School Education Reps
School Education Reps are coming!
For information on current School Reps, please click here
We will shortly be opening nominations for School Education Rep elections. School Education Rep is a new role for the 2012/13 academic year, and Rep's will be representing their School or Dept on a variety of education related issues.
School Education Reps will be:
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Attending their School or Dept. Learning Community Forum
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Attending their School or Dept. Teaching and Learning Committee
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Attending Faculty level meetings on a rotating basis
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Training their Course Reps in the autumn term
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Organising the academic representation system in their School or Dept. including running campaigns and organising events
Reps will be given full training throughout the year, have the opportuntity to attend external events (e.g. NUS events), sit on University Committees and will be supported fully throughout. In 2012, training will take place on the 11th & 12th of June.
If you are interested in running for the post of School Education Rep in your School or Department, please find the relevant dates below:
28th March 2012 - nominations open
30th April 2012, 12pm - nominations and submission of manifestoes closing. You will be required to have all printed material ready by this date.
2nd May 2012, 9am - campaigning and voting opens
8th May 2012, 12pm - voting closes
If you are interested in running for the role, please feel free to contact egg, the Education Officer for an informal chat. You can email her at sueducation@nottingham.ac.uk
To keep up to date with what's happening with School Education Reps, join our Facebook group.
Please see below for some information from students who are already School Reps:
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Matt Styles - Computer Science School Rep
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"I originally ran for School Rep last year because students and Course Reps put me up for the position, but I was equally keen to take it on! Feedback had been poor within the school, some assessments were questionable, and Course Reps weren't as well-known as they could be. In the first few months we ran a feedback and assessment survey and got lots of responses, which fed directly into the LCF meetings to bring about change in the department. A couple of exceptions aside, things seem to have improved significantly! To raise awareness of reps and bring students and staff together we’ve run social events with free cake, doughnuts, drinks and pizza and lots of fun on the Xboxes!
Being a School Rep certainly leads to interesting opportunities – sitting on university committees for the National Student Survey, helping write new modules for our courses, and working with staff to draw up ideas to improve student experience across the board.
It also comes with event opportunities – NUS national and regional conferences where you get to meet tonnes of enthusiastic and engaging reps and students (and a bit of networking never does any harm!)
If there’s something in your school you think could be better, something students want to change, something new to bring in for everyone to enjoy, School Education Rep is definitely the role to go for! By far the best chance to bring about positive change! The free tea and coffee never does any harm either ;) "
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Alex Perkins - School Rep for Psychology
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As suggested above, my name is Alex Perkins and I am the School Rep for Psychology (one of the top 5 Psychology schools in the country – no biggy.) I have come to the education network scene pretty late on in my university life but it is an experience I have found incredibly rewarding and enjoyable. My role is to chair LCF meetings in the school, vote at student union council, coordinate the 12 other course reps in the school and motivate them to be the best damn course reps they can be! I have had the opportunity to go to various education network events outside of the university and I am looking out for the next one.
So far in my role I have helped bring about an ‘open door’ policy in my School which means that students are able to knock on the door of their lecturers whenever they want, as opposed to the previous system of drop in times which was underused. I have chaired two LCF meetings which all 12 course reps attended along with 5-6 staff members and this has enabled problems to be brought up, such as certain modular issues, along with students suggesting ideas to staff, such as more career focused third year module options. Real changes can be made and staff are incredibly receptive to the ideas of students and genuinely want to know what students think about the course!
I went for School Rep as I believed that I could represent the students of Psychology by gathering information and opinions from them, and because I saw an opportunity to change the school for the better with this information. It has been an incredible experience which I would recommend to anyone; it keeps you in touch with what is happening around the University as a whole and enables you to meet some great people such as School Reps from other schools. You will be given support and help all the way so don’t be nervous give it a go and you will definitely not regret it!
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Laura Helm - School Rep for Biosciences
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HEY!!!
I’m Laura, the rep for the School of Biosciences. One of the main things I have been working on this year is to try and improve the Hopper Bus service between Sutton Bonington and University Park. It has been great having the chance to work on an issue that the students really want sorting!!
Being part of the Education Network is a great way to learn more about our SU...what it can do for you, and what you can do for it! And you get a say on issues that will affect the whole student body.
There are opportunities to travel to student conferences and attend workshops to develop skills which will help you both in your role as a rep, but also later, when you enter the big bad world of work! Being a school rep has also given me the chance to meet people from other schools who I wouldn’t have otherwise had the chance to meet.
Going to meetings isn’t as scary as it might seem...there are always people you can ask if you’re not sure, and you soon realise that people are actually interested in what you have to say! And at some, you even get pizza....FOR FREE!!
If you are passionate about making Nottingham better for everyone, the Education Network is a great place to start!
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Radha Gudka - School Rep for Mathematical Science
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I am a second year undergraduate student studying Mathematics andEconomics at the University of Nottingham. I am the School Rep for Mathematical Sciences. My role is to represent the students’ views, course related opinions, issues and complaints from my course-mates to the lecturers at LCF meetings and to communicate outcomes of the meetings back to the students to improve our course and our academic experience. I also feed in information received from the Students Union Education Officer to my lovely Course Reps. I get to vote at Council to help bring a positive change to the University as a whole.
There are so many events that we get to attend such as those held by the National Union of students all around the UK for free!! It’s an absolutely fantastic opportunity to really make a positive, lasting difference, make new friends and develop some great employability skills. It’s something really worth going for, helped me develop skills that I could actually talk about at job interviews and looks simply great on the CV.
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Rachael Stanmore - School Rep for the Dept. of Russian and Slavonic Studies
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Being a school rep is a fantastic experience, and has seriously contributed to enhancing my experience at the university this year! Being a school rep allows you to take on new levels of responsibility and to become a friend to all students in your department. You are their first point of contact for any academic concerns they may have, and it is your job to pass on their concerns to the relevant members of staff in your department via designated school-wide staff and student feedback meetings. Not only will you therefore develop your ability to take on roles of responsibility, but you will improve your communication skills and will gain a real insight into the way your school operates and into the way decisions are made. As well as this, you will have many opportunities to get involved with university-wide campaigns which serve to improve life here at UoN for all students. Not to mention that throughout the whole experience, you are guaranteed to make a whole host of new friends! I would seriously encourage anybody to go for this role, it would not be an experience you would regret!
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Iman Gaehwiler - School Rep for the Dept of Cultural Studies
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My name is Iman Gaehwiler and I am the School Rep for the Department of Cultural Studies. Being a School Rep is a challenging and enjoyable role. Throughout the year I have not only met many people and made lots of friends, but I have also been able to make suggestions and hopefully some changes. I have attended various training sessions, School and Departmental LCF meetings, and SU Council, which have enabled me to learn and enhance my personal skills. As the year has progressed, I have become more outgoing, have improved my time management skills and also become more aware of my civic duty. I have really enjoyed my time as a School Rep and would definitely recommend it.
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Lachlan McLachlan - School Rep for the Dept of Philosophy
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As a school rep, it is important that you take an interest in the views and academic needs of the students in your department. If a student has an issue relating to departmental policy or to their course in general, it becomes the obligation of the school rep to analyse and discuss the issue and respond in an appropriate manner. The essence of the role is therefore contained in addressing such issues, working with the department in order to reach good resolutions, and helping to ensure that the views of students are heard and fully taken into account. A school rep acts as a medium of communication between the students and the department, helping to promote and sustain a healthy environment for all those partaking in the department's activities.
It is also the obligation of a school rep to sit on the Student Council (once a month).This ensures that students in the department have a voice on wider issues concerning the university as a whole.
School Reps 2011/12
School Reps are responsible for the Course Reps in their School or Department and also have a vote at Students’ Union Council. Students' Union council meets monthly during term time and is a decision making and policy setting body.
Your School Reps for 2011/12 are:
For more information contact:
Academic Rep Co-ordinator
sucoursereps@nottingham.ac.uk
Tel: 0115 82 32038
or visit the Education Network Office (within the Student Advice and Representation Centre), B Floor, Portland Building