Take a stand to improve your student experience
Published on 10 October 12
Find out how you can make a positive change to your (and others') education, improve your student experience and have an impact on University policy.
Student RepresentationStudent representatives create positive changes for students. As a student rep, you would work in partnership with University staff and as a crucial part of the Students’ Union to address issues and make improvements to the University. |
 |
Student Rep/Academic Rep/Course Rep, what’s the difference?
None. These names all refer to the same role. These Reps are recruited at programme level and they canvas students’ opinions through a variety of methods and feed this information into their school through discipline and school level committees such as the staff-student liason committees and programmes committees.
Student Reps are encouraged to attend Faculty Forums to bring broader issues to the attention of the Students’ Union, and work with Union staff and officers to achieve changes for students.
What are the benefits?Reps receive training for their role from the Students’ Union and this year this is taking the form of a Conference. The event will be a great opportunity to network with other reps and find out about their experiences as well as learning more about the representation structure and how best to fulfil the role of a Rep. Additional training is provided throughout the year in response to suggestions from reps – in previous years reps have benefited from training on public speaking skills because of their feedback. StAR (Student Academic Representative) awards recognise the achievements of student reps’ with three levels of award being available ; bronze, silver and gold. These awards reflect the different levels of commitment of student reps and are a great way of showing future employers your dedication. In fact, volunteering as a rep provides you with great opportunities to enhance your personal skills – from chairing meetings, to public speaking – it’s all useful experience and looks great on your CV. Student reps can also be nominated for 'Student Rep of the year’ which is presented at the Students’ Union awards evening towards the end of the academic year. A Student Rep of the year will be named for each Faculty along with other awards recognising outstanding student involvement with the Students’ Union. |
Previous Reps have made lots of great improvements to University life. here are just a few of them:
|
Main responsibilities
- Regular communication with students to canvass opinions and to give feedback about decisions
- Attend discipline/school level meetings and report the opinions of students
How do I get involved?
Look out for emails or announcements from your school or discipline. For more information, click here.
Faculty rep/Union Student rep, what do they do?The Students’ Union reps campaign for positive changes on a larger scale than course reps. They work with the Union and the University to raise issues at a higher level and provide a crucial link for Course Reps’ to the Exec team. Faculty Reps help the Union to keep in touch with Student Reps on individual courses and help create a clear picture of what students in their Faculty want and need. They also help to organise and promote Faculty Forums. Main responsibilities
To stand as a Faculty Rep/ Union Student Representative, follow the instructions on the Students’ Union website. |
Key dates to stand as a Students’ Union Representative
|
Student Charter
The student charter explains what you can expect from us, the University, and what you will need to do to ensure you get the most out of your time as a student here at Manchester.
The charter was developed with the input of the Students’ Union and it aims to maintain clear expectations of what needs to be done for you to achieve the skills, qualities and qualifications you’re working towards.
If you would like to see the Student Charter in full, click here or if you want to make any comments or suggestions on the Charter then please e-mail studentcharter@manchester.ac.uk.