course rep news jan 2013
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Course Rep NewsTRANSCRIPT
Course Rep News January 2013
Vice President Academic Affairs Update Hi everyone! Welcome to the January edition of
the Course Rep Newsletter. There’s going to be a lot going on this term , what with SU elections, Engagement week, the launch of this years Excellence Awards, the QAA institutional review and the National Student Survey! There’s more about all of these in the newsletter and if you feel you want to get involved or have any queries do let me know. Warmest Wishes, Anty Anty Bursac | VP Academic Affairs E: [email protected]
Contents Page Elections 2 Engagement and Volunteering Week 3 The QAA Institutional Review: What 4 you need to know Training Opportunities 5 Survey Monkey 5 Campus Community—Falmer 6 Springboard Grants 6 What do you think of Car Parking 6 at the University?
The 2013 National Student Survey is now open. The NSS survey asks final year undergraduates to provide feedback on their experience at the University of Brighton. This information is used to improve the student experience and to ensure that the University improves the quality of the learning experience. Giving honest feedback on this survey will add value to your degree by maintaining and improving the reputation of the University. If you are a final year course rep please encourage your course mates to complete the survey . Its quick to complete and there is also the chance to win one of four ipad minis You can find out more about the National Student Survey by watching this online video And Final Year students can click here for more information and to enter the survey
As course reps, you’re already doing amazing things for students, the SU and the University, and we hope you’re enjoying working with us this year. If you are, we’d love it if you thought about nominating yourself to be an elected Officer or Rep for 2013/14! Five students have a unique oppor-tunity to become the full time leaders of Brighton SU and make positive changes for its 22,000 student mem-bers. These students will receive a £17.4K salary, be provided with a comprehensive training and support
package, and become trustees of an award winning charity with an annual turnover of £2.7M. The posts are: Union President, VP Academic Affairs, VP Campus & Communications, VP Wellbeing and VP Activities & Events. There are also a large number of voluntary, part time roles available – you can help lead your SU and make positive changes for its diverse range of students, which would help you stand out to future employers, meet new people, make big decisions that affect students, and make a stand for what you believe in. Nominations for all roles open at 10am on 4th Feb, and close at 10pm on 17th Feb. More information is available on our website: www.brightonsu.com/elections
Engagement & Volunteering Week 2013
February 11th - 15th
6 sites, 5 days, Get Engaged!
We'll have five main themes and a chance for you to give Feedback on what the University should Keep, Stop and Start doing!
I <3 EXCELLENT LEARNING AND TEACHING - Reflecting on what excellent teaching looks like including the launch of the Union’s Teaching & Learning Awards 2012.
I <3 REPRESENTATION — Talking about partnership in the curriculum, the role of course reps within the university and how you can run for an elected post at the SU. Also the launch of the Course Rep of the Year Awards 2012
I <3 A GRADUATE CAREER— Looking at what it means to be a graduate from Brighton University incorporating the excellent work the Careers team do and looking at upcoming events
I <3 FEEDBACK— Look at constructive ways to feed back on your experiences here, the National Student Survey and your feedback from last year.
I <3 QUALITY RESOURCES - What excellent quality resources look like, technology in and
out of the classroom, libraries and much more
Library Opening Hours The Aldrich Library hours have been extended to the following times on all 3 floors:
Monday-Friday: 08.30-02.00 Saturday & Sunday:11.00-
02.00 Please help promote this change as it is only a 6 month trial, and if it is not used at these times then it will not be a perma-nent fixture.
QAA Institutional, Review,
Academic Standards, Teaching
and Learning, Quality of
Education, Quality of Resources,
Learning Opportunities, Public
Information, Student Engagement,
You having your say, Students as the
experts, The Student Written
Submission, 18th March - 22nd
March 2013, QAA Institutional,
Review, Academic Standards,
Teaching and Learning, Quality of
Education, Quality of Resources,
Learning Opportunities, Public
Information, Student Engagement,
You having your say, Students as the
experts, The Student Written
Submission, 18th March - 22nd
March 2013, QAA Institutional,
Review, Academic Standards,
Teaching and Learning, Quality
Education, Quality of Resources,
Learning Opportunities, Public
The QAA
Institutional
Review: What
you need to
know..
Who are the QAA?
The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) are and organisation that check how well the University are meeting nationally set academic standards and delivering quality education. They identify good practice and identify recommendations for improvement. Watch this 1 minute video for more details!
How is the Students’ Union
involved in the review? During the review week we will help the Review Team find students and course reps to speak with in the areas they are interested in. Elected officers (full-time and part-time) will meet with the team to give their views. We have submitted the Student Written Submission and are already working with the University who are keen to implement the recommendations to improve your experience of learning, teaching and resources at the University. We will also keep you up to date with the outcomes of the review, the changes that will be made and how you can be involved. For further information please contact [email protected]
Why is the University of
Brighton being reviewed? All Universities in the UK are reviewed every 4—6 years. This review is part of the normal review cycle. The review will take place on the 18th—22th March 2013.
What role do students play? The QAA aims to put students at the centre of the review process. The Students’ Union have already submitted the Student Written Submission (below) based on student feedback from the National Student Survey, feedback from Student Engagement Week 2012, University and Union statistical data, course rep feedback and other surveys and feedback collected from students and reps. During the review itself you may be asked to attend a meeting with the review team to speak about your experiences at the University of Brighton, this will be another chance to have your say. Further information about the review is available in here in this mini guide.
Fantastic Training Opportunities The Training for Success sessions are now open to all students, so do book yourself into the sessions you are interested in and let your course mates know about their availability. From IT skills to sustaina-bility there are a diverse range of sessions to sign up for, all designed to help you develop skills that will benefit your personal and professional development and future employ-ability. To find out more about the sessions available take a look at the Training for Success brochure click here Once you’ve chosen the session(s) you would like to attend you can then book your-self a place via this link Places are limited so please ensure that you book soon!
Campus Community – have your say on what’s happening on your campus.
The Campus development teams are groups of students, reps and staff who want to make improvements on their campus. The Students’ Union has funding to open the SU café in Ringmer House on Falmer campus as a licensed bar in the evenings and at weekends, however we need you to get involved in planning and promoting events to ensure that it becomes a busy and popular venue. Do you have ideas on events you would like to take place? Can you help us with the organisation, promotion and running of events? This could be a band night with live music or something as simple as a film night with free popcorn. Please join us for our Campus Development Team meeting on Tuesday 19th February at 4pm in the SU café at Falmer to help start the process. All students are welcome! For more information please contact Lynne Davies at [email protected] tel 01273 643329
The Students’ Union has created a Course Reps’ Survey Monkey account to enable you to undertake research to back up any issues that you identify. This can be used for any surveys relat-ed to your Course Rep role, you just need to be aware that any surveys you carry out will be visible to other Course Reps who are using the account to cre-ate their own surveys. The login details you need are below. www.surveymonkey.com User name: uobcoursereps Password: feedback
The Springboard Grants Programme - helping to
launch your ideas into reality! This funding programme offers grants (of up to £1,000) to current
students and staff at the university to support unique activities that will enrich and enhance the student and staff experience. These activities may be academic or extra-curricular and can be undertaken by individuals or groups, for example, Students’ Union clubs and societies. This grants programme has been established through the generosity of alumni (former students) and friends of the university and is managed by the Disbursement Advisory Group (the body which oversees the acceptance and disbursement of all philanthropic donations made to the university as an exempt charity). To find out more about the programme (including how to apply and what can and cannot be funded), visit www.brighton.ac.uk/springboard You can also view details of previous successful applications to provide inspiration and guidance on this website. Any queries about the programme not answered by the information provided online should be directed to [email protected] PLEASE NOTE: The current call for applications will close at midnight on Friday 1 February 2013.
What do you think of Car Parking at the University of Brighton?
Car parking is often an issue at the universi-ty so Estates and Facilities want to gather staff and students feedback and sugges-tions for how it could be improved, they would greatly appreciate it if you could spend a few minutes answering a short questionnaire on your views of car parking at the university. The closing date for responses to the survey is Friday 1 February. To take part in the survey please follow this link If you have any questions about the survey please contact Dorinda Kealoha in Estate & Facilities Management [email protected]
New Brighton based travel writing and blogging society A new travel writing and blogging society has been set up in Brighton as a creative space where travel writers and bloggers can share ideas, meet one another in the flesh and, in doing so, strengthen the local blogging and travel writing scenes. The idea is to help writ-ers and bloggers build useful network connections in the industry, improve their writing and computer skills, and so on. This is not a university based society. All the information is on this Gumtree ad: http://www.gumtree.com/p/community/new-brighton-travel-writers-bloggers-group/1005992027 Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/BrightonTravelWritersBloggersSociety