The problem this course solves

Very few sabbatical officers run for election because they want to sit on an academic misconduct, appeals, or disciplinary panels. Whether they’re an education focused officer or a sports and societies officer they may not have realised when they put themselves forward for their role that this is very much a part of it. Then, a few months in, they find themselves in a formal hearing making decisions that carry real consequences for another student. Most receive a procedural briefing and very little else.

The same is true for student reps who sit on these panels. The process is unfamiliar, the stakes are high, and everyone else in the room has usually done it many times before. Without a clear sense of their role and what good decision-making actually looks like, it is easy to end up present but not really participating. The officer or rep who defers to the chair on every decision is not doing so out of indifference. They were never told they were allowed to disagree, or given the tools to do it with confidence.

This session changes that. In three focused hours, attendees will leave knowing what they are there to do, how to weigh what is in front of them, how to speak up when something does not sit right, and how to look after themselves afterwards.