As you may have heard over the past few months, last year’s leadership Race saw the introduction of a new student representative role – Subject Reps, who are replacing Department Reps as the intermediate step between your Course Reps and Full-Time Officers. They’re there to take up feedback that’s too broad or wide-ranging for a Course Rep to handle effectively, like learning resources and departmental provision, in much the same way a Department Rep would have been - so why the change?
The reorganisation of University departments last year left us with some very big departments (Creative Industries containing a whopping 60 courses!) that are far too big for one volunteer to support alone. This year, each department instead has between two and ten reps looking after clusters of related courses. This makes sure your Subject Rep can provide much more detailed, personal support - shaped by familiarity with the subject and backed by personal experience – and ensures your voice isn’t lost in translation.
On October 26th, we delivered the first round of Subject Rep training – thank you to all who attended, and helped to facilitate the sort of fascinating and insightful discussion that helps guide your Students’ Union in making sure your University works for you.
This was immediately followed by the first Rep Council of the year – where we were joined by Christina Matthews, the university’s Executive Director of Student and Academic Services, to gather feedback on the student experience. For those interested, minutes can be found on the Rep Council webpage.
You can find out who your Course and Subject Reps are – or volunteer to be one - on our website.