Helpdesk

Welcome!  So, you're thinking about becoming a Course Rep? Great choice! How do I become an SU Course Rep? SU Course Reps are chosen at the beginning of your academic year SU Course Reps are chosen in-class such as lectures Your lecturer will ask for volunteers and explain the role   Beds SU asks that there is at least 1 Course Rep per course, per year  Sometimes your lecturers will run ‘elections’ The 'elections' is where your classmates will vote for who they would like to have as their Course Rep  How the 'elections' are completed is decided by the lecturer.  The SU will accept more than 1 Course Rep per course if the students and staff believe that would be more appropriate for them i.e., if the class is very big Visit our website for more information on becoming a Course Rep!   What is the timeline of the application process for the SU Course Rep?   Freshers Week   You should see the SU in your School and/or Course induction ...

So, you're a Course Rep, you've understood what you need to do and you have collected feedback. But what do you do with that feedback? First of all, getting your feedback to the correct place is important. It means that feedback/issues/recommendations will be taken to the right place and therefore will be resolved quicker.  We recommend gathering your feedback on a notepad, in a notebook or in a note-taking app on your phone or laptop. Any way that you can keep track of things people give feedback on will be suitable.  Make sure that you are keeping the feedback anonymous - you don't always need the name of the student or ID number for the feedback to be valid. A Course NAME, MODULE, and YEAR is good enough to begin with. If you do collect their name, just make sure you have their permission to share it (and if you don't have permission, remove their name from your records and keep the data by itself). Once you can see all of the comments in front of...

Collecting feedback can be a daunting task but we are here to support you in your role. In your Welcome Pack you would have received the QR for the Rep Handbook. In there you can find information on ways to collect feedback.  Here are a few things that we would recommend when collecting feedback: Make yourself known to your Course. You can do this by standing up at the end of a lecture, by creating a WhatsApp group for people to put their experiences in the chat, or you can create an online survey (if you have the time!). There are many ways to collect feedback, just make sure that your course peers know you exist! Collect feedback in an organised manner. if you prefer writing, make sure you have a dedicated space in your notebook just for feedback. If you prefer typing, keep a separate document with everything on. It would be a good idea for you to keep track of the feedback that you are getting, i.e., dates, modules, specific quotes etc. However, you don't always n...

You have some feedback to give on your course/module/lecturer/experience, but you can't find your Rep? Look no further... First of all, ask your peers. Do they know who the Course Rep is? Can they put you in contact with them? If you cannot find your SU Course Rep, get in touch with us by emailing help@bedssu.co.uk and provide your YEAR, COURSE and STUDENT ID. With this information we can find your SU Course Rep. If there isn't a Course Rep for your Course, consider becoming one. You can find out more on our 'How to Become a  Course Rep' article for more information, OR look at our website.

Here at the Students’ Union, we want you (students) to have a voice in how you experience your studies. Practically, this looks like one student per year, per course, stepping up and collecting feedback from their peers.  The feedback might be on the assessment, maybe the feedback was not useful? It might be on the assignment brief, perhaps the instructions weren’t clear enough? Is the course lecturer excellent and clear? That counts as feedback as well!   Course Reps represent the students.    Course Reps are essential as they allow other students to speak up about what is missing in their educational experience. Without your voice, either as a student or a student rep, the SU cannot begin dealing with issues that arise.    So, to summarise...   Course Reps are students who collect feedback (both on things that are good and things that need improving) to help make the life of students on their course easier.    You can find out more about Course Reps and the role here.

If you don’t know what a Course Rep is, check out the previous article before reading this! In this article, we're looking at why students should care who the Course Rep is? Sometimes as a student you might think, ‘Why do I need to know or care about who my Course Rep is?’.   That is a very valid question and we have an answer!   You need to know who your Course Rep is so that you can talk to them with regards to issues with the course, feedback (good or bad) and help with anything else course related.    It is also useful to know who they are because they sit in meetings with staff and can update you on the processes and updates on particular course issues.    Course Reps can voice students issues to academics, staff and SU staff so that the issues and feedback can be addressed and monitored.    You need to know who your Course Rep is so that you can be heard.    You also need to know who your Course Rep is so that if your course doesn’t have one, you can b...

Campus Reps are volunteers who work alongside their studies to represent non-academic views of students on their campus. They regularly attend meetings, produce reports, receive support and development. Campus reps are also required to collect feedback and escalating feedback when there is need to.  This year, we are also inviting our Campus Reps to be part of our panel of student experts that perform all-year round scrutiny of the Union’s processes. More details about this role can be found here. We've provided some more details for the role of the Campus Rep.  Attending Meetings Campus Conversations Scrutiny Committee Meetings  University Campus related meetings Receiving Support & Development  Skills Training  Campaigns and Outreach Coordinator 1 on 1's Collecting Feedback  Liaise with fellow Campus Reps and Academic Reps  Attend Campus Conversations Promote '3 Ways to Feedback' Talking to students  Reporting  Report monthly to...

Student Network Reps are volunteers who work alongside their studies to represent the views of groups of students who experience disadvantage because of who they are or what they look like. Currently, we have a Rep for each of the following Networks: Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Student Network Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*, Plus (LGBT+) Students Network Students with Disabilities Network We've provided some more details for the role of the Student Network/ Rep.  Reach out to students to join the network  SU Skills Training Session  Voice views of members at SU meetings  Run meetings for network members  Work with Sabbatical Officers and Beds SU Staff to create campaigns or petitions  Gather feedback from members  Campaign for changes with the help of the SU  Liaise with NUS Liberation Delegates Skills & Attributes Required Good listener Approachable  Networking Negotiator  Campaigner  Good Time Management  What's in it ...

Once elected Campus Reps will be trained and supported by Beds SU staff, who will hold regular meetings with them.  Campus Reps are also a part of our Scrutiny Committee, ensuring that the Union and its Sabbatical Officers are going in the right direction. You can find out more about Scrutiny Committee, by clicking here. HOW OFTEN ARE THE CAMPUS REP ELECTIONS?  Beds SU Campus Reps are elected annually. All eligible students will be able to apply via the website by nominating themselves and run in the election.  WHAT'S THE ELIGIBILITY? Must study at the campus you wish to apply to be a Campus Rep for, i.e., a student who studies at the Bedford Campus can only apply to be a Campus Rep for Bedford Campus and not for the Luton Campus.   HOW CAN YOU SELF-NOMINATE?  We will inform students when they can self-nominate and when the election is taking place this is normally via email. WHEN WILL YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE BEEN ELECTED AS A CAMPUS REP? Once elected they ...