October's NEON is open to book, plus save the November date! 23 Sep 2020
Bookings are now open for the next meeting of our National Education Officers' Network (NEON) on Wednesday 7th October 2020, from 10.00am until 1.00pm. NEON is designed to be a space for officers to network and work on issues together in a… Read More
SESN on 1st October is still open to book, and save the next date! 23 Sep 2020
The next meeting of our Student Engagement Staff Network (SESN) is still open to book, on Thursday 1st October 2020, from 3.00pm until 4.30pm. The network usually meets three times each academic year. However, in the meantime, and throughout the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, we… Read More
Do you need support with Course Rep Training? 23 Sep 2020
If you are still working out how to deliver training to your reps this year, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if sparqs can be of any help, even if you don’t usually use our training under normal circumstances. Our… Read More
Monitoring the diversity of course reps: 2020 update 23 Sep 2020
We are pleased to offer institutions across Scotland the opportunity to join our project to help monitor the diversity of course reps during the coming academic year. Establishing the diversity of course reps across Scottish universities and colleges is a valuable… Read More
That's Quality! 2020 events roundup! 23 Sep 2020
Over the Summer we held our annual induction events for college and university student officers. The focus of both events was the impact of COVID-19 on the quality landscape for education officers. It was fantastic to have so many enthusiastic… Read More
'Talking Student Engagement' Interview with Matt Crilly 23 Sep 2020
In this interview, we talk to Matt Crilly, the new President of NUS Scotland for 2020-21. A student of History at the University of Strathclyde, Matt went from being a class rep, to a faculty rep and finally to President… Read More
New sparqs' resource: Suggested questions for course reps: COVID-19 edition 26 Aug 2020
We are pleased to launch our new resource, Suggested questions for course reps: COVID-19 edition, designed to help course reps gather crucial student feedback during the ongoing health crisis. As we come to the beginning of a new academic year, partnership-working… Read More
SFC Review of Coherent Provision and Sustainability 26 Aug 2020
In June of this year, the Scottish Government called on the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to undertake a review considering how best the SFC and the sector can fulfil its mission in securing coherent provision in post-16 education. The review… Read More
Our online SESN informal catch-up on 1st October is now open to book! 26 Aug 2020
Bookings are now open for the next meeting of our Student Engagement Staff Network (SESN) on Thursday 1st October 2020, from 3.00pm until 4.30pm. The network usually meets three times each academic year. However, in the meantime, and throughout the ongoing… Read More
Reminder: sparqs' 2020-21 Course Rep Training is open for bookings! 26 Aug 2020
A reminder that bookings are now open for sparqs Course Rep Training during 2020-21 ....for delivery from week beginning Monday 14th September 2020 onwards. As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, this year's training has been developed in an online… Read More
Meet our Associate Trainer team for 2020-21 17 Aug 2020
We are delighted to introduce our excellent team of student Associate Trainers (ATs) for the coming academic year. The team includes two newly-recruited trainers and five returners from previous years, including one trainer who is returning for her fourth year… Read More
sparqs' 2020-21 Course Rep Training is open for bookings! 17 Aug 2020
Bookings are now open for sparqs Course Rep Training during 2020-21 ....for delivery from week beginning Monday 14th September 2020 onwards. As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, this year's training has been developed in an online format, and is… Read More
Forthcoming sparqs' events 17 Aug 2020
A reminder about our events coming up, all of which have been refocused in the light of the COVID-19 crisis. Please save the dates and/or sign-up to attend! Last chance to register for this week's NEON catch-up, which takes place on… Read More
A recap of additions to our hub, plus forthcoming resources! 17 Aug 2020
In case you missed them, a quick recap of some recent additions to our COVID-19 information hub (which aren't already the main feature of another article).... see our sector resources page for the full list. 12 Principles for Preparing for Online Learning and Teaching -… Read More
How are you going to train your course reps for 2020-21? 06 Jul 2020
How to train course reps for the coming year is one of the questions that has occupied the mind of students’ association officers and staff since the COVID-19 lockdown began. At sparqs, we have been working on a set of… Read More
New sparqs' resource: Preparing your course rep systems and recruiting your reps during COVID-19 06 Jul 2020
We are pleased to launch the first in a series of briefing notes designed to support students’ associations and institutions in devising and executing rep systems that can operate in the changing COVID-19 environment, including how they can operate online.… Read More
Forthcoming sparqs' events 06 Jul 2020
A reminder about our events coming up, all of which have been refocused in the light of the COVID-19 crisis. Please save the dates and/or sign-up to attend..... If signing up for That's Quality! Universities, please register ASAP, in order that you… Read More
A quick recap of recent additions to our hub 06 Jul 2020
In case you missed them, a quick recap of some recent additions to our COVID-19 information hub (which aren't already the main feature of another article)..... Sector briefing QAA COVID-19 guidance - Preserving Quality and Standards Through a Time of Rapid Change: UK… Read More
'Talking Student Engagement' Interview with Tim Whalley 06 Jul 2020
Our series of Talking Student Engagement interviews has always been a great way to share practice and talk about the great work going on across the sector to support and develop student engagement. In light of the current situation, we… Read More
Our That's Quality! 2020 online events are open to book! 01 Jun 2020
We are pleased to announce that our That's Quality! summer induction events for new college and university student officers (and staff who support them) are now open for registrations. Both events will be taking place online, and while they are taking… Read More
