Student-Staff Liaison Committee meetings are the main official channel for communication between staff and students. These meetings are an opportunity for students to set the agenda for their course experience and raise concerns, views and opinions about learning and teaching.

Each Department, School or partner organisation is normally required to have at least one SSLC per level of study, i.e. undergraduate and postgraduate taught.

Membership

Ordinance 26 states that:

  • The number of student members shall not be less than the number of staff members.
  • There shall not be less than six student members; including postgraduate representation where appropriate.

The Quorum for the SSLC shall be one-third of the academic staff and the Academic Rep membership of the Committee.

Terms of Reference

Each SSLC will have a separate term of reference decided by its members. Boards of Studies (Taught) are responsible for approving the terms of reference and membership of all SSLCs within the Faculty or School. These should be reviewed periodically to ensure they remain up-to-date and fit for purpose. As a minimum, the terms of reference of each SSLC must define the following roles of SSLCs:

  • Provide a two-way channel of communication between staff and all sections of the student cohort about all aspects of the student learning experience.
  • Confirm the membership and terms of reference at the first meeting each year and report this to the Board of Studies.
  • Consider any other matters referred to the SSLC by other committees.
  • Full list in Annex B of QA48

The terms of reference should also be referenced in Programme Handbooks.

Schedule of meetings

A minimum of four meetings per year should be held. Further meetings, or subgroups of the SSLC, can be scheduled to support the efficient running of the SSLC and to allow sufficient time to discuss the business raised by Academic Reps in addition to the scheduled annual business.

The first meeting of the SSLC should normally be held within six weeks of the start of the academic year (or an equivalent period after the start of the academic session where the courses covered sit outside the University’s semester pattern).

Normally where all or a large part of a student cohort are part-time or distance learners, including Student Apprentices, the use of online discussion forums and the scheduling of face-to-face SSLCs during any Residential sessions helps facilitate participation by these students.

The schedule of meetings should be forwarded at the start of the academic year to the Students’ Union (su-sslc@bath.ac.uk) including for those on franchised courses at partner organisations.

Agendas and minutes

The successful operation of SSLCs relies in part upon the development of effective communication channels between the SSLC and the wider student cohort. All members of SSLCs are responsible for consulting with colleagues or students with a view to identifying items for the agenda, and the outcomes of meetings should be clearly and widely disseminated. Particular attention may need to be given to the use of multiple routes of communication in order to ensure that all students, including part-time, distance learners and Student Apprentices, have the opportunity to engage with SSLC business.

Resources