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Course Representative HANDBOOK

Kingston University

Index

Why is being a course representative important? What key things do a does a course representative do? Support and Training What aspects of the learning experiences will you represent? What input does a Course Rep have? Key forums The role of a course representative Case studies

2 2 2-3 4 5 6-7 8-9 10-12

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Why is being a course representative important? As a course representative, you play a vital role and will act as the link between your peers and the staff who teach and administer your course. You will be involved in gathering feedback on the learning experiences of your peers. If you are taking up the role of a course representative, you will be making a contribution to improving the learning experience of all students at Kingston University. The role allows you to comment and be directly involved in your own learning and that of others. By gathering a range of opinions from a cross-section of peers on your course, you can help staff develop and improve the curriculum. What key things does a course representative do? Course representatives provide an essential means of ensuring all students have their voices heard within the University, on learning, teaching and assessment issues. Course representatives should ensure they gain the views of those they represent. These views should be presented at appropriate levels either formally at the Staff Student Consultative Committee (SSCC) and/or informally to module leaders or appropriate administrative staff. Course representatives must attend SSCCs or be allowed to send an appointed representative. Support and Training Kingston University Students Union (KUSU) is working with Kingston University Academic Development Centre to improve the course representative scheme. KUSU represents all students at Kingston. Its core function is to make sure the views of all students are represented.

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We are here to support you in your role and make sure you get the most out of it. You can email courserep@kingston.ac.uk if you have any questions. TRAINING Training is available to all reps to help you understand your role here at Kingston. The introductory training is compulsory; however, you can also attend development training and end-of-year training. Introduction to being a course rep (compulsory) You will need to book a place on one of these sessions. This training session will be repeated on different days and at different times in recognition of your other commitments. Please sign up as soon as possible at www.kusu.co.uk/courserep You will be introduced to some of the skills that will help you to carry out your role, including the development of communication skills and ideas about how to engage and gather student opinion relating to learning and teaching experiences. Key information about operational aspects of the scheme will be provided. Attendance at training sessions provided by Kingston University Students Union (KUSU) will be a requirement of any accreditation. Development training Held in January, this session offers the chance for you to develop your skills and deepen your knowledge. This is useful if you wish to be involved in your faculty committees or if you are considering being a second year course rep. End-of-Year training This training is held around Easter time and will provide opportunities to reflect on what you have learned and to gauge the progress you have made. The session aims to give you insight into your skills to enhance your employability.

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What aspects of the learning experiences will you represent? There are a number of factors that contribute to the student learning experience. Some topics and some example questions have been provided here which may help you capture the student voice. Curriculum Content of courses. Do you think the subjects you are studying are relevant to the course you applied for? Learning resources Handouts / study space resources / availability of kit e.g. cameras etc. / books and other texts in the LRC and more. Do you think the resources are appropriate for the level of study? Teaching and learning Role play / lectures / seminars / workshops / labs / field trips Do you think the teaching methods used helped you to learn? Assessment and achievement Essays / reports / posters / vivas / case studies Do you know how youre going to be assessed for each module? Student progression and outcomes How do you get a higher grade (grading/levels/criteria) or study at a higher level e.g. ug (undergraduate) to pg (post graduate) opportunities for preparation for employment Do you find the support about the options for future study or employment helpful? Quality standards Do you receive information or feedback from your department following the completion of module evaluation questionnaires?

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What input does a Course Rep have?

Module Mid-Point Review

Module Questionnaire

Course Representatives

Staff Student Consultative Committee NSS Board of Study Other surveys

Faculty Forum

SEG

Faculty Board QEC

Academic Board

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Key forums STUDENT STAFF CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE (SSCC) SSCCs are an important part of the representative system. They meet periodically and consist of student representatives for a course, or group of related and overlapping courses, and key staff who teach and administer the course(s), including the course leader. SSCCs have the following features. They are formal committees in the University structure and report via minutes and reports to a parent Board of Study for the course(s) concerned. They are formally recorded (minuted). They enable representatives in different year groups to meet each other formally and track issues across years.

Example agenda for SSCC

Apologies Minutes of the previous meeting Matters arising Issues arising from course reps: Quality of learning resources Timetable structure Reports on mid module reviews Any other business Date of next meeting

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FACULTY FORUM In many instances, matters discussed in SSCCs may be outside the remit of the SSCC and parent Board of Study. These issues can be raised at Faculty Forum with deans and more- senior colleagues. The Forum reports to the Faculty Board. Some of the features of the Faculty Forum are as follows: The Faculty Forum comprises all course reps, the dean and senior staff. Notes of the meeting are taken and reported to the Faculty Board. The Forum receives minutes (extracts) of the Faculty Board and feedback on any agreed actions in response to issues raised. At least two course reps will be members of the Faculty Board and therefore able to represent the student views. Faculty Forums will normally meet prior to the Faculty Board and after SSCCs, i.e. at least twice per year.

Example agenda for Faculty Forum

Apologies Minutes of the previous meeting Matters arising Issues arising from course reps: Lack of computers in LRC Quality of food provided Behaviour of students in lectures Any other business Date of next meeting

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The role of a course representative As a course representative, your main role is to gather the opinions of peers on your course. You will need to speak to other students and gauge their opinions. We can appreciate that this might be challenging and will take up time, so it might be useful to adopt the following approach. Be clear about your role when discussing issues with your peers. You may need to record notes during face-to-face meetings and synthesize email feedback received. Make sure that your notes are clearly written and reflect the discussions you have had with peers. This will help with the way you present information in meetings. Additionally, prepare in advance what you intend to report in all subsequent meetings and consultations. Always communicate student views as a collective voice and not as a personal opinion. Strategies To collect and gauge student views you could: speak to friends on your course and modules to gain confidence before talking to others; lecturers should let you speak with your whole course to gather opinions. This could be a short 15-minute slot during a lecture once in a while. The training sessions will suggest different strategies you could use; attend module review group meetings to speak to peers in more detail; make use of StudySpace to post messages and ask for views; ask for time to consult with smaller groups e.g. in tutorials and labs/workshops.

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Skills The main skills and qualities which a course rep should have and develop: Listening Clarifying Summarising Questioning Organising Impartiality Approachable Reliable Punctual Respectful Inclusive

Working with staff Throughout the year you are encouraged to liaise with your field or course leader to address issues as they arise. If you do meet with staff: be conscious of time staff are busy but will be happy to speak to you; make sure you clarify the purpose of the meeting; think about what outcomes you want from the meeting and make sure you agree them; and if it is an issue related to an individual staff members behavior/approach/attitude, for example, contact your faculty complaint officer to discuss best way forward.

You can contact KUSU Student Support for more advice at courserep@kingston.ac.uk

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Case studies During the Introduction to being a course rep training you will explore the case studies below using the following prompts to guide your discussion. What are the key issues? Who will you raise these issues with? What outcome(s) do you want? What are the potential challenges you might face in terms of communication skills?

CASE STUDY ONE Course: 3-year BEng Automotive Engineering Number of students on the course: 162 Time on course: 3 months Staff: lecturer, module leader and administrative support

You were elected as a course rep at the beginning of the month. You are on a small campus so you know staff and students on the course quite well. This is your final year. You have new lecturers whose background is mainly in the area of research. They are involved in some very innovative and interesting research, however they offer limited contact hours for students. At the beginning of the course you were asked to pay five pounds for a course booklet containing all the course material for the year. However, when you received it one month later, it contained handwritten notes (from the lecturer) and the information is unclear because the quality of the photocopying is poor.

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CASE STUDY TWO Course: Creative Writing BA(Hons) Number of students on the course: 162 Time on course: 6 months Staff: lecturer, module leader and administrative support

You have been a course rep for two months. The lecturer is newly appointed from another university and has been teaching for less than two years. The teaching tool they use most frequently is PowerPoint. Students have been asking if you can help them. Five of them have disclosed their disabilities and have statements of support needs (SOSN) specifying the support they need. This support is not being provided. Most of them are supposed to be getting a copy of the lecture notes before it takes place, but these have not been provided.

CASE STUDY THREE Course: 3-year BA in Art History Number of students on the course: 50 Time on course: 1 year Staff: course leader, research student, two new lecturers and administrative support You have been a course rep for a year. Some of your peers have mentioned that they live at home and travel for up to two hours to get to campus. Your lectures are often cancelled and no notice is given apart from a note on the door. You have raised this with staff and students at the SSCC, however nothing has changed and you have not received any feedback from the meeting.

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CASE STUDY FOUR Course: Biomedical Informatics BSc(Hons) Number of students on the course: 70 Time on course: 1 year Staff: Course leader, research student, administrative support

lecturers

and

The lectures on this course are optional and the main focus is the tutorials. Over the last two months the new lecturing staff and the research student working with the course team have been drawing on the supporting texts from the reading list and not the core text. When you go the library you find, like others on your course, that the supporting texts are not available and there is only one reference- only copy of the core text. You have spoken with the library staff who have explained that there is a process for ordering books and placing them on the appropriate loan system. This is normally agreed with staff on the course team.

Check your answers on our website: http://www.kusu.co.uk/courserep