SMS MSc Student Handbook 2018/19 Draft original

Your views are important to the School of Mathematical Sciences and to Queen Mary. There are a variety of ways in which you can communicate your opinions to us. At an institutional level, there are student representatives on Council, Senate and various committees across Queen Mary.

Student-Staff Liaison Committee

The School of Mathematical Sciences postgraduate Student-Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC) normally meets twice a semester. It discusses matters of interest to postgraduates, including the curriculum, student welfare and facilities, and advises the Head of School. The Students' Union arranges elections for at least one student course representative from each MSc programme. Please raise any matters of concern with one of your student course representatives.

The School takes suggestions from the SSLC very seriously. The committee is chaired by Dr Rosemary Harris and attended by the Head of School, Director of Taught Programmes, Programme Directors, Director of Postgraduate Studies and the Teaching and Student Support Manager. We provide details of the SSLC on QMplus, including minutes of past meetings. See also Student feedback.

Student Ambassadors

The School of Mathematical Sciences employs a number of students to act as guides and talk to prospective students who attend open days or post-offer visit days. There are similar opportunities within Queen Mary. Look out for emails and notices if you are interested, and see i² Keepin' it real - Maths student support.

Student Feedback Open Forums

During each semester, each MSc programme will be invited to attend a forum with the Student Support Officer. This is your chance as a cohort to give your individual and group feedback. The Student Support Officer is the only member of staff who attends and we encourage you to be as open and honest as possible whilst giving constructive feedback about your whole student experience. Both positive and negative feedback from these forums are anonymised and taken to the relevant staff committees within the School and Queen Mary in order to bring about any necessary changes to improve your experience.

Module Evaluation Questionnaires

Each semester, we will ask you to complete a standard one-page questionnaire for each of the Mathematical Sciences modules that you are taking. We use the results to try to identify any problems and rectify them.

Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey

The Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES, which is found here) is conducted every year. It gives you, as a postgraduate taught student, an opportunity to give your opinions on what you liked about your time at QM, as well as those aspects that you feel could have been improved. Please do consider completing the survey; your feedback really is invaluable and will help us make a difference for future generations of QM students.

How can I provide personal feedback?

You are welcome to make suggestions for improvement to members of staff, such as your module organisers or adviser, and we will try to pursue any serious suggestions that may lead to improvements in our procedures. More information can be found here.