Your Role

Course Reps are an important part of the formal and informal communication links between students and staff at the University of Bolton.

These roles were created to support the Enhancement of the quality of the academic programmes and learning at the University of Bolton.

Course Reps attend various levels of committees within their department, and may also attend departmental boards as well. The purpose of these meetings is to address the Annual review of each subject area, centred on quality, learning experience and the students overall perception.

As a Course Rep you don't have a job description, but you are expected to give some of your time up to fulfil the role.

My Role......

You're the communication link to student and department staff, so you're a very important part of the process!!!!!

Attend relevant Programme and Pathway meetings as arranged by course leader(s)and pay an integral part in the decision making process.

Actively seek a representative view of students on the course/programme of study.

Ensure students on your course are able to communicate with you on matters relating to the course/programme of study.

Ensure you are aware of and use the correct channels of communication to staff within the course/programme of study

Ensure information from staff is fed back to the students concerned.

Respect confidentiality where required.

Liaise and/or feedback to the relevant member of the Students' Union.

Support both the University and the Students' Union in gathering feedback for quality enhancement purposes.

As a two-way process you are asked to represent students to the staff and staff to students. It is important to represent the ideas of the course as a whole rather than a selected number of students, even if you do not necessarily agree with every idea

You are also asked to maintain links with relevant members of the Students' Union. The student body plays an important role in the University quality enhancement mechanisms by providing feedback on students' academic experiences. This will occur through committee meetings attended and separately via the Students' Union.

I am currently a Course Rep but what am I supposed to do?

To be a full and active member of the departmental committee meetings - your contributions are expected and should be valued by all present - the University of Bolton welcomes your feedback on various issues, the meeting are not just about student issues.

To organise as appropriate, methods of obtaining student feedback and collate the views of students. If you want some more support email Rob Hayes - Student Representation Co-ordinator.

This could include organising meetings with students on a fairly regular basis to collect views and issues; making yourself available for ten minutes at the end of a lecture -you could make an announcement at the beginning; you could create a feedback box and place it in a prominent place in the department and encourage constructive comments to be posted!

You can have some space on course/pathway boards or space for you to put up your email to gain feedback both positive and negative.

Your view is important, what do you think of the course? That's what you need to get across to course/pathway leaders.