Meetings with staff
All Course Reps attend meetings with University staff. These can include Scheme Board, Student-Staff Liaison Committee, Faculty Board or others.
Here's a few pointers.
Meetings are not always terribly exciting and some items on the agenda my not even seem very relevant to you, but with a bit of preparation beforehand, they can be not just bearable, but thought provoking, enjoyable and very useful.
Before each meeting...
Before each meeting you should receive an agenda, minutes from the last meeting and any accompanying papers. Take some time to have a good read of these, if you weren't at the last meeting it's useful to know what's been said and what action points were agreed - and these should be followed up at the current meeting. You may come across bits you feel unsure about - pop into your department office and ask to speak to someone about them, staff should be happy to talk you through anything you don't understand and it will save time at the meeting.
Present the students' view
Spend some time asking people on your course about the issues that are going to be discussed at the meeting so that you can present a balanced student view at the meeting. It may be that there is quite a range of feelings - try to make sure you represent them in as balanced way as you can - it might help to be able to give examples. Sometimes an email helps if you're too busy to see everyone.
At the meeting...
If a decision is being made and you feel that you need to consult further with your course colleagues before putting the 'student voice' seal of approval on it, don't be afraid to ask if you can come back with a more detailed response once you have had a chance to do this.
Students and staff are on an equal platform at these meetings, and the student voice is vital.
Always remember - don't be afraid to ask questions! If you don't, people will assume you've understood everything and may end up doing something you don't agree with or want to do!
After the meeting...
Go back and tell your course mates what happened. Some Course Reps do this via email, and some have blogs
. Different feedback methods work for different courses so see what works best for you!
