Student influence

Why student influence?

According to the Higher Education Ordinance, students are entitled to have representatives in all decision-making and deliberating bodies that have some kind of significance for their education or the students’ situation. For this reason, students are represented on department boards, faculty and disciplinary domain boards and specific decision-making bodies within education and research.

Collegiality and student influence are fundamental principles at Uppsala University, and this is highlighted in Uppsala University’s Mission, Goals & Strategies. Students, teachers and other employees are collectively responsible at the University for contributing to the quality of activities and the University’s development, albeit through different roles.

Students are involved in influencing education and the study environment by expressing views and constructive criticism, for example in the form of course evaluations, programme evaluation, as student representatives or student safety representatives, and through involvement in students’ unions.

Guidelines and guidance

Uppsala University has adopted guidelines on student influence that aim to clarify work on student influence at the University. As a complement to these guidelines, there is a guidance document for work on student influence at Uppsala University.

The guidelines are the governing framework, while the guidance is intended to support these efforts by developing and clarifying the guidelines and providing practical advice and tips. You can find a shorter version of the guidance here. The guidelines and guidance document can be found in the Goals and regulations.

Informal and formal student influence

Student influence can be exercised in both informal and formal contexts. Informal student influence can be exercised between students and teachers in spontaneous conversations about a course, for example. This guidance provides support for work on formal student influence, in which the students are entitled under the Higher Education Ordinance to representation.