► What do StARs do?

• Make sure that students know that you are their representative – make yourself identifiable and available

• Attend training sessions arranged for Student Academic Representatives

• Establish regular contact and a constructive working relationship with your Course Leader, through both informal and formal meetings and communication, alerting them to issues raised by students and seeking solutions and resolutions wherever possible

• Be proactive – seek out students’ views and ask whether they have issues they want you to raise

• Develop effective means of communicating and consulting with students, such as arranging to speak at the beginning or end of lectures, using online questionnaires, comment cards, social networking, SU website

• Recognise the needs of students on your course and represent these, even if you don’t agree with them

• Respect the confidentiality of students and staff and conduct yourself in an appropriate manner

• Attend and actively participate in the Course Management Committee, helping to ensure that the student perspective is considered in all decisions

• Attend other meetings or committees within your institute which are appropriate to your role, as negotiated with your Course Leader

• Provide a link between students and staff, communicating information from students to staff and back from staff to students

• Communicate with other Student Academic Representatives, so that common areas of concern can be identified

• Follow up on action points and communicate with students before and after meetings

• Actively and constantly engage with students, Course Leaders, the Vice President Education and the Students’ Union

• Keep a record of your year’s activity – keep the relevant papers, highlight major debates and accomplishments, note outcomes, provide suggestions about how the system might be improved.