Academic Representation

Academic representatives are students elected or appointed to represent their peers in discussions with university staff. Their role is to voice student concerns, provide feedback on academic matters, and help improve the overall educational experience. They act as a bridge between the student body and academic staff, ensuring that students' needs and opinions are considered in decision-making processes.

At Falmouth University, your Academic Rep team is made up of Course Reps and Department Reps. Course Reps represent their peers’ views within a specific course, and every year group on every course has at least one course rep. Department Reps represent their peers’ views across the whole department, and lead Student-Staff Liaison Group (SSLG) meetings that students and academic staff attend.

At the University of Exeter (Cornwall), your Academic Rep team is made up of Course Reps, EDI Reps and Subject Chairs. Course Reps represent their peers’ views within a specific course, and every year group on every course has at least one course rep. EDI reps also represent students at course level on matters specifically relating to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion on your course. Subject Chairs represent their peers’ views across the whole subject area, and lead Student-Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC) meetings that students and academic staff attend. You may also encounter portfolio reps who have a focus on specific areas of your course, such as employability or studying abroad.

We've created a handy tool for you to search for your rep! We're still adding the newly elected reps into the system but if you're logged onto the website, you'll find their details here:

Find My Rep

To become a course level representative, all you need to do is sign up! Sign-ups will be open from 16 September 2024 to 11 October 2024. You can find out more on out Autumn Sign-ups page. Your Department Reps at Falmouth and Subject Chairs at Exeter are elected into the role due to the high number of students they represent. If your department does not yet have a Department Rep or Subject Chair for 2024, you can nominate yourself for the role from 23 September. Nominations close on 4 October. Visit this page to nominate yourself. If you are not interested in nominating yourself for the role, you can still vote for your next department rep or subject chair! Voting will open from 7 October, 12pm to the 10 October, 12pm.

Course reps collect and analyse student feedback on various aspects of your course, such as teaching quality, assessment methods, and learning resources. They then communicate this feedback to your academic staff team. Their goal is to ensure that student concerns are addressed and that the course continuously improves based on student input. Course reps also work to find solutions to any issues raised to them by their course cohorts, and keep students informed about the actions taken by staff in response to their feedback.

At the SU, we work hard to ensure our reps are fully trained and equipped with the skills they need to represent their students. However, we recognise that things don’t always go to plan. If you are concerned about the wellbeing or general conduct of one of your course or department representatives, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Studentvoice@thesu.org.uk and we will work with you to informally address the matter.