DEBATE: Should we pay Course Reps?
After NUS’ Course Rep Conference on Wednesday 7th December 2011 (#repconf11) many of us were left pondering the final question of the closing debate which I chaired. It is always a contentious question but we have still not grappled with it fully. Should we pay course reps?
This is of course a local decision that each Students’ Union will address individually but I would like to help give a proper flavour of the arguments, with your help.
In the run up to ending the year and taking a well-earned rest as a sector, I am inviting a number of people to post their thoughts on this dilemma on my blog to help provoke your own thoughts.
I would like to invite each and every course rep, students’ union officer / staff, higher education sector person, quality geek, student, academic, vice-chancellor etc to both comment on this blog post with your thoughts and crucially to vote in the poll on the right hand side of this website or at the bottom of this post.
I’m pleased to say that first up is one of the panellists from Course Rep Conference, Lee Fallin, who is kicking us off with the argument against paying reps. This is Lee’s personal opinion that he has kindly provided us with and does not necessarily represent the opinion of any organisation he is related to or employed by.
Lee Fallin | @leefallin | Education & Representation Coordinator, Hull University Union:
“I am going to start off by making my personal opinion clear – I do not believe Course Representatives should be paid. The heart of many representation systems is the very fact that Course Representatives are passionate volunteers who are elected by their peers. This passion drives so many of our Representatives to make a real difference for the good of students. The very ethos of this would be at risk were they just chasing financial incentives. Not only that, but because of the striking differences between departments, would it be fair to pay all representatives equally? If we did, would this drive some Course Representatives to find problems where there are none just for the sake of chasing the cheque?
Some people argue we should pay them due to some of the tasks they need to do. However, if we are getting our Representatives to do administration this is wrong. They are elected to represent and as Unions we should support them to do this by doing the chasing and administration ourselves. Course Representatives should never be given so much work that they need to be paid. This leaves them free to engage with students on their course. Naturally, if they are a high-level Representative and need to do administration or we are asking them to do something that is worthy of a job such as act as a Panel Member for a Periodic Review then they should be paid.
I am not saying we should not incentivise our Representatives. They do fantastic work and we need to reward that in any way we can. Giving them hoodies, free entry to club nights, putting on socials, providing refreshments for meetings, recognising their achievements, giving them awards and providing our Course Representatives with certificates are just some of the ways we can do this. They are also partaking in a valuable volunteering experience for their C.V. and their own personal development. Paying them turns them into no more than customer service assistants. That is not representation. It is something worse. It really is solidifying students as consumers, not partners in their education. Worse still, this is under the guise of representation – annexing any rights they would have as a consumer.”
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Update: I’ll add links here to newer posts in this debate as they are put on-line:
Jo Caulfield | @jocaulfield | President, Bangor University Students’ Union
Being a Course Rep isn’t a job, it’s a calling
Sophie Richardson | @Sophie_Richie | President, Queen Mary Students’ Union & NUS NEC
What about those Course Reps not in the room?
Martin Hughes | @universityboy | Founder and blogger at http://theuniversityblog.co.uk/
Course Reps and Reasonable Recognition
Emily Collins | @emmielouli | Student Engagement Coordinator, Reading University Students’ Union
Reward those striving to improve their academic environment by better equipping them to learn
Will Osborn | @willosborn | Student & Trustee, Bangor Students’ Union
Paying Course Reps just isn’t feasible
Remember to comment and vote with your thoughts!
For more insightful thoughts on the world of higher education from a self-proclaimed #qualitygeek – follow @danderricott on Twitter
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#qualitygeek posts
- Antony Butcher: Continuing this debate without students is pointless
- Jim Dickinson: Inspire students and they will usually find a way around the barriers
- A Selection of Tweets on the Course Rep Pay Debate
- Will Osborn: ‘Paying Course Reps just isn’t feasible’
- Emily Collins: “Reward those striving to improve their academic environment by better equipping them to learn”
Drop your own thoughts in a comment down here!
Anglia Ruskin SU could not afford to pay their reps even if they wanted to, instead we offer a student rep accreditation scheme where reps submit work based on their achievements as reps during their time at the university and receive an extra 15 credits on top of their degree…
More info- feel free to contact us
I believe (my thoughts only, not on behalf of UoNSU) that Course Reps should not be paid. I have spoken about this previously at WIDAR Conference (2009?).
I passionately believe that the type of student motivated to run for the position of Rep is prepared to carry out the role without financial incentive, and provided there is a robust system of support and development for Reps, payment is not necessary. I am also a strong believer that Reps should be rewarded with incentives, accreditation schemes, socials etc.
UoNSU asked all of their School Reps last year whether they would prefer to recieve an honorarium payment (of around £100-200 a year), or have resources invested into their development, and funding for them to be able to run their own campaigns/ activities. 95% of Reps felt that more funds for them to carry out their role was preferrable to a financial reward.
No.
I think paying Course Reps accepts the fundamental ideology of a consumerist student relationship. Students should be engaging in learning and teaching because of the mutual benefits it brings both to them and the institution but also, just for the sheer fun of it!
Rather than giving cold hard cash to students we should use the resource to make being a Course Rep a positive and rewarding experience.
As soon as you pay anyone, you inevitably introduce an expectation. An expectation of how much ‘work’ a Course Rep should do to deserve such payment. The only realistic way you can measure this is to monitor how many meetings they attend and whether or not they go to training. However, Course Reps should always be measured on outcomes, not process. It would also attract perhaps students who are just hungry for cash, rather than committed to the enhancement of learning and teaching.
Paying reps could potentially be a great way to engage more part-time or mature students – something we are all striving for. In an age of increased student fees, more students will be inclined to take on part-time work to fund themselves or there may be barriers preventing students from engaging such as child care. However, we as Student Unions need to be proactive. We need to tie in volunteering to employment, we need to develop modes of representation which are inclusive and accessible to all and we need to meet students on their terms – not ours.
In short, no.
In long, perhaps, but not really!
When I started as a Course Rep it wasn’t for anything other than to help out, as that’s largely how the role was communicated to us. The same thing followed through into being a School Rep, and for the past few years I’ve been doing it without promise of any award (well, there are a couple of things I’ll come back to). I would hope that this is the same reason the majority of Course, Class, School, and Faculty Reps do the work that they do. They recognise that students have opinions on the courses they study, the environments in which they work, and the quality and quantity of support and resources they receive across the board during their time at university.
Of course, perhaps we need to look at why Course Reps become Course Reps a little more closely. I could name Reps from all over the place who do it because they know they’ll need something more than a degree to obtain a job when they graduate. I know some who do it because they would like to develop some of the core skills employers would look for. There are others I’ve spoken to who see being a Course Rep as being one of the first steps in getting involved in their Students’ Union.
All of these are perfectly valid reasons to become a Course Rep, and actually, providing Reps are working hard in their role, listening and engaging students in decision-making, and ultimately fulfilling their role as best they or anybody else can, then is it a big problem?
If we accept that there are other motivations to being a Course Rep, then is it so absurd to provide incentives, which may include payment? I’m not sure it is absurd.
At the end of each academic year our Students’ Union holds the Education Network AGM – the Education Officer and the Faculty Coordinators are invited to present a report of their work throughout the year, the positive change they have worked towards for the student body, there’s a buffet and ‘oundles of joy’ is how I imagine this year’s being described! Here, Reps are also presented with an award for their achievement and as recognition of the work they’ve done for their course or schoolmates – a Bronze for doing what is required of the role; a Silver for doing a little more and taking a more active role; or a Gold for going above and beyond!
This is an example of an incentive, and a small amount of money is also an incentive. In either case, Reps would need to work towards it in some way or another.
That said, if it came to the point where a Union was thinking they should pay their Reps, I would question where the incentive is for the Union. It would suggest to me that students weren’t wanting to take on the roles otherwise, which is an issue which needs to be dealt with another way. I don’t feel it should be a problem encouraging students to represent the views and opinions of their peers, and most Reps I know would much rather have more money to go out and run campaigns. Following this, continuous recognition of achievements by Reps, combined with the incentives of free coffee and cake at meetings, should be more than enough for Reps who take on their role for the right reasons and with the right motivation to do wel in their position.
Paying Reps would only serve to treat students more like consumers, and education aside, that’s far from what representation is all about.
No, it creates an unhealthy culture. Pay one course rep, then you pay one volunteer for helping out with a campaign, then slowly anything which the SU tries to do the student expects to be paid.
Colin
No. They shouldn’t be. For starters, I was a course rep for three years and never once even thought that I should be. Secondly, we have over 1000 reps at UCLan (and I know there are other unions with similar numbers). Our budget would never cover the cost of that many reps. Financially, its impossible.
We do however offer discounts to our reps within the Union. We also run an accredited scheme to go towards their CVs. If reps are paid, it becomes a job.
Currently, we do not have the systems in place to ensure that all reps are doing what they should and as they are voted in, even if we were unhappy we can’t sack them. When i was a course rep i found it frustrating that another rep on my course didnt do anything but still put it on their CV. I also agree with the earlier comment in that our Students’ Union cannot afford to pay reps. At Birmingham City Students’ Union we offer a discount card which doubles as a way for their peers to know that they are reps as they wear it on a lanyard.
I do not think it would be a good idea to pay a student rep, there are many reasons why this would not work properly, for example if you was to pay per hour how would you judge the hours worked? I also feel you would be creating more problems than solving, it would also lead to the accusations of a rep not being impartial. I also feel if you did pay reps you would get a lot more people wanting to be one but still not doing what they should be just seeing it as an easy way to top up their beer money. I became a student rep because I wanted to force my self out of my comfort zone and experience as much of University life as possible, meet new people and make a difference. I have so far met some very inspiring people and personally feel this is enough reward for me. I am completing the ARU rep accreditation scheme which I believe will help me when I do graduate in securing a better job.
No… Volunteering to represent your colleagues is the essence of the student rep system. It is a selfless and altruistic act, both high virtues. The payback is that you can demonstrate your true qualities earning you the respect of your peers and also enhancing your future employability. I’d rather any monies aimed at reps be channelled into the enhancement of their role and their skills. It takes courage to stand up for the crowd but ultimately there are rewards enough for standing out from the crowd.
Stuart Campbell
University of Salford
This is a tricky one, as there are those that do work for the SU and are paid, but essentially my thoughts are NO.
We do this because we want to be involved to help make the uni a better place, that is not to say those who do get paid by the SU aren’t also wanting to make the uni a better place but there are reasons for their pay (which isn’t a lot of money)…ie the amount of hours they do.
How could you pay this anyway, because as a course rep it’s not 9-5 it’s often late at night you are getting emails and putting things together….and the unions do not have the money to cater for this. However there is the flip side of the coin where reps do nothing at all and still get recognition and have it on their CV’s. So maybe something like the accreditation that our SU at ARU offers is a good idea, and maybe even some other incentives could be offered…maybe through the Uni, with an extra allowance for books, say another £50 as a bursary to say thank you for your time as lets face it this benefits the universities too.
I am ‘almost’ of the opinion that all positions in the union should be on a voluntary basis, but in reality you wouldn’t get the volunteers to work that many hours…and people need money to live on. I am proud to be a rep, and am also a member of our student rep society, which I haven’t been able to make a meeting this semester so far because of it clashing with my role as President of our Wildlife Soc. But I love my role and think we do fantastic work and I don’t need money to be an incentive to do so.
No, course reps should not be paid in my view, in order to avoid conflicts of interest, wrong motivations for becoming a rep and the undermining of the values behind social responsibility.
But there are difficulties with that. There is at least an argument to cover any costs that they make, which many will agree with. But if you consider that many students who also work may need to take ‘time out’ from work to perform their duties, would that change your mind on the issue of paying? Should those students be recompensed for their time? If we don’t, we may unintentionally move course representation to those who can afford to be reps.
And taking it a step further, how does the non-payment of course reps compare to the often paid role of sabbatical officers?
On balance, I still veer towards non-payment, but we should recognise that context is everything and probably keep an open mind.
Im am a senior rep and although a bit more money wouldnt go amiss i dont think that reps should be paid, i volunteered for my course rep position and now my senior rep position because i felt i would enjoy doing it and it is something i am passionate about, as soon as money is brought in people will be putting the names forward as a source of income as oppose to actually wanting to represent there peers.
At UWESU we DO pay our reps and I believe that we should continue to do so. My argument relates back to student finances, the increase in fees and what is being done to support ‘at risk, low participation and those students’ from poor or troubled backgrounds.
Although I understand and appreciate the concerns around reps reasons for putting themselves forward I feel that a majority of reps participate for the right reasons. My concern is that by taking away payment we limit the type of students’ that will be able to participate in the rep scheme and ultimately force it into being non-representative.
For example: Students’ from poor backgrounds that rely on paid work would ultimately choose part time jobs over being a rep.
As we strive towards equality, inclusion and diversity I believe that we would be taking the opportunity away from those who need it most. As representatives we should be doing our utmost to increase participation across the board and not just from those students’ who can afford to ‘pay’ their way to a better C.V and job opportunities.
At UWESU we have over 1000 reps, in order for these reps to be paid they must first attend a 2 hour long training session in the Students’ Union which outlines the importance of their roles and how they can initiate change.
Our Student Reps only get paid once they have attended training and then only for the meetings specified in our Student Rep Handbook. Furthermore we only pay 3 times per calendar year at the end of each term. This usually weeds out those who really want to make a difference and those who thought it was a quick way of grabbing some extra money.
As a course rep, I have to admit, if it was an option I wouldn’t say no and i do think the amount of work I put in is above and beyond but really, there isnt a need to pay reps. I would prefer more recogniton for being a rep. A nice thank you for grafting would be nice every now and then as it is voluntary. But hey ho, no one actually cares about how long I’ve spent brainstorming ideas, emailing tutors, going to meetings when I should be doing work etc. So overall, No we shouldn’t be paid, but recognised? Yes.