La Trobe University Postgraduate Association Inc. (LUPA)

Member Benefits

Representation

There are a number of University committees that have provision for a postgraduate representative. For a list of these University committees, see University committees and their postgraduate represenatives.

University Committees and the Voice of Postgraduates

La Trobe University decision making occurs through an elaborate series of committees. Committees exist which make academic policy, oversee the University's finances, and take responsibility for higher degrees. These committees provide the spine by which the University is governed.

Many of these committees have postgraduate representatives as members. These representatives play a fundamental role in ensuring that the needs and aspirations of postgraduates are being met. As a representative the student is a full member of a committee, and as such can participate in all discussiona as any other member can - as befits the representative of the most important member of the University committee - the students.

The work of a postgraduate representative varies greatly. Some committees have quite general functions while others are highly specialised. Many deal with issues of great importance to students - tuition fees, staffing levels, resourcing faculties or schools, libraries, childcare. Committees are one of the best ways for student opinion to feed into the University and for pro-student decisions to be made.

How will I benefit?

Of course, it is not just work. Being on a University committee is also a rewarding experience: you learn a lot, you establish professional networks which can serve you well beyond your tenure on the Committee, and you can gain considerable satisfaction from participating more fully in the University community.

How do I become a representative?

Postgraduate students can become members of University Committees in a number of different ways. A considerable number of committees have a postgraduate member who is nominated by LUPA. For these positions, LUPA calls for nominations through email on the LUPA List. For a number of other committees, the postgraduate representative is directly elected. The most obvious example of this is the postgraduate member of the University's governing body - the University Council.