: studentvoice.su@uca.ac.uk

Course Leader: ................................................................................................................... Programme Director: ...................................................................................................... Your key contacts for Course Board meetings will be your Programme Director. For support and guidance outside of this remit please contact the Students’ Union Union Development Manager.

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