Current Students Feedback and complaints Student Advisory Forum

JCU Student Advisory Forum

The JCU Student Advisory Forum was established to promote cross-institutional communication and interaction among JCU students and staff.

The Forum is designed to encourage a culture of effective student engagement by:

Providing an opportunity for students to provide feedback to the University
Providing a forum for students to participate in decision-making processes
Providing a forum where students can provide feedback on course matters, including development of new course offerings across discipline areas
Aiding in the co-creation of solutions, and development of new and innovative ideas and practices
Providing an occasion for University representatives to respond to issues raised by student representatives, and
Enhancing student employability by offering opportunities for students to gain experience and develop new skill sets.

In particular, the Forum provides an additional avenue for students to help decide how revenue from the Student Services and Amenities Fee will be used across the University.

Student Self-Nominations

Student self-nominations are finalised for the 2 year term - 2019 and 2020.

Meeting Dates

In 2019, the Student Advisory Forum was held on Friday 17 May 2019.

In 2020, the Student Advisory Forum will be held on Wednesday 12 August 2020.

Additional 'hot' topic meetings or surveys will be conducted throughout the year.

Membership

The Student Advisory Forum is Co-Chaired by:

Professor Maree Dinan-Thompson, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor Students; and
Invited Student Representative

Membership Term

A 2-year membership term will apply based on criteria outlined in the Student Advisory Forum Handbook. Exceptions to the 2-year term may be made dependent upon the length of a student's course of study.

A call for student nominations occurs biennially via an email bulletin.

Forum Contacts

JCU Student Advisory Forum Secretariat:

Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Students
dvcstudents@jcu.edu.au
Phone (07) 4781 4565

Background to the Forum

Recently in Australian Higher education, there has been considerable interest in developing more systemic approaches to the inclusion of student voice in university decision-making and governance, across all possible areas of student engagement and at all levels of institutional governance.

The premise on which this work is based is that engaging students as partners in their educational experience makes a positive and importance difference to student engagement, will help shape the quality of that experience in an individual institution and contribute to the overall success of Australian universities collectively.

Examples of this work include:

Student Voice in University Decision Making, a project led by Professor Sally Varnham of the University of Technology Sydney, which developed systemic approaches to the inclusion of student voice in decision-making and governance in Australian universities. The project relates not only to activities at the highest levels of governance, but also student representative activities at faculty, school and course level.
Three Australian Learning and Teaching Fellowship projects:
- Students as partners, led by UQ's Dr Kelly Matthews, which seeks to harness student and staff creativity via collaborative partnerships to enhance teaching and learning
- Engaging Students as Partners in Global Learning, led by Dr Wendy Green of UTAS, which supports staff and students learning together in, and for the interconnected world of the 21st century
- Creating a National Framework for Student Partnership in University Decision-Making and Governance, led by Professor Sally Varnham of UTS
An OLT funded project, Developing and Supporting Student Leadership (DaSSL),a framework and website designed to ensure student leadership is explicitly considered in the development and delivery of student programs in higher education.

The more recent focus on students as partners in Australia has built on longer-term work, and a strong culture has developed in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, for example:

sparqs (student partnerships in quality Scotland), an agency that promotes placing students "at the heart of decisions being made about the quality and governance of the learning experience"
The Higher Education Academy's Enhancement Theme, Students as partners
The Student Engagement Partnership, a central hub for student engagement expertise operating in partnership with major UK sector organisations
A Manifesto for Partnership by the National Union of Students