Student Experience Committee

Shortcuts: Purpose | Membership | Mode of operation | Quorum | Reporting line and sub-groups | Meeting dates

Purpose

Working in partnership with Bristol SU, the main purposes of the Committee are to:

1. Articulate the University's vision for student experience via the University's Education and Student Experience Strategy and maintain strategic oversight of its delivery.

2. Make decisions on student experience priorities, with regard to the Education and Student Experience Strategy and the University's student experience-related risks and Strategic Performance Indictors (SPIs).

3. Respond to changes in the external and internal student experience environment.

4. Make decisions and maintain strategic oversight of student experience. This includes:

• Student Experience related regulations, policies, codes of practice, procedures and strategies
• Compliance with external regulatory frameworks.

5. Set priorities and monitor progress for student experience projects and initiatives.

6. Ensure alignment between the vision for student experience (as set out in the Education and Student Experience Strategy) and faculty and divisional planning through the Integrated Planning Process.

7. Consider key measures of the student experience and oversee necessary actions to improve and enhance, in particular around student inclusion, student community and student voice.

8. Monitor progress against the shared University Executive Board (UEB) and Bristol SU Officer priorities, providing regular updates to UEB either to assure them that delivery is on track or to escalate concerns, including resourcing concerns.

9. Advise relevant committees, including UEB, on student experience priorities and initiatives and on infrastructure (including physical and digital environment and systems) required to deliver the University's vision for student experience.

Activity delivered via a sub-group:

10. Oversee the University's membership of the Student Minds Mental Health Charter (this is via the Student Wellbeing Committee).

11. Consider measures to contribute towards improved equality of opportunity in student access, success and progression to support students with ability and ambition from all backgrounds (this is via the Student EDI Group).

12. Ensure that the student experience is fully considered within the development and implementation of policies and processes relating to student accommodation (this is via the Student Accommodation Group).

13. Oversee a coordinated and joined-up support offer in response to student poverty (this is via the Financial Support Working Group).

14. Ensure focus is directed to enhancing the international student experience (this is via the International Student Experience Committee).     

Membership

The standing membership of the Committee for 2025-26 is as follows:

Role	Job title	Name
Committee oversight	Executive Director for Education and Students [co-Chair]	Steve Hall (acting)
	Union Affairs Officer [co-Chair]	Katie Poyner
Academic staff representatives	Associate Pro Vice Chancellor (Student Engagement, Skills and Success)	Professor Alvin Birdi
	Senior Tutor	Dr Gemma Ford
	Academic Director (Inclusion, Belonging and Community) (Arts, Law and Social Sciences)	Dr Jessica Roy
	Academic Director (Inclusion, Belonging and Community) (Health and Life Sciences)	Dr David Lawson
	Academic Director (Inclusion, Belonging and Community) (Science and Engineering)	Dr Joel Ross
Bristol SU representatives:	Equality, Liberation and Access Officer	Linlu Ye
	Undergraduate Education Officer	Mia Stevens
	Postgraduate Education Officer	Sharan Khemlani
	Sport and Student Development Officer	Ella Lovibond
	Student Living Officer	Lucy Pears
	International Students Officer	Jessie Yeung
Professional services representatives	Director of Student Experience	This role on the committee is covered by Ali Golden-Wright and Lyndsey Holder
	Director of Student Journey	Doug Jennings
	Head of Student Inclusion	Zoe Pither
	Postgraduate Research Strategy Manager	Alice Ferns
	Head of Faculty Education and Student Success	TBC
	Representative from Campus Division	TBC

Standing invitations are issued to:

• Director of Sport, Exercise and Health (Matt Birch)
• Bristol SU Chief Executive Officer (Ben Pilling)
• Education and Student Experience Strategy Manager (Martha Quinn-Forgan)

Quorum

The Chair or nominee and at least two academic staff representatives, two Bristol SU representatives and two professional services representatives. 

Members of the Committee who are unable to attend a particular meeting may send a suitably qualified nominee, at the discretion of the Chair.  Nominees shall count towards the quorum as though they were the member of the Committee by whom they were nominated and shall be entitled to vote.   

Mode of Operation

The Committee shall normally meet at least six times per year. Chair's powers may be used between meetings of the Committee to address urgent and / or confidential matters (any action undertaken through Chair's powers will be reported to the next meeting of the Committee).

Please contact the Secretary (Kathryn Maycock) if you wish to discuss adding an item to the agenda for Student Experience Committee. The paper deadlines for the committee are listed as part of the meeting dates however items for the agenda must be raised with the Secretary at least 3 weeks before the meeting date so that the agenda can be finalised at a pre-meeting with the Chair. 

Reporting line and sub-groups

Student Experience Committee reports to University Education Committee (although it also reports to UEB on the shared UEB / Bristol SU Officer priorities).

It also updates University PGR Committee (UPGRC) as appropriate where there are shared interests. In turn UPGRC keeps SEC informed of relevant matters such as strategic initiatives that enhance the PGR student experience, improvements to the PGR environment, and provision of support to PGR students.

Student Experience Committee has the following sub-groups during 2025/26:

• International Student Experience Committee
• Student Accommodation Group
• Student EDI Group
• Student Money Working Group
• Student Wellbeing Committee

Please see the diagram demonstrating the Student Experience Committee reporting structure (PDF, 119kB)        

Meeting Dates