Friday 15-02-2019 - 14:24

So! You’ve seen the ads, you’ve read the job description, but what’s it actually like to be VP Academic Rep?

 

Well, apart from having the ponciest title in history, it’s one of the most rewarding and wild experiences you can have. If, y’know, you’re a geek for policy and committees and stuff.

 

What you do is up to you – and if you want to chat about ideas for your manifesto etc, feel free to drop me a message or pop upstairs in the Hub!

 

But just as a general guide to my experience, I kind of work in three places:

 

🎓 Locally, I work with university committees, reps and individual students to address issues affecting their education.
 

🎓 Regionally, I collaborate with local organisations and lobby MPs over issues relevant to students' academic interests.
 

🎓 Nationally, I get involved with policy development and campaigns affecting higher education as a whole - working with the National Union of Students (NUS) and Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) to push for change.

 

It's a lot!

 

 

The kind of issues I deal with…

 

The types of issues students experience can be broad and varied. I've had paramedics with too many placement hours; Media students with clashing lectures; Law students spending too much on textbooks; students in Arts & Sciences who feel their assessments have been unfair.

 

There are also the ways that different types of students are impacted by similar issues.

 

For instance, the fact that BME students often experience a range of education inequalities that result in their grades being reduced unfairly and disproportionately. Mature and part-time students often don't feel welcome within student spaces, or identify with the broader student body. Trans students often have to navigate higher education while being constantly de-legitimized by staff, systems, and students.

 

A lot of the job is pointing out things to the University that they might not have thought about (because they didn’t ask students!). Or trying to get student voice included in whatever project they’re delivering.

 

Students being partners in their education is one of the most important principles of UK higher education – but it’s often ignored. When students are involved and valued, our education is better for everyone.

 

 

What else?

 

Each of the sabbs (sabbatical officers) also sits on the SU's Board of Trustees, which keeps the union running smoothly, oversees the finances and manages the Chief Exec.

 

It's a strange thing to realise that suddenly you're on the Board of a million-pound charity, but we'll train you up; it's also worth remembering that whenever people question your ability or experience, it's not just you there - it's a person that thousands of students have voted for.

 

One of the things they don't tell you about being a sabb is how it never stops. You'll always have students messaging with problems, you'll always have events to go to (from societies, to Give It A Go! events, to campaigns), you'll always have meetings out of hours.

 

It's not exactly 9-5!
 

 

 

The job is what you make of it

 

But the main message I have is that the job is what you make it. Your manifesto is your own, and aside from the committees you've got to sit on and the policies you've got to deliver, it's totally up to you what you do with it.

 

It's an uphill battle to create change, but I'll work with you before I go to point out who the 'allies' are, and who'll try to stop you.

 

It's an exhausting job, and often behind-the-scenes - but it's also the most rewarding and wild year you'll ever have. I'd encourage anyone to run.

 

 

If you feel underrepresented, run.

 

If there's a problem that needs fixing, run.

 

If you want to find out what it's like - run.

 

 

 

Like the sound of your name as the next VP Academic Representation, earning £18,000 a year and working at the heart of a thriving organisation? Nominate yourself today!