Student Expert Panel
The Student Expert Panel was created in November 2019 as part of one of the key strategic projects outlined in our 2020/21- 2024/25 Access and Participation Plan. The creation of the Panel was a means to strengthen our commitment to move from a culture of consultation through to true partnership, developing a more systematic approach to listening to student stories.
The University of York has a strong culture of representing student voices across all areas of the institution and all stages of the student lifecycle. As a university, we understand the importance of giving our students a voice and acknowledge that if we have a better understanding of the lived experiences of different groups of students we will be better placed to create more effective mechanisms to try to tackle existing inequalities.
What is the Student Expert Panel?
The Student Expert Panel is a collaboration between the University, YUSU and the GSA.
The Panel is made up of around 25 undergraduate, postgraduate, home and international students from a diverse range of backgrounds and is an important source of advice and challenge for the University as a whole, but particularly in relation to its access and participation and EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion) work.
The Panel acts as a ready-made, diverse focus group, but is also proactive in the creation of its own priorities and projects, for example the Middle Ground series of events.
How do I apply to join the Student Expert Panel?
A number of our panel graduate each summer and so we recruit new members every year. Read the Student Expert Panel job description and email student-expert-panel@york.ac.uk if you have any questions.
Our recruitment timeline and details about how to apply will be updated on this page in Spring 2024.
What has the Student Expert Panel been up to?
The Student Expert Panel has been involved in a number of projects and initiatives since its creation in 2019, and a few examples are listed below:
- Consultation on the key objectives for the 2030 University of York Strategy
- Co-creation of the Represent York Symposium events designed to facilitate conversations surrounding race, racism and anti-racism on campus
- Co-creation of the Next Steps to University MOOC with Lifelong Learning
- Members of interview panels for a number of University of York staff roles
- Supporting the development of the My UoY App with the Digital Services team
- Co-creation of the Black Access outreach programme with the University’s Access and Outreach team
- Co-creation of trans and non-binary student guidance with the University’s Equality and Diversity Team
- Membership of key University committees, such as Senate and the Access, Success & Progression Steering Group
- Creation of the Middle Ground series of normalising conversation events
What can the Student Expert Panel do for staff?
The Student Expert Panel is able to provide student insight to colleagues across the University when developing new initiatives, and reflecting upon or evaluating existing interventions. By engaging with the Panel you will be better able to ensure that diverse student interests and views are considered in your decision-making and day to day work.
Feedback
Members of staff who've worked with the Student Expert Panel to develop their projects, as well as current and former panellists, have provided feedback which gives useful insight into how the Panel operates and examples of some of the improvements introduced with support from the Panel.