All NSU/Societies Are Required by Their Constitution to Hold an AGM

AGM & EGM GUIDELINES

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) is a meeting that reviews the Society year, elects new committee members and sets a plan for the year.

All NSU/Societies are required by their constitution to hold an AGM.

An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) is a meeting to fill a vacant committee role, create and fill a new role or remove a current committee member from their role.

All societies are required by their constitution to hold an EGM to create new roles, fill existing and remove committee members

AGM/EGM Electing a Committee Role

Before the Meeting

1.  Review Positions

Every society committee is required to have these roles elected. You may decide you want to add new roles – please confirm this over e-mail with a relevant coordinator and write a role description.

President

Takes a lead, liaises with the Students’ Union, manages the society and sets a vision.

Secretary

Organises the volunteer group, communicates, books rooms and ensures that events are ran safely.

Treasurer

Organises the volunteer group’s finances, makes sure they are financially viable, applies for grants, and looks after any resources.

Full role descriptions can be found online under NSU/Society Resources.

2.  New Committee Nominations

If the society does not elect a new committee then the society will be dissolved. It is your responsibility as the current committee to give all your members a chance to nominate themselves for next year’s committee.

·  Make sure you let all members know about the AGM/EGM, what roles are available to run for and how to run for these roles.

·  Hold a drop in session for members to ask the committee more about their roles.

·  Remember to sell the roles to the members of the committee or the project to ensure that there is every chance to elect a new committee. Try telling them that ‘It is their chance to make a difference for the society or project.’

·  Approach people who you think would do a good job and suggest they consider running. Don’t force them to run or offer them the role.

·  At least 7 days before the AGM/EGM let all members know the nomination deadline and the date of the AGM.

·  The nomination deadline can be the day of the AGM/EGM.

·  If you wish to receive nominations by email make sure that interested students include their name, contact and position they are running for. By receiving nominations you can track nominations and make sure that all roles are contested.

·  Members can run for more than one position but can only occupy one position.

3.  Returning officer

The returning officer is simply the person that is in charge of the election. Their role is to ensure that the election is run fairly; they count and record the votes. This usually falls to the President if they are not a candidate, however it can be another committee member or a trusted person who is not a candidate. It is important to decide who the returning officer will be before the election and record their name in the minutes. If there is nobody available to run the election - please contact your Societies Leadership Committee Mentor.

4.  Campaigning and Rules

Elections need to be run fairly and in line with the Students’ Union policy. All societies need to follow these rules:

·  Current committee positions are not allowed to endorse or back candidates.

·  No posters are allowed to be placed around the campus, university building or the students’ union.

·  Each candidate should write a short manifesto for anyone who is unable to attend by wishes to vote or is unable to be present at the AGM/EGM – this will be read by the returning officer.

·  Candidates are only entitled to present their speech and answer questions – they should do no campaigning over social media or e-mail. They may talk to members at the AGM about being a candidate.

·  If any candidates are caught cheating then this should be reported to the returning officer and the Students’ Union. It is the decision of the returning officer if votes are removed or the candidates excluded.

At the Meeting

1.  Suggested Agenda

Welcome and Introductions

This is an opportunity for the returning officer to welcome the attendees and to introduce the committee, and those involved in the AGM proceedings, they should take note of all of the eligible voters and should have a copy of the paid membership list.

Committee Reports

All current committee positions should explain their role to ensure voters understand what skills to look out for in candidates. They should leave time to give a special thanks to all members that have contributed to the group. If there are any new committee positions for that year – then they should be explained by the returning officer.

Elect New Committee

Many societies choose to elect the President first in case anyone is running for multiple positions.

For each position:

1)  Get all candidates to do a short speech of equal length (2 or 3 minutes) about why they are the best person for the job.

2)  Allow people to ask questions – Each question must be addressed to every candidate standing for that position.

3)  Hold a vote by secret ballot where people write their decision on paper.

If any position is not filled you’ll need to contact a society coordinator and hold an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) which features similar guidelines.

2.  Voting Process

The voting process is run by the returning officer. Votes are cast by a secret ballot.

·  Candidates may vote for themselves or another candidate.

·  Number of people to make the voting quorate is 25% of membership or 10 members, whichever is most. This can be via a face to face meeting, online voting or both.

·  Members should clearly indicate one candidate for the role.

·  Associate members cannot vote.

·  For every position RON must be a candidate – RON stands for re-open nominations and can be voted for if a member believes there are no suitable candidates, if RON wins then there will be an EGM.

·  If there are any paid members who want to vote who are not present then they should let the returning officer know in advance and they can vote via text/instant messenger.

3.  Counting votes

·  Counting votes should be conducted by the neutral returning officer.

·  Votes should be counted in a private room.

·  all quorate % calculations for AGM’s and EGM’s will be round to the nearest whole number e.g 7.4 would be classed as 7

4.  Announcing votes

·  The number of votes does not need to be disclosed to all the members; however this is the decision of the society.

·  You can choose whether you simply announce the winner or the order in which candidates came, but please think about the emotions of those who ran for a position.

·  Candidates can ask for a recount.

·  Congratulate the success of the new committee and thanks the students who did not get the roles for their hard work.

·  Take a photograph of the new committee for social media.

AFTER THE MEETING

1. Complete Minutes to handover

Complete the Society AGM form (available online) and return it to the SU as soon as possible before the 11th of April 2016.

2. Handover

Each committee position needs to fill out a handover document for the newly elected committee. This is crucial for them to do a good job – so make sure you do it!

EGM Creating a New Role

To create a new role within the society committee the current committee must ensure:

·  All full members of the society are aware of what the new position is and how the role fits within society

·  That all full members are aware of how to put their names forward for the position if they wish to run for the role

·  That there is a vote to decide if full members wish for this position to be created before a vote on the candidates themselves. If there is an online vote members must have the option to vote to not want the position as part of the society committee

·  All full members of the society are made aware of when and where the meeting will take place 7 days beforehand

·  If online voting is being used then all full members must have the link sent to them and have 7 days to cast their vote

·  The election will follow the process AGM/EGM Electing a Committee Role

EGM Removing a committee member

An EGM can be called to remove a committee member(s) by following these stages:

•  Signatures of 10% of membership or 5 members, whichever is the most, received by a representative of Northumbria Students’ Union.

•  A meeting is then arranged by a representative of Northumbria Students’ Union and must be held face to face. Full members are made aware of when and where the meeting will take place 7 days beforehand

•  The EGM meeting would then require a quorate of 25% of the membership or 10 members, whichever is most before a vote can take place

•  A super majority must be met of two thirds of the meeting quorate to then officially remove the member(s) of the committee

Checklist

BEFORE THE AGM/EGM / TICK ME
Set a date for the AGM/EGM
Book a room for the AGM/EGM
Email the relevant coordinator if you wish to change roles within your committee
Distribute Committee roles to all Society Members
Run a ‘Meet the committee’ drop-in session for members to find out about your experience in the role.
Print ballot papers to record the results
Appoint a neutral returning officer (e.g. non-returning President/Secretary/Treasurer)
Create an agenda for the AGM/EGM
Organise a Social event for after the AGM/EGM
Remind members that they MUST pay their membership in order to vote
Set a closing date for members to nominate themselves to run for committee
Remind members to turn up on the night at least 24 hours before
DURING THE AGM/EGM / TICK ME
Have the Society AGM/EGM form ready to be filled out
Ensure members list is updated before the AGM/EGM
Tick off your members as they arrive – Do NOT COUNT Associate Members as Voters
Hold the candidate speeches (Set a time limit on speeches to make it equal)
Allow people to ask questions – each question should be addressed to every candidate
Returning officer to count the votes and announce the results - this should be secret
Grab a picture of the new committee
Run your celebratory event for all members
AFTER THE AGM/EGM / TICK ME
Make sure that the SU receives the new committees form as soon as possible
Ensure that this is before the deadline date 11th APRIL 2016.
Make sure that the new committee receive a good handover – see Society Committee Handover Toolkit
If there are any positions that are not elected please get in touch with a Societies Coordinator as soon as possible and arrange an EGM