What is a Course Rep?

Course Reps are students who have volunteered to act as the link between academic staff and students, and it's their job to ensure the academic and learning environment continues to develop at Portsmouth by allowing students to provide constructive feedback on their experiences at University.

Course Reps represent a wide and diverse group of people in a number of ways, and between them should represent the entire student body and their beliefs.

Course Reps are important to the Students' Union and the University because they play a vital role in University life by providing feedback on students' academic experiences.

• Download the Course Reps guide

Why become a Course Rep?

University is a great place to get involved in all sorts of stuff. In fact the more you can get involved in the better it will be for you in the long run.

As you're here to get a degree, it's probably quite a good idea to tell you how you can get involved with issues relating to your course and how you can make a difference - not only for yourself but for all your fellow students.

• Course Rep award winners 2006

Who can become a Course Rep?

Anyone who is a student at Portsmouth and will be a student in the coming academic year can run for election; if you're elected this year, you will become a Course Rep next year. 

If you are a soon-to-be first year, you're not eligible to become a Course Rep just yet; your chance will come at the end of this coming academic year. However this doesn't mean you can't get involved - it's every student's responsibility to find out who their Course Rep is as it's your feedback that they require - if you don't even know their name, you definitely won't be able to have your say on the things that matter to you!

If you want to be one of the students that make the biggest difference to student life, then finding out about the Course Rep system in your first year will give you an excellent grounding if you want to become one later on during your studies.

Reasons to become a Course Rep

Here's a few thoughts about why you might like to be a Course Rep:

• Getting a job! It looks great on your CV and develops the skills you need for a career. Start building that CV asap.
• Bring about positive change! You can have your say and make a change in your School/Department.
• Be Mr or Miss Popular! Meet people, have an impact and make contacts within your School/Department.
• Involved in the Students' Union - by far the biggest enhancement you can make to your CV or your social life

Want to know more?

There will be elections in your School or Department at the end of term after the Sabbatical Elections - usually between the Easter holidays and June.

You will either hear about representation in your Freshers' induction talks or you can ask your Staff Liaison Contact for more info on elections, dates and times and how Reps work within your School/Department.

Students in their first and second year get to run for election in order to be ready to tutor 1st and 2nd years in the new term.

Contact us 

For more information on what is involved and how to become a Course Rep contact the Education & Representation officer at the Students' Union.