Home - Unitu Audit

10 Min Audit

How effective is your student rep system?

We developed a Free Student Rep System Audit tool that you can take in just 10 min and get a customised report that will showcase your student rep system’s performance in six key domains.

These areas cover the process from recruiting reps to how you reward them. It also evaluates the partnership level between the University and the SU, and the system's overall effectiveness.

Built from the NUS's Student Rep Benchmarking framework, its purpose is to empower Student Voice Professionals to identify strengths and areas for growth within the system.

Take the first step to a better Rep System.

It will take only 10 mins

[Rep Recruitment]

How are course reps selected or elected?

Elections

A Students are not aware of who course reps are or what they do. Course reps are just selected by the institution.

B Course reps are chosen by who puts their hands up at the beginning of the first lecture of the term, with little awareness of their role.

C There is some publicity about the elections and awareness of what course reps do. Where there are elections, they are fair and democratic, but it is usually just one candidate standing and a few people voting. Where there is selection, the process is seen as fair and transparent. Around 25% of courses are represented where there is a voluntary process.

D Students are broadly aware of what the role of the course rep is and what is expected of them. There are usually contested elections. Around 50% of courses are represented where there is a voluntary process.

E Students are well aware of what course reps do, what the key issues are and what improvements to their learning experience there have been due to the activity of course reps in the previous year. There are elections across the course/ department/faculty so that all students can participate, with several candidates standing and many students voting. Where there is a voluntary process, at least 75% of courses are represented.

[Rep Recruitment]

How do you collect newly recruited reps

First contact

A Not all departments forward the course rep's contact details to the students’ union. The students’ union is aware of information gaps, and it is very difficult to fill them

B Course reps’ contact details are collected by the institution and passed on to the students’ union. This is not done in a timely and consistent manner, and there are often gaps in the information.

C Most contact details are collected, but there are some gaps. Course reps are just contacted by email before the first training event.

D The information is collected systematically; it is submitted to the institution and the students’ union. Other useful information is gathered to ensure support and training meet their needs. This could include, for example, how long the student has been a course rep and what training they have attended. Course reps are contacted as soon as they are elected.

E The information is collected systematically through a form that reps submit to the institution and/ or the students’ union. Each year individuals from the students’ union speak to the departmental staff so the system will work. A staff member in the schools/faculties is responsible for ensuring every course and year group has a course rep within the first three to four weeks of the start of the course.

[Rep Support]

How do you train student reps?

Training

A Training is provided, but few course reps attend. It is often after the first meeting that the course rep is supposed to attend.

B Training is provided, but only about 30% of course reps attend. There are clear job descriptions for course reps of what they are expected to do in their role.

C Training is provided jointly by the students’ union and the institution attended by most course reps. The training focuses on the role of course reps, including how to ensure that they are representative, use available research, and how put papers on the agenda.

D The students’ union offers skills and follow-up training sessions during the year. The training is focused on supporting the course reps to make improvements to their course and learning experience and is evaluated each year to ensure ongoing effectiveness and relevance. There is a handover from the previous rep to facilitate continuity.

E The training is designed based on a needs assessment of the course reps. Course reps are contacted after a few months to evaluate the effectiveness of the training they received, and improvements are made. There are additional training events for second-year course reps and advanced-level training provided throughout the year.

[Rep Support]

What guidance is provided for course reps, and how are they supported?

Support & Guidance

A The students’ union has a course rep handbook on paper and/or online. The students’ union holds training. Students’ union contact details are given, but it’s left to the reps to contact the students’ union if they have any problems or queries.

B The students’ union contacts course reps two or three times a year. The students’ union holds the occasional meeting, which few course reps attend. The students’ union emails course reps but receives little feedback.

C The students’ union contacts course reps by email at least monthly, and offers skills training sessions during the year. The students’ union holds training twice a year or runs a course rep conference halfway through the year. Course reps receive regular emails/newsletters from the students’ union.

D The students’ union has significant online resources for course reps, including handbooks, forum/chat room ability and details of HE issues, which support the training sessions. Faculty reps/school reps (or their equivalent) are used to liaise with course reps on behalf of the union. There are regular meetings with course reps that are fairly well attended.

E The students’ union regularly communicates with course reps about HE, institution-wide issues, and information about the students’ union. The students’ union also has drop-in times for face-to-face support and briefing sessions to course reps.

[Rep Engagement]

What impact do course reps have?

Rep Impact

A There are few places for students in departmental and faculty boards. Course reps only speak when called upon and are more likely to raise ‘complaints’, e.g. lecturers not turning up on time.

B The course reps attend the relevant meetings. Course reps occasionally speak on items on the agenda and will contribute to discussions on teaching and learning.

C The course reps attend meetings and regularly contribute usefully to meetings bringing students' views.

D Course reps regularly raise items on the agenda and put items on the agenda. Course reps can identify areas where they have made changes which have improved the experiences of students.

E Students are aware of the impact that course reps have on improving their teaching and learning experiences.The students’ union can measure the impact and demonstrate this to their institution.

[Rep Engagement]

How do student reps ensure diverse representation in student voice?

Diverse Representation

A The course rep comes to the meeting but speaks from their own experience.

B Course reps know who they represent but need help getting feedback from all groups of students. The union advises the rep on how to contact students. Students know who their course rep is and how to contact them.

C Course reps regularly take steps to contact students to get their views this could include meetings, focus groups and emails.

D In addition to regularly contacting students, the course reps use a variety of other mechanisms to gather students' feedback, including virtual forums to get feedback from harder-to-reach students.

E Many course reps regularly use evidence for their contributions, including NSS /other national research results and focus groups, representing all the students on their course.

[Rep Engagement]

How do student reps give feedback to students?

Closing the feedback loop

A The course rep puts a copy of the minutes from the meeting on the notice board for those students that are interested, or the department is responsible for putting up minutes, electronically or on paper, on notice boards, but this does not always happen, and they are not easy to find. Course reps are simply expected to attend the meetings. Many students don’t know who their course reps are.

B Course reps are expected to give students feedback from their meetings, but they need help arranging this. The department publishes minutes.

C The course rep feeds back critical issues to those students that attended the focus group and others that expressed an interest through emails, lecture announcements or any other appropriate method.

D Alongside feeding back to fellow students through various methods, the reps also relay outcomes of meetings to faculty reps/the students’ union, mainly if their issues are not being dealt with at the departmental level.

E The students’ union supports course reps to feedback to students through the students’ union website, publications and showcasing any ‘wins’. Students attend meetings with their course reps and hold them to account. Course reps are respected within their department, and their opinion is valued and actively sought by staff.

[Rep Recognition]

How do you reward and recognise student reps?

Recognition & Rewards

A Course reps aren’t formally recognised for the work that they undertake.

B Course reps are thanked at the end of the year by their department/ faculty and the students’ union.

C Student unions ensure effective recognition of course reps through a variety of mechanisms which could include course rep awards, certificates, and recognition on transcripts.

D There is a Rep of the Month or equivalent model where you regularly highlight the work of reps

E There is a system of recognition based on the activity of representatives, either as a log book, tiered awards, or other ways of showing the differences between a good and great rep that most reps participate in

[Partnership]

Who has ownership over the course representative system?

Ownership

A It is not clear who has ownership of the system.

B The students’ union has ownership over the system, OR The institution has ownership over the system.

C Ownership of the system is shared between the institution and the students’ union, although it is a little unclear about precise roles and responsibilities.

D Ownership of the system is shared between the institution and the students’ union. However, it is only at the most senior level that staff are clear about precise roles and responsibilities. There is a commitment to resourcing the system from either or both the students’ union and institution.

E The course representative system works because it is a partnership between the students’ union and the institution where roles and responsibilities have been clearly defined in a code of practice or similar document.

[Impact & Evaluation]

How effective is your rep system?

System effectiveness

A We have a diagram which shows how all the different parts of the course representative system connect. However, the students’ union is not sure if this is adhered to. There is no communication between different levels of course reps or course reps from different parts of the structure. There is no way of knowing what issues are being raised at the grassroots level.

B Generally speaking, the system is adhered to, and course representatives are in place, but the students’ union doesn’t have all of the contact details and has difficulty speaking with them. Faculty/school representation is hard to organise; it’s challenging to elect faculty reps, and we’re not sure how many meetings they attend.

C The system is up and running and recognised by the institution as a helpful part of the quality enhancement process. The institution engages with reps because it wants to – not because it has to.

D The course rep system has a clear mission, vision and values embedded within the overall students’ union mission and strategic plan. The effectiveness of the course rep system is regularly reviewed.

E The students’ union regularly measures the effectiveness and impact of their course rep system and reviews and improves it. The students’ union can demonstrate the impact that the course rep system has on improving the learning experience. The students’ union benchmarks its system against itself over several years and against other students’ unions.

Your audit results are ready

To receive your results, please fill out the form below.

First Name

Last Name

Job Title

University

How did you hear about the Audit?