Friday 01-01-2016 - 16:11

1. Tell your Programme Leader

At the beginning of the academic year let your Programme Leader know you wish to be a Course Rep and if you also wish to be a member of the Programme Committee.

2. Register online with The Union

By registering, you will officially be recognised as a Course Rep by The Union. This means you will have access to all the support and services we offer to help you can excel in your role. Register to be a Course Rep here, make sure you are signed into the website first.

3. Attend training or complete online training

Make sure you either attend the training event in October, or you complete the online training if you cannot attend in person. You will gain all the necessary information you need to be an amazing Course Rep.

4. Contact University staff for dates of relevant meetings – such as Student Staff Liaison Committees and Programme Committees

Make sure you have the dates and papers for meetings well in advance. Every meeting you attend will have an agenda item for ‘student business’, this is your opportunity to tell the University what’s going well and how you’d like things to be improved.

You can add your own issues to the agenda too. Make early contact with your Programme Officer, who will ensure that you are sent the meeting papers in advance.  You can find out who is your Programme Officer from the Programme Leader or the Student Hub.

5. Meet with your Course Rep Support Staff

This year The Union has provided each Faculty with its own dedicated Course Rep Support Staff member who is there to help you. They are all former or current Course Reps so they have loads experience they can share with you, including best practice for meetings and how to gather feedback. They can also help you connect with other Course Reps in your Faculty.

6. Be visible

Ask to put your contact details on notice boards around your Faculty, or on a Moodle area. Set up a Facebook group or Twitter profile. Ask your lecturers if you can make announcements in lectures. In the run up to a University meeting schedule ‘drop-in’ sessions where students can come and speak to you. Get your profile out there and talk directly to your students as much as possible.

7. Read the Course Rep newsletter and check the Course Rep section online

Keep checking the website and the Course Rep newsletter for updates about all the events and campaigns relevant to you.

8. Sign up and attend workshops and events at The Union

There will be a Course Rep welcome event where you can get to know other Course Reps from across the University and find out everything that you need to know about the role. Term two is an exciting time to attend skills-building workshops and attend the Course Rep Conference where you can network with other Course Reps and celebrate your role!

9. Track what you do

Keep a record of the issues that students have raised with you and track the progress of these issues. You can use these notes to feed back to your students, to University staff and to your team at The Union.

10. Celebrate your successes and ask for help when you need it

We want you to recognise all the awesome work you do! It’s important to take time to reflect on how much you do in a year, and how many changes you’re able to make to the student experience. We want to hear all about your successes, so let us know using the Impact Tracker on The Union website here. If you have any questions you can contact S.U.Reps@mmu.ac.uk or drop into the Your Voice office on the first floor of The Union at any time.