The Students’ Association coordinates and supports a community of almost 500 academic representatives, across all Schools of the University. This is the largest group of democratically elected student representation that St Andrews has to offer.
Academic representatives are key to enhancing the educational experience at St Andrews. They act as key communicators, change makers, and student leaders.
All students have at least one Class Representative who advocates for their interests. Class Reps collaborate with staff in order to act on relevant feedback. Their work is supported by the School Presidents, Language Conveners, Faculty Presidents, and the Director of Education, all of whom dedicate their time to ensure that the student opinion is heard and acted upon.
The Students' Association network of academic representatives consists of the following positions:
- President of Education (PresEd) - The lead student representative within academic representation. A full-time Executive l Officer who advocates on improvements to teaching, learning, and research for all students.
- Arts and Divinity Faculty President (ADFP) and Science and Medicine Faculty President (SMFP) - The chairs of the Education Committee (EduCom). They support the DoEd and School Presidents and sit on the Students' Representatives Council (SRC) and speak for undergraduate students in their respective faculties.
- Postgraduate Taught (PGT) and Postgraduate Research (PGR) Presidents - Oversee the Postgraduate Representative System and coordinate the PGT/PGR Representatives.
- School Presidents and Language Conveners - The lead undergraduate representative within each School/Department. They chair Staff Student Consultative Committee (SSCC) meetings and provide support to their schools' Class Reps.
- Class Reps and Postgraduate Reps- Responsible for conveying feedback from students to staff. They represent modules across all years and sit on their school's SSCC. Additionally, they promote events and resources, and generally enhance the educational experience at St Andrews.
The Academic Representation system is supported by staff members in the Students' Association, such as the Academic Representation Coordinator and the Academic Representation Intern ([email protected]).
Together, this network contributes to every level of decision-making related to learning and teaching within the University.
Get Involved!
If you would like to speak to a Class Rep to share concerns or feedback, you can talk to them in-person, or reach out to them via their advertised social media channels or email IDs. If this information is not available, you can reach out to your School's President instead.
You can run to be a Class Rep! Undergraduate (UG) Class Representatives, School Sustainability Representatives, and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Representatives are elected the first two weeks of the semester. Postgraduate Taught Representatives are also elected in this timeframe. The Postgraduate Research Representatives are elected toward the end of September/early October each year.
Any matriculated student is eligible to run! You can find more information about the Class and Postgraduate Rep Elections on this page. If you are interested in becoming a School President, Faculty President, or the President of Education, you can nominate yourself for these roles in March.
All academic representatives can be nominated for One Union Awards, which recognise the commitment of students to improve the student experience at the University of St Andrews.
Some universities have assessed the impact of academic representation, finding positive correlations between student engagement and improved outcomes (including academic achievement). Research shows that involvement in academic representation can contribute to the greater academic performance of both the representatives themselves and the wider student body. Being a Rep involves leadership, organisation, communication, and teamwork- all valuable assets for academic achievement. Reps further gain insights into our institution’s operation, which can help them navigate university resources and processes more effectively. As a Rep, you build connections with staff and your peers, benefiting your academic endeavours. Most importantly, efforts in improving the learning experience for others can create a more supportive and effective learning environment for everyone, including yourself.