CLASS REP HANDBOOK

Dundee University Students Association (DUSA) Registered Scottish Charity No. SC016047

DUNDEE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ASSOCIATION

Hey, Im Jade and I am this years Deputy President at DUSA. Firstly, congratulations and welcome to your new role as class representative! Here at DUSA we are proud to be the number one Students Union in Scotland and part of our success is down to student representation throughout campus. Your role is invaluable within the representation structure here at DUSA, as you now represent the voice of all your fellow classmates and colleagues. Furthermore your role also includes enabling communication between the student body, the academic staff and DUSA. You have the potential to create positive change within your course, so get involved during Student Staff Liaison Committees(SSLC) and attend the training sessions set up by DUSA. In doing so you can improve on the student experience here at the University of Dundee! Hopefully this handbook will help you understand what your role as a Class Representative involves, however if you have any queries at all please do not hesitate to email me on deputypresident@dusa.co.uk or call into my ofce on level 4 of the DUSA building.

How To: Represent Your Fellow Classmates Make yourself known to your classmates!

Introduce yourself at lectures or if your class is divided up into different modules and you cant pop into them all ask lecturers to make a point of informing your class who you are and what your role involves. Another effective tool is to make a Facebook group specically for your class. This is an easy way to stay in touch with your class get your friends to invite their friends and so on, or if you are organised you could set this up beforehand and let tell them during the introduction. Gather the views and opinions of a wide range of students. You can do this by circulating your university email address to your class and encourage them to use it if they have any questions or concerns. This is also a great way of letting them know in advance when a SSLC is coming up, and provides another outlet for you to give feedback about the outcome of the meeting. If you are unsure of how to do this you can contact either your personal advisor of studies or your School Secretary.

How To: Be A Leader

The leadership skills exercised during your time as a Class Rep can be realistically utilised throughout life. There are fundamental aspects of any good leader regardless of position, age, or experience. If recognised early, one can easily work to incorporate such traits within a pattern of effective leadership. As a Class Rep, pay careful attention to these ve fundamental leadership principles throughout your term and you will succeed, not just as a leader for your class, but in any future plans you may have.

Plan and Organise The rst and most important trait of effective leaders is their ability to plan and organise. Little will be accomplished without a plan of what needs to be done, how to get things done, and the resources available. Class Reps should therefore make note of meetings and responsibilities in order to plan and organise successful and effective efforts. Understand Why Effective leaders understand the why factor. Whether it relates to the concerns of others or proposals put into motion, effective leaders understand the why factor behind everything. As Class Reps, make sure to rst understand why procedures or opinions exist as they do in order to better understand why and how improvements can be effectively implemented. Listen Well Effective leaders indeed have great ideas and initiative. Other individuals (e.g. classmates and course organisers) may be equally, if not more, creative and resourceful. As a result, effective leaders listen and utilise the concerns and ideas of those around them in order to propel overall efforts. As a Class Rep, take time to listen to the concerns and ideas of classmates and supervisors in order most effectively to address outstanding issues.

Be Realistic Effective leaders understand the limits of their own capabilities and responsibilities. While Class Reps indeed have the capacity to make a difference in their education, this capacity does not necessarily equate to rights to govern the university. Make an effort to understand the limits your responsibilities and knowledge in order to implement the most effective campaigns. Work Hard Leadership is not simply delegation it requires effort. While sharing responsibilities and involving others is important, effective leaders must also expect to be engaged with their causes. Class Reps should be willing to work hard to hear classmates concerns, sacrice time to attend meetings, and follow-up to ensure concerns are being addressed. By incorporating these ve fundamental principles during your time as a Rep, you will be more effective in your efforts and establish more positive relationships with your colleagues and supervisors. Practising effective leadership skills now can prepare you to become an effective leader in future capacities.

How To: Be An Effective Class Representative

This too is a question that most class representatives ask at some point when they are struggling with how to nd out what the courses issues are. Here are some suggestions which are aimed at helping you get the most out of your role.

Be enthusiastic Be committed to helping others Be able to manage your time effectively (juggling lectures, studies, part-time work, class representative duties and social and recreational activities) Be visible - make yourself known to your classmates and peers and to the relevant staff in the Subject, Module or School Advise your classmates and peers of how to contact you Attend the training provided by DUSA at the beginning of your term of ofce Collect the views of your classmates and peers and present them clearly and in a non-prejudicial way at SSLC meetings and beyond, when required Put forward agenda items for SSLC meetings Prepare for SSLC meetings by reading the relevant documents and requesting previous minutes from the relevant Subject, Module or School staff member Report agreed action back to your classmates whether it be through mass email, an oral report at the beginning of a lecture, or a Facebook group. Make sure you get the information out there! Follow up on actions allocated to you Liaise with and alert your School President to any issues which are out with your remit or which you would like assistance in tackling

How To: Get The Most Out Of Student Staff Liaison Committee Meetings
Student Staff Liaison Committee meetings are the key things that you, as a Class Rep, will be expected to attend. These are meetings at which you and relevant staff can discuss issues relating to the educational experience of the students you represent. They also provide an opportunity for your School to consult with you and receive feedback on new proposals. Your SSLC will meet at least once per semester and your School will provide you with the annual schedule of meetings that you will be required to attend at the beginning of the academic year. Keep this time free from other activities and if it is really impossible for you to attend then ask for the agenda and papers early so you can give comments on them. We appreciate that it can be intimidating walking into a room full of your lecturers, supervisors and people that you respect and who are widely respected in their eld. But its important to remember that you know something they dont what its like to be a student within your School. Schools rely on you to give them honest feedback so they can change things to ensure you have the best student experience possible.

Read the agenda before a meeting and get your course colleagues views. Try not to raise issues concerning individual students or staff. Try to solve these problems informally outside of the meeting. Talk to staff beforehand if you have real concerns about an issue. This will help to build a good working relationship. When you make an argument, ensure that its clear and to the point. Raise your own experiences but focus on communicating the views of the students you represent. Dont be afraid to ask questions if you dont understand something. Try to build towards positive solutions; dont dwell too much on problems of the past that are being resolved Be polite, and try not to get too emotional or criticise individuals. Use phrases such as wouldnt it be better if? or could we consider? After the meeting, make sure you know what decisions were made so you can tell your course colleagues about what changes have been made.

Remember: You Dont Always Have To Wait For Your Sslc!

Some issues can wait until a formal meeting such as an SSLC but others cant. If there is a pressing issue it is usually worthwhile raising it with a member of staff before the meeting as they may be able to solve the problem fairly quickly. The best results are achieved through students and staff working together. You may sometimes nd that issues come up that affect students beyond your course, or you may want to work with other Class Reps in your School, or your School President on an issue. It is important that when you work with others you have got as many details on the issue as possible, so make sure you ask the right questions to the right people.

Remember: Youre a Student Representative and you should ensure that you are representing the views of others in meetings, not only the issues that might be important or relevant to you

Issues you may encounter as a Class Rep

Students from your course may approach you with a wide range of questions, some of which may be addressed at the SSLC. Other issues can be dealt with outside this committee more informally. Remember if the question is not within your remit you should refer your course colleague to an appropriate person within the School or University. Your job as a Class Rep is to ensure that any problems your course colleagues encounter in their studies can be raised and resolved through the correct and appropriate channels. Students have a right to expect quality teaching and also the resources and facilities to facilitate their learning. The main concern for a Class Rep is to ensure that issues raised are directly related to the academic nature of your course.

The type of issues that you can raise, on behalf of your course colleagues, can be spilt into three different areas: Commenting on things that work well on the course Constructive criticism on things that didnt or dont work so well on your course Suggestions on new areas to consider on the course.

Here is a list of issues and questions that you may wish to think about when consulting with your course colleagues.
Curriculum Issues Are the learning outcomes being met? What is the match between expectations of students, the learning outcomes and curriculum content? Does the curriculum content encourage the development of knowledge and skills? How relevant is the course to future study and employment? Are your timetables and workload appropriate? What opportunities are available for practical and vocational experience? Have employers/regulatory bodies been consulted about course content? Teaching and Learning Issues Is the range of teaching and learning methods appropriate for delivering your curriculum? Should there be more or less lectures, labs or tutorials? What teaching methods would students nd more appropriate for your course? Issues relating to Learning Resources How good was your induction process? How do you rate the on-course support provided to you, for example through your Studies Advisor? Are appropriate library services available? How effective is the Handbook made available on My Dundee? Are the texts on the reading list readily available? Which texts on the reading lists were really useful? Is there ready access to computer facilities? Is the software you are expected to use matched to your course needs and are you trained how to use it, if necessary? What is the most helpful learning resources provided for your course? Are the necessary programme-specic materials and resources available? Is the accommodation and equipment that is used for your course adequate? Issues relating to Assessment Do you understand the criteria for assessment and the methods used? What feedback do you receive? Is it prompt and effective? Is the assessment policy and practice clearly described? Could the timing for submission of coursework be reviewed? Is it too close to exams? Is there an unreasonable delay in the return of marked assignments? Are the comments made on marked assignments helpful? Is information given on plagiarism, and how useful is it?

Issues That You Should Not Have To Encounter As A Class Rep

Reading through the previous sections, you have probably realised that Class Reps deal with issues that affect all of the students on a course. You are there to represent the views of the majority of students, although this does not mean that the views of a minority should not be respected and accommodated where possible. But you do not generally deal with individual student issues or take up the cause of individual students. Occasionally, you may be approached by a student about an issue where you as course rep should not get involved. Do not get drawn into:

Disputes between students and academic staff, or between individual students (for example, harassment, discrimination and bullying). Issues covered by formal University procedures (for example, exam failures, academic appeals, individual complaints, disciplinary hearings). Queries about nance or funding including debt. Welfare problems (for example, housing, employment and immigration), health and personal issues.

Some of these issues are very complex and dealing with them requires specialist training. If they are not handled correctly or sometimes if the outcome is not what the student wanted then there can be very serious implications. Therefore if a student approaches you about any of these issues you should advise them to contact DUSAs Deputy President in the rst instance, whilst perhaps also advising the student that all of the Universitys Student Services are available on My Dundee under the Student Welfare tab.

Benets To Be Gained!

At the end of the academic year you will be rewarded with a certicate from the University and DUSA for your effort and contributions. As a Class Rep you will have a unique opportunity to develop your personal skills which are highly valued by employers. Thats right; by undertaking this role, you will have gained an advantage when developing your CV and applying for a job! It is also a great way to meet new people! In order for you to gain the most of your experience as a class rep DUSA will be holding training to give you the tools to be the most effective rep possible. Furthermore by way of a thank you a Christmas celebration will be provided for all reps. A Facebook group will be launched giving you the opportunity to swap ideas with other reps, as well as it being a quick way to get in contact with your Deputy President for any questions you may have, that you feel will affect others as well.

This is an exciting role that you are about to embark on and you should be proud to have elected yourself for the role.

2013
Dundee University Students Association (DUSA) Registered Scottish Charity No. SC016047