October 20, 2017

Review delivers stronger student voice for UOW

UOW Council adopts student representation review recommendation.

The student voice on campus is set to become better, stronger and more diverse after the University of Wollongong (UOW) Council accepted the recommendations of a review into student representation today (Friday 20 October, 2017).

The current Student Representative Forum (SRF) will become a more formal Student Advisory Council (SAC) with member terms lengthened to two years, annual appointments of Chair, Deputy Chair and Secretary, increased accountability to the Office of the Vice-Chancellor and expanded terms of reference that better identify student diversity and increase the number of forums held annually.

The existing Wollongong University Student Association (WUSA) and Wollongong University Postgraduate Association (WUPA) will be retained and given refreshed roles as part of the strengthened SAC.

New rules preventing SAC members simultaneously holding elected office with student associations will also help provide a diverse student voice that balances political and other forms of student representation.

Student representatives will be required to commit to maintaining minimum standards of enrolment and academic performance while serving as student representatives.

The University has also committed to investing in student representatives by providing access to leadership training and team building activities, raising the profile of student representation on campus and establishing a partnership agreement for consideration by the Vice Chancellor that formalises the institution’s commitment to involving the student voice in the work of the University.

The comprehensive, year-long review, commissioned by the University Council, included extensive student consultation, consideration of relevant Australian Government report recommendations and benchmarking with other tertiary institutions.
UOW Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Wellings, CBE, welcomed the Council’s endorsement of the review’s recommendations.

“The recommendations of this very thorough review are built on best practice and designed to create a modernised framework that enables a deeper engagement with our students and maximises opportunities for our students’ voice to be heard in the governance and decision making at the University,” Professor Wellings said.

Implementation of the recommendations will occur over the coming 12 months, with the majority of the recommendations planned to be implemented in 2018.