Friday 13 January 2012

Alex Slater: The Faculty of life


So, it is more than obvious that I tried to come up with a clever name here (I watched Sherlock at the weekend and thought that I was more than qualified for this task, with a clever yet witty name. More fool me) but somehow failed miserably. None the less, we move on and are better for the experience.

It’s that very magical time of year that we all look forward to the bestest and brightest of our students getting the chance to put themselves forward to be a ‘Faculty Rep’. They're in one of the most influential roles that a student can be in within the University, with the power and responsibility to change just about anything that they see fit. Powerful, right? 

So, I bet I know what you’re thinking (or at least you will be thinking in a second or so) HOW DO THEY DO THIS?!?! (Ok, you weren't...but you are now, MAGIC). They are in a position to sit on the most senior boards within the university, giving them the perfect chance to“create change”. These boards feed directly into UBTL (the University Board for Teaching and Learning) where all the big decisions are made with concerns to teaching and learning, AKA your courses.

Why should you become a Faculty Rep?

All in all, why would you want to be one? What could you possibly get out of it? I’m sure when you leave university you'll want a job. Well, why wouldn’t you? None of us want to worry about security and money, which is often a problem for many unemployed graduates these days. However, what if this is something that didn’t have to apply to you? Employers these days are looking for graduates who stand out more than others, with skills that are gained from outside of your degree programme. As a faculty rep you will be leading a group of course reps (approximately 50+), using their feedback within some of the highest decision making processes (Senate) and working very closely with myself and the VP Academic Affairs (HOW LUCKY ARE YOU, that should be reason enough to run on its own).

Other benefits

Other than getting to represent your fellow students (a benefit in itself) you'll also get a couple of other benefits. These can vary depending on the VP AA but I will tell you a few that I've put in place. I try to keep the meetings as fun and informal as possible where we can share information and ideas, but yet have a laugh. At the beginning training sessions we ordered pizza (on RUSU of course) with dessert of Phish Food ice-cream. In addition to this I have put them on the Union guest list so that they don’t have to pay entry to Wednesday and Saturday nights out (which is a SICK new benefit I've put in place).

The long and short of it is, if you want to stand out from your fellow students in securing that job you always wanted, and feel you have what it takes to represent your fellow students in committees that can have tangible affects across the whole University,  then go nominate yourself

Much love.

Alex
VP Academic Affairs

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