Quick Guide to Staff-Student Liaison Committees

Staff-Student Liaison Committee (known as SSLC) is just the name for a meeting where some senior members of staff, administration staff and lecturers get together with Class Reps to discuss any subject-wide or School-wide issues.  As a class rep you will be invited to attend at least two of these in a year.

What points to raise

  • Issues that involve the subject area or School as a whole e.g. resources, essay deadlines.
  • Issues that may be of interest to other students in the university, main library opening hours, computer / web access.

What not to take

  • Specific individual concerns – These can be dealt with by lecturers/ class tutors / supervisors
  • Problems with lecturers – SSLC is no place to rant about a lecturer. Speak constructively and diplomatically to the lecturer concerned first, then if there is no resolution you can go to the Head of Subject or School.
  • Personal complaints of students – These need to be dealt with on an individual basis, if in doubt speak to the School Rep/ College Convenor or contact the VP (Education) for assistance. Remember that the SRC runs an Advice Centre where students can go for help with appeals, complaints and all manner of other personal issues.

SSLC Survival tips

  • Don’t get bored. Ask the students you represent before the meeting if they have any issues you should raise.  Use the questions in your class rep training handbook and the tips for gathering student opinion in this toolkit, to give you ideas of what specific topics to ask about.
  • Be confident! Remember that student opinion matters.
  • Minutes are taken, but keep your own notes, so you remember any agreed action, and details of the discussions that are important to you and your classmates.

Report back

  • Show your class that student representation is alive and kicking – report back to them on the SSLC discussions – make good use of whatever communication channels you are using (moodle forum?  facebook group? regular email bulletin to classmates?) to flag issues which are in progress, or to let folk know if an action has been completed.
  • Ask the School to display the minutes of the SSLC in the document repository on My Class Reps, if they don’t already.
  • Contact the SRC if you feel there are important issues not being followed up.

Meeting Procedure

You may never have been in a meeting like a SSLC before, and how formal they are will vary. But just in case you’re worried, here’s meeting jargon simplified:

Agenda

This is a list of things which will be discussed in the meeting. You should receive a copy of this in advance of the meeting. If you want to put anything on the agenda, contact the Chair at least 7 days in advance

Apologies

People who can’t attend. You should notify the Chair or at least the secretary to let them know if you cannot attend.

Chair

The Chair is the person responsible for running the meeting. If you’re having difficulty getting your say, catch the Chair’s eye so they know you want to speak.  

Minutes

These are the official record of what happened at the meeting. Minutes are usually distributed a few days after the meeting, and at the next meeting members will decide to accept them as accurate, or not.

Secretary

The secretary is responsible for recording and distributing the minutes of the meeting.