Academic Rep Staff Hub

A Rep, or Representative, is a student who takes the views, usually about their studies, of other students to a designated place in order to improve their collective experiences.

UG and PGT students are represented in the same system, and are represented by:

• Course Reps
• School Reps
• College Reps

Course Reps deal with every day, course-based issues, such as issues with timetabling, lecture slides, and assessment and feedback (like bunching deadlines), among many other things! They represent the students on their course, and their year (usually) and attend the SSC (Student Staff Committee). They are voluntary, but can get several rewards as recognition for their hard work.

 

School Reps deal with wider, School-based issues, and complete project work as well. They attend SSCs and SECs (School Education Committee), and represent all the students within their School. There are typically 2 School Reps per School, and they are paid for the work they do.

 

College Reps deal with College and University-wide issues, working closely with the College Dean and completing projects across their time in the role. They attend CECs (College Education Committees), as well as a number of other University-level committees. Each College has its own College Rep, and they are also paid in the same way as School Reps, but can do more hours.

We recruit Course Reps from September to October, and to volunteer, students fill out a volunteer form during the recruitment window (usually three to four weeks). Once the window closes, we review the form and accept any volunteers for positions that are not oversubscribed (ie, we receive two volunteers to be Course Rep for a course for which we have two spaces). If a course is oversubscribed, we will run an election to decide who will take up the role.

 

School and College Reps are appointed by an application-and-interview process. College Reps are recruited in the summer term, for the next Academic Year, whereas School Reps are recruited in the Autumn term, at the same time as Course Reps.

Course Reps must complete three Masterclass Training Sessions:

• 1. What is a Rep?
• 2. Communication
• 3. SSCs

 

Reps can either attend a suite of 3 in-person sessions in October, or access pre-recorded presentations on the Blackboard site. If they access the pre-recorded sessions, they must also complete a short quiz to test their knowledge in order to complete the training.

 

The Sessions cover the following:

 

Masterclass 1: In this training session, reps are given an overall breakdown of what the role as a course rep will entail. They are given an introduction to the Student’s Union and how the Course Rep role fits into its aim of empowering students. The session will go through a breakdown of the key responsibilities, and what is expected of them as a rep. For example, what are the kind of issues that they should be raising? How can they be representative? What is an SSC and what are “checkpoints”? Lastly, the Accreditation Scheme is explained, so reps find out how they will be rewarded for their hard work.

 

Masterclass 2: In session 2, we cover why communication is vital in their role as a rep, as well as going through the various methods of communication that they will use with peers and staff (and how this differs). Reps are taken through they “feedback loop” process, which will show them how to gather feedback, and how it is important to make sure they represent as many voices from their cohort as possible. This training session also gives guidance on how to navigate the SU website, and how to use the 2 features (emailing and creating surveys) that they have access to. Lastly, we highlight top tips on how to ensure their voice is heard whilst remaining assertive, respectful and positive.

 

Masterclass 3: This training session unpacks the ins and outs of an SSC. Reps are given tips on how to prepare for an SSC, and how to ensure the SSCs that they attend are useful, with positive take-aways and action points. Reps receive key information on how to make the most out of their SSCs whilst always being made aware of what to do if they may not be able to make it to their meeting.

 

School Reps receive a bespoke training session which covers their role and responsibilities, how they are paid, and how best to represent the students in their School.

 

College Reps attend a full SU induction/training day which includes Representation, Sustainability and EDI Training, as well as a session on how University Governance works.

SSCs (Student Staff Committees) are meetings between Course Reps and Staff, where feedback is raised from cohorts. Typically, staff invited include Academic Staff from the relevant course(s), admin staff who act as a secretary, representatives from Careers and the Library, and a member of SU Rep Team. The meeting is often co-chaired by a member of staff and a rep. SSCs are arranged by departments internally, and not by the SU.

 

You can find the SSC Code of Practice and an example agenda here.

 

Minutes are recorded for the meeting and circulated to the committee afterwards, and should also be sent to the SU Rep Team (su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk), so they can manage rep attendance and flag any wider issues.

 

If you are a staff member who is not involved in the SSC directly, it is still important to stay aware of them, including familiarising yourself with who the Staff Chair is. This is so that you can raise any staff feedback or give students the confidence to raise issues with their rep with the knowledge of where that feedback will go. If you would like to be invited to an SSC, please contact your department.

 

If you are a member of Professional Services staff and you would like to discuss how SSCs are organised or structured, please contact the SU Rep Team.

They are able to email all the students they represent, and host surveys, through the SU Website. We have also had reps feature in departmental newsletters in the past, and they have also done lecture shoutouts to close the feedback loop and improve their visibility. Some have also hosted drop-in sessions, though this is less common.

All of our Reps have access to bespoke Blackboard pages where they can find resources and help on how to carry out the role. They are also able to email the students in their cohort, and host surveys, through the SU Website. As a team, we are there to help and support all our reps (it is a key part of our role), so we also host events, hold check-ins and make sure all the reps are getting on well in the role.

Course Reps can gain Accreditation for their work in the role, which is graded at a pass, merit or distinction level. If Course Reps pass their Accreditation, they receive a £100 gift voucher.

 

To pass their Accreditation, Course Reps must meet the following criteria:

• Complete their Training (detailed below)
• Attend at least 75% of SSCs
• Complete at least 75% of their Checkpoints

 

A Course Rep Checkpoint is a form they fill out at four times across their time in the role, and that includes questions on what feedback they have received, and where they have taken it. They get 4 days to submit their checkpoint through the Course Rep Blackboard site.

 

School Reps and College Reps do not take part in the Accreditation Scheme, because they are paid. They are paid National Living Wage for the hours they work, on a monthly basis, for up to a set number of hours across the year.

 

We also run our Academic Rep of the Month scheme, where reps can be recognised for their exceptional hard work. Anyone can nominate someone for Rep of the Month – you can find the nomination form here.

Reps attend a number of other events outside their mandatory SSCs. These include:

• Academic Rep Briefings
• Academic Rep Forums
• Student Council

 

Academic Rep Briefings take place twice a year, first in October and then in February. These are held so that reps can meet, get to know each other, and plan what feedback they would like to raise, and target any long-term issues they would like to see resolved (using information we provide of issues raised in previous years). The Briefings are hosted by the School Reps from the relevant School, and feature an introduction from the College Reps to open the event.

 

Academic Rep Forums are roundtable discussion events between all our Academic Reps, and Senior University Staff. Previously, this has included the Registrar and Secretary, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Deans of Education from the Colleges, amongst many others. We typically have 4 discussion tables, each led by a member of staff, and reps get the chance to speak about each topic. Previous topics have included: space on campus, Blackboard, end of module feedback, and assessment and feedback, as well as various others. If you have a topic you would like discussed at an Academic Rep Forum, please contact the SU Rep Team (su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk).

 

Student Council is currently undergoing a restructure, but previously Academic Reps have been invited to attend, and can help shape the SU Policy. This section will be updated once the restructure has been completed.

We are in regularly contact with our reps. We have a monthly newsletter that includes information, deadlines and reminders. We also send weekly updates to reps, containing any information they may have missed. If you have any information, or events, you would like to be included in our newsletter, please contact us at su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk.

 

School Reps and College Reps also attend monthly check-ins with us (the Rep Team), where we discuss what they’ve been up to, and deal with any queries or concerns.

Course Reps get an Orange SU Lanyard to wear, to improve their visibility. School Reps and College Reps wear SU Staff Lanyards (multicoloured with our logo) as they are part-time members of staff.

The Academic Rep of the Month scheme is where reps can be recognised for their exceptional hard work. Winners get a certificate and a badge, and are featured on our website and our social media. Anyone can nominate someone for Rep of the Month – you can find the nomination form here.

There are a number of ways you can help encourage students to volunteer to be a rep, or apply to be a paid rep (School/College).

 

The Academic Rep Team have a number of promotional materials, available on request (including social media graphics, email templates and copy, and presentation slides). We are also able to personalise these materials to your cohort if required. For these materials, please contact us at su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk, and we will provide them.

 

We are also able to carry out induction presentations and lecture shout-outs (at any time of the year). Again, please just contact us and we can arrange dates and times.

 

If you would like more bespoke assistance (for example, targeting a specific year/cohort/distance learning students), we are more than happy to have a chat to discuss the best ways to reach out to particular students and how we can help!

Yes, of course you can! If you contact the chair of the SSC, you can get your area of feedback added to the agenda! If you don’t know who the SSC chair is, please contact us at su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk and we can provide details.

A rep may tell you that they wish to step back from their role (for whatever reason) – please contact the SU Rep Team (su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk), who will be able to remove the rep from the system.

Please contact the SU Rep Team (su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk) if you have any queries or concerns about any Academic Reps. We can take a number of steps to improve the situation, including: offering any support to reps if they are struggling, allowing reps to pause the role during busy times, and allowing a rep to step down from the role. We can also remove reps from the role, but only after a set process has been followed.

Please email su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk – we run everything rep, from recruitment, to training, to support, so just drop us an email if you have any queries.

The SU runs the Rep System through the Academic Representation team (su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk). The Team is made up of dedicated, full-time permanent staff members who run the recruitment, training and support for all kinds of reps.

The SU is run by students for students – every year, in March, the students vote in who they want to run to SU for the following year – these positions are called our Officers. We have two types of Officer – Full-time and Part-time. All our Officers are current students when they are elected – Full-Time Officers are either graduating and take up the role once they have finished their studies, or take a year out, and Part-time Officers carry out the role part-time around their studies.

 

Full-time Officers (FTOs) work for a year for the SU (paid) – elected on a manifesto, their job is ensure students have positive experience at university. Currently, our FTO roles are: President, Education, Community and Welfare, Sports and Societies, and Liberation. Our Full-Time Officers are also sometimes called Sabbs (short for Sabbatical Officer) or Execs (short for Executive Officer).

 

There are 10 Part-Time Officers (PTOs) and each PTO has a different remit, but their overall aim is to represent student views in the Students’ Union and advocate for positive change on behalf of students. There are 5 Officers whose remit is related to Liberation and 5 other Officers whose remit is related to student experiences and interests. PTOs run campaigns throughout the academic year and are a point of contact for students who want to provide feedback on what they want to see improved at university.

A Rep, or Representative, is a student who takes the views, usually about their studies, of other students to a designated place in order to improve their collective experiences.

For PGRs, there are two kinds of Academic Rep:

• PGR Reps
• PGR College Reps

 

PGR Reps are volunteers who champion the PGR voice for their subject area. PGR Reps take cohort feedback to meetings with their PGR Tutor, and work with staff to improve things for current and future PGRs.

 

PGR College Reps are PGRS who are recruited to represent the views of their college to the higher University. College Reps are the lead representative within their college and are responsible for communicating between Reps within their College, the Education Officer and relevant committees/staff and PGRs.

 

This is a paid position, and as such College Reps have more responsibilities than PGR Reps. They also have direct support from the Academic Representation Team, including sitting on the PGRSUEC (PGR Student Union Education Committee), where they discuss their current projects, any University-wide issues, and the impact of country-wide educational policies.

PGR Reps can be recruited in two main ways:

• Internally by their departments
• By the SU Rep Team

 

If Reps are recruited internally, you must let the SU Rep Team know – if this doesn’t happen, reps will be unable to access our training, support, and role rewards.

 

If you would like your reps to be recruited by the SU Rep Team, please let us know and there will then be a discussion of how this will look.

 

PGR College Reps are appointed by an application-and-interview process when the role becomes vacant.

PGR Reps receive training on the role from the SU Rep Team. We are currently updating the training, and this page will be updated when this process has been completed.

PGR Reps take their feedback to regular meetings with their PGR Tutor. These meetings are organised internally, and their structure and frequency will depend on your deparmental practice.

 

PGR College Reps sit on Unviersity Committees, including the PGRSC (PGR Sub Committee) and the PGRSUEC (PGR Students' Union Education Committee), where they discuss their current projects, any University-wide issues, and the impact of country-wide educational policies.

All of our Reps have access to bespoke Blackboard pages where they can find resources and help on how to carry out the role. As a team, we are there to help and support all our reps (it is a key part of our role), so we also host events, hold check-ins and make sure all the reps are getting on well in the role.

PGR Reps can gain Accreditation for their work in the role, which is graded at a pass, merit or distinction level. If Course Reps pass their Accreditation, they receive a £100 gift voucher.

 

To pass their Accreditation, PGR Reps must meet certain criteria. Currently this criteria is being reviewed, and may differ depending on the College.

 

PGR College Reps do not take part in the Accreditation Scheme, because they are paid. They are paid National Living Wage for the hours they work, on a monthly basis, for up to a set number of hours across the year.

 

We also run our Academic Rep of the Month scheme, where reps can be recognised for their exceptional hard work. Anyone can nominate someone for Rep of the Month – you can find the nomination form here.

We are in regularly contact with our reps. We have a monthly newsletter that includes information, deadlines and reminders. We also send weekly updates to reps, containing any information they may have missed. If you have any information, or events, you would like to be included in our newsletter, please contact us at su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk.

The Academic Rep of the Month scheme is where reps can be recognised for their exceptional hard work. Winners get a certificate and a badge, and are featured on our website and our social media. Any one can nominate someone for Rep of the Month – you can find the nomination form here.

There are a number of ways you can help encourage students to volunteer to be a rep, or apply to be a paid rep

 

The Academic Rep Team have a number of promotional materials, available on request (including social media graphics, email templates and copy, and presentation slides). We are also able to personalise these materials to your PGRs if required. For these materials, please contact us at su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk, and we will provide them.

 

We are also able to carry out induction presentations (at any time of the year). Again, please just contact us and we can arrange dates and times.

 

If you would like more bespoke assistance (i.e. something not discussed here, or that might need to be discussed beforehand), we are more than happy to have a chat to discuss the best ways to reach out to particular students and how we can help!

A rep may tell you that they wish to step back from their role (for whatever reason) – please contact the SU Rep Team (su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk), who will be able to remove the rep from the system.

Please contact the SU Rep Team (su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk) if you have any queries or concerns about any Academic Reps. We can take a number of steps to improve the situation, including: offering any support to reps if they are struggling, allowing reps to pause the role during busy times, and allowing a rep to step down from the role. We can also remove reps from the role, but only after a set process has been followed.

Please email su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk – we run everything rep, from recruitment, to training, to support, so just drop us an email if you have any queries.

The SU runs the Rep System through the Academic Representation team (su-repteam@leicester.ac.uk). The Team is made up of dedicated, full-time permanent staff members who supervise the recruitment, and run the training and support for reps.

The SU is run by students for students – every year, in March, the students vote in who they want to run to SU for the following year – these positions are called our Officers. We have two types of Officer – Full-time and Part-time. All our Officers are current students when they are elected – Full-Time Officers are either graduating and take up the role once they have finished their studies, or take a year out, and Part-time Officers carry out the role part-time around their studies.

 

Full-time Officers (FTOs) work for a year for the SU (paid) – elected on a manifesto, their job is ensure students have positive experience at university. Currently, our FTO roles are: President, Education, Community and Welfare, Sports and Societies, and Liberation. Our Full-Time Officers are also sometimes called Sabbs (short for Sabbatical Officer) or Execs (short for Executive Officer).

 

There are 10 Part-Time Officers (PTOs) and each PTO has a different remit, but their overall aim is to represent student views in the Students’ Union and advocate for positive change on behalf of students. There are 5 Officers whose remit is related to Liberation and 5 other Officers whose remit is related to student experiences and interests. PTOs run campaigns throughout the academic year and are a point of contact for students who want to provide feedback on what they want to see improved at university.