Contents

• Section 1: Welcome
• Section 2: Key info
• Section 3: Your role
• Section 4: How to…
• Section 5: Making the most of meetings
• Section 6: Boundaries
• Section 7: Support for reps
• Section 8: Key school contacts
• Section 9: Referring or signposting students
• Section 10: University procedures and policies
• Section 11: And finally…

Section 1

Welcome

Congratulations on becoming a student rep! The BSMS Student Rep Scheme is run jointly by the University of Sussex Students’ Union, the University of Brighton Students’ Union and the University of Sussex. We hope that you will find this experience a rewarding one and wish you the best of luck with the year ahead. If you have any questions regarding the content of this handbook or require clarification of any rep-related matter please do not hesitate to get in touch with one of us (see below for our contact details) – it’s what we’re here for!

Josh Jones
Education Officer
E education@ussu.sussex.ac.uk
T 01273 873324

Cate Chapman
Representation and Democracy Coordinator
E c.chapman@sussex.ac.uk
T 01273 872934

For queries or concerns about training for student reps; the online nominations and elections process; issues that affect students across the University; informal rep meetings and social events.

Emily Ann Nash
VP Education & Equalities
E suvpe1@brighton.ac.uk
T 01273 643193

Katrina Mayo
Student Advocate (Collective Representation)M
E k.mayo@brighton.ac.uk
T 01273 643191

For queries or concerns about training for student reps; issues that affect students across the University; issues specifically relating to University policies or academic regulations eg disability, academic misconduct or appeals; access to and use of the Course Rep Area on studentcentral.

Tracey Beck
Assistant Registrar
E t.a.beck@sussex.ac.uk
T 01273 87 3294

Jenni Grundy
Head of Student Support and Experience
E j.grundy@sussex.ac.uk
T 01273 87 3841

For queries or concerns about the promotion of the rep scheme and elections; communication between the various committees and the student reps.

Jon Mason
Student Support Coordinator
E j.p.mason@bsms.ac.uk
T 01273 877336 / 523340

For queries and concerns about the BSMS committees which include student representation; the nomination and elections process for Years 4 and 5; advice on where to raise particular student issues.

Further details of the individual responsibilities of each member of the BSMS Student Rep Support Team can be found at the end of this handbook.

Section 2

Key info

As a rep, you provide an essential link between students, the Medical School, both the Students’ Unions and both Universities. In addition to this, because you are a student, it makes it easier for fellow students to seek assistance from you when they have concerns or opinions about their education and experience at the Medical School/Universities. By keeping the student view on the agenda you are a vital link between the students and staff of the two Universities and help to ensure that both the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton are student driven.

In order to be a skilled student rep, it’s important to know what representation is. For the purposes of this handbook, representation is the process where one person or group of people is acting, speaking or being present on behalf of another person or group of people. Representation is used in many walks to life:

• MPs represent their constituencies;
• lawyers represent their clients;
• sales reps represent their company; and
• estate agents represent landlords and home owners.

So, where there’s representation there also has to be:

• a representative: the person acting, speaking or being present; and
• a representee: the person or group of people on whose behalf a representative is acting, speaking or being present.

Representation always has a specific context. For example: a lawyer’s context is to represent a client in court but not in the local pub, an MP represents their constituents to parliament but not in church. As a student rep the context in which you work will be defined by what capacity you are working in at any one time, e.g. representing the needs of an individual student, representing a group of students, during a meeting or face to face with a particular member of staff.

• Students, your ‘representees’, are unable to be personally involved in everything relevant to them all of the time;
• discussion tends not to function well with excessive numbers of direct participants; and
• representees require a skilled spokesperson.

Whether you are able to act, speak or simply be present on behalf of a student is known as your representative scope. As a rep your scope within any given situation is likely to change depending on the particular situation in which you find yourself being a representative.

In some situations you will be able to vote/act on behalf of students, e.g. at committee meetings, other times you will only be able to speak, e.g. if a student asks you to speak on their behalf to a tutor/member of staff but you have no voting power. Occasionally you may be faced with a situation in which it would be inappropriate to act, and therefore you decide to just observe/be present during a meeting, e.g. because you are not convinced as to what the student opinion is on an issue, which may be due to a lack of time to carry out thorough consultation.

Remember, as a rep you will have been elected to act, speak or be present on behalf of students in your year. Your role is to find out what students think (all students, not just your friends!) and feed their views, concerns and opinions into the meetings you attend. This means representing the minority view as well as the majority one and, importantly, this can often mean putting forward opinions that you may not personally agree with.

If you ever feel unsure as to what your scope is or if you feel uncomfortable about putting forward any one opinion within any given situation, please don’t hesitate to seek advice from one of the following members of the BSMS Student Rep Support Team:

• Josh Jones, USSU Education Officer, education@ussu.sussex.ac.uk
• Emily Ann Nash, UBSU VP Education & Equalities, suvpe1@brighton.ac.uk

Section 3

Your role

The role of a student rep is to find out what students think, represent these opinions to the Medical School, the Universities and the Students’ Unions and then feed back to students. To effectively fulfil the requirements of the role you will need to follow the eight steps listed below.

BSMS students are fortunate in that, as members of both the University of Sussex Students’ Union and University of Brighton Students’ Union, you can attend either/both the rep training sessions run by USSU and UBSU. (*** update this information if a joint training session is agreed)

If your teaching commitments don’t allow you to attend one of the sessions, please do not worry as there are a multitude of rep-related resources available online (worth checking out even if you did attend training) at :

• www.studentreps.co.uk
• http://www.sussex.ac.uk/academicoffice/1-4-2.html
• Course Rep Area on studentcentral

Also, remember that the Student Rep Support Team will always be happy to answer any questions you may have.

It is fundamental, for your sake and for that of the students you represent, that you are clear about the areas that you can deal with as a student rep, and those that you can’t. In the middle of this handbook, on pages 20-21 (to be updated), you will find information detailing your boundaries that you can pull out and display somewhere prominent, e.g. above your desk. If you ever find yourself unsure about what to do in a particular situation, contact either the USSU Education Officer or the UBSU VP Education & Equalities who will be able to advise.

Students within your year-group or phase will need to know who you are so that they know who to approach with any issues/concerns they might have. Here are a few ideas on how to get yourself out there:

Introduce yourself to the administrative staff in the Medical School.

The key people in the School are:

• School Offices
• Phase Leaders
• Student Support Coordinators

They are all valuable sources of information and should be happy to help you publicise yourself within the department and ensure that you are able to contact students on your course by email. Contact details are given at the back of this handbook.

A new development for the 2008/09 academic year has been the creation of a Course Rep Area on studentcentral. This online resource provides wiki facilities to help gather feedback from other students, a Course Rep blog where you can privately discuss issues with other BSMS reps and access to further resources that will help in your role as a rep.

All BSMS student reps should be able to use this area to communicate with their fellow students and other student reps. If you have any difficulties accessing the facilities please contact Katrina Mayo on k.mayo@brighton.ac.uk.

Approach your lecturers/seminar tutors and ask to have a couple of minutes at the start or end of a lecture where you can introduce yourself and let students know how to contact you. Every once in a while if you have a topic affecting everyone, ask if you can speak again to pass on key information, announce an upcoming committee meeting and/or get input from students. Talk to students one to one

Keep your ears open for problems. Chatting to students in your year group is the most effective way of letting them know what it is you do as well as finding out what they think.

This makes it as easy as possible for students to contact you quickly.

Encourage students to leave messages for you in your pigeon hole and remember to check it regularly!

The USSU Education Officer and the UBSU Vice President Education & Equalities will be able to offer advice, raise issues at higher level University committees and can forward major issues other SU meetings (such as the USSU campaigns committee). You can also attend the termly informal meetings and socials run by USSU to discuss issues of wider concern.

Providing the Students’ Unions with details of issues that are raised by student reps at BSMS committees allows them to build a bigger picture of the entire student experience and where necessary, lobby for change that will benefit students. This also ensures there is continuity in the work of the reps where issues are taking a long time to resolves or developments are likely to last more than one academic year. Information on queries and issues raised by reps can be emailed to the SU officials, or to UBSU at ubsuacademic@brighton.ac.uk, or maintained on the BSMS feedback area on the Course Rep Area of studentcentral.

The official USSU student newspapers of USSU, UBSU and BSMS are just waiting for student input, and are a key resource for connecting the various campuses. These are papers for students, by students and about issues that affect students in Brighton and at each university. They are committed to making sure that their stories remain relevant and up to date, so if you have any issues or concerns that you think students should know, contact them:

The Badger badger-news@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

The Pebble Editor: suvpf@brighton.ac.uk

The Murmur thebsmsmurmur@yahoo.co.uk

It is only by talking to students that you will discover their needs, opinions and concerns and so it is very important that you approach students within your year-group or Phase to find out their opinions on:

• the Medical School;
• the course; and
• the overall student experience at the Medical School and the Universities.

This could be done in person, via email or with the use of a short questionnaire. Remember, the more you consult students the better you will be able to understand what their needs are and the more effectively you will be able to represent their points of view. Once you have spoken to students about the issues that concern them, it may be appropriate to take these issues to a committee meeting, or speak on a one-to-one basis with an appropriate member of staff.

Whatever course of action you take will be dependant on the issue in hand, and whether the student is happy for their issue to be raised in a public forum (always check with a student what they are happy for you to do with the information they tell you – remember your representative scope).

Attending meetings/committees to represent the views of students within your year-group or Phase is at the heart of your role. The meetings you will need to attend will depend on which committee you are elected to. The following BSMS committees currently include student representation:

• Academic Board
• Quality Assurance Sub-Committee
• Student Affairs Committee
• Curriculum Development and Strategy Group
• SSC Review Board
• Module Review Boards

Terms of reference for these committees and copies of previous minutes can be found in the Student Reps folder within the My School Area on studentcentral.

For reps who would like to take on additional responsibilities, you may nominate yourself to be a member of higher University committees (e.g. Senate) and other working groups.

Each year the University of Sussex publishes a document called The Organisation of the University, which alphabetically lists every University committee and working group at the University. Under each named committee you will find its ‘terms of reference’ (describing its purpose and how often it meets) and its ‘composition’ (the people who are members of the committee). You will find the document on the University’s website at www.sussex.ac.uk/governance/1-3-3.html

For detailed information regarding the overall meeting/committee process, see page 14 (to be updated).

It is absolutely vital that whatever the outcome of any meeting you attend, you feed back what happened at it to the students that you represent. This applies even if the answer is not what you or your fellow students wanted or expected. It is up to you to determine what the best way of feeding back is but generally the rule is face to face if it’s a personal issue, via an email to your year group if it’s to a group of students or directly at a lecture/seminar etc.

Previous reps have found that they are more effective if they don’t work in isolation but network and keep in contact with other reps. This means keeping in touch with reps in other years, to share common issues of concern and/or to seek or offer advice and assistance. You can check out who all the reps are in the Course Rep Area on studentcentral or at www.studentreps.co.uk.

The private course rep blog within the Course Rep Area on studentcentral is a great way of staying in touch with other BSMS reps. It allows you to discuss issues and work collaboratively with other reps on your own committee or with the reps on the other BSMS committees.

Alternatively, if you would like to contact all student reps from across the University of Sussex to share best practice etc, there is a rep mailing list to which you are all subscribed and welcome to use, providing you adhere to the list protocol. The address is studentreps@sussex.ac.uk If you are yet to receive an email detailing this protocol please contact Tracey Beck t.a.beck@sussex.ac.uk as your email address may need adding to the list.

Look out for email invites from USSU to the termly rep meetings. These are informal gatherings with drinks and nibbles and provide an opportunity for you to meet other reps, share ideas, socialise and discuss with USSU any difficulties/successes you may be experiencing within your role.

Each school of study within the University of Sussex has an elected representative who is a member of the Students’ Union Council. Union Council is the highest decision-making body after Union General Meetings (which usually is one large meeting per year known as the Annual General Meeting). Council meets at least twice per term to discuss and make policy decisions for the direction of the Students’ Union. In order for Union Council reps to be representative, they need to know what students think – and the best way for them to find this information out is from you, the student reps. One of the best ways for you to ensure that the needs of students within your school are being met by the Students’ Union is to create good links with your Union Council rep. You will find a list of all Union Council reps on the USSU website www.ussu.info

The Executive Officers on the UBSU Executive Committee include a Medical School Students’ Representative who is elected via the Student Union elections in either March or October each year. The main responsibility of this Union Representative is to identify issues relevant to students at BSMS, to be a member of the Union and University Committees as elected by Union Council and to liaise with the other Executive and Sabbatical Officers to ensure the interests and needs of BSMS students are met. You can find out who the current Medical School Students’ Representative is from the UBSU website www.ubsu.net

Check your email regularly for messages sent from the rep mailing list as this is one of the main ways that the Student Rep Support Team will contact you to inform you of anything that we think may be important or helpful for you to know. Also keep an eye out for the Announcements page on the Course Rep Area on studentcentral as this will be used to post important and useful information.

It is also worth visiting www.studentreps.co.uk for news and other resources available on the site.

By keeping all your papers in one place it is lot easier for you to look back at what you have been up to and what you said you would do. Also, by keeping the minutes and action sheets from previous meetings, you are better equipped to check on the work of other members of the committee when they have said they will carry out an action.

At the end of your term as student rep you may want to consider writing a brief report so that future reps can refer to it and continue your work. You may want to put a copy of your report in the Course Reps folder on studentcentral or perhaps leave it in a sealed envelope with your committee secretary to be passed on to the next rep/s.

Feel free to contact either the USSU Education Officer or the UBSU VP Education & Equalities should you have any questions at any point throughout the year. If they don’t know the answer, they will be able to direct you to somebody that does. Just send an email to education@ussu.sussex.ac.uk or suvpe1@brighton.ac.uk.

Section 4

How to…

Being a good communicator is key to being a skilled representative because you will be required to communicate effectively in all forums: one to one, during meetings and when ‘feeding back’ to students. If you are able to do this then your job is already half done. Here are some hints to get you started:

• be a point of contact – make sure students know who you are so they can bring any comments or problems to you. Be proactive in seeking their input as this will show that you really are there to help them and will help you seem more approachable in future;
• bring up issues as soon as possible – raise them at your committee meeting, with lecturers, or other relevant contacts as soon as possible; the longer you leave it the worse the problem will get;
• update students on progress with specific concerns or queries so they know where they stand. Why not update them on what else you’ve done for them by printing off updates as flyers and handing them out before lectures/seminars or including them in a termly newsletter sent via email;
• feedback positive examples of learning and teaching from the student point of view to the School, to encourage them to do the same and let them know what students think about any changes that have been made; and
• if an issue is taking a long time to be dealt with, or it’s an issue you feel you can’t resolve alone or which you feel is part of a bigger picture, let the Students' Union know about it! They can advise you on what you can do, offer a friendly ear and/or tackle issues at University level or with a campaign.

• explain confidentiality – i.e. assure students that any comments they make will be raised generically in relation to the course or School, not specifically tied to them as an individual. If an issue raised by a student may easily identify them e.g. because there are not many students on a particular module, seek advice from USSU or UBSU;
• make sure you take students’ contact details so you can get back to them;
• be non-judgemental;
• let students have their say, don't interrupt;
• if you want to clarify something never say ‘but’, always use ‘and’, for example, rather than ‘I understand you’re concerned about that but I’m not sure there’s anything I can do’, say ‘I can understand your concern about that and I’ll see what I can do’;
• say ‘yes, and’ rather than ‘no, but’ (it’s much more constructive); and
• agree what actions you are going to take on a student’s behalf and give a timescale in which you will get back to them. If you can’t keep to the timescale, always let them know.

Try to deal with issues in the most appropriate forum. Sometimes this will mean speaking to a lecturer informally, other times you may want to discuss a problem at your committee meeting and on other occasions you may need to involve the Students’ Union. Generally the issues that need resolving fall into the following categories:

Don’t wait for your committee meeting to bring up an issue that is affecting a group of students. Generally it’s not appropriate to bring up sensitive issues about one member of staff in an open meeting. If it’s something that can be dealt with by approaching the individual lecturer/tutor always do it this way first.

By keeping the following points in mind, you should find it easier to raise difficult/sensitive issues e.g. problems with a certain teaching style, without conflict.

• focus on the behaviour, not the person;
• always be specific;
• don't exaggerate, or make assumptions;
• describe the consequences;
• offer or request alternatives; and
• use the positive sandwich (i.e. put a positive comment before and after a negative).

If you need help with how to approach a member of staff, seek advice. If the lecturer/tutor says they can’t help you, you may want to get involvement from the either the USSU Education Officer or the UBSU VP Education & Equalities and/or seek advice from your Phase Leader.

General concerns may be able to be dealt with quickly and efficiently by the School Office. If you’re not sure who to speak to, go to your School Office and ask for advice. If the concerns can wait, you may want to raise them at a department meeting. If your concerns fall on deaf ears, it’s a good idea to get help from the USSU Education Officer or the UBSU VP Education & Equalities.

Concerns affecting students across the whole School and/or University

It’s advisable to raise these types of issues, e.g. a reduction in Library opening times etc at the Student Affairs Committee.

It’s also a good idea to get involvement from your Students’ Union Council rep and the Students’ Union Education Officer as they can raise the issue at the appropriate high-level University committee.

If you’re not sure how to deal with a specific issue, seek advice from the Students’ Union, we’re here to help you!

Section 5

Making the most of meetings

As you will be attending meetings/committees to represent students it is very important that you understand how they work and how to get yourself heard. If you’re unsure about the etiquette of a particular meeting, seek advice from the relevant Secretary, Chair or Rep Support Team.

Some committees are more formal than others, eg Senate is the most formal meeting a rep can attend and the Student Affairs Committee is probably the least formal. Most meetings are structured in the following way:

1. Apologies for absence.

2. Minutes (notes) of the last meeting are checked for accuracy.

3. Matters arising: any action points from the last meeting not covered elsewhere on the agenda are discussed.

4. Reports: these may be received from members of the committee on specific issues. You should be given the opportunity to give a verbal report (or submit a written one in advance if you’re unable to attend) – if this does not happen, ask your secretary to timetable a report section for reps at each meeting.

5. Any other Business (AOB): this section is only supposed to be used to make brief points that didn’t fit elsewhere in the agenda and cannot wait until the next meeting. If you think of an important issue for discussion, ask during AOB that it be timetabled for discussion at the next meeting.

Chairperson (often known as the ‘Chair’)

The Chair is responsible for the flow of the meeting, which means ensuring that all agenda items are covered within the timescale set for the meeting. The Chair is usually the person to whom you address any questions or comments so it’s a good idea to sit somewhere where you can be clearly seen by them. When you would like to say something you will need to indicate this to the Chair by raising your hand slightly.

The secretary is responsible for sending out committee papers and keeping minutes during each meeting.

You need to consult as many different students as possible, and it’s really important to know both the minority and majority view as it’s up to you to express both sides.

You will need to find out the names of the secretary for the committee you attend – ask in your School Office. If you have items that you wish specifically to discuss at a meeting, it is the secretary you will need to contact to request that your item be timetabled on the agenda. Agenda items normally need to be submitted several days in advance of the meeting – check the deadline for your own committee with the secretary. If you are aware that you will be unable to attend a particular meeting, it is the committee secretary that you should contact prior to the meeting to send your apologies.

You should have access to committee papers several days in advance of each meeting. These will be sent via email. Hard copies of the papers should be available to student reps if you ask your committee secretary. This will save you printing them out yourself. It is very important that you read the papers in advance of the meeting so you know the issues to be discussed. This will give you the chance to canvass student opinion on relevant matters and prepare any questions you’d like to raise.

• set aside plenty of time to read them;
• when the papers arrive always check the agenda first to establish the content of the meeting;
• make a note of any initial questions you have;
• read summaries, recommendations and conclusions to the papers first;
• create your own code to mark useful sections, for example:
• A = very Important Y = agree
  B = important N = disagree
  C = interesting ? = ask a question
• remember the student perspective, not just your own, if you’re unsure what it is, get feed-in from the students you represent;
• re-read the papers to check understanding;
• identify how you want to tackle each item and prioritise the issues on which you want to speak;
• if unsure on any item contact the appropriate SU official for help; and
• once you have read the papers, it’s a good idea to contact the other reps that will be attending to arrange a pre-meeting to discuss issues of general concern and find out if there are any areas of conflict e.g. between different years. You may also decide to assign one rep as spokesperson for a particular item during a pre-meeting.

If you are unable to attend, always send your apologies and check that the apology is included in the minutes (minuted). This way committee members won’t think you didn’t attend because you’re uncommitted. Where possible, send in a written report to the secretary and ask that it be circulated to the members or read out to the committee, and minuted accordingly. You could also meet up with another rep who is attending the meeting so that they can raise the issues you have.

You’ll find members of the committee more responsive to you when you address them by name. It’s much more effective to say ‘I agree with what John said…’ rather than ‘I agree with what the man sitting opposite in the red shirt said’. A useful tip is to make a pictorial diagram which names each person and where they are sitting at the start of the meeting, this way you can subtly refer to the diagram whenever you want to address someone by name. Note: where introductions don’t happen, you can always ask the Chair to ask everyone to introduce him/herself at the start of the meeting.

Be aware of the flow of a meeting to gauge when it will be the most appropriate time to raise your point. If you miss the time, or it never arises, you can try again during the ‘Any Other Business (AOB)’ section at the end of the meeting.

Actively listen to what people are saying, either make mental notes of the key things they say or jot them down.

Encourage others with the body language you use, e.g. use verbal nods to agree with someone.

…report on any action you have taken since the last meeting.

As a rep you have the right to be at the meeting and a right to be heard. Remember that your view is important and you will often be putting forward a viewpoint that may not otherwise be considered.

There’s little worse than not being able to follow the discussion because you’ve not understood the use of jargon or acronym. Ask straight away for an explanation, it’s likely to be an oversight from a group of people familiar with having used the terminology for a long time. You’ll probably find that other newer members (and sometimes established group members as well) are relieved that you were bold enough to ask something they too were unsure of.

Even where minutes are taken, it is still a good idea to make a few notes as the meeting goes along. You may need to take action before the minutes are circulated, and it’s a way of checking your understanding of the meeting against the minutes when they arrive. They will also help you remember action that you need to take and action that others have agreed to which you can chase after the meeting.

Have your say, be clear and be rational. Avoid getting angry, irritated or loud, as this will undermine the point you are trying to make.

You are more likely to be listened to if you present solutions to problems than if you are just seen as complaining about everything.

When you feel passionate about a particular issue there’s a danger that you will jump in on the discussion all the time. This can alienate people, especially when they don’t share the same passion as you. Take your turn to speak in sensible ‘chunks’, so as to let others contribute as well. There are times when you need to be fairly persistent, but try to steer clear of being the person that goes on about the same issue at every meeting; it’ll dilute your effectiveness at future meetings.

The nature of group dynamics is that various alliances will form between individual members of larger groups. Make this work for you: cultivate allies with those who appear similarly minded to you (you’ll notice them expressing verbal or non-verbal agreement with your contributions) and then talk to them outside of meetings – you can bet this is happening amongst other group members anyway!

It is absolutely vital that you feedback to the students in your year group or phase exactly what happened at the meeting.

Make sure that you carry out any action points you have agreed to, this may require meeting with the other reps who attended e.g. in the case of group action.

File away your committee papers carefully for next time.

Where you come across an issue you believe affects more than just your year group (i.e. the whole School or University-wide), let the USSU Education Officer and /or the UBSU VP Education & Equalities know asap.

Section 6

Representative Boundaries

As a rep you are likely to come across students who want to discuss the following issues. Where possible, try to assist students in your department year-group to resolve issues/complaints initially informally and subsequently formally, as necessary.

Teaching resources: availability of lecture rooms, lecture facilities, room facilities, disabled access etc.

Teaching methods: do students have the opportunity to experience different learning environments such as small seminar groups as well as lectures? Do lecturers make use of a variety of teaching methods such as board-work, OHP, flipchart, PowerPoint, Video etc, as appropriate? Do the teaching methods used exclude students with specific learning difficulties?

Study resources: availability of books and other resources in the library, access to workstations, laboratory facilities etc.

Course content and structure: do the modules match the description in the module handbooks? Do lectures and seminars focus on the important topics? Have changes been made to the course without warning or consultation? Is the workload distributed reasonably throughout the course? Are the feedback mechanisms clear and appropriate?

Hidden course costs: have students been given adequate information about the costs of photocopying, attending field trips, laboratory charges etc. Are the charges reasonable?

Access to facilities after hours: does the University campus provide adequate services to students who need to use facilities outside 9am-5pm?

Issues concerning placements: where students have professional placements as part of their course (e.g. medical, social work, education courses), do they have adequate support from the Medical School during the placement?

Communication of issues:are students aware of what is happening in the School, University and Students’ Union and are they happy about the way this information is disseminated?

Comparisons between schools and/or departments: sometimes students hear of an area of good practice within another school of study or department and want their student rep to get it introduced in their own school or department.

Issues reps cannot deal with:

Where a student wants to discuss the following issues, you will need to refer or signpost them to appropriate sources of help. If you are ever unsure about whether you should be assisting with a certain issue please contact the USSU Education Officer or the UBSU VP Education & Equalities immediately.

Individual student performance: it is not a rep’s role to represent students in relation to their marks. Students who have concerns about their grades should speak in the first instance to their School Office or Academic Tutor. If this is not appropriate or the student is unsatisfied with the response, they should be referred to their Phase Leader. If the issue remains unresolved, the student can contact the UBSU Student Advocacy & Research Service which can offer professional and impartial advice. Contact Nicola Trelawny at nt68@brighton.ac.uk
tel 01273 643532.

Allegations of harassment or bullying: students who allege that they have been bullied or harassed should be referred to their Student Support Coordinator.

Complaints: students who wish to make a formal complaint should be referred to the complaints policy and may wish to seek advice from the UBSU Student Advocacy & Research Service.

Personal Problems: if a student has personal problems you should refer them to their Student Support Coordinator as they have expertise in this area.

Section 7

Support for reps

As the official representative body for students at Sussex USSU will endeavour to:

• ensure you maintain a level of communication with USSU through the Education Officer;
• provide you with the right training and support e.g. this handbook, to assist you as a rep and help you do the best job you can;
• take common issues highlighted by reps through to the appropriate higher-level University committees;
• support committee reps by convening regular meetings to discuss issues of common concern and allow for networking and socialising;
• work with the University to ensure that the scheme continues to be a joint venture between the University and USSU;
• promote the scheme on the website (www.studentreps.co.uk) during induction talks and at Freshers’ week;
• promote the scheme in The Badger and other student media;
• provide on-line nominations and voting;
• ensure reps are given details of any committees they should/could attend; and
• ensure reps are treated as valued committee members.

Key contacts

Responsible for:

• providing support to student reps and organising informal meetings and socials for reps;
• attending a variety of University and USSU committees to represent the student view.

Responsible for:

• the joint co-ordination of the scheme with the University;
• organising and overseeing the student rep elections; and
• providing training and support to student reps.

The Students Union Education Officer runs student rep meetings and facilitates links between student reps and Union Council reps (who are elected in each school of study).

The meetings are informal and themed, part of the meeting will have a University member of staff invited to attend to answer questions on issues of particular importance to the reps at that time e.g. the first rep meeting of 2007-2008 was attended by Joanne Wright, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education The meetings will take place at least once per term and you will be notified via email when the definitive dates are known. These will also be available online at www.studentreps.co.uk

The Students’ Union has a campaigns budget of £13,000, to be spent on essential welfare, education and other specified campaigns. Student reps are a vital part of letting the Union know about the key things that students care about at Sussex. So, if you have a campaign idea, or would like to get involved, get in touch with the Campaigns Officer, look out for Union Media on the key campaigns for the 2009-2010 year and/or become a member of Campaigns Committee. Check out the Union website for more information www.ussu.info/campaigns

As the official representative body for students at Brighton UBSU will endeavour to:

• ensure you maintain a level of communication with UBSU through the Vice President Education and Equalities;
• provide you with the right training and support; and
• take common issues highlighted by reps through to the appropriate higher-level University committees.

Key contacts

Responsible for:

• representing the student view on all matters relating to the academic experience of the university; and
• keeping student reps informed of any issues that are likely to affect the wider student population in the University.

Responsible for:

• making sure student reps are supported in a way that allows them to achieve the most in their roles; and
• developing the Student Rep system to enable students to have a full input into the development of the education experience and the academic decision making processes of the University.

As the reps scheme is run jointly with the University of Sussex, the University will:

• provide information about the scheme in the student handbook and at induction events;
• promote the scheme to school staff at the start of the year and encourage them to be supportive to student reps;
• give details of elections to school staff;
• encourage staff to promote the nomination and voting to students
• ensure reps are given details of any committees they should/ could attend; and
• ensure student reps are treated as valued committee members.

Responsible for:

• providing support for the student rep system;
• overseeing effective links and communication between all committees attended by student reps; and
• giving guidance on contacting academic and administrative staff for any issues related to the student rep system.

Responsible for:

• promoting communication between the University and all students at Sussex;
• liaison with USSU;
• leading on developing ways of evaluating the experience students have at Sussex, and letting students know what action the University takes arising from student feedback; and
• line managing University of Sussex support for student reps.

As the reps will be sitting on BSMS Committees the Medical School will:

• ensure that students are provided with regular opportunities to give feedback on their experiences and become involved in the development and organisation of the programme;
• provide students in all years with a means of nominating themselves for student rep positions on one of the BSMS committees which includes student representation; and
• ensure that student reps have access to the terms of reference, meeting dates and previous minutes for their committees.

Key contact

• liaising with USSU, USBU and the University of Sussex to ensure the smooth running of the BSMS Student Rep Scheme;
• ensuring that USSU and the University of Sussex have all of the necessary information to run online elections for students in Years 1, 2 and 3 of the course;
• ensuring that students have the opportunity to nominate themselves as student reps for Years 4 and 5 of the course through other internal means; and
• acting as a key contact for student reps who are unsure where or how to raise particular student concerns.

Section 8

Key school contacts

If you have a question or concern about the running of the Medical School, contact one of the following people:

BSMS Student Support Team

BSMS School Offices

BSMS Phase Leaders

Section 9

Referring and signposting students

There are a whole range of support services available to students on the University of Sussex campus and on the various University of Brighton campuses and so if you don’t know the answer to question a student comes to you with, or it is an issue outside the boundaries of what you, as a rep, can deal with, there’s bound to be a person/service that can help.

This section provides details of the support services around the campuses, where they are and what they do. When a student is in distress they may ask you to contact a support service on their behalf to set up an appointment (this is known as ‘referral’). However, when a student just wants to be pointed in the right direction, this is known as ‘signposting’.

University of Sussex

Note: all Students’ Union services are located in Falmer House.

Student Advice Centre (SAC)

The Student Advice Centre provides free, professional, independent and confidential information, advice, support and representation on a range of academic and non-academic issues. This includes advice on employment (including rights and responsibilities and immigration issues), housing (including council tax, benefits, house hunting, deposits, eviction and repairs), money (state benefits, scholarships and bursaries, opening bank accounts, financial implications of withdrawing or intermitting), and legal and consumer issues. Check the SAC’s website for drop-in times.

UNISEX

Based within the SAC, UNISEX provides advice and information on sexual health, drugs and alcohol, free and low-cost condoms and lubricants and pregnancy testing for £1. UNISEX also offers a range of volunteering opportunities for students.

Welfare Officer

Based in the Student Advice Centre, the Student Unions’ Welfare Officer represents student welfare needs to the university, its committees, and external bodies. The Welfare Officer also campaigns on welfare issues and supports liberation campaigns and welfare groups.

Education Officer

Also based in the Student Advice Centre, the Education Officer assists in the co-ordination of the Student Representatives Scheme, represents your views on University Committees (who make curriculum decisions) and coordinates the Students’ Union Free Education Campaign.

President

The President acts as the figurehead of the Union representing students’ needs at the University’s highest decision-making bodies – Senate and Council. Alongside the other elected officers, it is the President’s role to listen to and engage with the student population ensuring that the direction of the Union is in accordance with the values of its students. The President is also the Chairperson of the Students’ Union Trading Company and is located on the top floor of Falmer House.

Activities Centre

The Activities Centre is the spiritual and literal home of 30 Sports Clubs, 70+ Societies and over 250 Volunteering opportunities. Whether it’s a general kick-about or representing the university at national level; acting up a storm or challenging multinationals; working on local conservation projects or volunteering at local galleries: it’s all available in the world of Activities.

Welfare and other University support services

Psychological and Counselling Service (PCS)

PCS offers confidential, individual and group therapy for students, specialist groups for anxiety management and eating problems, and a substance misuse programme.

Health Centre

Gives medical help to all students and their families registered and living on campus, by way of four doctors, nurses and dentists. They also run a baby clinic with baby/child immunisation.

International and Study Abroad Office

Supports and advises all international students or Sussex students studying abroad. The office offers international student advice on various issues including immigration and is a good source of help for students having difficulties studying in a foreign language.

Housing Office

Produces a list of all housing available each week and also runs University-managed housing.

Student Accounts

Keeps records of students’ University financial accounts. Although BSMS students will liaise with University of Brighton Registry regarding their tuition fees, the Sussex Student Accounts Office will deal with University accommodation charges and library fees.

The Meeting House

Centre for spirituality, social action, counselling, music, prayer and people. Offers a quiet space for study, reading, reflection and prayer. Provides a listening ear to all regardless of religion, belief or non-belief.

Crèche

The crèche looks after children between four months and three years of age.

The nursery

Looks after children between three and five years of age.

University of Brighton

Students’ Union Services

The Student Advocacy & Research Service exists to provide advice and support to students on issues affecting their academic experience at the University of Brighton. This might be through individual representation on a specific issue affecting you as a student or it may be by supporting the collective course rep system to ensure that students can feedback on their experience so that the University can evolve and improve the way it meets students’ needs. Additionally the Advocacy and Research Service carries out independent research into different aspects of the student experience so that UBSU remains informed by the reality of what it is to be a student at the University of Brighton and can seek to influence decision making in a way that best meets the needs of our members

Individual Representation

Support is available to students on issues of individual academic representation such as complaints, disciplinary hearings and appeals.

Vice President Education & Equalities

The Vice President Education and Equalities is an elected sabbatical officer of the Students’ Union. It is their role to represent the student view on all matters relating to the academic experience of the university. They are a member of the majority of the senior management committees of the University and therefore generally have a good idea of what is going on in the University.

Student Services and other University support services

Student Services is a central department whose specific function is to provide a range of services to support students through university and to make sure they get the most from the student experience. They can help with all kinds of academic and non-academic issues. Students do not need to feel particularly worried about anything to benefit from their services either - sometimes they can just help optimise an experience which they are already enjoying. At other times, they provide professional support and advice on trickier subjects and have the experience and expert knowledge that delivers great benefits.

You can find further information about their services, including opening times and common queries in the Student Life section of studentcentral.

• Career planning, workshops, help with job applications and CVs.
• Volunteering and work opportunities whilst at university.
• Employment and further study choices.


Chaplaincy
• Pastoral care for all faiths and none.
• Lectures, social events, worship, discussion, retreats, pilgrimages.


Childcare
• High quality, affordable, flexible childcare.
• Information for studying parents.


Counselling
• A confidential service, which allows a safe space to address issues and problems.


Disability and Dyslexia Support
• Help with all disability and dyslexia issues, including funding.
• Liaison with staff to coordinate appropriate learning and teaching support.
• Screening for learning difficulties.
• Programme of support with Study Skills.


Healthcare at University
• GP Surgery facilities.
• Sexual Health information, through Unisex.
• Advice on vaccinations and health issues.


Welfare and Money
• Advice on financial issues including fees, bursaries, scholarships, loans, additional funds and budgeting
• Support for international students - Home Office regulations, work entitlements and renewal of Leave to Remain.

Exists to help students to find suitable housing and help with any queries relating to accommodation.

Provides central support for the University’s academic administration, including students' formal registration with the university, student loans, fees and bursaries (in liaison with the Finance Department and the Student Loans Company).

BSMS academic-related support services

The Academic Tutors that students have during Phase 1 of the course will be familiar with the BSMS curriculum and assessment procedure, and will have the expertise, training and experience to guide, oversee and assess their tutees in the development of their academic skills. Students should consult their Academic Tutor if they have any queries concerning the programme and their progression through it, such as difficulty with a particular subject, late submission of work and assessments.

The Clinical Academic Tutors are either clinical faculty or consultants from BSUH Trust and so have particular expertise and experience in clinical medicine, to guide students through Phases 2 and 3. There will be plenty of opportunities for students to meet their tutor during the year. Students in Year 5 will also receive local support from their Clinical Sub-dean at each regional attachment site.

BSMS personal-related support services

Personal Tutors provide support and advice on personal and pastoral issues. They are General Practitioners from the practice at which students undertake their Primary Care visits during the first clinical practice module or doctors who facilitate at Clinical Practice sessions.

The BSMS Student Support Coordinators offer advice on student support, welfare and financial matters and provide information about other sources of support. Students can contact them to discuss personal difficulties or issues affecting their ability to study (this includes discussing whether a student wishes to temporarily or permanently withdraw from the University). The Student Support Coordinators also give advice on the submission of mitigating circumstances (where for example a student has been or is ill and has fallen behind with their work etc) and are a good first point of call for students as they know all the University support services.

Section 10

University procedures and policies

This section provides the links to where you can find key policies and procedures on either the University of Brighton or Sussex websites, studentcentral or in the BSMS Programme, Examination and Assessment Regulations.

See section H of the BSMS Programme, Examination and Assessment Regulations. These can be found in the Assessment folder of the My School Area on studentcentral.

See section G of the BSMS Programme, Examination and Assessment Regulations. These can be found in the Assessment folder of the My School Area on studentcentral.

See section C of the BSMS Programme, Examination and Assessment Regulations. These can be found in the Assessment folder of the My School Area on studentcentral.

See section F of the BSMS Programme, Examination and Assessment Regulations. These can be found in the Assessment folder of the My School Area on studentcentral.

Section 11

And finally…

This handbook has been designed to ensure that you get the most out of your role and we hope we’ve covered everything you need. However, if you have any questions or require clarification of any matter, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the BSMS Student Rep Support Team listed on the back of this handbook that will be happy to take you through your queries. Thank you.

Acknowledgement
USSU would like to thank RAISE network for allowing us to reproduce material from their excellent toolkit Representation.
Please see www.raise-networks.org.uk for more information.