Academic Representatives are a crucial part of LSE Students' Union. More than 600 Academic Reps are elected by their student peers to represent them during the academic year and to liaise with LSE and departmental staff in a variety of committees.

Academic Representation

Academic Representatives are a crucial part of LSE Students' Union. More than 600 Academic Reps are elected by their student peers to represent them during the academic year and to liaise with LSE and departmental staff in a variety of committees.

What do Academic Representatives do?

Academic Reps are students who listen to their peers and make sure students have a say in the running of their programme. They raise issues about the quality of their programme and their experience as an LSE student, including the things they love and the things they want improved. Academic Reps also ensure that the department listens directly to student feedback and that issues are resolved as swiftly as possible to improve your teaching and learning experience.

Academic Reps can also become Department Reps, attending Consultative Forum once a term to represent their peers across the school to tackle the big issues that come up. 

Academic Representation Structure

The Academic Representation system is made up by several roles.

 

Benefits

One of the great things about being an Academic Rep is that you get to bring all the views of your coursemates  together, listening and learning to make your lives at LSE even better. You can gain a number of practical skills from being an Academic Rep that help you develop beyond your studies, including:

attending and sometimes chairing meetings, gathering and collating feedback, identifying key concerns, representing other people, negotiating and seeking student-focused solutions, and communicating with groups of people in different contexts.

How to become an Academic Rep

Academic Reps are recruited separately for each programme at the start of the Autumn Term (formerly Michaelmas Term), so you will need to contact the leader of your programme, or your programme administrative staff, to find out how to sign up. If you are unsure who to contact, please contact us at the email address below and we will signpost you. 

This year some departments at LSE are electing their Academic Reps through the LSESU website. If you are part of one of those departments, you will be able to nominate yourself and/ or vote for your Academic Representatives through the Students' Union website. 

What to do once you have been selected?

  1. Attend training - Show up a session!

  2. gather feedback from your cohort
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  3. attend your Department meeting (SSLC)

 

Once you've been selected, you can make the role yours! You should be in contact with your programme at times throughout the year about what your peers are telling you and how you can raise this, including at the meetings you are invited to. If you need any help or support throughout the year, please contact su.academicreps@lse.ac.uk.

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