Sam Fowles - Director of Representation

Hello, I'm Sam and I'm your Director of Representation. Representation tends to involve much more than you think and impacts upon nearly every aspect of student life in St Andrews. On a day to day basis my job can involve liaising with the Principal's Office on standards of teaching, to meeting architects about library redevelopment, or running campaigns on Disability Awareness.

Whether you're having a problem with your studies, having difficulties with your landlord or think university policy should be changed, it's my job to represent you to the university and the wider world.   My job roughly covers four areas - accommodation, education, equal opportunities and welfare, and sustainability - and issues can be anything from an individual student needing somewhere to live, to changing the university advising system.

Last year's DoRep introduced a new body of student leaders - School Presidents - to improve and streamline the system of academic representation and I intend to improve on this system. I have also secured £50,000 towards accommodation bursaries, and developed a new internship scheme in coordination with the Careers Centre which will see student interns working over the summer in departments such as Finance, Corporate Communications, Fundraising and the Principal's Office. At the moment I am working towards increasing the profile of the people you elected and what they have been doing for you in our "there's a sabb for that" campaign, undertaking a review of our marketing and publicity for the students' association, and concentrating on our two major redevelopments - the library, and the union.

I have also been working closely with our Association President, on national issues - the most relevant being the current tuition fee debate. We have been talking with the President of NUS Scotland, our own MSP, the Education Secretary for Scotland and the Principal's Office to ensure that St Andrews' voice is heard on a national scale.

The most important thing to remember is that my job is to represent YOU and that no issue is too small, or too big, that I won't do all I can to help. Whether that is lobbying the University on larger scale issues like library redevelopment, helping you run a campaign on greener living or finding somewhere for you to live it is my responsibility to assist you in any way I can.

The Students' Association also employ two professional advocates - Eleanor Feltham on accommodation issues, and Iain Cupples on education issues, and they can give expert advice in both these areas.

St Andrews is a fantastic university and an amazing place to spend your student years. However there are stil many aspects of the university which can be improved, and I am always happy to hear your concerns and ideas on how to move forward.

A lot of my time is spent representing student views to the University, and the majority of my day involves meetings. The main committees I am involved with include:

University Court
The court is the governing body responsible for long term strategy, leadership and financial planning of the university. It's made up of members of the Principal's Office, representatives from academic staff, alumni, local community and three student members.

Teaching & Learning Assessment Committee
This is a large body made up of the Director of Teaching from every School, the Deans, and is chaired by the Vice Principal for Learning and Teaching. This is the prime decision making body for educational matters and policies such as the new academic alert system are approved by TLAC.

Employability & Careers
This committee focuses on how the University can help you get the most out of your degree - whether that's work experience and internships, gettting involved in societies or running a sports club. The most recent innovation from this committee has been the St Andrews Award which recognises what students do outside of their studies on their official transcript.

Audit & Risk
This committee looks at everything the University does from research, to teaching, to its' halls of residence and ensures that procedures and processes are being followed correctly. It also monitors Health and Safety of the organisation, and the financial health and financial planning of the university.

School President Forum
As the chair of the School President forum, it is my responsibility to set the agenda for the forums and to keep an eye on what's going in all all the Schools. Any important issues or problems are then taken forward by me to the Principal's office or the Deans to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

The Students' Representative Council
This body of elected student volunteers works primarily on campaigns such as Green Week, Rape Awareness Week and Mental Wealth Wednesday. I help them plan, publicise and execute these campaigns alongside helping them lobby the university on issues such as scholarships, bursaries and policy decisions.

Sam Fowles
Director of Representation
dorep@st-andrews.ac.uk
Phone: 01334 462700