Throughout term one, over 300 course reps have been working hard to represent your academic interests across College. They spend time ensuring that your views about how your education is created, developed and delivered is listened to, and acted upon, by your department.
Throughout term one your course reps have been working hard to represent your academic interests across College. We have over 300 reps in every single academic department who spend time ensuring that your views about how your education is created, developed and delivered is listened to, and acted upon, by your department. Already this year, reps have been making some great changes, such as:
- Working with the SU to ensure that the new library is fit for the ways in which you want to use. The library are adding more work spaces, are getting new signage to ensure the silent area will be silent and they’re bringing back the Study Space Assistants in the Spring Term to ensure that people don’t leave their stuff on a seat for hours.
- The English department ran a town hall session on curriculum diversity and inclusivity, feedback from which is being taken forward by the department and will be regularly consulted within Staff-Student Committee meetings to ensure that your curriculum represents you.
- All work submitted for marking in Mathematics will now have its own coversheet to ensure that students can get as much feedback as possible.
The course rep system relies on students and departments working together to ensure that the education provided here at Royal Holloway is the very best it could be, which is why every year we run a Course Rep Conference to provide a space for both students and staff to develop policy that will affect every part of campus.
What's happening next?
This year, we’re running several workshops on College-wide initiatives, such the College’s Academic Strategy with the Vice Principal (Academic) Katie Normington taking the lead. We also want to know what you think teaching excellence actually is and we’re going to be talking about how assessment could transform both the experience of students and the shape of an ‘academic year’ as we know it.
From there, we’ll be asking participants to hear and discuss aspects of our Academic Review to help us shape the way we will represent your academic interests in the future. We’ll then be joined by Amatey Doku, Vice President (Higher Education) of NUS, Natasha Barrett, RHSU President, and Paul Layzell, Principal of Royal Holloway in a discussion of the role of students within education in an increasingly market-based higher education sector.
You Vice President Education, Clem Jones commented on this: “as your Students' Union, we are here to ensure that students and student representatives all play an integral role in the shaping of Higher Education, both nationally and here at Royal Holloway.
I hope that this day of workshops, presentations and panel discussions will build your confidence and enthusiasm to make the most of your position - be that as a consumer, consultant or co-creator of Higher Education (whichever you decide!). We look forward to seeing you there!”
Course Rep Conference is happening on the 24 January from 1pm. If you’re interested in coming along to Course Rep Conference, you can register for updates or email us if you have any questions.