Student Representation
The University operates Staff/Student committees which have been set up to give students an opportunity to raise any concerns they may have in relation to their programme of study or to facilities in their particular buildings etc. These committees also provide the staff with a forum to inform students of issues they may have or information they may wish to convey.
You can make your views known to your class representatives (class rep.), or volunteer to become a representative yourself. The job of the class rep. is to represent their respective classes at various levels. Each class rep. has a seat on the SU Council which entitles them to vote on motions that are raised. Class reps will also represent the classes when dealing with lecturers and administrators across the University. The class reps are also the main link between the President and Vice-Presidents and the student body. Class reps may also have a social role, organising parties and trips for the classes, with the help of the Entertainments SU Vice-President. Many students find the experience of acting as a representative a valuable and rewarding chance to influence what the University does. As a representative, you are likely to develop skills that enhance your opportunities as you progress from the University into employment.
Students are also represented on key University committees such as the University Programmes Board and the Academic Council Quality Enhancement Committee. The University highly values the positive collaborative partnership it has with the student body and with the University Student's Union, and the UCDSU itself of course, offers a wide range of ways that you can get involved in student and University affairs.
Student Participation in Periodic Quality Review
Hearing from students is one of the key elements of the quality review process. It is important to Review Groups to understand the student experience at UCD. Review Groups consider how a school/unit operates in light of how it impacts on the student, whether in positive and/or negative ways. Your experiences are one of the most important inputs to their deliberations. Further information is available via the Guidance for Students meeting with Quality Review Groups (2014).
Student Feedback on Modules
Student Feedback on Modules is UCD’s system for collecting anonymous feedback from students on the design and delivery of modules. This feedback is an important source of information for lecturers and schools to use in reviewing and improving modules and it forms part of UCD’s quality assurance process. In some cases student feedback is an essential requirement for accreditation by external professional bodies. All students are expected to provide feedback on what worked well and any areas for improvement.
Towards the end of each semester you will receive an email to inform you that the student feedback on modules web surveys are open. All the information that you provide will be anonymous and it is taken seriously. Above all, we need you to use this important feedback system every semester so that we can hear your views. The surveys are completed at www.ucd.ie/survey. Student feedback is of critical importance to the University and we encourage, and are very grateful for, the participation of students in the Student Feedback on Modules Survey. This is an opportunity to ensure your voice is heard!
See below a snapshot of some of the topics that students across the university raised; the bigger the word in the picture, the higher the volume of comments on that topic.
This will be acted on as part of the Module Enhancement Process. For further information on Student Feedback on Modules, please contact (opens in a new window)modulefeedback@ucd.ie.
(opens in a new window)StudentSurvey.ie and PGR StudentSurvey.ie
StudentSurvey.ie and PGR StudentSurvey.ie are designed to focus on student engagement, namely the amount of time and effort that students put into meaningful and purposeful educational activities, and the extent to which institutions provide such opportunities and encourage students to engage with them. The data collected reflects students’ self-reported perceptions of their experiences.
StudentSurvey.ie asks students about their experiences of higher education, including their academic, personal and social development, and how their institutions provide opportunities and support for this development. Approximately 374,670 students in first year undergraduate, final year undergraduate, and on taught postgraduate programmes have participated in the annual StudentSurvey.ie since 2013. These students have created a large and valuable data set of their experiences of higher education. Participating institutions and the national project team are very grateful for their time and contribution.
PGR StudentSurvey.ie, the survey for postgraduate research students (Masters by Research and PhD), opens every second year during February – March for a three-week fieldwork period that is also specific to each institution. This survey was first run in 2018 and is now on a biennial survey cycle, with the next survey happening in spring 2025. The questions have been designed to match the experiences of research students and have been pre-tested with groups of research students in several institutions. Approximately 13,350 postgraduate research students have taken part to date.