1. SSLC Staff Forum -
27 July 2016

2. Programme Welcome and Introductions - QMSU VP Education, Sumeera Ahmad
2. Report on Course Rep Elections
3. Report on Course Rep Training
4. Senior Reps – Annual Programme Review
5. School Reps - update
6. SSLC Student Co-Chairs - update
7. Faculty Forums
8. Current Issues – open discussion
9. AOB

3. End of Year Report
At the end of the academic year, we had 282 (71%) Course Reps in post, out of a possible % of undergraduate posts were filled, compared with only 55% of postgraduate.
61% of Reps in post attended training this year, compared with 56% in
In December we held our annual Course Rep Xmas party which was attended by circa 60 Reps.
In February, QMSU took 10 Reps to the NUS London and South of England Course Rep Conference
The annual Education Awards took place at Drapers Hall on 29 February
During the year 66 Course Reps participated in the QM Skills Award.

4. Reps in Post

7. Final Statistics for 2015-16 (updated since Forum)

8. Course Rep Spring Elections
In order to fill any gaps in the ranks of continuing Course Representatives, whether through resignation, or where they have been challenged to an election, an election will be held in the Spring to ensure that as many Reps as possible are in place for the following academic year. The dates for are as follows:
Nominations open:  Monday 6 March
Nominations close:  Friday 17 March
Voting starts:  Monday 20 March
Voting ends:  Friday 24 March
Results announced: Tuesday 28 March 2017
Re-open nominations: If there are still any vacant posts , nominations will re-open and remain open until close of nominations for the Course Rep Elections in October 2017. 

9. HSS

10. S&E

11. SMD

13. School Representatives
School Representatives (HSS and SE only)
In order to bridge the gap between Course Reps and Faculty Representatives, this year sees the introduction of School Reps. Each SSLC is asked to elect/select from amongst its Senior Reps, a School Rep who will act as liaison between the SSLC and the Faculty Rep. This should be done at the first SSLC meeting of this year (and subsequently at the last SSLC meeting of the year to serve during the following year).

14. SSLC Student Co-chairs
The University have for some time supported the concept of Student Co-chairs for SSLC meetings - It is for each SSLC to determine who should chair the committee. Consideration should be given to electing a student member as co-Chair. The Students’ Union can give student representatives training to enable them to fulfil this role. 
With the advent of Senior Course Reps, the Students' Union is asking that SSLCs give strong consideration to this recommendation. Training sessions to equip Reps with the necessary skills are planned and dates have been set (see handout).

15. How to be an effective chair.
Originally created by : Kerrie Wilson & Aaron Braddy
Senior SSLC Student Co-chairs
How to be an effective chair.

16. Faculty Forums HSS Faculty Forum Semester 1 tbc
A Faculty Forum shall be held once each semester.
Membership of the Faculty Forum shall be as follows:
Faculty Representatives (one of whom will take the Chair)
All School Reps from within the Faculty
PGT and PGR Reps from each SSLC
Chairs and Secretaries of each SSLC within the Faculty (whether staff, or student Co-chair)
The QMSU VP Education
The QMSU Education Representation and Policy Coordinator (Secretary)
The Deans of Faculty will be invited to their Faculty’s Faculty Forums.
Any Course Rep may attend their Faculty’s Faculty Forums.
Faculty Forums
HSS Faculty Forum Semester 1
tbc
S&E Faculty Forum Semester 1
S&E Faculty Forum Semester 2
HSS Faculty Forum Semester 2

17. Faculty Reps 2016-17 S&E HSS Hashim Mastan
Lewis Williams
Barts and The London Faculty Rep (Clinical)
MAHNUR Khan
HSS
Petros Petrikkos
Chowdury Albab Kadir
Barts and The London Faculty Rep
(Pre-Clinical)
Ruari MCGOWAN

18. Course Rep Training

19. Course Rep Guides for Welcome Packs

20. SSLC Web Pages and Handbook

22. Student-Staff Liaison Committees – Roles and Responsibilities
Student representatives should …
Further Information
Be elected by their fellow students Pg
Attend the SU training on how to be an effective course rep and any other training needed
Ensure they prepare for, attend and follow up issues for SSLC meetings
Gather feedback on items to ensure they are representing the views of the cohort
Feedback to fellow students on issues/changes discussed at SSLCs
Respect any confidential issues that may be discussed at SSLCs and not provide sensitive details to people outside of the SSLC membership
Carry out any additional duties or responsibilities if they have been elected as Senior Reps or School Reps
Student representatives should not …
Present personal opinions or those which are unrepresentative of the cohort to the SSLC for personal gain
Wait to the next SSLC meeting if an urgent issue arises that is affecting the student experience
Get involved in disputes between individual students or between a student and a staff member
Be assisting individual students with concerns such as financial or personal issues
Schools and Institutes should …
Promote the role of course reps and publicise course rep elections
Allow course reps the opportunity to speak at the end of lectures and seminars to gather feedback from the cohort
Provide assistance to reps wishing to contact the cohort by means of or QMplus
Ensure they are using the SSLC template agenda and minutes to ensure all required issues are discussed and completing the action sheet for all meetings
Publicise SSLC meeting dates to all students and ensure minutes are made available to all students afterwards
Send minutes to ARCS and QMSU by the latest four weeks following the meeting date
Ensure that student concerns are fed into other committees as appropriate
Ensure that they feedback to students any actions the school/institute is undertaking to address issues raised e.g. in the format of ‘You said, we did…’
Schools and Institutes should not …
Co-opt students to fill vacant roles without informing the Students’ Union of their name and contact details
Omit required agenda items such as external examiner reports or module evaluation reports from the agenda
Cancel meetings and not re-schedule them or schedule meetings at a time that it is unlikely reps will be able to attend
SSLC staff chairs should …
Ensure that course reps are briefed on how the meetings run either via a pre-meeting or at the start of the first meeting of the academic year
Allow reps adequate time in the meeting to raise issues and for these to be discussed
Ensure there is a secretary for the meeting and that actions are followed up as appropriate
Encourage reps to take a greater role through contributing items to the agenda, taking on actions and, if appropriate, having the opportunity to chair part or all of the meeting
SSLC staff chairs should not …
Assume that students will understand technical or pedagogical language, abbreviations or acronyms without explanation or context
Allow a person or group to dominate the meeting and stifle other people’s input
Avoid addressing difficult issues but try to manage the meeting so that discussions are productive rather than confrontational
SSLC minute takers should …
Ensure that agendas and papers are circulated at least a week in advance of the meeting so there is time for students to review items and gather feedback
Take accurate minutes that reflect discussions in the meetings and ensure all actions are assigned to a specific person
Circulate minutes to the full membership and note corrections as necessary
Send minutes on to ARCS and the SU within the four week deadline after the meeting
QMSU will …
Run course rep elections for all posts in line with the arrangements set out in the memorandum for this purpose
Provide initial and follow-up training to course reps as needed
Support course reps in raising issues and gathering feedback
Consult with course reps and campaign on issues affecting departments or cohorts
Recognise and reward the work of reps at the annual QMSU Education Awards
ARCS will …
Work with QMSU to review minutes and identify issues
Refer issues that need discussion at a faculty or university level to the appropriate QMUL committee
Provide guidance on the SSLC procedure and provide the templates for agendas and minutes
Consult QMSU and schools and institutes on possible methods to improve the function of the SSLC system.

23. SSLC Staff Resources

24. SSLC Staff Forum Dates 2016-17
Semester 1 -  ? November 2016  ( )
Semester 2 - ? March 2017  ( )
Semester 3 -  ? July 2017  ( )

25. SSLC Agendas and Templates
Please use the templates provided by ARCS (on SSLC resources page)
The SSLC Secretary should send copies of SSLC minutes and action plan to the ARCS within four weeks of the meeting date, so that their overall functioning can be monitored and examples of good practice identified. Minutes should also be copied to the President of the Students’ Union, or in the SMD to the President of the Students’ Union.

26. Course Rep Social Events
We also hold regular (alcohol free) social events for our Reps to say thank you and to help them get to know each other.
The events for are as follows:
Course Rep Helloween Party (Welcome Event) - Monday 31 October 2016 ( ) Blomeley Rooms 
Course Rep Xmas Party - Monday 12 December 2016 ( ) Blomeley Rooms
Course Rep Easter Party - Monday 27 March 2017 ( ) Blomeley Rooms