As a course representative, you gather and present feedback on students’ academic experiences so that staff can continually improve your course. You are usually required to attend two course committee meetings per year (one per semester) and the annual education conference hosted by the Students’ Union.
The type of issues you might gather feedback on include module deadlines, cancelled or late lectures, unavailability of past exam papers, issues with facilities or equipment, and anything else that might affect your studies.
Course reps are volunteers, and only work around five hours per semester. Despite this small time commitment, the impact you can have is huge.
Anybody can apply to be a course representative, and we really encourage you to do so. This is your opportunity to gain and develop valuable professional skills, while shaping the direction of your education.
What skills and experience will I develop as a course rep?
- Communication: being a good representative is about communicating with staff and students. Your experiences of meetings and dealing with students will improve your verbal and written communication skills.
- Meeting skills: attending course committee meetings should give you experience of formal meeting structures with a chair, secretary, agenda and minutes and familiarise you with business processes.
- Negotiation skills and conflict management: your skills will develop naturally through involvement in the course committee system, as you help to resolve disagreements and seek solutions to problems.
- Time management: through fitting your rep commitments around your degree, you will develop time management and prioritisation abilities.
- Public speaking and confidence: you will develop public speaking skills and boost your confidence by speaking in meetings and making announcements in lectures.
What training will I get?
You will receive training to ensure you have the skills you need to be successful in your role. All course reps must complete mandatory training (45 minutes) after the election results are announced. This can be done online in course reps' own time or on campus (limited availability). You will also be supported by Students' Union staff and added to a Teams channel where you can chat to and support other course and school reps.
Who can apply
The elections in April 2024 are to elect course reps for levels five and six in 2024/25.
To apply, you must currently be in level four or five.
If you are already a course rep, you can apply again. You won’t be able to automatically continue your role. As in the autumn elections, you must stand in an election to ensure a fair and representative result.
How to apply
School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering
School of Arts and Creative Industries
School of Business and Law
School of Education and Communities
School of Health, Sport and Bioscience
School of Psychology
The deadline to apply is 20:00 on Thursday 25 April.
Further information
If you have any questions about the elections, email su.elections@uel.ac.uk