A Guide for Candidates

Elections 2015

A Guide for Candidates

Contents

3 – Students’ Union Background and Full-Time Officer Information

11– Election Information

12– Election Dates

13– Notes on Campaign Materials

15- List of Contact

16 – Election Regulations

Background Information

The Students’ Union

The SU is a democratically run organisation which, although independent, works closely with the University. The SU is a registered charity, which has the sole purpose of serving and representing students of the University, and is ultimately responsible to its members through an Annual General Meeting. The four elected Full Time Officers oversee the running of the SU, as well as performing specific duties.

The Full Time Officers are supported by a team of permanent staff. These staff members provide expertise in a number of essential areas of the Union on a day-to-day basis. The most senior member of staff is the Chief Executive.

SU policy is formulated at Executive Committee Meetings, which take place once a month to discuss Union issues. Along with the 4 Full Time Officers there are 14 elected Part Time Executive Officers. 7 of these part-time officers chair committees of staff and students whichareresponsible for a specific area or interest group e.g. events, sports etc. The remaining 7 are liberation officers who sit on the Executive Committee and other Part-Time Officer Committees to raise the views of certain sections of the student body e.g. disabled students, mature and part-time students.

Students’ Union Services

Representation – The core service of the SU. The Union has representatives on all University committees and represent students on any matter within the University environment.

Welfare and Advice – TheFull-Time Community Officer is assigned to welfare services and the SU has strong links with the University’s Student Services Department, which encompasses services such as accommodation, counselling and the Chaplaincy, and can offer advice on matters from debt management to where to get legal advice.

Entertainment – Although the SU no longer runs the bars, itruns events which are well managed, customer focussed and in safe environments, providing value for money.

Sports and Societies – The SU is committed to providing support to any sporting or special interest group; sports range from cricket to lacrosse and kendo, whilst societies include salsa and philosophy.

Other SU activities – Community Volunteering, JobShop (including JobShop Temps), Student Enterprise, Greener Gloucestershire, R.A.G. (charity fundraising), games machines and pool tables, laundry operations, a regular newspaper (Space), Tone Radio Station and a dynamic website.

Full Time and Part Time (Exec) Positions

Full Time Officer Roles

The 4 Full Time Officer posts are:

President
Education Officer
Community Officer
Sports Officer

Over the last few years each role has experienced alterations, to reflect the changing culture and need of the student body.

Once elected you may find that there are certain things which interest you and amongst the team you will be able to be flexible with certain elements of the job roles.

For further information on the specifics of each job role, refer to the individual job descriptions later in this pack.

What is it really like to be a Full-Time Officer?

Being a Full Time Officer is a responsible position that brings both pressures and privileges. It should, however, be a great experience that stands you in good stead for future employment.

As a Full-Time Officer it is your responsibility to listen to and represent the views of the 10,000+ students that we have at this University. Through and gaining feedback from the students at the University of Gloucestershire and acting upon it, you can help to shape the direction of the Students’ Union, making the student experience at the University of Gloucestershire better for all. As a Full-Time Officer, you will sit on important committees which mean you will get the opportunity to work with the University on big issues that affect students.

Each Full-Time Officer has a different remit, but you will also create personal objectives surrounding your job role, which will make up part of your job. Each officer also looks after 2 parts of the Students’ Union strategy, and they are in charge of working with staff to ensure that the objectives are met.

The life of a Full-Time Officer is a fantastic challenge. Hours tend to be variable and life as a Full Time Officer is always busy.

Support

National Union of Students (NUS) – who hold training courses
SU staff – help in the induction of new officers, and keep them updated with issues throughout their term of office
University staff – key figures within the University support the officers throughout the academic year.

Handover

The provisional dates for Sabbatical handover are 15th to 26th June 2015, where the incoming officers work alongside the outgoing Full Time Officers to share their insights and advice to their successors before they leave the SU. There will also be time over the Easter vacation when incoming officers may be asked to come in to the union and other specific times to attend meetings with the outgoing officers.

Location

During the academic year 2015/16 the Full Time Officers will be based at the following campuses:

President:Park Campus
Education OfficerPark Campus
Sports Officer:Oxstalls Campus
Community OfficerFCH Campus

Job Roles

All Executive (Full and Part-Time) Officers are expected to attend the regular Executive Committee meetings and can have a strong influence on the direction and activities of the SU.

Executive Officers are valued and respected members of the SU team, with an important role to play.

Full-Time Officers are encouraged to submit regular articles to Space, and to create monthly blogs about what they have done during the month.

They are expected to assist in the course rep representation system and to attend Campus and Student Life Groups when possible.

The following Full-Time Officer positions are currently in existence:

President

To act as a representative for all students

The President should stay aware and informed of the outcome of all committee meetings through regular Officer Committee meetings

The President is answerable to the student body

To gauge student opinion and ensure that the Students’ Union reflects the views of the student population at all times

Ensure students are well informed

To co-ordinate, lead and support the Full-Time Officer team

To chair, and report to, Change Your Union, the Executive and to have first refusal of chair at any AGMs

To be a member of the Students’ Union Board of Trustees

To be ultimately responsible for staff matters and to be a member of the Senior Management Team.

The President will be an ex-officio member of all Union committees where he/she is not a full member

The President will be a member of the Summer Ball Committee

To act as liaison between the Students’ Union and University Directorate

To attend or co-ordinate attendance at all University committees

To be a member of and to attend University Council

To be involved in the University Academic Appeals process in line with current regulations

To work with the Education Officer on academic matters

To represent the students’ interests and views at all committee levels

The President should support the Education Officer in student appeals, complaints and disciplinary procedures as well as be a representative on associated panels

To speak or co-ordinate the provision as SU speaker at University Open Days

To be representative of the student body during all contact with outside organisations/bodies for example, the police, the media and the NUS.

To ensure student opinion is properly reflected in all decisions taken with regard to commercial operations

To be representative of the student body on all matters of communication with any affiliated Unions/Organisations e.g. NUS and redirect information appropriately

To ensure Students’ Union financial matters are regularly scrutinised with the assistance of the Finance Manager and to keep Executive Council fully informed

To ensure that at least one FTO attends each and every Campus Life and Student Life Committee across all campuses

Working in conjunction with the Chief Executive and other staff and Full-Time Officers to ensure budgets for the next financial year are prepared to meet the planning cycle of the parent institution

To ensure SU Annual Accounts are properly scrutinised and approved

To ensure all Students’ Union expenditure is properly authorised and budgetary limits are respected by all concerned

To be a member of the Board of Trustees

To work with the Board of Trustees to ensure that the SU Chief Executive receives both an annual appraisal, and an annual pay review from the Full-Time Officers team

To liaise with the Students’ Union Chief Executive including working together to create the SU Annual Report and achieve the aims set out in the SU Strategic Plan.

Education Officer

To act a representative for all students
Liaise with the President and to act as President in his/her absence
To represent the Student Body on all Academic Committees
To represent the Student Body on matters of academic quality assurance, academic frameworks and curriculum
To be a member of and report to Change Your Union and the Executive Committee
To be a member of the Board of Trustees
To manage the Education and SLTA budgets and liaise with the Finance Office to produce necessary budgets
To assist the president with the scrutiny of the Union financial matters including the budgets and monitoring of commercial events
To work with the President on all academic appeals/complaints/academic offences procedures
To liaise and work with the Education Part-Time Officer
To be responsible for representing the educational needs of students at a collective and individual level
Liaise with the President and all relevant Officers on education matters concerning the Student Body
To deal with (but not counsel) all students who have educational issues or problems, respecting confidentiality at all times
To oversee the development and maintenance of the Student Representative System within the University. Working closely with the Representation and Democracy Coordinator and liaising with University colleagues, they will ensure that appropriate training and induction is provided to all representatives
To regularly receive all collected student feedback and opinion on the quality of their course and the institutional provision of academic support services, whether face to face or through the suitable SU feedback channels.
To lead, facilitate and manage the Student-led Teaching Award scheme as highlighted by the documents produced in its pilot year (2011/12) and the years since
To write and present the Student Written Submission to the QAA. Every four years the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) conducts an audit of the University to ensure its academic standards are high. The Education Officer is charged with researching and writing a paper to accompany the audit on behalf of students. The next audit will be 2017/18.
To support and promote all education-related campaigns throughout the term of office
To attend all relevant committees
Keep up to date with national issues that will effect students
To be responsible for any other duties as decided by the Officer Committee.

Community Officer

To act as representative for all students
To be a member of and report to Change Your Union and the Officer Committee
To be a member of the Board of Trustees
To manage the Welfare budget and liaise with the Finance Office to produce necessary budgets
To assist the president with the scrutiny of the Union financial matters including the budgets and monitoring of commercial events
To promote a preventative approach and provide information concerning student welfare with the aim of improving the student experience, including but not limited to student advice, counselling, personal finance, disability, age, sexuality, discrimination and equality

Represent all views and interests of students at the University on all Welfare Issues
To have concern that the University and Union alike are provide the advice and services that meets the needs of a diverse range of students
To be responsible for up-holding all equal opportunities policies within the Students’ Union
Liaise with Student Services, Accommodation Services and student support groups within the University including but not limited to IDEC and the International Office
To sit on the University Student Life committee
To support the Opportunities Manager with sustainability issues and sit on the University Sustainability committee
To support the Volunteering Coordinator with all volunteer projects

To support the Marketing Manager with Student Media societies such as Tone Radio and Space Newspaper
To maintain and extend links and associations within the local community involving representing the union and students on all local residents’ groups and on the Reducing Alcohol Related Violence group
To support and promote all suitable campaigns throughout the term of office whilst developing ways to make them more effective
To find creative ways to increase participation of students studying while living at home
To participate in the Union’s sustainability and Greener Gloucestershire work
To be a member of the Prevent working group
To attend all relevant committees
To represent students, where needed, through academic appeals/complaints/academic offences procedures
To assist with the annual RAG and other student fundraising initiatives
To liaise and work with the Welfare Part-Time Officer
To lead on and co-ordinate the delivery of the C-Card Scheme
To support and promote all welfare-related campaigns throughout the term of office
Keep up to date with national issues that will effect students
To be responsible for any other duties as decided by the executive council

Sports Officer

To act as a representative for all students

To work with and complement the rest of the Full-Time Officers team

To be a member of and report to Change Your Union and the Officer Committee

To be a member of the Students’ Union Board of Trustees

To be responsible, along with the President and the Chief Executive, for the allocation of monies to sports clubs, and for ensuring that they remain within budget

To co-ordinate and be ultimately responsible for all sports clubs recognised by the Students’ Union, and to chair all related meetings

To actively promote the SU Equal Opportunities Policy within SU sports clubs

To organise and promote sport at both competitive and non-competitive levels

To liaise and negotiate with the University on sport related issues

To take an active role in disciplinary matters relating to sports club members

To represent the University at all South West Region, and National Representative Committees of BUCS.

To assist the Sports Co-ordinator in the organisation and running of the BUCS Championship, as well as the arrangements and cancellation of fixtures and travel arrangements for BUCS and all other relevant organised events and fixtures

To actively research and campaign for improved access for disabled students to take part in sporting activity (both on a competitive and recreational level)

To administer the running of events such as Sports Reunion, The Sports and Societies Naked Calendar, Varsity, Sports Tours and the Sports Awards Dinner

To liaise with outside bodies such as kit manufacturers, local media and other student bodies on matters regarding sports

To assist in the formation of new clubs through the recognised procedures

To work with the Alumni office to foster links with former students

To attend and represent students on all relevant SU and University committees

To ensure that there is adequate publicity for activities associated with sports clubs and other relevant SU issues on all sites

To liaise with the Sports Executive

To assist the President with the scrutiny of the Union’s financial matters, including budgets and monitoring of commercial operations

To assist with the annual RAG initiatives.

Part Time Executive Officer Roles

There are 14 Part Time Executive Officer posts split into committee chairs and liberation officers:

Committee chairs

Education
Employability
Events
Sustainability
Sports
Volunteering
Welfare

Liberation Officer

Black Students’ Officer
Disabled Students’ Officer
International Students’ Officer
LGBT Students’ Officer
Part-Time and Mature Students’ Officer
Post-Graduate Students’ Officer
Womens’ Officer

Election Information

Deciding to stand for election can be a difficult decision and only you can make it. Below are some tips which may help you make your decision.

Research the posts and the SU and decide which post you can bring the most to

Be sure that if you are elected that you REALLY have the enthusiasm for the job

The election can be daunting and time-consuming – so organise your academic work in advance

Your manifesto and campaign policies are up to you, however try to be realistic about what you can actually deliver if elected

Read and understand the election regulations before you stand and again before you start campaigning.

Support

The current Full Time Officers team and SU staff members are more than happy to meet with any individual who is thinking about standing for election, to help give an insight into the posts and the elections. Staff members can chat with you for up to 20 minutes only.

To arrange a meeting simply phone or e-mail the individual you need to speak to. Contact details can be found in the ‘contacts’ section of this pack.