Student Reps Handbook by The Students' Union at UWE

THE HANDBOOK

HELLO AND WELCOME Congratulations on being elected as a Student Rep! You’re joining a diverse team of students in championing the student voice here at UWE Bristol. Student Reps are very important to The Students’ Union and the University; the work you will do is crucial to improving the student experience and representing the academic interests of the students you represent. Student Reps are the voice of students, working with your cohort to provide feedback and ideas to both The Students’ Union and the University. This handbook has been put together to support and empower you in your role. Please refer to the information here as a reference point to assist you in your time as a Student Rep. We have included useful information about how the Student Reps system works, tips for excelling in your role and a breakdown of how the student voice operates through key UWE Bristol committees. Your role is more important than ever considering the changes that we are facing this academic year. Ultimately, The Students’ Union wants to make sure that your experience at UWE Bristol beats yours and your cohort’s expectations. Your role will therefore be at the centre of collecting feedback as this year moves forward with the new normal.

Welcome to the team!

Oluwadamilola Okeyoyin, VP Education and the Representation Team

02 04 06 07 09 10 11 12 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 26

HELLO AND WELCOME ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES AND BOUNDARIES PROMOTING YOURSELF FEEDBACK TOOLS AND COLLECTION METHODS ACADEMIC FEEDBACK REPRESENT CHAIRING A MEETING CHECKLIST INTRODUCTION TO MEETINGS SRSF CHART VIRTUAL MEETINGS CLOSING THE FEEDBACK LOOP STUDENT REP COMMITTEE (SRC) STUDENT IDEAS AND STUDENT COUNCIL NON-ACADEMIC FEEDBACK SIGNPOSTING STUDENTS BEING MORE REWARD AND RECOGNITION CONTACT US

All information correct at time of publication and is subject to change at any time. Photography and images by: Duncan Stokes, Liz Murray, Rosy Webb, UWE Bristol and The Students’ Union at UWE. Apologies if uncredited.

ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES

AND BOUNDARIES Your Role Your role is to represent the academic interests of students on your programme and your year of study through research. Being a Student Rep involves gathering feedback from your cohort and reporting this back to your programme team, the University and The Students’ Union. You’ll champion the student voice at various university meetings and engage in projects and initiatives that are geared towards improving the academic experience here at UWE Bristol. You will report back to the student body on the outcomes of the meetings and committees that you attend.

Your Responsibilities –

To make sure the students you represent know who you are and how to contact you, establishing both a strong digital and physical presence .

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Proactively seek out and identify students’ views on matters relating to their academic experience.

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Represent the students on your programme and ensure that their feedback is listened to and acted upon within the various committees and meetings that you are part of.

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Attend Student Rep training or if you are unable to attend the staff led training complete the online training which can be done at your own pace.

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Attend (or send apologies) to SRSF meetings and any other informal meetings with academic staff and provide student feedback, opinion and ideas at these meetings .

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Update the students you represent on outcomes of feedback they have raised and to share any responses you have received from staff.

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Signpost students with individual issues to appropriate sources of help when necessary.

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Work with fellow Student Reps, Programme Year Reps, Department Reps, Part Time Officers, Presidents and staff on ideas and campaigns that will improve the student experience.

Your Boundaries –

Personal problems: if a student has personal issues they share with you, you should refer them to The Students’ Union Advice Centre and the University’s Wellbeing Service as they are trained to give specialist advice and have expertise in this area. You should also hold what they have disclosed to you in confidence, unless they have given you explicit consent to discuss this matter with the aim to help them find the right advice or service.

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Student disciplinary issues: It is not a Student Rep’s role to represent students on disciplinary matters. Students who have concerns in this area should be referred to The Students’ Union Advice Centre.

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Allegations of harassment or bullying: Students who allege that they have been bullied or harassed should be referred to The Students’ Union Advice Centre.

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Complaints: Students who wish to make a formal complaint should be referred to the UWE Bristol complaints policy and may wish to seek independent advice from The Students’ Union Advice Centre when doing so.

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Time commitment: First and foremost, you are a student at UWE Bristol and your number one priority should be your studies. We recommend that you dedicate no more than two hours a week to your Student Rep responsibilities.

VP Education Elected during the leadership Race

Lead Department Reps Hired by The Students’ Union

Academic Processes Department Rep Diversity and Inclusivity Department Rep Sustainability Department Rep Elected by Student Reps

Programme Year Reps Elected by programme student rep cohort

Student Reps Elected by Cohort

PROMOTING

YOURSELF Your Student Rep details will now appear on MyUWE pages and Blackboard. Visibility on these platforms ensures that as a Student Rep you have access to all of your cohort. If you are not visible on these platforms, please make sure the Representation Team at The Students’ Union are aware and staff will liaise with IT Services to remedy this as soon as possible. In addition, trained Student Reps are given access to MyUWE announcements as a way to efficiently communicate with their cohort. If you need support in using this tool then please contact the Representation Team (studentreps@uwe.ac.uk). However, there are other ways you can also promote yourself to your cohort. For example: –

Asking your Programme Leader to send an email around on your behalf to all students; introducing you and your role to your cohort. (You can’t be given access to a mailing list of your cohort due to General Data Protection Regulations)

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Ask your lecturer or workshop leader if you would be able to introduce yourself at some point during a session.

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Create a social media group and introduce yourself as a rep on that; first check whether a course group already exists and if it’s worth joining that instead.

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Follow the Student Rep Twitter account (@studentreps) and tweet your existence as a Student Rep – we’ll be sure to retweet you!

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Be sure to follow the Student Rep Instagam account (@uwestudentreps)

FEEDBACK TOOLS AND

COLLECTION METHODS Remember to be as inclusive as possible and ensure that you are capturing a wide range of voices when consulting the students who you represent. There are many ways that you can gather feedback but we recommend staying with a method that works well rather than continually changing your approach. Remember not to gather any personal details unless it is absolutely necessary. If you do require personal details then please contact the Representation Team (studentreps@uwe.ac.uk).

Surveys The University encourages students and staff to use Qualtrics or Mentimeter for online surveys and polling. Surveys are a useful tool for gathering feedback but if students are being asked to complete lots of surveys then they may not give useful details or respond at all, so try to make your survey focussed, short and easy to complete. We highly recommend not asking for any personal data (e.g. student number or email address) in the surveys. If this information is asked for, you will need to obtain ethics approval and add a GDPR statement. For support and guidance please contact the Representation Team.

MyUWE Once you have completed your training you will be given access to make myUWE announcements, this is an easy way for you to call for feedback from your cohort or advertise a survey. For instructions on how to use myUWE, please contact the Representation Team or see the handout that is on the resources tab on the Student Rep website.

Blackboard You can ask your programme team to place an announcement on the Blackboard programme page on your behalf in order to reach your cohort. This is fairly limited in what can be said and shared but it can be a good way to reach those students who are not on social media.

Email You can ask your programme team to send an email on your behalf to your cohort. This is another reasonably good way to get information out there or highlight a survey that your cohort should complete.

Social Media (Facebook closed course group or WhatsApp group) This can be a fairly quick and easy way to get feedback from your cohort, especially if there is already an existing social media group that you can use. Staff and Student Reps within the group can ask questions, post polls, link to surveys, and keep the cohort updated. Please make sure what is posted is relevant to your cohort and that you use other methods in order to catch all students including those not on social media.

Questions to get you started To guide your questioning, we recommend using the feedback principles of start, stop and continue. These three principles can be used through informal conversations or online survey methods with students. Questions reflecting these principles will reflect positive, negative and proactive feedback which will be useful for your role and to guiding your conversations with the University. During your Student Rep training you came up with various questions which could be used to gain feedback from your cohort. Some of these questions are listed below. These are only examples and do not have to be used, however they are a good starting point. – – – – –

Do you have suitable resources for digital delivery of learning? How would you rate the quality of blended delivery? Do you have enough support on your placement? Was the coursework brief informative? What element of Blackboard Collaborate do you enjoy the most?

FEEDBACK DOES IT AFFECT MORE THAN ONE PERSON? Yes

DOES IT RELATE TO YOUR COURSE? No

Yes

IS IT URGENT?

WORK WITH THE STUDENT TO RAISE THE FEEDBACK DIRECTLY THEMSELVES OR IF NEEDED SIGNPOST THEM TO ADDITIONAL SUPPORT

WORK WITH STUDENTS TO RAISE THE FEEDBACK TO RELEVANT TEAMS AND IF RAISE IT AT YOUR NOTHING CHANGES, THINK NEXT PMC ABOUT STARTING A CAMPAIGN. CONTACT THE EMAIL OR SPEAK WITH RELEVANT ELECTED OFFICER FOR SUPPORT YOUR PROGRAMME AND GUIDANCE LEADER

Yes

REPRESENT As a Student Rep you will be invited to meetings held by both the University and The Students’ Union. More information on these meetings can be found later on in the guide. Preparation is key! Make sure you have what you need for the meeting, whether that is survey results or notes from your discussions with students. Ensure you have evidence to back up your points! You should present an evidenced argument, this will help your programme leaders take actions on the feedback you raised. On your department specific Student Rep Teams site, you will find an Academic Feedback form in the files section which you can use to collate your feedback before presenting it at the meeting. This will help guide your discussions and keep you on track. What you do before and after the meeting is important. Ensure you inform the Chair of your attendance or send apologies if you will be absent. We want you to feel confident enough to raise student feedback and empowered enough to defend and represent the views that you are presenting; use the seven C’s of communication as a guide for how to successfully express yourself in meetings: Clear Know your arguments and points prior to the meeting so that they are clear in your mind and easy to express Concise Keep things short and simple; you’ll have space to expand on arguments if you need to Correct Ensure that you’re not deliberately misleading people Complete Give all the information that you have access to Courteous Always try to be diplomatic in your initial approach Constructive Provide critical and constructive feedback that is focused on improvement Confident Speak up! The student voice is valued at UWE Bristol – take advantage of the opportunity given to you

After the meeting, make sure to communicate key points and/or minutes from the meeting to your student cohort. If you do not know where the meeting minutes are held or you haven’t received them, contact the meeting Chair to ask for a copy. Once you have the minutes, you can update the feedback form on the Teams site to let the Programme Year Reps and Lead Department Reps if the feedback if resolved or needs escalating to a higher-level meeting. Notes/minutes will be on the student voice template on Blackboard. If you need help accessing or using the form then please contact the Representation Team.

CHAIRING A MEETING CHECKLIST To chair a meeting well, you need to think about the meeting before you arrive at it. Ask yourself the following questions in advance of the meeting: – – – – – –

Why are you having the meeting? What end result do you want from it? What will you discuss at it? What prior information do you need for the meeting? What documents (agenda and additional information) needs distributing before the meeting?

INTRODUCTION TO

MEETINGS

As a Student Rep, you’ll be invited to attend a selection of meetings at both UWE Bristol and The Students’ Union. Additionally, you may act as representatives on various committees. The next few pages will explain what these committees are, how they work and their relation to each other. INFORMAL MEETINGS Sometimes it will be quicker and more appropriate to raise feedback directly to a specific member of staff rather than wait for an SRSF to bring an issue up. It is important to establish a good working relationship with your programme leader. You should be regarded as effectively part of the programme team. Send an email or arrange a quick chat with the people concerned to report on more informal matters: - Blackboard content query - Clarification on teaching/assessment content - Assessment expectations - Amendments to office hours STUDENT REP STAFF FORUM (SRSF) SRSFs are designed to deal with academic feedback at a programme level. These meetings can be either course-based or held within clusters of courses. SRSFs are attended by programme staff and Student Reps from the related courses. SRSFs are the best place to raise course related academic feedback or issues that cannot be resolved at the informal level and/or issues that would benefit from a wider discussion. Programme Year Reps are elected at the first SRSF of the year. Examples of SRSF feedback: - Exams and assessments feedback - Lecture, seminar, lab session feedback - Blackboard feedback - Module or handbook and course specification feedback - Operational feedback on course delivery/management - Student opinion on course resources.

PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE (PMC) PMCs oversee the management of programmes and modules contributing to programmes/clusters. Programme Year Reps attend this meeting to raise any student feedback from across the programme cohorts that could not be handled at SRSFs. This meeting provides a key platform for student-staff partnership in decision making about programme enhancement. Examples of PMC feedback: - Timetabling issues - Assessment clustering - Placement issues - Proposals for adjusting assessments DEPARTMENT STUDENT PARTNERSHIP FORUM (DSPF) This partnership forum is responsible for considering and appropriately actioning matters relating to the student experience at a departmental level jointly between the Head of Department and the Lead Department Rep. If there are any unresolved matters from PMCs, then they will be considered and appropriately actioned to resolve the matters. The focus of this meeting should be on department wide matters and utilise the student voice to help resolve them. Any unresolved matters will require escalation to the faculty. ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND QUALITY COMMITTEE (ASQC) ASQC is a faculty level meeting which looks at an overview of academic standards and quality within the faculty. Chaired by the Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching, this meeting is attended by the Heads of Department as well as the Lead Department Reps. In addition to focusing on faculty strategy, the committee also validate new programmes and discuss departmental reports. The Lead Department Representatives are required to give a report to the Committee and represent the student voice in decisions made.

LEARNING TEACHING AND STUDENT EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE (LTSEC) LTSEC is a University level meeting that is responsible for the enhancement of the University’s approach to teaching, learning and assessment. It also has an oversight of the student experience and the maintenance of academic standards. The Vice President Education and six elected Student Reps (4 UG and 2PG) attend this meeting alongside the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic), Associate Deans and Associate Heads of Departments responsible for student experience. University-wide issues and projects will be discussed and decided here. ACADEMIC BOARD Academic Board provides the Board of Governors with assurance that the University’s academic strategy is fit for purpose and approves new additions and revisions to academic policy. It has oversight of all academic provision through the Academic Regulatory Framework. This committee is chaired by the Vice Chancellor and attended by the VP Education, President and four Student Representatives (2 UG, 1 PGT & 1PGR ).

Attended by two UG Student Reps, one PGT Student Rep and one PGR Student Rep

4 Attended by six elected Student Reps. Four UG Student reps, one per each faculty, and two PG student reps. 6

Attended by Lead Department Reps 30

Meeting between Lead Department Reps and a nominated member of the department executive 30

Attended by Programme Year Reps who are elected at the first SRSF of the year 500+

Attended by all elected Student Reps 1000+

CLOSING THE

FEEDBACK LOOP An often-overlooked step within the process of collecting feedback is making sure that those who have given their thoughts, opinions and concerns, are kept in the loop. If students are not informed that changes are being made, they can often be led to believe that their voices have not been heard. If students form this impression, then they will be less enthusiastic to provide you with feedback on future occasions when you request it, which consequently weakens the effectiveness of the student rep system in the long term. We encourage you to inform students of any updates using the same communication channels you originally used to gather their feedback – consistency is key, and whilst this might not always be practical, make it clear when gathering your feedback how and when you will report back.

Feedback presented to appropriate party

Reps collect feedback from students

Actions taken to address feedack raised

Reps report on progress to cohort

Results reported back at appropriate meetings

ESCALATING

FEEDBACK If feedback cannot be resolved at an SRSF, then Programme Year Reps will be responsible for escalating this feedback to a PMC. However, as a Student Rep you have a responsibility to inform Programme Year Reps on whether the feedback you raised at an SRSF was resolved or not. The Feedback Form on your department specific Student Rep Teams site can be used to update Programme Reps. On the toolbar, there is a tab for a feedback form. This should be filled in before your SRSF. After your SRSF, access the Feedback Form excel spreadsheet in the files section and fill in the columns on whether the feedback was resolved or needs escalating. Your Programme Year Rep will review this form before PMCs to ensure all feedback that still needs addressing is presented at the PMC. As with all Student Reps, the outcomes of any escalated feedback will be fed back to student reps and the cohort to ensure all students know the outcome.

STUDENT REP

COMMITTEE (SRC) Student Rep Committee is an opportunity for any trained Student Rep to come along and discuss matters affecting students’ academic experience. The VP Education will host three Student Rep Committees this academic year. Each meeting will focus on a different topic, with discussions and opportunities to work together to problem solve and come up with ideas or campaigns. In addition the VP Education may invite key UWE Brsitol staff to the meeting so that they can hear first-hand the discussions and answer questions. Reps will be encouraged to suggest topics they think should be discussed at SRC. VP Education will also update Student Reps about their progress on projects and their communications with the University. In previous years the Students Rep Committee have discussed a wide range of topics from changes to the library loans system and hidden course costs through to timetabling and study spaces.

VIRTUAL

MEETINGS With the move to blended learning this academic year, SRSFs may be held in a virtual space. There is the same expectation for Student Reps and staff to share and record feedback, and work together on outcomes. The following virtual meeting methods have been recommended: Blackboard Collaborate Staff can set up a Blackboard Collaborate session through Blackboard. Staff can run this session like a meeting call, or they can use the tools to get participants to engage more creatively. For example, staff can run small polls during the calls by asking for text responses in the chat box or using Mentimeter in a separate browser tab, they can use the ‘whiteboard’ so that anonymous marks and comments can be left on the screen, they could screen-share documents or slides for discussion and they can use some handy methods to manage the meeting such as muting microphones on entry and using the hands up button. Microsoft Teams Staff and students can set up a Teams Meeting in Microsoft Outlook for both staff and students. When creating a calendar event, click Teams Meeting on the top ribbon (or toggle Teams Meeting in Meeting Options on mobile) and this will automatically generate a Teams Meeting. This will send everyone invited the details of the meeting as well as a link to join the meeting virtually. You can also schedule a meeting through the Microsoft Teams app in the calendar tab. Whoever is creating the meeting can invite both staff and students. On Teams you can share your screen or documents on the call.

What not to use Staff have been advised to not use any non-UWE Bristol approved virtual meeting tools such as Facetime, Facebook, WhatsApp or Zoom, which run the risk of breaching GDPR requirements. Skype for Business should only be used to call phone numbers, not for virtual meetings. If it is not possible to meet virtually for a particular SRSF or PMC meeting then feedback can be shared and discussed at any time through email, online discussion boards, Blackboard Collaborate, drop-in sessions or one-to-one. Hints and tips for running a virtual meeting –

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Ask everyone to use a headset or headphones, this will make it easier for most members to hear what is being said and can reduce echoes. Ask everyone to mute their microphone when they are not speaking, makes the call clearer and reduces confusion. Try video first but if it is causing delays switch to voice call only. Try to be online early so that early arrivals will know they are in the right place.

NON-ACADEMIC

FEEDBACK Informal meetings and SRSFs are great places to work with staff to resolve course-related issues and discuss feedback, however not all feedback you receive will be related to your course. Here is what to do with non-academic feedback: In instances where you have been given feedback unrelated to academic representation, then your first point of call is to encourage students to raise the feedback themselves, straight to the relevant department or service. Make a note of the various ways in which UWE Bristol and The Students’ Union at UWE may be gathering feedback on these issues and point the student in the right direction. If a student does not feel confident in raising the feedback themselves, you may wish to support them. If the issue they are having is affecting multiple students or you have an issue brought to you several times, then it may be regarded as a representation matter. If you think that this is the case, or if you are unsure, then you should contact the Representation Team at The Students’ Union for guidance on next steps. If it is agreed that raising feedback directly is not appropriate, then the Student Rep Team will support you to find a suitable course of action.

Does the feedback relate to accomodation, student finance, IT services or library services?

YES

Use the feedback form or resources page on our website to give an informed response of where the student can take their feedback

Signpost the student to a more appropraite service, such as The Advice Centre or Student Support Services

STUDENT IDEAS AND

STUDENT COUNCIL At any point in the year students can go online to the Student Ideas page to either submit their own Idea or vote on whether they support other ideas. Anything can be an Idea, from small, everyday improvements to wider policy that influences important decisions for years to come. If enough students agree with an Idea, The Students’ Union will work to make it happen. The Students’ Union publish new ideas on the website every month, but it is up to students who have an interest in seeing them pass and fail to go out and convince others to vote. This is one of the most effective ways to influence policy at The Students’ Union and being a Student Rep is a brilliant platform for this. Some Ideas will get enough votes to pass straight away and others will get a conditional pass at the Executive and will need to be discussed in more details at a Student Council meeting. The meeting is the highest decision-making body at The Students’ Union and members can veto conditional passes if they have a good reason to do so. Student Council meetings are made up of 20 students, including five Student Reps elected from SRC. Meetings are run as facilitated group discussions and members have the opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions. Members at the meeting will also scrutinise the Presidents team and hold them to account. They are responsible for making decisions in the best interest of the students, and serve as a vital part of the democracy at The Students’ Union.

SIGNPOSTING

STUDENTS There may be times when students come to you with very individual issues, such as being accused of plagiarism, making allegations of harassment from staff, feeling homesick or being bullied in halls of residence. As a Student Rep, we do not expect you to deal with these situations as they are out of your role description. Additionally we have dedicated services to help students in these positions. Therefore, if you do find yourself in a situation like this, we ask that you signpost these students to relevant support services so that they can get help with the issue. Here are the contact details for some of the services you can signpost students to. If you are unsure where to signpost a student please get in touch with your Student Rep Coordinator.

The Students’ Union Advice Centre

Wellbeing Service

The Students’ Union Advice Centre provides free, independent, confidential and non-judgemental advice to all UWE Bristol students on a range of issues. They can offer advice and assistance on a range of topics including academic appeals and extenuating circumstances through to your rights as a tenant and as an employee.

Wellbeing Services offer students personal support whilst studying at UWE Bristol. Their trained staff can offer support in a wide range of areas from mental health support and counselling through to mentoring. As a Student Rep we do not expect you to deal with any of these; instead guide the student towards an Infopoint where they can book an appointment with the Wellbeing Service.

advice@uwe.ac.uk 0117 32 82676 thestudentsunion.co.uk/advice

UWE Bristol Student Advisers Student Advisers provide information and advice on a wide range of course and programme related matters. They can advise on course and module changes and extenuating circumstances. Student Advisers can also assist if a student wishes to withdraw from or pause their studies. Student Adviser appointments can be booked through any Infopoint. 0117 32 85678 uwe.ac.uk/students

0117 32 86268 uwe.ac.uk/students

BEING

MORE Further Responsibility: In future years, you could put yourself forward for a position with more responsibility such as Lead Department Rep or Department Rep. Watch out for emails from The Students’ Union for opportunities in these exciting leadership roles. You can also put yourself forward to be a member of Student Council!

University groups: There will be opportunities to work with various UWE Bristol departments, services and project teams on specific pieces of work. Student Reps have been involved with many UWE Bristol projects in the past and we hope they will continue doing so! One opportunity available to you is the Student Consultation Panel. This panel offers feedback to teams across the University and The Students’ Union to ensure student voice is at the heart of decision making at UWE Bristol. Visit the Student Rep pages of The Students’ Union website and check your emails regularly to get involved.

Leadership: The Students’ Union is run by passionate student leaders. Each year UWE Bristol students elect who they want to run The Students’ Union and to represent their voice within the university. There are five full-time and twelve part-time positions available each year decided through The Leadership Race and by-elections. To find out more about positions and how to stand for election, please visit The Students’ Union website.

REWARD AND

RECOGNITION Student Reps, Reward and Recognition Scheme The new Student Rep reward system is a way for you as Student Reps to get recognised for the effort that you put in throughout the year. It’s as simple as it sounds, complete a student rep related task and receive points, with those points you can level up to Bronze, Silver or Gold level. Bronze is the level that we expect all Student Reps should reach after a few months if you are doing the basics of the role, Silver requires going a little bit further and Gold requires some effort to get to. If you reach Gold before the Spring Break then you will be recognised at the Student Experience Awards at the end of April. Until you reach Bronze we are not able to recognise you as an active Student Rep for this year. Depending on your status at the end of the year you will be awarded your badge and digital certificate, for either, Bronze Silver or Gold

Weightings 5 Points Quick and easy tasks which don’t need the support of anyone else. Shouldn’t take more than 5 mins. 10 Points Areas we expect all reps to be doing which need preparatory work. 15 Points Beginning to go further with their role and understanding different areas they can garner the student voice. 20 Points Going beyond what most reps would do and being recognised for their hard work. These reps dedicate their extra time to the role. Activities that demonstrate that the rep is wanting to be part of the rep community.

Scoring per task

Tasks

Reviewed scoring