As the turn of the academic year approaches, it’s a good time for students' associations to start thinking about plans for inducting their 2024-25 education officer(s), as well as the ‘outduction’ of those 2023-24 officer(s) about to finish their term. We have updated our guidance documents to help with both of those processes…
Induction toolkit
sparqs’ toolkit for developing an induction for students’ association education officers has been updated and republished to support induction for summer 2024.
Aimed at students’ association staff and others who support education officer induction, this year’s update builds on past college-specific iterations of the toolkit and is the first to be truly tertiary.
This resource offers guidance on how to support new education officers (Vice President Education or equivalent) in four key spheres of the students’ association, institution, governance and the national level. It provides supplementary information including a suggested induction timetable, and links to important national induction opportunities such as sparqs’ own That’s Quality! programme (save the dates for the 2024 event), and key training from other sector agencies.
At a time of continued change and development in education, not least with moves to a tertiary quality approach, it is of crucial importance that student officers begin their year with a confident understanding of the sector. This resource, along with our support through That’s Quality! can contribute to this smooth induction.
‘Outduction’ toolkit
Our ‘outduction’ toolkit to support the future careers of education officers in students’ associations has also been updated for 2024’s departing officers. Developed in partnership with NUS Charity, the College Development Network and Advance HE, the toolkit is aimed at those who support education officers, vice-presidents for education and equivalents – such as students’ association staff and governance professionals.
Once again, this has been a year of significant change in tertiary education, with many major national initiatives, such as the moves to a tertiary quality framework. Therefore, SA education officers have been involved institutionally and nationally in significant conversations about the future of learning and teaching.
As such, this updated toolkit will enable those who support education officers to help them take stock of the significant impact they will have had on the strategy, governance and enhancement of quality and student engagement. It contains three short exercises that staff can use to ensure that officers leaving post this summer do so with a clear sense of the things they have developed and achieved in their roles. The toolkit also includes a list of job and voluntary opportunity pages and development tools which might inspire officers who are keen to stay in education, quality or engagement-related posts in their future careers.
Further information
Please don’t hesitate to contact us at admin@sparqs.ac.uk if you would like to discuss either of these toolkits and our wider support.
Minor updates may be made to these documents throughout the year as and when required.
