Autumn Term Elections - Welcome and Introduction

The Autumn Term elections are your chance to have your say on who leads your Guild this year. You can nominate yourself to represent the views of over 36,000 students and make a real difference to our University community. The following information will give you an insight into the positions that are up for election, support available from the Guild and how the election works.

This is your chance to change things and help all students ‘make the most out of university life’

Elections Schedule:

• Nominations Open: Monday 19^th November, 10am
• Nominations Close: Wednesday 21^st November, 4pm
• Election training for candidates will be sent to candidates via email
• Campaigning and Voting Opens: Friday 23^rd November at 10am
• Campaigning and Voting Closes: Friday 23^rd November at 4pm
• Results: Friday 30^th November

Autumn Term Elections

All of the Committees of the Guild empower you to make changes on the issues that matter to you. Each has its own remit, so you can be sure that whatever your interests, there will be a role that’s just right for you.

All roles are Part-Time, so they can be completed alongside any study commitments

Positions Available:

Guild Policy Development Group Members

Guild Policy Development Group is responsible for formulating, developing and debating Guild Policy. The Group plays a key role in the “Your Ideas” process. It is responsible for considering all of the ideas submitted in a given cycle and checking them for financial/reputational or legal issues.

In the 2018-19 academic year the positions to be elected are:

By standing for the Postgraduate member position, it is expected that you are either a postgraduate taught or postgraduate research student.

The BME and Woman representative members are all self-defined roles. It is expected that by standing for that role, you self-define into one of those groups.

NUS Conference Delegate

Delegates to National Union of Students conferences have a role in setting the agenda for the wider student movement, by voting on policy and suggesting policy ideas of their own.

By attending an NUS Conference, you can have a say on the issues that will matter to you. It is also a great opportunity to network with delegates from Unions across the UK.

Delegates will be elected for:

The above dates are those released by NUS and are correct at the time of print. These dates may be subject to slight changes beyond the Guild’s control.

Candidates are asked to ensure they are available to attend the dates above before nominating themselves for the role of NUS Delegate.

By nominating yourself, it is expected that you fall into one of the categories above – including via self-definition where appropriate for liberation roles.

If you are unsure whether you are eligible to stand, or would like more information on the above before submitting a nomination, please email: elections@guild.bham.ac.uk

Appointments Panel Member

The Appointments Panel is responsible for recruiting and selecting new Trustees for the Guild of Students. The Trustees have ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the Guild is legally and financially compliant and for monitoring the overall organisational strategy.

As a member of the Appointments Panel, you can ensure the needs of students are represented during this process, and will continue to remain at the heart of the student experience.

There is one open place roles available.

Election Documents:

In order to run as a candidate in a Guild of Students Election, candidates must adhere to the Guild’s Election Regulations and Bye Law 8 (Elections). The Law, Institution and Union rules also all count and become election rules, including the Guild’s Zero Tolerance Policy & Bullying & Harassment Policy.

All Guild elections are overseen by the Guild’s Returning Officer who is responsible for ensuring that every election is free fair and open. The Guild’s Returning Officer is the University’s Registrar and Secretary who deputises their role to an NUS Returning Officer.

You can find all the important documents and policies you will need to run as a candidate below:

Election Guide: Please click here to download the Guide for Autumn Term Elections.

Election Regulations

Please click here to download the Guild of Students’ Election Regulations. All candidates must read these regulations and ensure their supporters & campaign teams are also made aware of these rules.

It is the candidate’s responsibility to be aware of these rules – ignorance of the rules is not an excuse for breaking them. Therefore you should contact Student Voice on elections@guild.bham.ac.uk if you are unclear or need further assistance on any of the regulations at any time.

Guild of Students Byelaws

Please click here to download the Guild of Students’ Byelaws. Please refer to Bye Law 8 with regards to Elections and Bye Law 6 with regards to Committees of the Guild.

Complaint Form

Please click here to download the Complaint Form. A student or candidate wishing to submit an election complaint must do so by using the Guild of Students Election Complaint Form. This must be sent by email to elections@guild.bham.ac.uk

All complaints must be substantiated with evidence in support of their complaint where possible.

List of Freely Available Items

Please click here to download the List of Freely Available Items. These are items that you can use without having to make a claim on your budget.

All other items you wish to use must come out of your allocated budget.

Additional Support for Disabled Candidates

Please click here to download the Guild’s Policy on Additional Support for Disabled Candidates.

Campaign Poster & Written Statement Guidance

In order to nominate yourself for any of these roles, you need to submit your nomination by the nominations deadline - Wednesday 21st November at 4pm

When you nominate yourself it is advised that you also submit a written statement and campaign poster, to tell everyone why they should vote for you.

Some advice is provided below:

Written Statement

A Written Statement is an opportunity to tell others why they should vote for you, and what you hope to do in the role.

There is a word limit on Written Statements, this is 200 words.

Written Statements can be submitted online. They will then be used in Guild elections publicity. If you need assistance in uploading them, please send them to elections@guild.bham.ac.uk  

There are no rules about what should be included, but as a guide you can use the following questions:

• What do you want to achieve in this role to benefit the student population?
• What has inspired you to run for this role?

Campaign Poster

A Campaign Poster is used to quickly & visually communicate your aims and why students should vote for you. A Campaign Poster must be A4 size. Please avoid using a large amount of text as, once the size is altered, this may not be visible!

A helpful guide on how to create one can be found here

Further information on what to include can be found in the elections guide.

Budgets

All candidates are provided with a budget to support them to run in elections. This has been set at:

All items, except those on the list of freely available items, must be claimed for – this includes all postage and packaging.

If you are worried about having the money to run in the election, please contact us on elections@guild.bham.ac.uk or come in and see us and we will be able to help.