MDXSU Society Handbook 2015/2016
At MDXSU we want all our Societies to be as creative, proactive and successful as possible. We’ll help you along every step of the way to make sure you fulfil your aims and visions for the year. This handbook aims to give you all of the information you need to run a successful and enthusiastic Society. From Society committee roles to organising an event to managing your finances, we will supply you with all the knowledge you need! So what are you waiting for!? Read on to start on your journey of becoming the best MDXSU Societies ever!
Contents 3.
about us
4. welcome 6.
committee roles
7. finance 8. website 9. events 10.
promotion
12.
handover 2
About Us Rachael Wall Societies Coordinator
Rachael will be looking after all non-Academic Societies at Middlesex, so drop her a message if you have any queries! Email: r.wall@mdx.ac.uk Tel: 020 8411 5059
Sophie McCallum Course Based Opportunities Coordinator Sophie will be responsible for all Academic Societies from setting them up to organising events and activities! Email: s.mccallum@mdx.ac.uk
Tel: 020 8411 6837
Jonty Tindall Student Led Events Coordinator
Jonty is responsible for putting on MDXSU events throughout the year, and will also be helping students and societies plan and deliver their events! Email: j.tindall@mdx.ac.uk Tel: 020 8411 3425
Raechel Mattey Head of Membership Raechel manages the Membership team here at MDXSU, overseeing societies, student media, events and volunteering. Email: r.mattey@mdx.ac.uk
Tel: 020 8411 3452
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Your Student Officers Aman Siddiqi MDXSU President
Hi everyone! My name is Aman and I am the President of your Students’ Union. Had I not been involved in a Society during my time at Middlesex, I can surely say that I wouldn’t be here before you as your President today. Through joining the Pakistan Society, I met life long friends and most of the people that I now know at Middlesex. Furthermore, becoming the PakSoc President from 2012 – 2013 taught me so much about leadership, working within a team and putting on events; things that I hadn’t been taught on my course. Last year we had some truly ground breaking Societies who went above and beyond to improve the student experience of Middlesex, winning awards both at MDX and nationally for the contribution they made, and I have no doubt our Societies will do even bigger, better things in 2015/16.
Orla Hillary
Vice President Health & Education and science & technology
Hey, I’m Orla your VP for the Health & Education and Science & Technology schools. I’m so excited to work with the Societies over the next year! I am just finishing my Nursing degree, and as well as looking out for students within my Schools, I am also responsible for Sport, RAG, volunteering, the environment and LGBT. So if you have any questions about these or want to get involved with any of these please don’t hesitate to get in touch! 4
André Thompson
Vice President art & design and media & performing arts Hey all, your Vice President for Art & Design, Media & Performing Arts here, and I’m also be looking after societies this year!
I would first of all like to welcome all new Societies starting this year to the MDXSU family! I can honestly say that being involved in both joining and running Societies at MDX has literally changed my life for the better. Bringing a new Society to MDX has the power to do the same for you and for your new members, so embrace it! Secondly, welcome back to our continuing Societies, whether you’re a new or returning committee member. You elected me to represent you, and having been an active member within Societies as a student, I faced many of the struggles that you would have faced when running your Society in the last year. In my manifesto I promised better support, a better funding process and more exposure for Societies - and I’m now in office, so let’s make this happen! This is the start of what promises to be a great year for societies and I can’t wait to get started.
Sayed Alkadiri
Vice President business & law
I wouldn’t have completed my degree - let alone be a twice elected Student Officer – if I hadn’t been involved in running Societies at Middlesex. As a student I ran the Free Palestine Society, and also helped lead the Islamic and Saudi Societies. The amount of transferable skills, fun and purpose I got from these roles as a Society leader is inexplicable. If I was to give one message to you as Society leaders, it would be: be proud of the work you do, because you change the lives of students.
Committee Roles president
The President of a society is responsible for overseeing the overall running of the society. This includes organising committee meetings in liason with the Secretary, chair meetings and produce agenda documents for each one and to ensure those in other committee positions are fulfilling their roles.
secretary As the Secretary you are responsible for the Society email account; making sure emails are checked and responded to on a regular basis. As well as this the Secretary is to ensure that the online MDXSU membership lists are up to date and correct. The Secretary is responsible for keeping a written record of meetings including taking minutes.
treasurer The Treasurer is responsible for the finances of a Society. This includes maintaining up to date accounts with the MDXSU Finance Manager and submitting funding applications to MDXSU when applicable. The Treasurer is also responsible for producing a termly report and yearly budget, in liason with the President.
Inclusion Officer As the Inclusion Officer you are responsible for taking a proactive approach and ensuring that the Society is inclusive and accessible to all students. You must encourage and ensure that all other committee members also take inclusion into consideration. The Inclusion Officer should also publicise the society’s inclusion position during Welcome Week and all other events. 6
Finance Each Society has an account number - keep hold of this so that you can easily sort out any finance queries. Any income you receive from ticket sales etc, can be paid to your account at the Welcome Desk. If you’re unsure about any kind of Society finance then feel free to contact Janelle, our Finance manager/guru on J.A.Clarke@mdx.ac.uk (pictured above).
FUNDING COMMITTEE To apply for funding you will need to submit a funding form to the funding committee. If your bid is successful than you can purchase your goods via two different methods. For more details about Society finance, please check out the ‘Leading a Society’ page on the MDXSU website for more information.
EXPENSES If what you need to purchase is of a small value, you can buy it using your own money and claim it back from MDXSU. Once the purchase has been agreed by all committee members, you will be required to hand in an expenses form (which can be found on the ‘Leading a Society page on the MDXSU website) which must be signed by two members of the society committee (excluding the individual claiming) as well as Sophie or Rachael. To do this you must keep all of your receipts and hand them in to Janelle along with the expenses form.
INVOICES In some situations you may need to purchase goods or services which cost a larger sum of money. In this scenario you can request an invoice from the company you’re ordering from and email/attach to form this to MDXSU. If this purchase is agreed by all committee members you will also need to complete the outgoing costs form (which can be found on the ‘Leading a Society page on the MDXSU website) which will also need to be signed by two members of the society committee as well as Rachael or Sophie. Janelle can then process this and pay for the goods/services using your account. 7
Website What is it? The MDXSU website is the first place students go to check out what Societies we have on offer, so it’s the perfect place for you to reach new students. Each Society has their own page on the website, where you can display information about your Society. The video below will walk you through how to use the website.
why use it? The website can be used for lots of different things, for example you can add memberships to your page so that students can join your Society online. You can maintain a list of members and contact details, as well as send out group communication to all members. You can also set up events, charge for tickets and sell Society membership. To find out more about how to use the website, you can find our website tutorial video on the ‘Using the website’ section of the website.
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Organising Events planning Speak to Jonty (our Events Coordinator) about your ideas and he will help you work out what it is you want to achieve. At this point think about dates, times, rooms etc. Make sure you leave enough time for everything to come together - ideally at least a month!
booking Once we’ve talked through your plans with you, you may need to fill out an event booking form and a risk assessment - but this depends on what type of event you’re organising and where you’re holding it. For smaller events, such as meetings, you can book rooms through the Welcome desk at MDXSU. If you wish to use the Quad, Grove Atrium or MDX House you’ll need to speak to Jonty! Some Societies like to invite guest speakers to events. This is a fantastic idea, but please let us know who you planning on inviting as it takes us up to 3 weeks to check the speaker to ensure they are operating under the no-platform policy. If you require funding for your event you can apply for money through the funding committee. For more details on Society finances you can see the Finance section in this handbook, or check the MDXSU website.
update Remember to always keep Jonty up to date and make sure that he is aware of any decisions/bookings which have been made. This is massively important as all details need to go through the SU! If at any point you are confused, just remember that Jonty is only an email away! 9
Promotion logos As a Society it’s vital that you have your own identity within the MDXSU family and we really encourage each Society to have their own logo. If you already have a logo - perfect! Your logo doesn’t need to be complicated, in fact it can be as simple as you’d like! It can be as easy as your society name in a funky font. If you’re not sure that you can make your own logo we have a template text logo which can be edited to suit your Society and then used on the website and social media.
social media If used correctly, social media is an excellent method of gaining more members and promoting your Society. Here are five tips to consider! 1. What platform and why? Think about why you need social media, which platforms best suit your needs and who you’re trying to reach. Are your main aims reaching out to new people or sharing photos of your events, or creating a private group for your committee to communicate more easily? 2. Short and sweet On social media short and simple works best, and remember that visual, eye-catching posts are often the best way of getting someone to stop scrolling!
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3. Creating a Society Community By creating a Facebook group, you give yourself an easy way to communicate with your members, while giving everyone in your society a space to ask questions, share stories and get to know each other. 4. Reaching new students Want your society to grow? Seek out ways to reach new people, whether posting in relevant Facebook groups or utilising tags on Twitter and Instagram. Collaboration with other groups and societies in person works online as off! 5. Keep Active This is a big one. You don’t want to spam people to the point they block you, but there’s nothing worse than an account which hasn’t been used in 2 years. Post regularly – if you’re really keen, check out Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, Buffer etc. – and make sure your account can be transferred over to a new committee next year.
promoting your events/activities Promotion for your events and projects is vital. If done correctly, you’ll attract a larger audience and gain more interest in your Society. As well as creating events on the website and advertising opportunities on your own social media, you can also feature your events and projects on MDXSU channels – from our Facebook and emails, to digital screens around campus. If you would like some promotional help, please fill in a Marketing Request form online at the earliest possible opportunity – you can find this within the ‘Leading a Society’ section. For any related queries, please contact our Communications Coordinator Laura at L.Higgs@mdx.ac.uk.
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Handover If you’re in your final year of the committee it’s good to start thinking about handing over your Society to a new committee before the academic year ends. This can be done in whichever best suits you and the Society. You may feel more comfortable discussing the available committee member positions in a meeting with the Society, or by holding a more formal elections. All Societies must conduct a handover before the end of the academic year in 2016. We will then need to collect the new committee details before you leave, so that we have a record of all new Society committees. This is hugely important, as we really want each committee to leave their legacy and ensure that the transition to the next committee is as smooth as possible. The last thing we want is for all of your hard work to go to waste!
elections A democratic election can be held every year so that a fairly elected committee are chosen. These elections should be a chance for students to put themselves forward for any of the committee roles available in the Society. We suggest that you have an agreed independent person/body to oversee your elections. For more information on end of year Society elections please contact Sophie or Rachael.
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