1. Online Student Representative Training

2. Objectives To understand the role of student representation and the crucial role you can play within your own institution. To understand your role as a Course Rep. To develop your understanding of the types of issues you may deal with. To identify ways of promoting your role. To identify the key meetings you will need to attend.

3. As a Cardiff Metropolitan University student you automatically become part of the biggest organisation at Cardiff Met, your Students' Union! Although you may be studying at another institution, we are still keen to ensure that you have a great learning experience. Cardiff Met SU is here to represent, support, inspire and involve every student and there are lots of ways you can get involved.

4. Becoming a Course Rep Your responsibility is to represent your student cohort and record the issues which arise at your course level, and feedback to your student representation body or lectures. This will vary depending on your institution’s structure. You can also feed this information back to Cardiff Met SU where appropriate, we endeavour to support all of our partner institutes. However the goal is to ensure the student voice is heard, and issues are best resolved within your own institution.

5. Remember, the most important part of this role is to REPRESENT STUDENTS

6. R epresent ALL students on your course E ncourage positive and negative feedback from students P artnership; work with other reps, the SU and the U niversity R aise student concerns through appropriate channels E nsure that the Student Voice is heard S ignpost students to your University services E valuate the positive differences you have made N otify students of upcoming events and developments T ake time to celebrate your hard work and success!

7. Scenarios Take a look at the following examples… these may be the sorts of issues students will bring to your attention. What is the best way to manage the situation?

8. One day a week your lectures continue into the evening. Several students in your class have complained to you that on this evening there is nowhere to get a drink or some food during your break. What should you do? A. Contact other student reps to see if this is a common problem and suggest a joint approach to finding a solution B. Tell them to bring their own refreshments. That’s what everyone should do! C. Go straight to the catering manager, tell them your problem and ask how they are going to resolve it

9. Answer A. Contact other course reps on your campus and the SU to see if this is a common problem and suggest a joint approach to finding a solution This may have already been raised by other students or could be effecting others that haven’t spoken up about it yet. Working with your university and representation body and the other course reps, you can find the appropriate channels for solving this problem.

10. Your latest deadline has been changed at short notice, a number of students in your in your class have told you they will now struggle to hand their work in on time. What should you do? A. Set aside their concerns until after the deadline, at this point it is too late to resolve the issue. B. Arrange a meeting with your course leader as soon as possible to resolve the issue. C. Get all of your course mates to sign a petition and arrange a boycott of the hand in day.

11. Answer A. Arrange a meeting with your course leader as soon as possible to resolve the issue. If you feel your work will suffer as a result of this issue, then it should be resolved as soon as possible. Meet with your course leader to have a calm and rational discussion to resolve the problem, this will be more effective in the long run.

12. A student has told you they are struggling with money, they find it hard to live on their student budget and are struggling to pay rent and bills. How can you help? A. Sit down with them and go through a plan of their spending and tell them where the cheapest places are to get food and essentials within your area. B. Take them along to your university services advisor who can advise the student in the most appropriate way. C. Kindly tell them it is not your job role to handle these sorts of issues. Gently let them know that this is something they need to sort themselves.

13. Answer B. Take them along to your university services advisor who can offer advise the student in the most appropriate way. Whilst it is not your role to offer advice you can help students to find support services. Make sure you are aware of the services available and how to get in touch.

14. Gathering Feedback & Student Opinion As a course rep, it is essential to collect accurate feedback from your student cohort. By doing so, you will be able to keep a record of issues which arise, and how you have resolved them. This is essential as your role develops, as you will gain an understanding of the sort of issues which arise more often than others.

15. Class Shout Outs Take 5 minutes at the beginning/end of a lecture (don’t forget to ask your lecturer) so you can talk to students. Let them know who you are, what you are doing and why it is important. Let them ask you questions, and tell them what is going on.

16. Emails Don’t bombard students with email, but they can be used to get across key information and dates. Make sure you highlight your emails clearly with the most relevant information!

17. Surveys Conduct your own survey within your class cohort. This is a great way to gather a range of information, set up a free online survey or hand them out in lectures.

18. Social Media Setting up a Facebook group can be a great place to ask each other questions about assignments and will also be somewhere students feel comfortable discussing course issues. Don’t forget to make it private, and consider setting some ground rules.

19. Social Tea/Coffee Breaks Get to know your classmates outside the lecture theatre, make friends and have fun! When people are more relaxed and comfortable they are more likely to share opinions and ideas with you.

20. Suggestion Boxes By making this available, your course mates can submit anonymous feedback and suggestions. Some students may feel more comfortable with this approach.

21. Meetings An important part of your role will be attending meetings to put across the student view. It is essential for you to attend meetings with your university and student representation body, make sure you are invited to meetings where you have the opportunity to make a difference on your course.

22. Meetings An important part of your role will be attending meetings to put across the student view. It is essential for you to attend meetings with your university and student representation body, make sure you are invited to meetings where you have the opportunity to make a difference on your course.

23. Key meetings for Course Reps in Cardiff (Your institution will most likely have a different approach, approach a member of staff to determine how you will attend meetings) Course Committee Meeting – Reps can meet with staff to discuss course level issues Staff Student Liaison Committee – Reps can meet with other reps, staff and the students union to raise concerns and discuss campaigns to find out more about the SU.

24. Don’t forget you can also arrange meetings! This may be with fellow students to gather feedback or discuss an issue, it could be with your student representation body to get some advice on something you are dealing with or even with a member of staff to resolve an issue that has been brought to your attention.

25. Meetings, the basics… In meetings, staff may use unfamiliar language or acronyms. Never be afraid to ask what they mean, there will always be others around you who will be wondering too! Chair – The member of staff leading the meeting Minutes – The official notes taken for the meeting Action – When an issue is raised in a meeting someone will be given responsibility for working on this, we say an action is placed upon them HEFCW – Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (the body responsible for funding Welsh Universities) QAA – Quality Assurance Agency (The body who work to maintain high levels of education across the UK by monitoring standards and reviewing universities and colleges)

26. Before a meeting… Make sure you know where and when the meeting is taking place (you don’t want to be late or get lost) Ensure you have gathered positive and negative feedback from the students on your course. If you have any major points to raise, ask if you can get them onto the agenda, this will ensure you will have a time slot to talk about this issue and will also mean others will have the chance to prepare responses for the meeting. If you cannot attend the meeting, make sure you have sent your apologies and passed your students’ feedback onto another rep to raise for you.

27. During a meeting… Try and sit with fellow reps, you will feel more comfortable The chair should allow everyone to introduce themselves, if this doesn’t happen make sure you introduce yourself before you speak Don’t feel you have to speak on every issue, only when you have relevant points from your students. Also don’t feel you have to answer every question, taking the question back to students to answer as a group is than relying on your personal opinion Don’t be aggressive, be assertive! Make notes, you will need to feedback to your student cohort so they know what’s changed.

28. After a meeting… Feedback to students Complete any action points given to you If you raised an issue that resulted in an action point for someone else, make sure you keep in touch so you can feedback progress to your students

29. Thank your for completing your online Course Rep training. If you have any questions or require support at anytime, please email your Vice President, Brad Wooldridge at bwooldridge@cardiffmet.ac.uk @CardiffMetSU Cardiff Met Students’ Union

30. For more information on anything your Students’ Union offers please visit our website: www.cardiffmetsu.co.uk If you have any questions or want to get involved email us at: studentunion@cardiffmet.ac.uk