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Recruitment and Training

Recruiting course reps

Course Reps 2021-22 – Recruitment Process Outline (word document)

Timescales

Course Leaders and the Students’ Union share responsibility for recruiting Course Reps. We try to recruit all Course Reps within the first 3 weeks of the start of the course, in any given academic year.

Students who are interested in being a Course Rep can visit the Students’ Union website to register their interest and receive further information. A list of Reps is collated by the Students’ Union and shared with the University.  For courses which start in September, we aim to recruit our Course Reps by mid-October.  A second Course Rep recruitment phase takes place for courses which begin in January.

Help in recruiting Course Reps

  • You can refer students to the Students’ Union promotional video for a general introduction to the role of Course Reps.

    Become a course rep
    Click on the image to enlarge
  • You can use these slides to promote the role of Course Reps in an induction session or teaching session:

Course Rep information for staff

Visit the Students’ Union website for information on the Course Rep role, recruitment and more.

Following recruitment

Once Course Reps have been recruited you might like to get in touch with the Reps to introduce yourself and talk about how you can work together during the year. If you are a Course Leader, you will be a key point of contact for Course Reps so it is important that they know how to contact you and feel comfortable in doing so.

Record the names of your Course Reps on SITS

The template below contains the agreed columns that must be used for the inputting of Course Rep details into the University’s Student Management System. The Stu CRS Join code must be correct  (many students have been enrolled on more than one course so the number needs to reflect the course that they are representing).

Student code Stu Crs Join code Ac. Year code Milestone Milestone Date
e.g. 22015261 e.g. 22015261/1 2017/18

Guidelines on how to input Student Rep data into SITS (PDF document)

Recruiting Department Reps

Timing

Department Reps are typically recruited in April/May, and will begin their role in September/October of the same calendar year.  Department reps are recruited and paid by the Students’ Union.

This timing is also used for recruitment to other student positions, such as student society committees, sports club committees, part-time and full-time Students’ Union representatives and Students’ Union standing committees. Students on one-year courses and first-year students can still be recruited at the start of the year.

The second round of recruitment usually takes place between the end of September and middle of October.

Further information on timing is available on the Students’ Union website

Recruitment process

Recruitment is facilitated by the students’ union, in partnership with colleges and departments.   All students wishing to apply to be a Department Rep need to follow an application process which is available through the students’ union website.

Existing Course Reps and those with comparable experience may wish to apply. The students’ union will carry out a selection process based on the needs of each academic department.

Induction and training for Department Reps will also be carried out by the students’ union, in collaboration with colleges and academic departments.

Training

The University and Students’ Union work together to provide online and/or face-to-face training for Student Reps. Training sessions for Student Reps which are offered by the Students’ Union are detailed on the Students’ Union website, as information becomes available.

Course Reps

All course reps are invited to an initial training session which is run by staff in the students’ union, with input from staff in their academic department. Colleges and the Students’ Union have an agreed set of objectives for Course Representative induction training (PDF document). There’s a Course Rep Training Outline (PDF document) for these sessions.

  • For more information about training dates and content, get in touch with the students’ union at studentreps@shu.ac.uk
  • Further information about the course rep role is available in the Course Rep Handbook (PDF document) which is given out at the end of training sessions.

Department Reps

Department Reps are now recruited to a paid role, which is managed by the students’ union. Their induction is led by the students’ union, in partnership with colleges and departments. Indicative Training Contents:

  • Intro to Department Rep Role
  • Course Reps in Context – the Representation System
  • A discussion of key Department issues – identified in advance by staff/experienced Reps
  • New/experienced Rep mentoring
  • Operation of staff-student committee meetings in the Department
Last updated: 9th March 2022 – Natalie Brownell ADD Team