Glasgow University Students Representative Council

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great break and that the new semester is treating you well. I’m back to give you an update about what’s going on around the university and some projects we’ve been working on to improve the academic experience here.

Developing the Class Representative System

One of our big projects this year has been looking at how we can improve the class representative role to make sure we’re getting the best feedback possible as well as ensuring the best support is being provided. As part of this we’ve been going out and talking to different schools across the university to discuss how they interact with and support their class reps, so we can provide guidance to other schools about what they can be doing in this area. So far it’s been a really promising project. We hope to continue this on throughout this semester to get an even better idea of all the different ways schools use their class reps.

Class Rep Mixer

I mentioned in my last sabb blog that we were hosting a Class Rep mixer which took place in November. We had over 80 class reps turn up throughout the day who spent two hours giving us feedback on their role, chatting to each other about being a representative, and demolishing the pizzas we bought. We found out that most of our class reps are really enjoying their role and that  it was helping to prepare them for life after university. Overall I thought the event was fantastic-it’s been one of the highlights of my sabb year so far!-and I want to take another chance to say thank you to everyone who came along!

Enhancement Led Institutional Review

Our university is currently undergoing our Enhancement Led Institutional Review, or ELIR.  This means a panel of reviewers is coming in to the university to make sure that everything we’re doing is providing the best experience for students, and making recommendations on what we could be doing better if we’re falling short. It takes place once every 5 years, and this year is our time! The sabb team has been involved in writing all about the student experience for the document that supports the visit. It’s worth knowing that this is happening as you might hear it mentioned by lecturers, or you might even be asked to be part of the review yourself as a student panel member! The main review is taking place 18^th-22^nd March.

Student Teaching Awards

Finally, nominations for the Student Teaching Awards are still open. Please keep nominating! It’s really to nominate as it’s a great chance to recognise those that go the extra mile to make Glasgow fantastic. Year on year we hear about how the STAs help to create a sense of community at the university, and that they make people feel that their hard work is being valued and recognised. If there’s someone who’s gone the extra mile for you, whether that’s a lecturer or a member of support staff or a GTA, this is the perfect chance for you to say a big thank you to them! Nominations are open until 15^th February, and you can nominate at glasgowstudent.net/stas.

That’s just a summary of a few things that we’ve been involved in-there’s always so much going on that it would be impossible to write it all here! As always, if you want to get in touch with me about anything at all, you can send me an email at e.hardy@src.gla.ac.uk. You can also follow me on Twitter @GUSRC_VPED if you want to see what I get up to day to day. Keep your eyes peeled for our Spring Elections – more information in the next blog