Cohort Lead

Cohort Lead role descriptor

Purpose

Cohort Leads hold key roles within the School of Informatics’ Student Experience and Support System. They are responsible for:

• Providing academic support for a defined group of students – their ‘cohort’.
• Planning and leading activities and events that build community and develop academic skills and understanding amongst the students within their cohort.

Cohort Leads work closely with the School Director of Students and the Student Experience Team (Student Experience Manager and Student Advisers) to help develop students’ sense of belonging to their programme of study, the School and the wider University.

Main Responsibilities

Build Cohort

With support from the Director of Students, Deputy Director of Students (PGT) and Student Experience Team:

• Plan and lead or participate in a series of activities and events throughout the academic year which aim to build community and develop academic skills and understanding amongst the students within their cohort. While some events will involve only those within their cohort (eg. those in Welcome Week), many will be year group-wide events that bring together students from a number of cohorts in order to make best use of available resource.
• Ensure that clear information about the programme of activities and events being offered is made available to students within their cohort.
• Promote and explain the rationale behind the activities and events being offered to students within their cohort in order to encourage participation.
• Monitor and oversee the student experience of those within their cohort, and propose and implement enhancements as required.

Individual Student Academic Support

With support from Student Advisers:

• Provide specialist academic support (out with that which can be provided by Student Advisers) for individual students within their cohort eg. attending progression interviews; careers advice etc.
• Provide individual advice about course selection to students within their cohort.
• Provide academic references for students within their cohort (seeking input from other relevant academic staff members eg. project supervisors as required).

General

• Develop and maintain an understanding of the University’s student support structures in order to ensure that students within their cohorts can be signposted to additional sources of support as required.
• Attend School Student Staff Liaison Committee meetings and meetings with Student Representatives as required to speak to cohort-related issues.
• Feed into School-level monitoring of the quality of the cohort system and broader student experience.