A
Students' Representative Council represents student interests in the government of a
universityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
,
schoolA school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
or other educational institution. Generally the SRC forms part of a broader Students' Association which may include other functions such as societies, entertainments (in the form of a
Students' UnionA students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
) and sports (in the form of a Sports Union.)
Universities may have a statutory obligation to receive representation from the SRC and it is usual for student representatives from the SRC to form part of university structures including the
University CourtA University Court is an administrative body of a university in the United Kingdom. In England's Oxbridge such a Court carries out limited judicial functions; whereas in Scotland it is a University's supreme governing body, analogous to a Board of Directors or a Board of Trustees.-England:In the...
,
Academic SenateAn Academic Senate is a governing body in some universities and colleges, and is typically the supreme academic authority for the institution.-Scotland:...
, and other bodies.
History and Presence
Students' Representative Councils in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
were established as part of the system of
ancient university governanceThe ancient university governance structure in Scotland is the organisational system imposed by the Universities Acts, a series of Acts of Parliament enacted between 1858 and 1966. The Acts applied to what were termed the 'older universities': the University of St Andrews, the University of...
by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889 in the four extant universities of the time:
AberdeenThe University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
,
EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
,
GlasgowThe University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
and
St AndrewsThe University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
. The existence of an SRC was also incorporated in the
Royal CharterA royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
of the
University of DundeeThe University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
, which adheres to the ancient governance structure.
More recently, SRCs have been established at the
University of StrathclydeThe University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
and at
Heriot-Watt UniversityHeriot-Watt University is a university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The name commemorates George Heriot, the 16th century financier to King James, and James Watt, the great 18th century inventor and engineer....
's Scottish Borders Campus.
In general, SRCs have been submerged into wider
Students' AssociationsIn universities in the United Kingdom students' unions are constituted under Section 2 of the Education Act 1994. The ultimate purpose of students' unions is to democratically represent the interests of their members...
, which are an umbrella term for various bodies which not only perform representation tasks, but also cater for student welfare, societies, entertainments (in the form of a
Students' UnionA students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
) and sports (in the form of a Sports' Union). In acknowledgement of this,
Aberdeen University Students' AssociationAberdeen University Students' Association is the students' association of the University of Aberdeen, an ancient university in the city of Aberdeen in north east Scotland...
has elected to use the name
Students' Association Council for its SRC, despite its formal and legal title remaining unchanged. An exception to this system is
Glasgow University Students' Representative CouncilGlasgow University Students' Representative Council was founded on 9th March 1886 and recognised as the legal representative body for students of the University of Glasgow by the Universities Act 1889. The SRC is responsible for representing students' interests to the management of the University...
which is not part of a Students' Association as a result of the university's retention of its separate male and female students' unions (in the form of the
Glasgow University UnionGlasgow University Union is one of the largest and oldest students' unions in the UK, serving students and alumni of the University of Glasgow since 1885....
and the
Queen Margaret UnionThe Queen Margaret Union is one of two students' unions at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1890, it caters for the social and cultural needs of its members by providing a range of services including, entertainments, catering, shop facilities, bars and games.-History:The Queen...
respectively), although since 1980 both now admit both men and women as full members whilst retaining their separate identities.
Representation
Each University has a statutory obligation to receive representation from the SRC and it is usual for student representatives to be elected by the SRC or student body onto various positions in the main administrative bodies of the institution: the
University CourtA University Court is an administrative body of a university in the United Kingdom. In England's Oxbridge such a Court carries out limited judicial functions; whereas in Scotland it is a University's supreme governing body, analogous to a Board of Directors or a Board of Trustees.-England:In the...
,
Academic SenateAn Academic Senate is a governing body in some universities and colleges, and is typically the supreme academic authority for the institution.-Scotland:...
or
General CouncilThe General Council of an ancient university in Scotland is the corporate body of all graduates and senior academics of each university. They were instituted by the Universities Act 1858, but each has had its constitution and organisation considerably altered by subsequent statutes.The Act of...
. The SRC is usually headed by a
sabbatical officerA sabbatical officer is a full-time officer elected by the members of a students' union , commonly at a higher education establishment such as a university...
elected by the student body, who will usually be paid and take a year out of study to take on the rôle. Sometimes they will, instead, dedicate a year after completing their studies. In many cases there are a small number of other full-time elected officers. There are also unpaid part-time officers who continue with their studies, and there may be permanent staff members employed to assist in the running of the SRC.
The SRC or its Students' Association may choose to facilitate a vote on membership of the
National Union of Students ScotlandThe National Union of Students Scotland is an autonomous body within the National Union of Students. It is the national representative body of 530,000 students studying in further and higher education in Scotland and was formed following the merger of NUS in Scotland with the Scottish Union of...
or the
Coalition of Higher Education Students in ScotlandThe Coalition of Higher Education Students in Scotland is a body representative of students in Scotland founded in 2001 by the Students' Associations of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities, and Glasgow University's Students' Representative Council.CHESS was founded in 1999 out...
, and it is the Students' Association, rather than the individual students, which may become a member of one of those bodies.
External links