Academic Reps are students who have taken on the role of representing their school, course or PGR programme to the University and are a vital link between the student body, academic staff, and the Students' Union. They pass on any issues that students in their cohort have that are affecting their studies and/or research. They are part of a team of representatives across the university, who work in partnership with staff to ensure that the academic interests of students are represented.

They sit on the Student Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC) within their School, where they bring their peers' feedback to university staff, and push for change. They are also full voting members of Student Council, ensuring students on their programme have a voice in key SU decisions. There is at least one course rep for every year on every course, and at least one PGR rep for every research programme.

To read a bit more about what reps do, find links to role descriptions just below:

• UG & PGT Course Rep Role Description
• PGR Course Rep Role Description

If you'd like to find out more, including how to find your rep, go to our Information for Students section below.

Faculty Reps are elected student representatives who represent all the students their faculty to the University.  There are three reps per Faculty, one for each level of study: Undergraduate (UG), Postgraduate Taught (PGT), and Postgraduate Research (PGR). They play a vital role in supporting, consulting with, and building a community amongst their Course/PGR reps. Each rep chairs their own Faculty Student Staff Liaison Committee (FSSLC), spaces where students can air any faculty level academic issues with university staff and find solutions together.

They attend meetings such as University Senate, the highest committee in the university, ensuring students' views on educational issues are being heard. 

Moreover, they're a valuable voice in the Bristol SU democratic structures, sitting on Bristol SU Standing Committee, and being voting members of Student Council. Faculty reps make sure that SU policies and campaigns take into account the needs of students in their faculty. 

Faculty reps are elected during our SU Elections in TB1 (October/November) for PGTs, and in TB2 (February/March) for UGs and PGRs. Find out more on the SU Elections webpage.

There are multiple ways you can contact your rep. You can email them, contact them on social media, or talk to them in person. If you're struggling to get in touch with your rep, then you can contact the SU Representation Team. Your rep should also be seeking out your opinions so that they can take them to the University.

Make sure you let your rep(s) know if you're having issues – problems can't be solved if no one knows they exist!

Find your Rep

There are over 800 Reps over all the different Schools and Departments at the University.

Find your rep(s) here.

Please note the rep finder tool shows reps for the current academic year, and it is updated when the new academic year starts, and after the Term 1 SU Elections (for 1st year UG/PGT students). Some reps might not be displayed by the rep finder tool. We are working on finding a better tool for this purpose.

Your School's admin staff should also be able to let you know who your reps are, and if you have a Blackboard student space, they should be listed on there!

Still no rep(s) to be found...?

You can now check whether there is a vacancy that requires co-opting for your course! Look for your programme on our Airtable.

If the rep role for your programme has a blue mark next to it, this means there is a vacancy open. This can happen any time throughout the year (e.g.; a student withdrawing), and your School's admin should be in touch with your cohort to find a new volunteer for the role. Please get in touch with them to express your interest in the role, or recommend a friend!

We hold SU Elections for Course Reps at two points during the academic year, in TB1/TB2. Reps for new incoming cohorts get elected in TB1 (October/November), and all other reps get elected in TB2 (February/March). PGR Reps get co-opted in by their Schools instead of being elected through the SU Elections, so if you're interested in standing, simply let your School's staff know.

You'll be hearing a lot from us when the time comes around. When the SU Elections are live, you will be able to access our platform through our Elections webpage.

If you're interested, you can read full Academic Rep role descriptions below. These are "junior" roles. Other role descriptions for "senior" roles, including Faculty Rep, can be found on the Elections webpage.

• UG & PGT Course Rep Role Description
• PGR Rep Role Description

It might be the case there are still vacant roles that have not been filled through the elections, in which case, you'll hear about any vacancies from your School (and you can also check through the above tool). Though, even if you aren't a course rep, you can still be part of the conversation! Share your thoughts and ideas with your rep, get involved in one of our many student groups or campaign and connect with different networks in the student community. 

Be proactive! It's really important that you make sure your reps are aware of any issues you have so that they can bring these problems to the university. They are elected to represent you – so make sure you give them feedback when they ask for it... or even when they don't!

Aside from improving your course for the better, and the sense of satisfaction that comes from this, we want to make sure that you make the most of the experience you have gained as a rep in your life after uni.

LinkedIn Recommendations

Any reps that show additional engagement in their role through participation in certain steps are eligible for a LinkedIn recommendation from our team. Please get in touch with the Academic Representation Team once you have completed the following requirements: 

-Attend at least one SU Democratic event (such as AMM or Student Council) 

-Participate in an additional event which we invite Academic Reps to, for example Rep Conference, Student Academic Representation Network (SARN) or a focus group or event ran by the Academic Representation Team

-Complete the core training as part of your role  

We can also provide a standard reference for job applications - just get in contact with us.

Bristol PLUS Award

The Bristol PLUS Award challenges you to develop a range of skills to boost your CV, and you are able to use your experience as a rep as part of the 'intensive skills activity' criteria. Find out more about the Bristol PLUS Award on the University website.

Giveaways

At our in-person training conferences we always have some freebies to give away (such as water bottles and laptop stickers!). Come along to get your extra training and to pick up your free stuff! 

Who can I ask for help?

Bristol SU have a team dedicated to making sure that course reps have the support they need. They can be contacted at bristolsu-representation@bristol.ac.uk. They can help with any of the queries that you may have as an academic rep!

Is there any training available?

The Academic Representation Team will be in contact about training when you start your role! All academic reps must complete core training to fulfil their role, and we also have lots of training opportunities available throughout the year.

I'm a course rep – who is my faculty rep?

Please check our list of faculty reps.

How do I communicate with my fellow reps?

We find the best way to communicate with reps is email or social media. It's worth getting to know your reps early on in the year so that you can support each other through the SSLCs and share good practice.

Here is the Code of Practice for Taught Students
Here is the Code of Practice for Research Students

Bristol SU runs Elections twice a year, in TB1 for all incoming students (1st year UG, and PGT), and in TB2 for all continuing students. Other roles also get elected as part of the SU Elections, please check our Elections webpage to find out anything you need to know about Elections.

The Academic Representation Team are:

• Janine Fox -  Academic Representation Manager 
• Sabrina Jones - Senior Academic Representation Coordinator
• Hope Ameh - Academic Representation Coordinator (P/T)
• Natasha Jenks - Academic Representation Coordinator

They can be contacted at bristolsu-representation@bristol.ac.uk

They are part of the Impact & Influence Directorate at Bristol SU - meet the Bristol SU Team on our staff webpages.

You can find any resources for University staff in the Student Academic Representation SharePoint.

How do I find out details of reps in my school/faculty?

All UoB Staff have access to a full list of reps. This is accessed on our UoB staff SharePoint via a password. Your school SAMs/GAMs, or other senior administrative staff, should be able to provide you with this, if you are new to the role. Otherwise, please contact us.

Where can I get more information on the Representation System at the University?

We are working to make our SharePoint site a "one-stop-shop" for any information you should need. If you have any specific questions then the Representation Team are always happy to help at our shared mailbox.

What training do course reps get?

We have compulsory on-demand online training that the reps complete on the Xerte platform, and also offer additional live training sessions. In general we run two live trainings - one in TB1 and one in TB2 (after each set of Elections). You can find more info on the training webpage. If there is something else you would like us to include then please let us know, and we will be happy to discuss this with you. 

Core Training 

Our compulsory online training for academic reps covers all you need to know to get you started in your role, whether you are a course rep (UG & PGT), or a PGR rep. It will equip you with necessary skills and resources to help you succeed and develop positive relationships with students and staff. You will be sent a link to this once you enter your role.

This training isn’t strictly necessary for your role. Being said that, completing it will make you a better representative! 

Zoom Webinars

We run a bi-yearly Zoom webinar to build on the compulsory training for course reps, sometime after the SU Elections (mid-May, and mid-November): you can watch the Zoom recording here for the last one we ran, and download the slides using the links below (via Single-Sign On).

We are currently working on our live training offer for PGR reps - watch this space!

Using Research as a Rep

Our Research and Insight Team has written training on how to use research (such as the NSS, YBS, and the Bristol SU research) effectively in your campaigning, or even conduct your own!

See our start the Using Research as a Rep training