The School President system at the University of Dundee: an update on sparqs’ involvement

1. The School President system at the University of Dundee:an update on sparqs’ involvement Monday 17 November 2008 Simon Varwell Development Adviser

2. sparqs: a little background • sparqs = Student Participation in Quality Scotland • created in 2003 • funded by SFC, and works closely with sector agencies • annual budget of £300,000 • works with HEIs (20), colleges (43) and their students’ associations (63) • 6.5 FTE staff members in Edinburgh and Inverness • sparqs hosted by NUS Scotland and Inverness College • 14 part-time student Associate Trainers across Scotland

3. what sparqs does • training and support • provide training for student representatives; workshops for staff and production of resources for students and staff • events • national conference on student involvement; workshops for staff of students’ associations and student officers • sharing practice • publications on student involvement; benchmarking of representative systems and learning from other countries & sectors • consultancy • 5 days support provided to each institution in the north of Scotland

4. consultancy • 5 days support provided to each institution in the north of Scotland • pilot in 2007-08, repeated 2008-09 • rolled out to rest of Scotland thereafter • has helped institutions develop student engagement in locally-relevant ways • events held to explore common interests

5. Consultancy at Dundee • 2007-08: external perspective on the School President system: • “mini-audit” of the role of School President • some research from comparable institutions • observations and recommendations

6. sparqs’ Observations • General agreement on core purpose of SP

7. Broad structure University committees DUSA School Presidents Schools and colleges Course committees Class reps

8. sparqs’ Observations • General agreement on core purpose of SP • Some confusion over details of role • Varied method and quality of support to SPs • SPs of high calibre and enthusiasm • Teaching staff lacked information on role and purpose of SPs… • …but had most interesting ideas for future of role – as “ambassador”: • of school “brand” • of student representation

9. sparqs’ Recommendations • Clear information should be provided on the role – especially to staff • Clarification needed on role of school forums, deputy SPs and school societies • Consideration of two approaches – for single- and multi-disciplinary schools • Clarification of SP role within DUSA • Consideration of resources to support representation at school-level

10. What next? • Agreement to continue focus in 2008-09 • Consultancy to help address action points • Toolkits to be created in conjunction with staff and students in: • Psychology • Nursing • Computing • Humanities

11. Toolkits • Help create customised support for SPs • clarifying each SPs’ role • identifying most appropriate support • informing all staff and reps of SP role • Provide template for expanding that support to other schools • Suggest how sparqs can help university in the future

12. Process • More fact-finding with four schools in January 2009 • Presentation of an outline of toolkits • Work on developing detail of toolkits • Final presentation to university • Exemplar of effective practice? • Addressing school-level representation • Balancing harmony and variation

13. www.sparqs.ac.ukinfo@sparqs.ac.uksimon.varwell@sparqs.ac.uk Simon Varwell Development Adviser