The Faculty Board
The Faculty of Mathematics is run by a system of committees, and the role of the student reps is primarily to represent student opinion on these bodies. Overall authority rests with the Faculty Board, which has to approve all major decisions made in the Faculty, and in particular those made by all the other committees; two undergraduates and one graduate are elected to the Board each November. The Board deals not only with Maths Tripos issues, but also with issues concerning maths in the Natural Sciences Tripos and various mathematical education projects based in Cambridge. It also interacts with the University and with Government bodies related to Higher Education. The Board meets twice a term, and agendas and minutes of Board meetings are available online (cam.ac.uk domain or Raven access only).
The General Board has produced notes on current arrangements and statement of good practice about consultation and discussion with Junior members.
Subcommittees of the Faculty Board
There are two subcommittees of the Board responsible for more detailed consideration of Maths Tripos (Parts IA, IB and II) issues: the Teaching Committee and the Curriculum Committee. These committees meet more frequently than the Board, and each includes two students, appointed at the same time as the elections for the Board are held. There are various other committees within the Faculty: committees of examiners/assessors, and departmental committees. Departmental staff meetings and meetings of Directors of Studies also consider Tripos matters.
Teaching Committee
The Teaching Committee is responsible for the quality of undergraduate teaching in the Faculty, including lectures (but not supervisions, which are the colleges' responsibility). In particular, the committee
- Examines the responses to the lecture questionnaires and the annual e-mail questionnaire, and reports to the Heads of Department on lecturers who students have considered poor, and to the Curriculum Committee (see below) on problems which arise with particular courses.
- Considers the examiners' reports each year, and reports on them to the Faculty Board.
There are two appointed student reps. The Teaching Committee is currently chaired by John Lister.
Curriculum Committee
The Curriculum Committee is responsible for the content of the courses in the Maths Tripos (Parts IA, IB and II), and for the structure of the Tripos. It monitors the number and overall balance of courses, and considers changes to particular course schedules proposed, for instance, by recent lecturers of those courses. It is also responsible for the structure of exams.
There are two appointed student reps. The Curriculum Committee is currently chaired by Mike Tehranchi.
Part III Committee
The Part III Committee deals with Part III matters. There are two student reps, one from DAMTP and one from DPMMS, who are recent Part III students. It could be described as a combination of the roles of the Teaching and Curriculum Committees for Part III.
Feedback
The student reps also represent student opinion to the Faculty informally. If you think an issue should be raised in the Faculty, or have a complaint about the Tripos, you can e-mail us and we will take it up. See our feedback page for details: there are also other ways to have your say, which may be more appropriate in some instances.
Links with CUSU and the GU
The Faculty Board reps, along with their counterparts from other faculties, sit on the CUSU Faculty Forum.
The graduate representative on the Faculty Board is a voting member of the Graduate Union Council and Academic Affairs Committee.
Interested in becoming a rep?
Elections for the Faculty Board representatives occur near the end of November each year; the Faculty Office will circulate emails in advance asking for nominations. There are two undergraduate positions and one graduate position.
Stuent representatives are appointed on the Teaching Committee, Curriculum Committee and Part III Committee. Any vacancies will be advertised by email.