Universities have several key members of staff who students are likely to meet. This article will explain some of the staff students will likely encounter during their time at university and their role.
Chancellor
The university chancellor (sometimes known as the rector) is the ceremonial head of the university. They are elected by students and usually serve for around 4-5 years. Their role is largely ceremonial and includes a range of duties including attending graduation ceremonies and conferring degrees, representing the views of students to the University Court, promoting the university nationally and internationally and attending other important university events.
Principal and Vice Chancellor
The Principal and Vice Chancellor is responsible for the day to day running of the university. They oversee the university management, external relations, committees, development of university policies and the academic teaching.
Some principals will host student surgeries or meetings where students can go along to meet them, ask questions or talk to them about any issues relating to the university or their student experience.
Dean
A dean is a senior member of academic staff who is the head of a school within the university.
Universities are divided into schools such as:
- School of Business
- School of Social Sciences
- School of Medicine
- School of Engineering
Programme Leader/Convener
A Programme Leader is a member of the academic staff who is responsible for a particular degree. Some universities have different leaders for each year of the degree. They will plan the programme’s various modules/courses, communicate with staff, students and the university, listen to feedback from students and promoting the programme to potential students.
Module Leader/Coordinator
Each degree is made up of several courses (also called modules). These run for several weeks (possibly longer depending on your degree) and will have an exam or assignment at the end.
Every module will be overseen by a member of academic staff called a ‘module leader’ or ‘course leader’. They will plan the course’s content, delivery and set tutorial tasks.
If you have questions or concerns about the course they are usually the best person to ask.
Lecturer
Lecturers teach university courses to students usually, as the name suggests, by delivering lectures. They may also carry out research or consultancy work.
Lecturers will have a degree in their subject and most will also have a PhD. Some lecturers may also have worked in industry before becoming an academic.
Tutor
A tutor will run seminars or tutorials. Seminars or tutorials consist of smaller groups of students and will discuss the content of the lectures in more detail. There may be some activities such as presentations or group discussions.
Tutors can be members of academic staff or a doctoral student who is researching this particular topic.
Student President
The Student President is the leader of the student’s association. Elected by students, the student President represents the views and interests of students to university leadership, organises events, sets up campaigns and could also chair the student council.
Programme Administrator
A programme administrator is a member of the administrative staff and is responsible for the administrative work for a particular degree programme (it is very likely they will be responsible for more than one degree programme). They will deal with issues such as timetabling, student queries and requests, registration, communications and induction.
Registrar
The registrar is the university’s head of administration. They oversee the administration of the university with responsibility for managing student records and tuition fees, timetabling, student disciplinary proceedings, individual student issues and issuing academic transcripts. The registrar is usually also responsible for leading the administrative staff across the university.
