BCC Student Representatives’ Council

Student Representation

This document prescribes the roles and responsibilities of the students representative council in Birmingham Christian College. 

A Student Representative Council (SRC) is a group of students elected by their peers to represent all students within the college. SRC’s work democratically to represent the student body in the college decision-making and organise ways for students to participate in and enjoy college life. 

Being a good representative means always keeping in touch with what students want, and sometimes it means standing up for decisions and negotiating them with students, teachers, or the principal. Being on the Student Representative Team isn’t just about meeting every now and again to brainstorm ideas. 

Election and Representation

Student Representatives (Reps) are elected from each cohort. Students with the support of academic staff elect the candidate(s) they wish to represent their batch/course. Representatives are elected per year and may continue if re-elected. Please note that the office of “student representative” is limited to each year only and is renewed if re-elected. The college reserves the right to intervene during the election and office of the Student Reps if it is considered the interests of the cohort is under threat of misrepresentation.

Functional and Administrative Reporting

Student will be supported by and can report to the following staff and student officers:

Duties and responsibilities:

It is the college’s responsibility to formally communicate to all students the names of the Student Representatives of each course/cohort. The college will also inform the Student Representatives of the names and contact details of their fellow representatives in order to facilitate communication where requested.

Student Representatives are expected to communicate with their fellow representatives and also ensure that they communicate with their classmates that they represent. The Academic Dean should be copied into such communication for monitoring, facilitation and interactions.

It is a fundamental responsibility of a Student Representative to ensure that the students they represent are aware of who they are and that they are available for students to share concerns or compliments.

Channel of Communication

1) Student Representatives are a vital channel of communication between the college and students – representing, communicating, and giving feedback on college and student matters. They are not the Boss of the class – but act as a representative leader. 

2) Representatives should act as a bridge between the college and students. They are not authorised to make any formal or informal decisions on behalf of the college.  

Students Representative Council meetings

There shall be not less than one student’s rep meeting per term/semester. All students Rep meeting must be organised and chaired by the Academic Dean. College management team may attend students’ reps meetings to be able to answer questions or queries in their respective areas. The chair of the meeting must compile and circulate minutes from the meeting to all parties present and copied to leadership team. Issues raised at students’ rep meetings must be addressed and fed back to students in form of “You said, we did” within one week or earlier. The academic Dean shall coordinate this information and feedback to students on how their queries and concerns have been addressed by the college. 

Student Representatives’ Formal and Informal Participation

The participation of Student Representatives in meetings allows the student voice to formally contribute to the enhancement of the student experience. It is the college’s responsibility to inform the Student Representatives of the annual meetings and extraordinary events including the Student Faculty meetings, Programme Management, Trustee Board and the Academic Quality & Standards Committee meetings. It is the Student Representatives’ responsibility to make every effort to attend these meetings and to bring the matters affecting the students they represent to the attention of the fellow representatives, academic staff members and college management. The meetings allow Student Representatives to share current issues, practices and proposals in order to work together to best support the student population as a whole. The agenda for the meetings will be sent to Representatives along with an invitation. 

Meeting minutes are distributed to the Student Representatives. However, it is the responsibility of the Student Representatives to ensure that the themes and outcomes of the meetings are accurately and promptly related back to the students. Similarly, the action plans based on student feedback, reports of analysis are also sent to the representatives by emails and copies are made accessible to students through VLE. 

As a formal recognition of the importance of the role, BCC will provide a reference letter to each Student Representative upon completing their course. The letter will include details regarding the student’s contribution as a Representative. 

Agreement

It is the responsibility of Student Representatives to represent their classmates fairly, accurately and effectively. Student Representatives are expected to become aware of the issues concerning the students they represent and communicate these issues appropriately. 

By signing below, the Student Representative agrees to the responsibilities of the college and of the Student Representatives in working within the values of the college towards enhancing student experience. 

Student Representatives are subject to the same rules and regulations as other students in the college. Being a Student Representative does not afford the Representative any academic or personal privileges not given to other students. 

However, the Student Representatives perform a critical and highly valued role within the college. Representatives are indispensable to the college’s support and enhancement of the student journey.