The St George’s Student Advisor scheme aims to enrich education at St George’s through the informed insights, critical perspectives and creative thinking of our student body.
Students Advisors are engaged to work on projects and in certain roles. Examples of projects are: reviewing the content and design of modules, providing reflective insights and recommendations on aspects of the student experience. Examples of roles are membership of Forums and workgroups focused on developing particular aspects of Education at St George’s.
Student Advisors are paid for their time.
We expect that our Student Advisors:
- adhere to St George’s CORE values of Commitment, Openness, Respect and Engagement
- are committed to collaborating constructively with staff to develop education that aspires to be sector-leading
- engage in meaningful discussions, communications and feedback
- act constructively with the purpose of creating solutions and resolutions
- share ideas for improving education and enhancing students’ experience.
NB Student Advisors differ from representatives of the Student Union who are unpaid and independent of the University. The role also differs from that of Student Ambassador which principally involves positively representing the University at events, and from that of Peer Tutor or Peer Lead, which involves students teaching or supporting other students.
Recruitment to the scheme
Students are recruited to the Scheme in two ways;
- Via an open (annual) call to join a general pool of Student Advisors who can then be recruited to different projects and roles as they arise
- Via a call for Student Advisors to work on specific projects or in specific roles, where the existing pool cannot meet the need. Once recruited these Advisors also join the general pool and are able to put themselves forward to work on other projects, in addition to the original one they applied for.
Where possible and appropriate, we aim for projects to mix students from different programmes and years of study.
Some projects are recruited to on a first come, first served basis; others require a more structured selection process. This is determined on a case by case basis
Recruiting Student Advisors to a project or role
Members of staff from any area of the University can request Student Advisors for a project or role relating to Education. Students themselves are not eligible to apply; they may wish to consider the Student-Staff Partnership scheme.
To apply for Student Advisors, you should complete a request form (Word).
Please note that a required output from a Student Advisor project/role is a short Case Study which can be included on this website, either as a written text or short video. Download a Case study template here (Word).
You should email your request to studentadvisors@sgul.ac.uk.
It will then be reviewed by the Student Advisor Scheme panel. The panel aims to respond within two weeks.
Once approved, you should use the information in your proposal form to complete the advertisement for the role, using the template provided (Word).
If relevant please also provide an application form, using the template provided (Word).
Please send the advertisement and application form to studentadvisors@sgul.ac.uk, ccing Paola Motta (pmotta@sgul.ac.uk). The role will then be advertised to the Student Advisor pool or more widely as needed, and we will liaise with you over recruitment.
Budget
The Scheme currently has a limited budget allocated to pay Student Advisors in 2021-22 and 2022-23. The budget will be dispersed on a rolling basis as proposals are received. Programmes and departments should look to fully or part fund projects where possible.
Payments to students
The Student Experience Team will arrange payments to Student Advisors once agreed project outputs have been successfully completed and signed off by the project owner.
For most work, Student Advisors are paid the London Living Wage (currently £11.05). Where they are required to present in public the rate increases to £12.60.
Structure and reporting
The Student Advisor Scheme is led from within CIDE, with administration provided by the Student Experience Team within the Education Strategy and Development Office. The Scheme reports periodically to the Inclusive Education Steering Group chaired by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education).