Before We Begin We Would Like to Welcome and Thank You for Wanting to Set up a Club Or

Welcome!

Before we begin we would like to welcome and thank you for wanting to set up a club or society here at Anglia Ruskin.

This is the start of something that could be special for you and numerous students of ARU. You will be able to find likeminded individuals to enjoy your interest, hobby or sport while you study at University.

It will provide you with a group of friends that I’m sure will last now and long after University.

Here at the Students’ Union we pride ourselves on helping and supporting you to bring your idea to fruition. We are here to help and make sure running your society/club is as easy as possible. We provide you small amounts of funding, exposure, the opportunity to attend the fresher’s fair and much, much more.

First we must ask you to fill in this pack and abide by our core policies that will protect you from harm and allow you and your members to enjoy yourselves.

If you could take the time to fill this form out step by step and send it into your Student Opportunities Coordinator we would be hugely grateful. At the start of each section there is a brief explanation of what you are filling in, have a look and go from there.

If at any point you need help, don’t hesitate to contact us at your Students’ Union. The next steps after filling in these forms can be found at the end of the booklet.

Congratulations on taking the first step and we look forward to working with you!

Contact Details

PRESIDENT (Compulsory Position)

TREASURER (Compulsory Position)

ADMINISTRATOR (Compulsory Position)

BUSINESS AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

OTHER

Committee positions task descriptions can be found in the Clubs and Societies Handbook.

Constitution

1. Aims and Objectives

The aims and objectives of the Club / Society are to

Clubs and Societies shall abide by the Union’s current Equal Opportunities Policy and are subject to the provisions of the Constitution, Regulations and Policy of ARU Students’ Union. All found on

2. Membership

• Full membership shall be open to all members of ARU Students’ Union, upon payment of the required subscription fees.

• Associate membership shall be afforded to persons outside Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union at the discretion of the Club or Society committee and upon payment of the required fee.

• Honorary membership may be afforded to such persons who in the opinion of the committee, have given outstanding services to the Club or Society, at the discretion of a Society/Club General Meeting.

• All members must join their club or society through by inputting their details and undertaking the payment process.

• Full members shall be entitled to attend, speak and vote at General Meetings of the Club or Society as well as stand for office.

• Associate and Honorary members shall be allowed to attend and speak, but not vote at the General Meetings of the Club or Society.

1. Finance

• The subscription fee for the Recreational Club or Society shall be £______per person per year (minimum of £3.00 for clubs or £3.60 for societies / This is not applicable for any competitive sports club set up by Active Anglia)

• The finances of the Society/Club shall be overseen by the SU Executive of the Students’ Union. All monies, receipts of purchases, invoices etc. shall be kept by the Students’ Union Finance Department for auditing purposes.

• Committee members shall be responsible for the Club or Society accounts.

• The Treasurer shall be directly responsible for the administration of any grant from the Students’ Union to the Club or Society and shall be responsible for administration of any other income or expenditure from the Club or Society funds.

• Funds can only be accessed by official committee members of a society and no others, funds will only be released if committee signatures are present on request forms. Of which two must be different form the submitter of the request.

• If a Committee (or a member(s) of a Committee) makes a financial decision which it knows will have a detrimental financial effect on an incoming elected Committee, disciplinary action shall be taken.

• If the club or society account is left dormant or un-used for three years and the society is deemed as inactive the money will be absorbed into the relevant grants for pot for distribution in line with the Grant policy of ARU Students’ Union.

1. Executive

• The officers named above shall form the Executive Committee of the Club or Society, This shall be the sovereign body of the Club or Society.

• The formulation of the aforementioned Committee must be a democratic process. All current members of the Club or Society have a right to vote in who consists of the Committee (voting is not exclusive to Committee members).

• The Committee shall meet as frequently as deemed necessary. The quorum of the Committee shall be four.

• The quorum for General Meetings shall be one third of the Club or Society fully paid up members.

• A General Meeting should be held at least once per academic year. Seven days’ notice should be given before a General Meeting.

• Where there is conflict the Site Executive may be asked to make a decision on an issue. Its decision will be final and binding.

• The Club or Society has the right of appeal. (Bye Law 5 ARU Students’ Union)

5.Amendments

• Amendments shall only be made to this Constitution by a two-thirds majority at a General Meeting.

6. Precedent

• The Constitution of ARU Students’ Union shall apply wherever and howsoever they are relevant and will take precedence over this constitution.

7. President’s Declaration

• By submitting this document you agree to understanding and abiding by Students’ Union rules and regulations to starting up and running a Club or Society.

Signature:______

Date: ______

Clubs and Society Terms of Affiliation

The Students’ Union has developed this Terms of Affiliation to help Club and Society Committee members understand what is expected of them and, equally as important, what they can expect from the Students’ Union.

The Students’ Union expects all Committee Members to:

• To adhere to their original aims and objectives laid out in their constitution.
• Attend Clubs and Societies Forums
• Attend Clubs and Societies Training Sessions
• Maintain an appropriate working relationship with members, referees / officials / invited guests and Students’ Union staff.
• Treat all committee members, society members, officials, guests and Students’ Union staff with respect.
• Provide a quality experience for your members.
• Display consistently high standards of behaviour and attitude when representing the club/society in any environment.
• Follow all rules, regulations and guidelines laid down by the Students’ Union and university.
• Not abuse their position as a Committee Member to obtain personal benefit or reward.
• Communicate with the Student Opportunities team on a regular basis, on their activity and development
• Undertake a comprehensive handover and to hold democratic elections for a new committee each year.
• Ensure that all kit and equipment purchased for them through the Students’ Union is looked after, recorded in an inventory and kept for future use of club or society members.
• Maintain and ensure the long term sustainability of the club / society.
• To encourage society members to engage further with the Students’ Union on events and initiatives and representative work.

Committee Members can expect the Students’ Union to:

• Represent their views at university meetings
• Promote the society to the wider student body
• Enhance the range of opportunities available to them
• Maintain an appropriate working relationship with Committee Members.
• Treat all Committee Members with respect.
• Communicate with the Committee Members
• Help with organising venues / rooms for meetings / training.
• Help with organising transport for trips / competitions and organising kit / equipment.
• Help with organising events.
• Provide training and general support for Committee Members.
• Provide and seek financial assistance where possible and where limited funds allow.
• Display consistently high standards of behaviour and attitude when acting as a member of Students’ Union staff.

Signed by Committee Members: (All committee)

Signed on behalf of the Students’ Union:

*PLEASE NOTE THIS CODE OF CONDUCT IS NOT A LEGALLY BINDING DOCUMENT

The Next Steps

Now that you have completed this form we can move on to the very few final steps of making you an official club or society, please find them below:

Step 1 – Submit all completed forms to your campus Student Opportunities Coordinator and a jpeg of your Club or Society logo (if you have one).

Step 2 – Student Opportunities Coordinators will schedule a meeting within two working weeks

They will then ensure all information is correct and email you to schedule a meeting within two working weeks that will take no longer than 45 minutes just to make sure you have everything you need to move forward.

It will also give you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have. At this meeting we would like to hear some of your goals and targets for the year so have a think about these before you come. We will also outline any health and safety queries we may have and ask you to do some risk assessments for any extra events you may have planned.

Step 3 – We will ratify your Club or Society & provide you with any additional training you need

Once everything is completed we will then ratify the club or society, set everything up and provide you with any additional training you need. This can take up to 10 working days, due to new finance accounts being opened.

Once this is all complete you are a fully-fledged club or society. We thank you for you effort in completing this process.

As a Students’ Union the support for you does not cease after you set up; we are here to support at all times, so please do not hesitate to come in and ask anything.

Please contact your Student Opportunities Coordinator on:

Cambridgeshire

Dan Fow:

Chelmsford

Katie Pether:

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