Welcome

The Executive Committee 2008-09

Remember to check

your DMU email ac-

count frequently—

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out on important infor-

mation.

Student Rep newsletter

D E M O N T F O R T S T U D E N T S ’ U N I O N

Issue 1

September 08

Hi to all Student Reps, I’m

Shazia your new Deputy

President Education.

I am based at the Students’

Union and I’m proud to say

that I’ll be working with

you, our prized Student

Reps!

So what do I do? Along

with Colina I co-ordinate

the Student Rep structure,

including Student Reps,

Faculty Reps and Student

Officers. I also have re-

sponsibility for academic

representation, education

policies and campaigns.

The Student Rep aspect of

uni life can be rewarding, I

did the same thing in my

first and final year of study

and found it an opportunity

to improve my skills and to

meet new people. So

thanks for becoming a Stu-

dent Rep, it’s fantastic that

you have come on board.

Your role really helps to

ensure that our university

remains focused on the

educational experience of

students and that students

are able to have their say.

You may have seen me at

the training sessions or the

Welcome Event, if you

haven’t feel free to come

and see me or you can

email me,

snazir@dmu.ac.uk.

For those of you that don’t

know me or are new to the

role of Student Rep, my

name is Colina Wright and I

am the Democracy and

Representation Co-

ordinator. One aspect of

my role is to support the

Student Reps alongside

Shazia, I co-ordinate the

accreditation scheme and

the Student Rep conference,

both of which I hope you’ll

get involved in.

I’m here to help you get the

most out of your experi-

ences so please do not hesi-

tate to contact me should

you have any questions,

Finally I’d like to thank you

for volunteering as a Stu-

dent Rep—both the Univer-

sity and the Union value

your contributions; we

hope that you find this a

rewarding experience.

Colina Wright

Democracy and Representation

Co-ordinator

We’d like to hear from

you? How are things

going with you? Is there

any additional support /

training that the Stu-

dents’ Union can assist

you with. If so, please do

not hesitate to contact

us.

We aim for this newslet-

ter to be a quarterly

publication so if you

have any contributions

please email them to us.

Shazia Nazir

Deputy President Education

Tom, Emily, Shazia, Shahinaz, Carl

The Executive Committee wanted to say a quick hello

and to thank you for volunteering as a Student Rep. If

you want to get involved or to contact a member of

your Executive Committee, please do so:

Tom Blackburn, Vice President Student Activities,

tblackburn@dmu.ac.uk, 2555576 ext 341

Emily Howells, Vice President Welfare,

ehowells@dmu.ac.uk, 2555576 ext 333

Shahinaz ―Naz‖ Nabeeh, Vice President Media and

Communications, snabeeh@dmu.ac.uk, 2555576 ext

337

Carl King, President, cking@dmu.ac.uk, 2555576 ext

374

Welcome 1

The Executive Com-

mittee

1

Faculty Student Rep

Co-ordinators

2

Get INVOLVEd 2

Online resources 2

Upcoming elections 2

Periodic reviews 2

Becoming a Faculty

Rep

3

Accreditation 3

Additional opportuni-

ties

4

Welfare and Educa-

tion Centre

4

StandOut 5

Future plans 5

The Student Rep

Society

6

Dates for your diary 6

Inside this issue:

Faculty Student Rep Co-ordinators provide additional support for Student Reps. So who are they…

Faculty Student Rep Co-ordinators

Faculty Co-ordinator Email address Contact number

Art and Design Rob Cummings rcummings@dmu.ac.uk 0116 2506160

Business and Law Meeta Chauhan mchauhan1@dmu.ac.uk

0116 2078216

Computing Sciences and Engineering Sarah Stirk sstirk@dmu.ac.uk 0116 2506114

Health and Life Sciences – Charles Frears Rachel Fairman rfairman@dmu.ac.uk 0116 2013850

Health and Life Sciences – Leicester Yvonne Lee ylee@dmu.ac.uk 0116 2577749

Humanities Donna Neal dneal@dmu.ac.uk 0116 2577003

Online resources Resources such as the Student Rep handbook, acronym list, jargon buster, accreditation forms and other useful

information can be found at www.demontfortstudents.com/reps.

Page 2

You can register the hours you spend as a

Student Rep with Involve, the volunteering

department. This will entitle you to a certifi-

cate (in addition to the one presented as part

of the Student Rep accreditation) and enable

you to access any training they provide free of

charge, participate in other voluntary activities

and receive their newsletter.

For more information please contact

involve@dmu.ac.uk

Get more out … Get INVOLVEd!

Your involvement in Periodic Reviews Periodic Reviews are an internal procedure for reviewing the quality of provision of courses taught at De Montfort

University. It has been designed as a cycle that occurs every five or six years to each subject area. It is a formal op-

portunity for academic staff teams and student representatives to reflect on the subject area and then to develop

new approaches or enhance current practices.

We would like to offer you the opportunity to be involved in this process. Students on the courses being reviewed

are not able to participate as a panel member although if you are interested in being involved you can speak to your

tutors about the student contribution section where the panel ask questions directly to you.

Courses being reviewed this academic year are:

Interior Design – this review will take place the week commencing 15th December 08

Film - this review will take place the week commencing 23rd March 2009

Forensic Sciences and Applied Arts / Design Crafts - these reviews will take place the week commencing

30th March 09

If you are interested or would like further information, please email studentreps@dmu.ac.uk.

Upcoming elections The Students’ Union by-elections will be taking place during October. We require 12 Student Officers, 8 Student Coun-cil members and 12 NUS delegates, Further information about the elections can be found at www.demontfortstudents.com/vote or by emailing Colina.

The deadline for receipts of these forms is Friday 27th

Febraury 2009.

This is not compulsory but is a fantastic addition to your

CV and can help you stand out when applying for jobs.

So, what are you waiting for?

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have

any queries about this scheme.

Accreditation

DSU and DMU run an accreditation scheme allowing

you as Student Reps to receive a certificate acknowl-

edging your work as a Representation.

To obtain this certificate you will need to provide sig-

natures as proof of your attendance at least three aca-

demic meetings or Students’ Union events. You will

also need to complete a short statement outlining your

experiences and the skills you have developed as a

Rep.

These forms are available via email but also at

www.demontfortstudents.com/reps

Fancy becoming a Faculty Rep?

Page 3

If you fancy getting more involved with the democratic structures within the University, you could become a Fac-

ulty Representative.

As the name suggests, these individuals will represent the Faculty, not just your course, so it is important that you

are aware of the issues taking place across the whole Faculty by ensuring regular communication with the Student

Reps.

The role of the Faculty Rep will give you an opportunity to enhance numerous skills such as communication skills

through liaising a diverse group of people ranging from students to the Pro Vice Chancellor, research skills

(communicating with the Student Reps and the general student population to find out what the problems are), ne-

gotiation and presentation skills (finding ways to resolve the issues and presenting them to the appropriate staff).

The role of the Student Rep is a fantastic addition to your CV, however this goes that step further. Being a Faculty

Rep will give you further insight into how the University works.

Each Faculty has 4 positions for Faculty Reps (5 within Health and Life Sciences with one specifically assigned for

Charles Frears students). 2 of these Reps will attend the Faculty Learning and Teaching Committee (FLTC) and 2

Reps will attend the Faculty Academic Committee (FAC). Discussions from these meetings are taken forward to

the University Learning and Teaching Committee and Academic Board so your views are heard at the highest level.

In addition to the University meetings, Faculty Reps will attend Student Council (more information about this is in

the election section). There are also a number of informal meetings that you can attend; these are to ensure that

the Union is supporting you and also to give you information about Union developments. Also you will be given a

chance to meet with Philip Martin, the Pro Vice Chancellor for Academic Quality, to discuss and hopefully resolve

issues informally.

If you are interested in becoming a Faculty Rep, there’s not a lot of time. You will need to contact your Faculty

Student Rep Co-ordinator, expressing an interest. These elections usually take place during the Faculty Welcome

Events, but this is not the case for all Faculties. Alternatively you can contact studentreps@dmu.ac.uk and we will

pass on your information to the relevant person.

Good luck!

Elections

There are other ways that you, or students on your course, can get involved with the running of the Students’ Un-

ion.

Become a Student Officer

There are a number of vacant Student Officer that will be decided by election during October.

The Student Officer positions include: Campaigns Officer, Charles Frears Officer, Community and Involvement Of-

ficer, Diversity Officer, LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Officer, Mature Students’ Officer, Men’s

Officer, RAG (Raise and Give) Officer, Research / Postgraduate Students Officer, Societies Officer, Sports Officer

and Women’s Officer.

Become a non-portfolio Student Council member

There are also a number of open places available during these elections; these are open to any DMU student.

So what is Student Council?

Student Council is the governing body of the students’ Union and will approve policy, ratify Clubs and Societies and

approve Union expenditure amongst other duties.

It is made up of the Student Officers, 6 Faculty Reps and 8 open place delegates along with the Executive Officers.

There will be 2 meetings per term, lasting approximately 1 and a half – 2 hours.

For more information about Student Council please email Carl King, the President, at cking@dmu.ac.uk.

The election timetable

Nominations open on Monday 13th October at 10am and close on Friday 17th October at 12 midday. There will be

a compulsory candidates’ meeting on Monday 20th October from 5 – 6. Campaigning can begin after this with voting

(done entirely online at my.dmu) opening on Tuesday 21st October at 10am and closing on Thursday 23rd Octo-

ber at midnight. The results will be announced on Friday 24th October, approximately 2pm.

Nomination packs will be available from 10am on the 13th but also at www.demontfortstudents.com/vote. There

will also be a StandOut session dedicated to providing further information about how students can be more in-

volved with the running of the Students’ Union. This will take place on Tuesday 7th October from 5—6 in the

meeting room.

Additional opportunities to get involved...

Welfare and Education Centre

The Welfare and Education Centre, based within the Students’ Union on the first floor of the Campus Centre

Building, can provide support on a range of different issues including academic queries - appeals, academic of-

fences or disciplinary hearings; complaints - for example an issue regarding the course or the service provided

by the University; housing — issues with landlords or tenant disputes, council tax, illegal eviction, deposits; fi-

nance — problems with course fees, student loans, debt advice; and immigration.

This service is independent and confidential. You can approach them with queries either personally or on behalf

of your course.

They are open from 9.30 until 3.45 Monday to Wednesday, 9.30 until 6.30 on Thursday (term time only, during

vacations they close at 3.45 on Thursday) and from 1—3.45 on Friday. Their telephone number is 0116

2576307. For further information visit their website www.demontfortstudents.com/welfare.

Page 4

What makes you StandOut?

Page 5

Employers want to see more than just a degree these

days and will look for the extra things you have done

alongside your studies.

StandOut is the student development programme which

is aimed at enhancing your personal and social skills.

These sessions are open to all students. They include: ―I

want to volunteer‖ Activities for this term include:

I want to volunteer – a taster of all the volunteer-

ing opportunities on offer in the local community.

Self defence – this session offers practical guidance

for looking after yourself. It is aimed at increasing your

awareness and self confidence.

Media Moguls in the Making – these sessions are

aimed at students with a particular interest in developing

skills in media production. There will be separate sessions

focussing on radio, the newspaper and television.

The Basics of British Sign Language – this five

week course will teach you the basics of British Sign Lan-

guage, enabling you to have a conversation with other

BSL users. This course can be topped up to provide a full

qualification in sign language.

Working with Children: Child Protection

Awareness – this session, delivered by a representative

for Leicester City Council, is ideal for anyone with an

interest in working with children.

“It’s Playtime” – this session is aimed at those who

want to work with young children in a residential setting

(such as overseas camping opportunities) or teaching ca-

pacity. It will introduce a variety of games to keep chil-

dren motivated.

Bar Skills – you know the dilemma, you apply for bar

jobs but they ask for experience which you won’t have

until you get a bar job… well, this is a chance to gain

some experience. This two week course will cover basic

bar skills – the art of serving, customer service, product

and service knowledge, responsible retailing and licensing.

A must for anyone with an interest in working in that

environment

… and other fantastic sessions!

DP Education’s future plans Is there something that you feel serious about and

want to shout about it? Throughout the year I will

be holding “Have your say!” sessions at the SU.

This is a chance for you to let us know how it really

is - you can comment on how you rate your course

for example what’s good and what’s not so good,

are the library provisions sufficient or inadequate. As

a Union this information is extremely vital for us it

will help us in letting the University know what our

students really want, possible areas of improvement

and acknowledge existing successes. They are infor-

mal and relaxed chats, and as Student Reps your in-

volvement will be greatly needed.

Dates for ―Have Your Say!” sessions will be an-

nounced soon.

I will also be working on areas of marking and the

possibility of introducing anonymous marking. This is

something that many universities have introduced

and here I would like to pursue it further by having

anonymous marking for written assessments. Let me

know what you think. As Student Reps you are my

right hand people! Your help in getting student feed-

back will be extremely important for this academic

year.

I will be also working on maintaining and improving

the relationship between the Union and both the

Charles Frears Campus and Associate Colleges. I’ll

be running regular sessions at the Charles Frears

and visiting Associate Colleges.

If there is something your interested in then please

do not hesitate to contact me at: snazir@dmu.ac.uk

or visit me at Level 1 of the Campus Centre.

Some sessions incur a nominal cost and may require

booking in advance. All sessions are subject to

change / cancellation.

Further information about dates and additional ses-

sions, which will be added throughout the year, can be

found at www.demontfortstudents.com/standout. If

you have suggestions for sessions, please email stand-

out@dmu.ac.uk. Please spread the word…

Dates for your diary

Please make a note of the following dates:

Student Rep Welcome Event

Monday 27th October, 5 – 7 in the Venue (Level 1)

This is an opportunity to meet staff from the University. It

will be hosted by Prof. Philip Martin and Shazia Nazir with

contributions from various directors within the University

and the possibility to meet your Dean / Head of Study. This

is your chance to meet with Reps from across the University

in a more social environment. There will be a drinks recep-

tion on arrival

Student Rep training dates

Tuesday 28th October, 5.30—7.30

Thursday 30th October, 12—2

Monday 3rd November, 5.30—7.30

Wednesday 5th November, 12—2

Friday 7th November, 12—2

Tuesday 11th November, 5.30—7.30 (returning Reps)

All training will take place in the Venue, the Students’ Un-

ion.

This training has been provided to give you the best start to

the role of a Student Rep, we will outline some of the issues

that you may come up against and identify areas of sup-

port.

Faculty Welcome events

Art and Design, Tuesday 21st October, 12—1.30,

Fletcher 1.65

Business and Law, to be confirmed—contact your

FSRC for further details.

The Student Rep Society Did you know that there is a Student Rep Society

that YOU are able to get involved with? The aim

of this group is to promote the role of the Student

Rep, provide opportunities for Student Reps to

meet outside of the formal schedule and to en-

courage a sense of identity amongst Reps.

For further information please contact Colina or

Shazia.

Technology (Computing, Sciences and Engi-

neering),

Wednesday 29th October, exact time and location to

be confirmed, contact your FSRC for further informa-

tion

Health and Life Sciences, to be confirmed—contact

your FSRC for further details.

Humanities, Wednesday 5th November, 12.30—

2.30, 0.65 Clephan

This is an opportunity to meet staff from your Faculty and

discuss issues that are more specific to you. This is also a

chance to meet other Reps from your Faculty and elect with

Faculty Reps. Please note that these elections do not

take place in all Faculty Welcome events, you may

need to contact with FSRC to find out when your

elections will take place.

Student Rep Conference

Tuesday 10th March, 10 – 2, Trinity House Chapel

This annual event will include presentations from various

staff, an opportunity for you to put your questions to the

panel, which will include Prof. Philip Martin and representa-

tives from Student Services, the Library, the Director of

ISAS, the Director of Estates, Academic Quality, etc. Lunch

will be provided. There will also be a couple of workshops,

the discussion areas are yet to be decided. This will be fol-

lowed by the presentation of accreditation certificates and

the Student Rep of the Year award.

Periodic reviews – please see Periodic Review sec-

tion for further information about these events.

First Floor

Campus Centre Building

Mill Lane

Leicester

LE2 7DR

t: 0116 2555576

ext 305

e: studentreps@dmu.ac.uk

w: www.demontfortstudents.com

De Montfort Students’ Union

Contact us