Course Rep Training 2012-13

1. Course Rep Training 2012-13

2. Learning Objectives • Define student experience • Understand the factors affecting the student experience • How to get evidence on about your course • Understand your role as a rep • How to be an effective course rep • Have an insight into the University Structures • Understand where reps sit on committees and how to get elected • Recognise the importance of good communication • Know where to get help

3. Post It Exercise • What single thing would have improved your experience in the first week of this academic year? Knowing where we were supposed to be on the first day !But only something that the University could control

4. The Student Experience? • To understand your role better we think that you need to consider what constitutes: • a poor quality student experience • an excellent quality student experience

5. How would you define a poor student experience?

6. How would you define an excellent student experience?

7. Key factors that affect the Student Experience The QUALITY of: • The teaching on the Course • The assessment and feedback • The academic support • The organisation and management • The learning resources • Personal development • The environment in which you live and work • The social and leisure opportunities

8. Small Group Exercise • Looking at one of the factors affecting the student experience. Discuss and list what this means in reality?

9. How does the University know about the Quality of the Student Experience? • National Student Survey (NSS) • Surveys in the University based on NSS • Focus Groups • Views from Students’ Union • Views from Course Reps! • Views from students generally

10. What is your role then? • Taking this all into account what is your role then as a course rep? One possible answer..... To look after your course and the University making sure that it is delivering a high and even excellent quality student experience

11. How can you do that? • Work with the Academics to make sure that Quality is maintained and improved • Use evidence that is available • NSS, KIS, what are students saying? • Gather evidence using research • Ask students questions, do your own survey, use social media, use post its • Put forward solutions • Based on your research come up with solutions share these with students and academics • Argue for improvements • Go to meetings and argue for the solutions you have come up with • Campaign for change • If the solutions you have put forward are being ignored or sidelined start a campaign to get them implemented

12. Work with Academics to maintain and improve Quality • Most Academics want their programmes to be excellent! • Some however may not. • If this is the case you may want to ask yourself why, what are the causes? • You will need to meet with them to discuss how to improve things

13. Use the evidence that is available Hard evidence exists in one useful place on the Internet called Unistats This includes the data on individual courses including: • Key Information Sets (KIS) and • National Student Survey (NSS) http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/ When you search for Newport click on the W(for Wales) to find University of Wales, Newport

14. Gather evidence using research • Where you have identified an area that needs change or improvement • Do your own research with students, use surveys , callouts, PostIts etc. • Use that research to develop ideas with students

15. Case Study Evidence • You are a course rep on the a BSc/BA (Hons) **** Course • You have been given the NSS results for last two years • Look at the NSS Results • What questions might you want to ask of students/academics? • Present your findings to the group and suggest solutions?

18. So how is the University of Wales, Newport doing? • This is going to be a shocker! • What was the overall student satisfaction i.e In 2011 76% In 2012 74%

19. Not all programmes are the same. • The programme with highest satisfaction rating was Business and Marketing with 100% (no result in 2011) • The programme with the lowest satisfaction rating was Advertising Design with 25% (92% in 2011)

20. Key Issue These results are important because they come from students it is not what the University itself thinks!! • If your programme has poor satisfaction work with academics to improve the quality • If a programme has excellent satisfaction work with academics to keep it there • It can be done!!!

21. You can change things by working with the academics! This is what happened last year in: • Photography for Fashion and Advertising! • 2011 4% • 2012 73% • Graphic Design • 2011 50% • 2012 87%

22. How well did the Students’ Union Do? • 2012 56% overall satisfaction

23. Back to your role? • Using what you have learnt so far and the Guide on Supporting Students Complete the exercise on whose role is it anyway?

24. Problem Trees Students get angry and frustrated Students think they are being ignored Poor NSS results Students become demoralised Students do not have answers to their questions Some academics do not answer emails from students Academics have too much to do They don’t think it is important Academics are not able to manage their time properly Poor communications generally Between staff and students mean many more emails Attitude of tutor to students Academics are demoralised They get too many emails

25. Solution Trees Students feel Like they matter Students feel supported NSS Results improve considerably Fewre queries take place after lectures Effects Students get answers Promptly so become better motivated Student emails are answered within 48 hours Vision Regular student survey on email responses Solutions Management commit to 48 hour email turnaround and monitor it Work is done to raise staff morale Course reps meet Regularly with academics and remind them how important it is to answer emails Weekly surgeries Where staff can answer questions face to face? Wider research done to Determine causes Disciplinary action? Employ more staff?

26. Example of a Problem Tree • Look at a real problem you have • Create a problem tree • Create a solution tree

27. University Structures

28. Meetings/Committees

29. Rep Elections to Boards • Academic Board • 1 rep from each Faculty (2) • Faculty Board Education and Social Sciences • 1 rep from each school in faculty (2) • Faculty Board Arts & Business • 1 rep from each school in faculty (2) • Faculty User Group (Arts & Business Faculty) • 1 full time rep one part time rep (2) • Validation Board • 1 rep from each faculty (2) • Student Experience Committee • 1 rep from each faculty (2)

30. This is an Important Year!! • Merger talks are under way • Likely that University of Wales, Newport will merge in the next year with Glamorgan • Raises huge questions about maintaining quality for existing and future students • Course Reps the first line of defence!

31. Communicating with your students How? Make sure all of you students know that you are their rep! Noticeboard Face to face end of lectures Email Facebook One off events Other ideas

32. What to do next! • Find out dates of programme meetings (if your programme has them) • Find out who to contact about your Board of Study • Carry out your first piece of research. Ask your students ......the same question we asked when you arrived

33. Post It Exercise • What single thing would have improved your experience in the first week of this academic year? We need the answers back by 25th Oct 2012 Knowing where we were supposed to be on the first day !But only something that the University could control

34. Help and Support The SU is there to support you. • Verity Worthington • Education and welfare Officer • edwelfare@newport.ac.uk • Peter Townend • Course Rep co-ordinator • peter.townend@newport.ac.uk www.newportunion.com/education-welfare/course-reps