Find out more about the new Site and Community Rep roles that we're piloting at Staffordshire University London
What is a Community Rep?
Last year we tried to understand how students could feel like more of a community with their peers. The students we spoke to fed back that having a person to help students come together for inclusive activities and discussion of ideas would help people feel better connected and more at home whilst studying.
Considering the strange and challenging times that we’re all living through right now, this new role is more important than ever, so your Union is piloting a Community Rep role!
What will they do?
Just like our Reps that focus on academic experience (Course Reps, Dept Reps & Officers), our new Community Reps will receive an induction for the role and will be supported by both the Student Voice and Engagement Teams at your Students’ Union.
The Community Rep will have a small budget to plan and deliver activities that will work for the students at their campus. Their job will be to talk to others studying at their site to understand what kind of activity is going to be accessible and positive for their peers. They'll have the support of your Union's Engagement Team to guide them through anything they'll need help with.
Your new Community Rep will also hold forums (online or in person) to get London students together to share their perspectives, ideas and experiences. The Community Rep can then work with students and Officers to make the change that students want to see. The Student Voice Team will help them to organise and deliver these conversations.
What is a Site Rep?
This year we've enhanced the training and support on offer for Department Reps across our University, but due to some courses being taught across different sites and campuses, it's always a challenge to make sure students have a representative in place that they know understands their immediate experience where you study.
Ensuring that effective representation is in place is a top priority for your Union this year, so we're piloting a Site Rep in London to make sure that the Student Voice can be heard loud and clear.
What will they do?
If successful, you would be representing academic issues and ideas for your peers at your specific site of study - in this case, London. This voluntary role is about using your unique understanding of students like you, combined with their feedback, to make positive changes to everyone's experiences.
Your new Site Rep will receive an induction for the role and will be supported by both the Student Voice Team at your Students’ Union to make sure that your ideas, opinions, perspectives and experiences are understood by the University and inform their decision making.
Just like Department Reps, Site Reps will get access to RepSavvy (our bespoke platform to connect all of our Reps) so that they can connect with other representatives and communicate with the Officer Team.