Programme Reps and Student-Staff Liaison Committees (SSLCs)
Programme Representatives (Reps) are the link between students and staff at course level. They improve the student experience by representing the views of their peers and ensuring that academic and professional services staff continually listen to and engage with students.
Current student reps
Undergraduate:
- School Rep: Nicholas Dolan
- Divinity: Douglas Reid
- Philosphy/Theology and Divinity/Classics: Alexander Keel-Dwyer (Level 8), Siena Wotherspoon (Level 10)
- Religious Studies and Religious Studies/Literature: TBC
- Theology: Lucy Swale (level 8), Josep Martí i Bouis (level 10)
Postgraduate:
- School Rep: Stephen Dolan
- Elected members of the New College Postgraduate Committee
Could you be a future Programme Rep?
Programme reps:
- Make a positive contribution to the University by improving the student experience for your peers
- Receive specialised training in how to represent students democratically and diplomatically, and how to work effectively as a leader within the University and Students' Association
- Become part of the Programme Rep cohort as an ambassador who works within the School with students, staff, and Students' Association
- Receive recognition on their Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR), or university transcript, after being active in the role as a Rep
- Improve their leadership skills and employability by earning Open Badges and/or the Edinburgh Award for Representing Students
How Reps are chosen
Undergraduate Programme Reps serve for a year and are elected at the start of the academic year. They cover all programmes.:
| Degree programme | Level 8 | Level 10 |
| School Representative | 1 rep (any year) | |
| Divinity (BD Hons) Divinity (MDiv Hons) | 1 rep (any year) | |
| Philosophy and Theology (MA Hons) Divinity and Classics (MA Hons) | 1 rep | 1 rep |
| Religious Studies (MA Hons) Religious Studies and English Literature (MA Hons) | 1 rep | 1 rep |
| Theology (MA Hons) | 1 rep | 1 rep |
| TOTAL | 8 reps | |
Postgraduate Programme Reps are the elected members of the New College Postgraduate Committee.
Your role as a Rep
Expectations of the role:
Both the Students' Association and the staff within Divinity will support you in your role. Reps should:
- be accessible and proactively gather views from their peers and communicate these at the Student-Staff Liaison Meeting.
- complete the Students' Association Rep training. (Further information on training below).
- attend the Student-Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC) meeting and provide feedback.
- close the 'feedback loop' by reporting back to the students they represent the main points of discussion at SSLCs and how their feedback will be acted on.
What to do as a Rep, and when:
- Weeks 3-5: Complete the Students' Association training (link below)
- Weeks 4-6: Collect feedback from your peers for the SSLC meeting
- Weeks 5-7: Attend the SSLC and provide feedback
- Weeks 6-8: ‘Close the feedback loop’ by feeding back SSLC discussions and actions to your peers.
Students' Association training
The Students' Association provides training and support for Programme Reps.
Further information on Programme Reps can be found on the Students' Association website:
https://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/yourvoice/representation/findyourreps/programmereps/
Recognition for Programme Reps
Reps receive recognition for their contribution and hard work by having their role added to their HEAR (Higher Education Achievement Report) report.
The HEAR builds upon existing information incorporating an expanded academic transcript and the European Diploma Supplement. This will provide you with more detailed information about your learning and achievement than the traditional degree classification system alone and will serve to support applications for employment and further studies.
HEAR recognition is dependent on Reps actively engaging with the role during the year and successfully completing the Students' Association Programme Rep Basic Training.
Students' Association Recognition for Programme Reps
Gathering feedback
To make gathering feedback more effective, Divinity Programme Reps can email their peers and request feedback for the Student-Staff Liaison meeting. Information on how to do this will be sent to reps via email.
Reps should gather feedback from the students they represent before attending the SSLC meeting. This can be done in person or via email.
A suggestion for helping structure the feedback you ask for could be: Stop, Start, Keep - i.e. what would fellow students like to see stopped, what would they like to be included that currently isn’t, and what are happy with, that we should keep.
Overall, feedback should be either positive; based on aspects which work well (and thus might be shared as good practice); or constructive criticism concerning issues which negatively affect the student experience. The overall aim is to improve the learning experience for current as well as for future students.
What to expect at a Student-Staff Liaison Committee meeting
Each semester there is one undergraduate SSLC and one postgraduate SSLC. Reps share the feedback they have gathered from their peers at these meetings. SSLC meetings are usually held at lunchtimes and can last for up to an hour. They are co-convened by the undergraduate or postgraduate school representative and a member of academic staff.
Minutes from the Student-Staff Liaison meetings can be accessed on the Divinity intranet:
Support
If you have any questions or concerns or require support as a programme representative please contact: div.student.support@ed.ac.uk