The Student Representation System is run as a partnership between The Students' Union and UWE Bristol.
Role Overview: Student Reps at UWE play a crucial role in bridging the gap between students and staff. They gather and communicate student feedback, ensuring that any issues are addressed and outcomes are shared with their peers.
Key Responsibilities:
Rewards:
This unpaid role is vital for improving the student experience and fostering a collaborative university environment.
Role Overview: Lead School Reps (LSRs) are employed by The Students’ Union, they ensure student feedback is heard at the highest levels of university governance.
Collaboration:
LSRs play a crucial role in ensuring that student voices are effectively represented and heard within the university’s decision-making processes.
During the induction period The Students’ Union promotes Student Reps through mailings, the Freshers’ Fair, welcome events and posters and leaflets. The Students’ Union also attends induction talks to give a brief overview of Student Reps. This promotion includes what the role is, what it entails, and the benefits of being a Student Rep and how to get involved. In regards to getting involved students are asked to contact their programme leader and look out for elections in their course in the first few weeks of term.
As well as supporting programmes and students through the Student Rep election period, The Students' Union coordinates the School Rep elections and Lead School Rep recruitment.
The Students’ Union provides training to all Student Reps; this is an hour and a half long session. The training session takes place during the first term and includes information about their role, key skills and extra opportunities. These sessions take place both physically and also online. Student Reps who are elected onto further committees also have the opportunity to attend advanced training sessions. Students must attend a face-to-face training or online session in order to be eligible to participate in the Student Rep Certificate Scheme and get the role added to their Higher Education Achievement Report.
Some of the topics covered within the Induction Rep Training:
- How to be an effective representative - ensuring you bring the view of your cohort and not your individual view.
- Meetings - Structures, etiquette and expectations.
- The wider rep role - What is expected and how to signpost students to support services for issues that fall outside of the role.
Offers ongoing help and support to Student Reps.
Throughout the year we offer help and support for Student Reps; this may be answering queries and helping with specific issues the Student Reps are facing through to working on campaigns with students to tackling topics students want addressing.
The Students’ Union hosts an annual Student Experience Awards near the end of the year academic year. Special awards are given out for outstanding achievements from Student Reps and staff interacting with representation over the course of the academic year. Awards are given out to Student Reps and UWE staff who achieved amazing things throughout the academic year. It is also a thank you to the Student Reps who maintained the academic representation system that year.
Student Reps can also work towards a Student Rep Certificate. They have to fill in the required aspirations and reflections at the beginning and end of the academic year respectively in order to receive their certificate. Additionally, once filling out the forms, they will also have their Higher Education Achievement Record updated to show their involvement as a rep. Student Reps can also have their activity verified as part of the Bristol Futures Award too.
The deadline for Student Reps to be elected is within the first four weeks of term starting. We understand that this is a tight deadline to meet, however in order to train Reps before the first round of UWE meetings and give them the skills required to be effective in their role this deadline is really key.
Student Reps can only be representative if they are given the opportunity to collect and provide feedback. Ensuring that students have the ability to do this is of the utmost importance.
If you don’t feel the Student Rep is being representative, please pass their name to the Students’ Union (studentreps@uwe.ac.uk) and we can offer extra training and support to the student. Please also contact us if you have concerns about a Student Reps conduct.
Students are able to see who their Student Rep/Reps are within their MyUWE Portal.
Please do! Email The Students’ Union Representation team by emailing studentreps@uwe.ac.uk and we will answer any unresolved questions. Plus we will feature them in this section too.
Photo by Gunnar Ridderstrom on Unsplash