In January 2018, the Swedish National Union of Students finally started up its long-awaited quality committee SQC. In the past year, Sweden has introduced a new national quality assurance system to check that there are systems that maintain good quality at universities and colleges around the country. Students and SFS have followed this introduction process in recent years, and the student movement has actively influenced both the system itself and its implementation. At the same time, SFS has seen a need to engage and work with students who want to participate in the work with issues concerning quality development and quality assurance of the university. SFS has seen that there has been a need to appoint a committee to work with that purpose, and during this financial year, SQC has taken shape beyond a paper product.
SQC will work according to rules of procedure where its main tasks are to:
- organize a national student pool for student representatives within the national quality assurance system for higher education
- be responsible for ensuring that the student representatives within the student pool receive training relevant to assignments as a student representative within the national quality assurance system
- coordinate and keep in touch with the student representatives within the national quality assurance system once the student pool has been launched
SQC's work is led by the presidial responsible for quality issues (this year SFS chairman Charlotta Tjärdahl). The committee also includes Simon Edström from the Technical University's Student Union, THS with solid experience of similar work within his student union and as a student representative for SFS in, among other things, UKÄ's reference group for the design of the new quality assurance system. SFS's board has also elected Erik Arvidsson to the committee, who in addition to his experience of being locally active in the Umeå Student Union, US also participated in the pilot review of Umeå University. The working group was recently completed with Johanna Laussen from Chalmers Student Union, ChS was elected. Johanna currently works with quality issues full time at the student union and has, among other things, experience from the context of working at a university that is not state-owned. A committed group with varied and useful experiences!
Something that unites the group is the common interest in engaging the student movement in quality issues, and also in developing and deepening the knowledge of quality assurance systems among the country's students. A major benefit in addition to the increasingly structured commitment and student influence the group hopes to assist with is that SFS will internally have a committee with special expertise. It can not only act as an advisor in the daily work but also in the development and development of positions.
What's happening in SQC?
Not only is the committee now full, the work has also begun in earnest.
UKÄ has released its new guidance material for the student unions' ability to write student submissions prior to reviews of the higher education institution at which they operate. SQC has assisted SFS in the work with the input that has since been sent to UKÄ regarding the student contribution's purpose, function and need for adjustments. To read the recording click here!
The committee focuses its work in the first year mainly on three core issues:
- Create a student pool for organizing student representatives for the assessment groups in UKÄ's reviews,
- create training for these student representatives,
- act as an advisor with a quality focus to the board in the work of mapping SFS 'positions.
We are a group full of ideas, initiatives and hopes for the committee's first year of operation. Do you enjoy coordinating student representatives, arousing commitment, raising competence and giving advice? Then you should already now consider applying to SQC the next time a place is announced. You make an incredible contribution to the student movement and get fantastic experiences in return!
See ya!
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Charlotte, Erik, Johanna, Simon