'Big R' representation

When not playing Scrabble on facebook (feel free to challenge me to a game) I can be found representing students. More recently when not doing either of those things I am a prolific blogger.

In a previous thread a commentator speculated it may be worth merging Student Reps and Guild Councillors. This suggestion has been muted before and even though it is an interesting debate I don't personally support merging the two systems. Here's why:

• Student Reps work on a department/school/programme level, there is flexibility built into the system to allow Student Staff Committees to take place at the most effective level. Guild Councillors on the other hand have a uniform constituency, which is their school.

• Student Reps attend Student Staff Committees (SSC) while Guild Councillors attend Guild Council. (GC) For each meeting a Student Rep/Guild Councillor is expected to canvass those they represent and feedback after the meeting. As someone who undertook both roles (to varying success) this is a considerable workload, the job would simply be too big.

• SSCs and GC also have different purposes. Student Staff Committees look very specifically issues affecting students on their programme of study. On the other hand Guild Councillors represent students on a wide range of issues including housing, welfare and student activities.

The key to representation is simple structures and that is what we have.

It's about quality, not quantity...

The first line on my manifesto clearly stated: My first priority as Vice President Education and Access would be to ensure that your degree is really worth the paper it is written on. Little did I know about BIQAES (pronounced bikes) processes at the time...

Every year the University of Birmingham conducts a number of School Quality Reviews. (SQR) These are designed to "test and improve the effectiveness of the internal processes carried out by Schools." These take place on a six-year cycle and on every review team a sabbatical officer is present. An SQR is not directly concerned with what you are taught and how this is delivered. Instead it "focuses instead on the effectiveness of systems in place within the School to assure and enhance the quality of provision, the standards of awards, and the student learning experience." The review team usually compromises of 3-4 academics and a secretary from the University Academic Quality Unit. We spend a whole day in a series of meetings with that school and give them a grilling Paxman would be proud of.

This may all seem a little dull and you may ask why I spend a day a part of a review team, interrogating the systems a school will have in place.

Quality assurance and quality enhancement are important. It is quite simply how we know that our education is good and that it is constantly improving. Pretty simple.

The student voice within these processes are very important. Each review team will meet with students from that school and this is often the most illuminating discussion of the day. The sabbatical officer can also provide a unique perspective on how effective these systems may be.

I have spent Monday and Tuesday reviewing Theology and BMedSci respectively. It was quite intensive, but also very worthwhile.

What is to be done?

Two months ago the Guild was provided with the results of the Student Satisfaction Survey. These were general questions on the attitudes which students' have of services provided by the Guild of Students. The results confirmed what most of us already know; that the Guild suffers from its location on campus and while many students use the services and entertainments, more can be done. The survey also generated vast amounts of qualitative comments and one afternoon I made some time and read through them all. To no surprise there were a vast number of comments relating to the Guild's ability to communicate with its members, the student body, and this is something we have to improve.

This year we have piloted a newsletter called The GOS. You can check out the archives here. This was an idea developed by the sabbatical team. Over Welcome Week we signed people up to receive these newsletters and we collected over 2,000 email addresses. Since then we have been in discussions with the University about getting the academic email addresses of all students and ensure every member of the Guild gets these updates.

Also, with a new website provider we have enhanced our online presence. Our current website is a vast improvement on what we have had previously.

The issue of communication is a tough nut to crack.

The key is developing channels of communication, in other worths methods of communicating. We cannot rely on word of mouth, or officers popping on to campus to talk to the students they can grab hold of in a short space of time. We need to have systems in place to promote the message of the Guild. Therefore we need processes in place to ensure that the Guild is visible to our membership as part of our normal activities.

The sabbaticals have continued working on this throughout the year. We have been exploring how we can use Student Media Groups to provide alternative mediums for students to find out about the Guild. Our very own VPSAD has some exciting ideas about promoting student group events in the pipeline. Redbrick is also a vital method of communication, providing not just news but analysis and comment.

More then anything I am keen to hear what you think about communication. How should we do it? What methods can we use that we haven't thought of yet? I genuinely want to hear the thoughts of our students.

A note from the backroom

Most will realise that blogging has not been my highest priority over the last few months. The job of a sabbatical officer is a whirlwind of endless activity, made more difficult by the reality that at best my own activities are opaque and clothed in a seeming veil of secrecy.

As I have mentioned previously the QAA audit has kept me busy. A great deal of my time was taken up with preparing the student written submission, a lengthy and sometimes difficult document. It is to some frustration yet no great surprise that this rather un-sexy activity has not generated any real interest. Any student who wishes to view the document is more then welcome so email me at t.marley@guild.bham.ac.uk Student Reps also remain my key priority, though still to limited success. Five Student Rep college forums were held over the last two weeks. These were not as successful as could have been hoped though there are some successes that can be built upon. The Student Rep system is currently undergoing a major evaluation as the three-year improvement strategy has come to its end.

The job of a sabbatical is an incrementalist, not a revolutionary. We may want change now but there are very few easy wins, in fact someone once said if it wasn't hard it wasn't worth doing.. or something like that. Despite this very few people seem over the moon.

Around two years ago a motion was passed by Guild Council calling on Guild Officers to blog regularly. It also proposed a huge reform of the reports that were presented to Guild Council. That motion was proposed by me and I seem to, two years on, be unable to live up to my own expectation of an officer. Surely I should have been put up for a censure already.

Well here's to getting back to basics and our number one priority (communicating with students) and I'm going to try and start blogging at least once a week.