SU President Elections Pack 2020-21

2020/21

president

elections

Includes nomination form thesu.org.uk/elections

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#SUElections

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Introduction Timetable Rules Equality and Diversity Statement Presidential Elections Nomination & Declaration Form Glossary

Introduction The SU President Elections are held annually, giving students the opportunity to elect their new Presidents. The Presidents lead SU activity, and represent students’ views and opinions for the coming academic year.

You can nominate yourself for one of the following positions: • SU President Falmouth • SU President Exeter • SU President Welfare & Inclusivity • SU President Student Experience Full job descriptions can be viewed at www.the su.org.uk/elections These roles provide opportunities to develop skills in leadership, strategy, public speaking, budgeting, event management, team working, communication, partnership working, time management, and so much more. It’s a great way to influence and make change for students, and enhance your CV and employability.

“It’s safe to say I learnt a lot about myself in my year as President Exeter. You learn your strengths and how to use your weaknesses, how to work in a team and empower others, and how to be a credible voice for things you care about. Running to be President was the best decision I ever made. Plus you get a life size sticker of yourself on window which is pretty cool too.”

— Izi Robe (SU President Exeter 2018-19)

Have you got what it takes to be one of our SU Presidents for 2020/21?

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Key Dates Nominations: 12pm Monday 6 January – 12pm Friday 31 January Candidate Training and Preparation: Tuesday 4 February, 5-7pm Campaigning and Voting: 6pm Monday 10 February – 12pm Friday 14 February

Timetable Date & Time 06/01/20

Activity 12pm Nominations open Start date for submitting campaigning publicity to the SU for approval

Location Online and via paper form In person or via email

15/01/20 Drop in between ‘Find out more’ drop in; learn about 1–3pm the positions, sharing best practice in writing and communicating a manifesto/ campaigning, etc 16/01/20 Drop in between ‘Find out more’ drop in; learn about 12–2pm the positions, sharing best practice in writing and communicating a manifesto/ campaigning, etc 22/01/20 Drop in between ‘Find out more’ drop in; learn about 12–2pm the positions, sharing best practice in writing and communicating a manifesto/ campaigning, etc 23/01/20 Drop in between ‘Find out more’ drop in; learn about 12–2pm the positions, sharing best practice in writing and communicating a manifesto/ campaigning, etc 28/01/20 Drop in between ‘Find out more’ drop in; learn about 12–2pm the positions, sharing best practice in writing and communicating a manifesto/ campaigning, etc

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SU Office Falmouth Campus

SU Office Penryn Campus

SU Office Penryn Campus

SU Office Falmouth Campus

SU Office Falmouth Campus

Date & Time 29/01/20

Activity

Drop in between ‘Find out more’ drop in; learn about 12–2pm the positions, sharing best practice in writing and communicating a manifesto/ campaigning, etc 31/01/20 12pm Nominations close

Location SU Office Penryn Campus

Online and in SU Offices

04/02/20 5 – 7pm Candidate and Campaign Team training

Penryn Campus

07/02/20 12pm Deadline for submission of all campaign material.

In person or via email (elections@thesu.org. uk)

10/02/20 9-10am Breakfast briefing (free breakfast for candidates) 4-6pm SU Annual General Meeting and candidate announcements

Lower Stannary Lect Theatre 2 Falmouth Campus

6pm Campaigning & Voting begins 11/02/20 9-10am Breakfast briefing (free breakfast for candidates) 12-2pm Art Attack Challenge 5-7pm

Candidate Hustings (Q&A)

Fox Café Falmouth Campus Falmouth Campus Chapel Lect Theatre Penryn Campus

12/02/20 9-10am Breakfast Briefing (free breakfast for candidates)

Lower Stannary, Penryn Campus

12-2pm Return transport to Truro Campus

Penryn Campus

8pm President Election Big Quiz Event

Lower Stannary, Penryn Campus

13/02/20 9-10am Breakfast Briefing (free breakfast for candidates)

Lower Stannary, Penryn Campus

9-10am Breakfast Briefing (free breakfast for candidates)

Lower Stannary, Penryn Campus

14/02/20 1pm Voting closes 5:30pm Results announced 7pm Elections Celebration

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Online

Rules The following rules apply to the SU President Elections and have been approved by the Returning Officers:

Returning Officers • A representative from NUS will act as the Senior Returning Officer • The SU Student Opportunities Director will act as Deputy Returning Officer All candidates are expected to abide by the Election Rules, the SU Constitution and its By-laws and the relevant University regulations and policies. These Election Rules are the headline principles and will be explained in more detail at candidate training. If at any time you are in doubt, please ask for clarification.

Nominations 12pm 6 January – 12pm 31 January 2020 • A student may only submit one valid nomination form either online OR via a paper form.

• All nominees for the SU President Falmouth must be current students of Falmouth University.

• All nominees for the SU President Exeter must be current students of the University of Exeter Cornwall Campuses.

• All nominees for the SU President Welfare & Inclusivity and the SU President Student Experience must be current students of either Falmouth University or the University of Exeter Cornwall Campuses.

• All nominees must be full members of the SU; nb: all current students of Falmouth University and the University of Exeter Cornwall Campuses are automatically members of the SU unless they opt-out.

• Any student who has been found guilty of an offence under the SU disciplinary guidelines, as a staff member or student, will have to submit their nomination to elections@thesu.org.uk and a panel, comprising of the DRO, Lead Sabbatical and a Student Trustee. The panel will decide if the nomination can go forward based on the severity of the issue and the disciplinary decision made. If the DRO has been directly involved in the disciplinary process, the CEO will replace them as a member of the panel. This also applies in cases of role co-option.

• Nominees must complete an online nomination, completing the declaration. Paper nominations must be handed into the SU Office at either Penryn or Falmouth Campuses.

• Each nomination must have a proposer and a seconder.

• All proposers and seconders must be current students and full members of the SU. • For the President Falmouth, all proposers and seconders must be current students of Falmouth University.

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• For the President Exeter, all proposers and seconders must be current students of the University of Exeter University Cornwall Campuses.

12pm 6 January – 12pm 31 January 2020 Trustee eligibility Candidates are expected to become Trustees of the SU and as such there is an eligibility and responsibility expectations. It is expected that candidates are not prevented from acting as a Trustee because they: • have an unspent conviction for one or more of the offences listed here • have an IVA, debt relief order and/or a bankruptcy order • have been removed as a Trustee in England, Scotland or Wales (by the Charity Commission or Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator) • have been removed from being in the management or control of any body in Scotland (under relevant legislation) or have been disqualified by the Charity Commission • are a disqualified company director • are a designated person for the purposes of anti-terrorism legislation • are on the sex offenders register • have been found in contempt of court for making (or causing to be made) a false statement • have been found guilty of disobedience to an order or direction of the Charity Commission Right to Work in the UK Candidates, if elected, will become employees of the SU. It is expected that they have a right to work in the UK. Documentation will be required to prove your right to work. A full list of valid documents is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/ uploads/attachment_data/file/774286/Right_to_Work_Checklist.pdf

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Campaigning 6pm Monday 10 February – 12pm Friday 14 February 2020 • Students may not declare themselves as candidates or canvas for votes physically or online before the official announcement of candidates at the SU Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 10/02/20.

• Candidate Training is compulsory, therefore all candidates must attend. In the event that academic/medical commitments clash with both options, candidates may appoint a representative to attend in their place, but must inform the Deputy Returning Officer of this in advance. Failure to attend could result in the candidate not being eligible to run for office.

• It remains the responsibility of candidates to ensure they clarify any queries prior to carrying any Elections activity.

• Anyone helping a candidate is also bound by the election rules; they are acting for you and you will be accountable for their actions.

• Candidates may not run on a ‘slate’, that is where two or more candidates’ campaign jointly on a shared platform.

• If you work or volunteer for the SU, you can’t campaign whilst working or volunteering (or appear to be doing so, e.g. wearing a staff hoody or name badge). Elected Officers cannot campaign whilst wearing any symbol of their office (e.g. the SU hoody). Full-time officers cannot campaign during working hours, unless they have taken that time as annual leave.

• Employees of the SU, the Universities and FXPlus, who are not students, should remain impartial at all times. This includes (but is not limited to), not sending out communications on behalf of individual candidates, not wearing any candidate campaign merchandise, or verbally endorsing individual candidates in taught sessions.

• The use of social media is allowed. Content is the responsibility of the candidate and their campaigners and must adhere to the general rules outlined in this Election Pack.

• Candidates are not allowed to use the SU communication streams (including clubs and society’s mailing lists/the SU Facebook pages) to promote themselves.

• Societies, Clubs, SSLCs/SSLGs can vote to endorse candidates, and, if passed, may then use their communication streams to promote them.

• A publicity pack containing a specified number of posters can be provided to candidates if desired.

• Candidates should submit all poster designs (in electronic format) to marketing@thesu.org.uk for authorisation and printing. Posters will be ready for collection at the Annual General Meeting.

• Campaign material must not include logos of the SU, the Universities, their partner or commercial organisations.

• Poster and campaign material must adhere to the guidelines as outlined in the candidate training.

• Candidates can only campaign in ways that are open to all candidates, as outlined in the candidate training.

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6pm Friday 16th February – 12 noon Friday 23rd February 2018 • Candidates can campaign in lecture time with the consent of the lecturer.

• Each candidate will be allocated a £50 budget to cover campaign costs. You are not expected to spend more than £100 in total on your campaign. You will need to keep receipts as evidence of your campaign costs, and to claim any money back. If you want to spend more than £100 total on your campaign, you will need to get approval in advance from the Deputy Returning Officer.

• If you are using materials you already have, you must allocate a realistic value to them on your budget. Some things that all candidates have access to do not need recording such as an oven to bake cakes, or a device to play music etc.

• All candidates must submit all receipts to the Deputy Returning Officer by the close of voting with a completed Campaigning Spend Form enclosed in this pack.

• You are not permitted to canvas or display any campaigning material within fixed computer suite areas (e.g. Library IT suites, Peter Lanyon IT Suite).

• Any form of campaigning must be at least five metres away from voting stations.

• The use of stickers and balloons are prohibited. The use of singleuse plastic and non- recyclable paper is strongly discouraged. When displaying posters please use white tac, not tape or blue tac, as these leave marks.

• All campaigning must adhere to university regulations and must be lawful.

• All campaign material must be removed by candidates within one week of the end of elections. Failure to do so may result in the SU withholding the payment of your campaign expenses.

• The SU office spaces must remain impartial/neutral during the Elections and its resources may not be used by individual candidates/ campaign teams.

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Voting 6pm Monday 10 February – 12pm Friday 14 February 2020 • Voting shall be by Alternative Transferable Vote (ATV).

• Voting will be in electronic form via the SU website - www.thesu.org.uk/elections • During breakfast drop-in sessions the Returning Officer/s will update candidates on votes cast, can approve any additional publicity, and answer enquiries.

• Only current students of Falmouth University or the University of Exeter Cornwall Campuses, who are full members of the SU, are eligible to vote in the SU Elections and can do so only once for each position.

• Each student should be allowed to decide on their own voting choices and should not feel forced, pressured or coerced into their voting decisions.

• Each student’s vote should be their own and not that of a third party.

• Voting is confidential.

• Candidates and/or their campaign teams may not pressurise students into voting, nor may they check who students have voted for or keep a record of votes cast.

Elections Results • The results will be collated at the close of voting by the Deputy Returning Officer and ratified by the Senior Returning Officer.

• The results will be announced subject to any issues raised regarding the elections, in which case the results will be announced as soon as possible after this time.

• The Returning Officers and the IT/marketing support personnel will be the only people involved in the process and will be the only people with access to the results before the official announcement.

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Elections Results 7pm Friday 23rd February 2018 • The results will be collated at the close of voting by the Deputy Returning Officer and ratified by the Senior Returning Officer.

• The results will be announced subject to any issues raised regarding the elections, in which case the results will be announced as soon as possible after this time.

• The Returning Officers and the IT/marketing support personnel will be the only people involved in the process and will be the only people with access to the results before the official announcement.

Breaching the rules • Breach of any of these rules may result in a candidate/s being disqualified from the election or face penalties. The decision to disqualify and penalise is at the discretion of the Deputy/Senior Returning Officer.

• If a candidate instructs, or has knowledge of a third party breaking any rules on the candidates’ behalf, this may also result in disqualification from the elections.

Complaints • Contact returningofficer@thesu.org.uk ASAP. All complaints to the Returning Officer or their Deputy must be raised through this e-mail address.

• Formal complaints may not be raised anonymously, although candidates may informally discuss issues at any time with the Student Voice Team who may then seek the advice of the Deputy Returning Officer as appropriate.

• It is each candidate’s responsibility to raise any issues before the close of voting; all issues will need to be resolved prior to the count.

• Once the result has been counted and announced, no new issues will be heard unless they are in relation to the count of the vote.

Complaints received after this deadline will be dealt with in line with Bye-Law 10 Complaints.

• The range of sanctions for infringement of the rules may include; a formal warning, deduction of votes, removal from the ballot paper for a specified period of time, and, ultimately, withdrawal from the election.

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Equality and Diversity Statement Presidential Elections 2020 The Falmouth & Exeter Students’ Union (The Students’ Union) has a full policy on Equality & Diversity and this can be accessed on our website.

The Students’ Union is committed to promoting equality of opportunity and eliminating any unlawful or unfair discrimination and harassment in the Presidential Elections.

We are committed to providing equality for all irrespective of: • Age • Disability • Ethnicity • Gender • Gender reassignment • Religion or belief • Sexual orientation • Marriage and civil partnership • Pregnancy and materinity Under the Equality Act (2010), these are known as ‘protected characteristics’.

The purpose of this statement is to: • Value diversity and promote equality of opportunity for all.

• Promote respect and encourage good relations within and between groups.

• Promote an inclusive and harmonious place of work where there is mutual respect and where harassment and bullying, intimidation or violence is not tolerated.

• Prevent unlawful discrimination and victimisation.

• Comply with our legal obligations.

The Students’ Union will take seriously any breach of this policy.

Everyone is required to promote a culture free from illegal discrimination and all forms of harassment and bullying. Any incidents of discrimination, harassment or bullying will be investigated and may provide grounds for disciplinary action or dismissal.

We will work to ensure that all our students, employees, trustees and visitors, as well as those who apply or seek to apply to work with us, are treated fairly and are not subjected to discrimination by The Students’ Union on the grounds of any of the protected characteristics listed above.

The Students’ Union will take any complaints of discrimination, harassment or victimisation seriously and they will be dealt with in accordance with agreed procedures.

Any student who believes they have suffered any form of discrimination, harassment or victimisation should report this to the Chief Executive Officer. The Students’ Union will make every effort to ensure complaints are dealt with promptly and victimisation of the complainant does not occur.

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Nomination Form You can also fill out this form online at thesu.org.uk/elections Your Details Name of candidate: Post standing for: University: Student card no: Course: Year: Term-time address:

Out of term-time address:

Telephone number: Email address:

Proposer’s Details

Seconder’s Details

Name:

Name:

University:

University:

Student card no:

Student card no:

Course:

Course:

Year:

Year:

N.B. These details are required to enable the SU to contact you with regards to the elections in which you are standing as a candidate. They will not be used to contact you with regards to any other matter and will not be passed on to any third parties.

Declaration I am a University of Exeter Cornwall Campuses/Falmouth University student and a full member of the SU (Falmouth & Exeter Students’ Union). I agree to run my campaign within the rules and procedures of the SU elections, which I have read and understood. If elected into a Presidential position, I understand I will be required to undertake the position of an SU Trustee with the associated responsibilities.

Signed:

Date:

Please submit your completed form to either of the SU offices at Falmouth or Penryn by 12pm on Friday 31 January.

Your manifesto and a photo should be uploaded to the SU website. See rules for details.

Glossary Below are a list of words, abbreviations and acronyms commonly used within The Students’ Union and Elections that will be of help in understanding the supplied literature.

Candidate - Person who is applying, or putting themselves forward for, a particular position, i.e. an Elected Officer CEO – Chief Executive Officer Constitution - A legal, governing document that states an organisation’s purpose, who benefits, who are the Trustees and how it is accountable. A constitution is a requirement of the Charity Commission, of which Students’ Unions are regulated by in accordance with Charity Law in England and Wales.

DRO - Deputy Returning Officer (oversees the fair, accurate running of the SU Elections in the absence of the SRO).

Exec - Executive Officer, a voluntary, part-time elected position.

FX Plus (Falmouth Exeter Plus) – Shared services of Falmouth and UECC Hustings - An event which provides a platform for candidates to speak, present themselves, their manifesto and debate. Also provides attendees with the opportunity to put questions to the candidates.

The SU - Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union.

SU Board of Trustees - Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union Board of Trustees who have the strategic and legal authority for the SU SMT. Senior Management Team - Comprises of the SU CEO, Student Opportunities Director, Advice Director and Student Voice Director, which has day-to-day management authority for the SU operations.

Manifesto - A written document that outlines a candidate’s intentions and proposed policies and actions, should they be elected to office.

MoU - Memorandum of Understanding (outlines how two organisations expect to work together).

NUS - National Union of Students Sabbs – Sabbaticals; full-time paid, elected Presidents working for the SU. SRO - Senior Returning Officer (oversees the fair and accurate running of elections).

SU - Students’ Union Trustee - Someone with legal authority and responsibility for something on behalf of others, i.e. the SU Trustees have responsibility for the organisation on behalf of students. An external Trustee is someone who is not a student, but may be a past President or someone with skills and experience required on the Trustee Board. A student Trustee is a current student of Falmouth or UECC but is not a President or Exec.

www.SU.org.uk/elections

UECC - University of Exeter Cornwall Campuses.

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Falmouth & Exeter Students’ Union is a registered charity in England and Wales No. 1145405