Student Advisory Groups

Students cannot – and should not – be expected to speak for others. But by bringing together a group of diverse students, Student Advisors can still support valuable dialogue, help staff identify common issues, and plan future initiatives.

By bringing together a group of diverse students, Student Advisors work together across the year to provide valuable and ongoing dialogue, helping staff to identify common issues, test ideas and resources, and plan future initiatives.

Building off the 2022 pilot year, the Office of the Dean of Students supports any Areas and Schools towards the creation of student partnership groups, called Student Advisory Groups. While some areas may already have similar groups, by streamlining practice and setting whole-of-institution principles we can encourage greater diversity among student participants and ensure processes, support, and feedback channels are linked. Student partners in this model will also gain recognition for their leadership through a central award program. Student Advisory Groups are also distinct from typical student representative councils as they actively engage and partner with equity-student cohorts.

Apply now for a 2023 Student Advisory Group

Overview

Any Area/School can propose designing a Student Advisory Group.

Staff will work with the Office of the Dean of Students to decide on the Terms of Reference, group structure, student cohorts (e.g. disciplines, year level, campuses), style, frequency and dates of meetings, and anticipated outcomes. Students are then recruited on an equity-first basis to hold their Advisory positions for the calendar year.

All selected students will then attend mandatory training to learn about their role, build confidence as a student leader and develop their capacity to offer effective advice in their Group. While the position is unpaid, we will offer student advisors exclusive professional development opportunities to reflect on their leadership capabilities and help them connect their experience towards future job applications. Students who complete their term with 80% attendance will have their contributions acknowledged with a certificate from Deakin University.

Embed student voice

Student Advisory Groups embed student voices and perspectives into the design, delivery and evaluation of services, programs, and courses at Deakin University. By collaborating with our students, the university can benefit from authentic feedback and ideas, and support our students through professional development to help them gain real-work experience in matters of governance and decision-making.

Elicit and report student feedback, perspectives, and ideas on teaching and learning and/or matters relating to the student experience,
Support students through centralised training (offered by the DoS) on governance and leadership,
Report regularly on the feedback and/or outcomes of the group to DoS for centralised reporting,
Pursue other goals as determined by the group, including special projects.

Apply now for a 2023 Student Advisory Group

Four students study together indoors - Waterfront Campus

Running a Student Advisory Group

Students meet across the year in at least four online or in-person meetings, approximately 90 minutes each. Workshops will focus on address a question, challenge or opportunity related the scope of the Advisory Group. The workshops are aimed at fostering discussion and interaction, facilitated by the Advisory Group staff members. The Office of the Dean of Students will assist in organising administration for these meetings and will be a neutral third-party at each meeting. Meetings can be held online or in-person, depending on the objectives of the meeting, and the students involved.

Student Advisory Groups consist of 10 – 12 members, but this can be adjusted up to 20 depending on the Group’s demands and objectives. Members are required to be current students at Deakin University and recruitment will take an equity-first approach to selection of students, with preference being given to students from diverse backgrounds. Student members are appointed for a period of one year.

We encourage the use of collaborative spaces such as MSTeams to share any documents prior to each workshop. Teams sites can also provide a space for Group members to communicate and connect with each other between the workshops.

All staff are offered ongoing support from the Office of the Dean of Students to maintain student engagement and participation across the year. A nominated staff secretariat will be expected to submit a form following each meeting to pass along general feedback, actions and outcomes that arose from the meeting to support central reporting.

What makes Student Advisory Groups unique?

Authentic student representation stresses that students can only represent themselves – and thus ‘advise’ staff, rather than represent their peers. While we recognise the place of student representatives and elected councils, these Groups only expect students to speak from their lived experiences. Thus, Student Advisory Groups are intentionally diverse by design. For example, ensuring student advisors come found a range of backgrounds and education experiences. Another unique feature of Deakin’s Student Advisors is creating student-led spaces where staff are the guests, rather than the other way around. A room full of staff with only a few students usher a power dynamic that isn’t always conducive to making space for student voice. With the structure of Student Advisory Groups, power imbalances are mitigated and allows students to feel comfortable engaging in dialogue.

How do students benefit?

Taking part in a Student Advisory Group improves a student’s sense of belonging and engagement to the University where they have a direct and impactful influence on the design, delivery and evaluation of services, programs, and courses at Deakin University. From this, students also gain improved soft and hard skills, competencies, job readiness, and employability.

Group membership is a voluntary position; members are not paid for their participation in workshops or other Group activities. They are paid for any mandatory training required for their position. All student partner representatives who actively participate in 80% of the Advisory Group meetings across Deakin will receive a Certificate of Acknowledgment for their contributions. Deakin student partner representatives will also be invited to specialised professional development throughout the year to continue to foster and support their leadership skills and how to articulate their experience. Group members will also be invited to attend the End of Year Showcase event with fellow student partners, professional and academic staff across the University.