ELECTIONS TAKE PLACE FROM MON 2 - FRI 6 MAR ‘15
SOCIETY ELECTIONS HANDBOOK (NEW CANDIDATES)
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ELECTIONS TAKE PLACE FROM MON 2 - FRI 6 MAR ‘15 Contents: Introduction
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VPSI Vision
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The Students’ Union and Elections
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Why run for a position?
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Roles available
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Key deadlines
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How to nominate yourself
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Voting
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Results
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Handover and training
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Volunteering
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Thank you
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Bucks Students’ Union Queen Alexandra Road, High Wycombe, Bucks HP11 2JZ Tel: 01494 601 600 Email: union@bucks.ac.uk Website: bucksstudentsunion.org Bucks Students’ Union is a registered charity – no. 1144820 VAT Reg. No. 669 0980 87 2
ELECTIONS TAKE PLACE FROM MON 2 - FRI 6 MAR ‘15 Introduction: This nominations pack provides the basic rules and key deadlines for the upcoming elections. If you need more information, or want to discuss any aspects of this handbook further, please contact Matthew Kitching - matthew.kitching@bucks.ac.uk.
Vice President Student Involvent: Mark Sweeney mark.sweeney@bucks.ac.uk
Sports: Holly Furniss holly.furniss@bucks.ac.uk
Societies: Lauren Troiano lauren.troiano@bucks.ac.uk
Website issues: Reece Buckingham reece.buckingham@bucks.ac.uk
Election issues: Matthew Kitching matthew.kitching@bucks.ac.uk
Election issues: Will Hoskin william.hoskin@bucks.ac.uk
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ELECTIONS TAKE PLACE FROM MON 2 - FRI 6 MAR ‘15
As a tenacious organisation, Bucks Students’ Union
represents and empowers its members. It is our aim, to support student’s participation in all extra-curricular activities whilst they are here at University, whether it be being part of a sports team, a society, or simply taking part in recreational activities. We do this, because we firmly believe it will develop your transferable skills and in turn enhance your employability. There are so many examples of the positive experiences students have had, that come about through their involvement with the Union by participating in the FREE and high quality opportunities we offer to them. Mark Sweeney Vice President Student Involvement Bucks Students’ Union
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ELECTIONS TAKE PLACE FROM MON 2 - FRI 6 MAR ‘15 The Students’ Union and elections: Bucks Students’ Union is student led, democratic organisation. All of our activities are organised and led by our members, which is why elections are so important. We hold one set of elections in March, looking for students to run for Sabbatical positions and committee members for sports and societies. Because we are a democratic organisation, we run elections to let our members decide who they want to lead the societies and clubs. Why is there one week of voting? The Students’ Union’s sabbatical elections take place from Monday 2 - Friday 6 March 2015. The society and club elections will also run in this week for a number of reasons: •
To create a buzz around campus
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To raise the elections profile
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To try and engage more members voting in both the sabbatical and society elections
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To oversee the election process in a fair manner.
Why run for a position? Committee positions show an excellent example of leadership skills and can be a fantastic unpaid opportunity to impress employers with. If you are interested in running for a committee position, but want to find out more, please contact the former committee of the society. They will hold invaluable knowledge about the duties and responsibilities of the role, the commitment and the ins and outs of the role itself.
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ELECTIONS TAKE PLACE FROM MON 2 - FRI 6 MAR ‘15 Roles available: There are three main roles available on a society committee. •
Chairperson
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Secretary
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Treasurer.
What experience should I have? You do not need prior experience to nominate yourself, however team work, communication and organisation are desired skills to have. The only requirement to run for a position is that you have to be a current student of Buckinghamshire New University. How much time will it take? The time commitment for our society committee members varies on how engaged members are with activities, the accreditation scheme and other events. You must attend a one hour society council meeting a month and attend one committee meeting a month in order to discuss the longevity and future plans of your society. The Students’ Union is here to fully support the members of committee and we provide a full training programme to help you develop in your role. For a more detailed description of the roles, please visit bucksstudentsunion.org/elections
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ELECTIONS TAKE PLACE FROM MON 2 - FRI 6 MAR ‘15 Key deadlines: Nomination period Nominations open Monday 12 January 2015 Please visit bucksstudentsunion.org/elections and nominate yourself: Nominations close Friday 13 February 2015 The nominations will be closed at midday. After this, you can no longer nominate yourself for a position. This is also the deadline for members to get student involvement cards. Voting period Elections week Monday 2 - Friday 6 March 2015 This is the week where members vote for who they want to be on committee. Elections close Friday 6 March 2015 Members will no longer be able to vote after this time. Post-election Society election results Friday 13 March 2015 The results will be announced in Beats cafe.
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ELECTIONS TAKE PLACE FROM MON 2 - FRI 6 MAR ‘15 How to nominate yourself: You will need to nominate yourself on the Bucks Students’ Union website. •
Logon to the Bucks Students’ Union website
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Sign in via the “Student login” section with your blackboard credentials
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You must be a part of your society online to nominate yourself
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Click elections
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Find your society, click “stand in election”
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Add your contact details
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Find the position you wish to run for and click “stand”
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Submit your nomination
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A Students’ Union member of staff must approve your nomination
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Once your nomination has been approved, you can upload your photo and manifesto.
Manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of a candidates intentions, a manifesto usually incorporates new ideas and updated versions of old ideas that show how the candidate would make life better in that role. Manifestos have a limit of 100 words. Hints & Tips •
It might be helpful to look at the opportunity profile and review
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Make sure any aims and goals are achievable
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Mention some of your existing skills that might be useful to your role.
Photo You must upload a passport size photo to the website and it must be no larger than 1MB.
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ELECTIONS TAKE PLACE FROM MON 2 - FRI 6 MAR ‘15 Voting: Single Transferable vote When voting, members rank candidates in order of preference (1st, 2nd, 3rd choice etc...). Members can only vote once in any election. All members must have a student involvement card in order to vote. They must also be a member of the society on our website. You can obtain a student involvement card from the Students’ Union for free. You must sign up to the society on the Bucks Students’ Union website in order to vote. You can vote for yourself. Re-Open Nomination Re-Open Nomination (RON) will be an option in every election. Members can vote for RON if they do not feel any of the running candidates are suitable for the role. How to vote •
Logon to the Bucks Students’ Union website
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Sign in via the “Student login” section with your blackboard credentials
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You must be a part of your society online to nominate yourself
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Click elections
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Find your society and click “Vote now”
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Agree to the terms and conditions
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Click “start voting”
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Vote for the members in preference
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Once you are happy with your decision, please click “vote”.
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ELECTIONS TAKE PLACE FROM MON 2 - FRI 6 MAR ‘15 Results: The election voting will be counted by members of Students’ Union staff. Election results will be announced on Friday 13 March in Beats café. They will also be posted on the Bucks Students’ Union website.
Handover and training (post-election meeting): There will be a handover period, where the old committee can provide you with essential information and introduce you to vital contacts. This will allow a crossover period for the old committee to go through all of the information with the newly elected committee. This includes handing over email address and social media passwords, and any previously established links such as sponsors. As a newly formed committee, you must attend one of the following post-election training sessions: Wednesday 27 May / Friday 29 May 2015. (These dates are subject to change) There will be individual role training in October 2015.
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ELECTIONS TAKE PLACE FROM MON 2 - FRI 6 MAR ‘15 Volunteering: All committee roles are voluntary and you can log your volunteering hours on the Students’ Union website. There are incentives for logging 25, 50 and 100 hours.
Thank you: Thank you for standing in a Students’ Union election. If you are unsuccessful in this election, but want to obtain a leadership role, please view our website for more opportunities.
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