October 12, 2022, by Agnes

Getting involved in the Education Network

The Education Network is a great way to get involved in the student community and have a voice on matters related to your academic life. It can be a bit confusing when you first arrive so here’s a helpful guide to the structure of the Education Network and what each role entails. 

Course Reps 

Around the beginning of the academic year, your school will send out information on how to apply to be a Course Rep. In this role, you’d act as a link between the students and the Education Rep. This means keeping an ear out for any complaints about your course or your school and collecting feedback from your course mates. You can pass on this information to the Education Rep and the Student Experience staff during termly Learning Community Fora (LCFs). Additionally, at LCFs, you’ll have a chance to have a say on any new initiatives and projects within your School. 

Education Reps 

The elections for Education Reps happen near the end of the previous academic year, but if the position isn’t filled for your School, you can reach out to your Student Experience Officer and find out how you can get involved. There is one Education Rep in each School, representing the entire student body within that School. This means collecting feedback from Course Reps during LCFs and taking appropriate action. This could mean resolving the feedback within the School or deciding to pass the feedback on to the Faculty Rep if it’s an issue beyond just your School. As an Education Rep, you also have the opportunity to bring forward any ideas you have to improve the student experience and bring them to life!

Faculty Reps 

The departments at the University of Nottingham are split into five faculties: Arts, Engineering, Medicinal and Health Sciences, Science and Social Sciences. Each of these faculties has a Faculty Rep, who represents the students within the faculty at various meetings with important people at the University. Faculty Reps collect feedback from Education Reps and resolve it alongside staff members. 

As you can see, student representatives are involved in many of the decision-making processes at the university and feedback is constantly circulated through the network. So, if you’re passionate about making a difference to your course or the student experience in your school, this is a great way to do it! 

Posted in Agnes