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HAND IN NOMINATION FORMS BY 3PM FRI 3RD MAY2013

ELECTION WEEK—13TH-17TH MAY BALLOT COUNT - 17TH MAY

OFFICIAL RESULTS PUBLISHED 21STMAY

DO YOU HAVE WHAT

IT TAKES TO...

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Dudley Students’ Union is an independent organisation separate from Dudley College with its own budget, strategy and policies. Our independence is vitally important to us as means that we can represent student views to the college without any compromise. We can also offer students impartial advice and support on any teaching and learning issues. All students enrolled on a course with Dudley College/Sixth automatically become ‘members' of the Students’ Union and in the capacity of members are entitled to all of the benefits and rights the Union offers. We’re student led and student focused solely here to represent YOU. We have an exempt charity status and receive the majority of our money in a grant from the college, but also generate a small revenue from the sale of NUS Extra cards and external funding applications/bids. All the money we receive is spent on you (our members) in one way or another for example through subsidy of trips, hosting student events, student clubs and societies and supporting students to take part in representative structures. The objectives of the Students’ Union include improving the student experience, ensuring the voice of our members is heard and embracing the diversity and vitality of the student body. These objectives are all underpinned by values of democracy, inclusivity, accountability and advocacy

What is the Students’ Union?

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Being a democratic organisation, your Students’ Union is led on your behalf by a group of elected students. Every year a full time, paid, President is elected to direct the Students’ Union as an organisation and

represent all of its members. Alongside the President seven part time, voluntary, Vice President positions

exist. Presidents are voted into position during election time based on a statement of intention (manifesto)

which voters (students) consider before making a deci-sion on who they feel best represents them and their

interests. The student body then continue to oversee the work of the SU through elected class representatives who are invited to attend Student Council. At this meeting the elected Presidents report back on their work, are held accountable and can be mandated (asked to do things)

by the student body in their interest and on their behalf

The elections are run in order to allow any student to stand for a position and vote for they want to see

represent them throughout the following year. These elected students will then run the Students’ Union on

behalf of every member of the Students’ Union (every student enrolled at Dudley College/Sixth).

These elected students then co ordinate and lead on the work and direction of the Students’ Union in order

to fulfil its objectives and

mandate from the student body .

Who runs the Students’ Union?

Elections???

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The President is a full time, paid, student

representative who is elected by the student body.

Students intending to stand for the position are expected

to take a years break from their studies (or at the end of

their course before moving onto their next course or

career) with which to fulfil the role on behalf of the

Students’ Union. The President is responsible for making

decisions on and influencing the direction of the Students’

Union and are accountable to cross

college Student Council. If over the age of 18 the

President will also be a trustee of the organisation, with responsibility over the financial transactions and status of

the Union. If under 18 you are still able to stand for election as the President but will not be eligible to be a

trustee due to financial regulations. The term of office for the President is one academic year

and any student standing for the position must be

available for the entirety of this term (July 1st 2013 –June

30th 2014) There will also be a handover period of one

month before the student leader team elected in June fully

come into office. Any current standing

President may rerun for the post only once and therefore

may only hold office for a maximum of two years. The

current President came into office in June and will stay in

post until the end of their term in office May 2013.

For the term in office 2013/14 the President will be paid

£12,000 (before tax/NI) for fulfilling the role.

President of the SU

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A part time VP is a voluntary, unpaid, student

representative who has been elected by the student body to represent other students whilst continuing

with their studies.

Part time VP’s have no set hours but must be available to attend a regular meeting/training session between

5.30 – 7.00pm every Thursday evening. The term of office for a VP is one academic year (July -June—note this applies to whether they are elected in May or October) and any candidate standing must be a

registered student of Dudley College/Sixth for the entirety of this term i.e. re enrolling for a course in

August or continuing their studies at Dudley College.

Part time Vice Presidents

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Other than the Presidential position there are SEVEN part time Vice President positions available:

*VP Campaigns – Responsible for identifying students issues and raising awareness and/or making a change to the things that really matter. Are you good at talking to others and getting your point across? Do you know what issues are potentially affecting students and why? Fancy meeting with decision makers and getting things changed? With the removal of EMA, hike in tui-tion fees, high levels of youth unemployment and increased levels of stress and depression in students there are plenty of crucial campaigns that could be potential for campaign activity. Could this be you?! VP Finance (must be over 18) – Responsible for overseeing the good administration of finances, the accounts process, reporting on spending and recommending what to spend SU finances on. It’s crucial that the Students’ Union finances are overseen and kept in order. Having an exempt charity status it is important the candidate is good with money, has an eye for value for money, can spot potential revenue streams and reports on spending. (Knowledge of accounts desirable but not necessary)

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VP Social Activities – Responsible for Freshers’, annual trips, clubs and societies and identifying student re-quirements for different activities. Bags of energy, fun fun fun and determined to make students time at col-lege action packed? If it sounds like you the role of VP of Social Activities might be right up your street. We need an energetic individual to take on this role. VP Student Matters – Responsible for class reps, super reps, student focus groups, student complaints and encouraging learner involvement in all learner voice processes. Are you passionate about learner voice being heard and acted upon? Can you think of improvements to the current systems to ensure students feel as engaged as possible in the processes for getting them heard? If you can answer yes to either or both this might be the position for you…

VP Welfare – Responsible for raising awareness of welfare issues, creating new initiatives for ways in which students could be supported and running campaigns. Welfare covers a vast number of issues from mental/sexual and general health, student finance, housing, safety and so on. This post requires a student who really cares about others and has good ideas about the ways in which students need to/could be better supported

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VP Equality and Diversity – are you passionate about equality for all and embracing and celebrating the diversity of others? Leading on the liberation/representation campaigns for LGBT, Women, Black students, students with disabilities, international students, mature, part time and HE etc the VP E&D has the overall responsibility of ensuring that all students are treated equally, fairly and respected by each other and the college. Encouraging community cohesion and the understanding of one another is key to the focus of this role. VP Marketing – Responsible for maintaining the reputation and brand of the Students’ Union, raising the profile of the Union, social medias, Union website, press releases and media coverage. Are you a tweeting Queen or a Face book King? Good with IT, graphics and web design? Maybe you’re a budding media mogul with aspirations of moving into journalism. Working with a team to fulfil all of the marketing requirements for the Union we require an organised person with strong and exciting ideas.

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These posts will be available during the October Elections ONLY but please express an interest prior to this

if you are interested

VP Dudley Sixth

VP Broadway

VP Mons Hill

VP Wolvo St

VP Evolve

These posts have no set job description but do involve scoping and representing the views of students on your campus and making sure they are well represented across the college and at Student Council. The VP would also be responsible for promoting Union activities at their campus including all trips and clubs. Working alongside the other Vice Presidents, campus VPs will be actively involved in promoting the elections for class reps and trying to encourage as many students as possible on their campus to get involved with union and learner voice activities. Ensuring that views on issues specific to students at their campus and are raised with the relevant management will be key to these positions. Additional responsibilities for representing students at their specific campus will be expected to be undertaken. Please be aware you can only apply for a VP position of the campus that you are predominantly studying at. The voting rights to elect to these posts will be ring fenced to students studying at that particular campus.

Campus Officer positions

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If your still not convinced then you may want to consider the following benefits of being an Executive member:

Meet new people and make new friends Influence the direction and strategy of the Students’ Union Manage your time effectively Get involved in planning and organising events Contribute to representing the student body and contributing to the student experience Develop a wide range of communication skills Make a difference Open up new opportunities and challenges Enhance your employability and give evidence on your CV of the skills you have developed Prove your commitment and passion Develop skills that equip you for life and work!

The Benefits…

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If you feel you have what it takes to make a difference and represent thousands of students, why not fill in

the application form (which can be found at the back of this booklet pg 16/17). All you need to do is com-

plete the form and write your manifesto (ideas about what you would do as a representative, see pg 11) and ensure your form is submitted by Friday 3rd May 3pm to the Students’ Union office B4, Broadway Campus or

electronically to sophia.daly@dudleycol.ac.uk

Can you talk to someone from the Students’ Union to get a bit more information about the Elections?

No problem; pop along to the Students’ Union and

speak to your current Students’ Union President or email them on

studentunion@dudleycol.ac.uk You can also talk to Sophia Daly, Student Development Officer, who will be returning officer for the elections.

Just ask at the office!

The best way to really find out more would be to come along to the candidate workshop/ informational sessions—see pg 13

How do you apply for a position?

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. If you are thinking about applying for a post then why not come along to a election information session/candidate workshop. At this meet you can find out more information about the individual posts, which position you’d be best suited to, how the elections will run, advice on promoting yourself, support to write a manifesto and the opportunity to meet an experienced officer who will share their personal story and experience with you. The sessions are taking place: Tues 23rd April 12-1pm & 4-5pm Thurs 25th April 12-1pm & 4-5pm Monday 29th April 12-1pm &5.30-6.30pm Thurs 2nd May 10-11am & 2-3pm There will be no pressure on any attendees to stand in the election if they do not wish to, the session is purely informational and supportive.

Candidate workshops/ information session

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T! Even if you don’t apply for a

position - Elections are still important!

You may not want to run for a position yourself but

being a student here at Dudley College/Sixth it is your right to have your say in who will be representing you

over the next academic year.

The Elections are a key opportunity for you to get your voice heard!

All Dudley College/Sixth students can vote. A ballot box will be available in the Students’ Union Office every day

and ballot boxes will float to Evolve/Sixth/Mons Hill and Wolvo St.

There will also be an opportunity to vote online.

Voting is open from 10am on Monday 13th May until Friday 17th May 3pm . The results will be counted and announced on 17th May at 6pm. The count will start at

3.30pm in the Students’ Union office, Broadway Campus. Representatives of students standing

in the elections are invited to view the count.

A formal announcement of the results will be published on the 21st May.

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For more information about the SU, what we do, how we

represent you and how you could get involved please:

Find us on Facebook/Tweet at us on Twitter—DUDLEY SU

Pop into the office for a chat –

B4 Broadway Campus

Call: 01384363412

Email: studentunion@dudleycol.ac.uk Sophia.Daly@dudleycol.ac.uk

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A MANIFESTO IS A PLAN OF JOBS RELATED TO THINGS YOU WISH TO DO WHILST IN POST AND WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO IMPROVE FOR THE STUDENT BODY AT COLLEGE SUCH AS: I WILL ENSURE MORE CLASS REPS ARE ELECTED AT MY CAMPUS , I WILL MAINTAIN NOTICE BOARDS SO THAT STUDENTS KNOW WHAT EVENTS AND TRIPS ARE PLANNED, I WILL ESTABLISH A STUDENT PARENT GROUP, I WILL ENSURE THAT I VOICE STUDENT OPINION ETC WHATEVER IS SPECIFIC TO THE ROLE YOU ARE APPLYING FOR TAKE SOME TIME TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ACHIEVE, WHAT ISSUES DUDLEY COLLEGE/SIXTH STUDENTS ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT AND WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE YOU TO CAMPAIGN ON AND CHANGE. YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO DO ALL OF THE THINGS IN YOUR MANIFESTO BUT YOU SHOULD AIM TO DO AS MUCH AS YOU CAN TO FULFILL THE PLEDGES YOU HAVE MADE. REMEMBER NOT TO PROMISE THINGS THAT THERE WILL BE NO CHANCE OF HAPPENING E.G. FREE TRIP TO ALTON TOWERS FOR ALL – THE UNION WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT! TRY TO THINK ABOUT:

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO DUDLEY COLLEGE STUDENTS IN TERMS OF THEIR OVERALL COLLEGE EXPERIENCE

USE CLEAR LANGUAGE AND AVOID LONG COMPLICATED WORDS – YOU DON’T WANT TO ALIENATE POTENTIAL

VOTERS

MAKE SURE THAT YOUR GOALS ARE REALISTIC

IF YOUR PASSIONATE, DEDICATED AND COMMITTED DON’T HOLD YOURSELF BACK, NOMINATE YOURSELF AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS!

TOP TIPS!

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Executive Elections nomination form

YOU NOW REQUIRE TWO STUDENTS TO SIGN YOUR NOMINATION FORM. THEY SHOULD NOT BE STANDING FOR A POST IN THE ELECTION.

Please ensure that you read all of the information available and have carefully selected the post that you wish to stand for. This form is to be completed signed and handed in if you wish to stand for an executive post. Please return to The Students’ Union office at the Broadway campus by 3pm Friday 3rd May

For any additional information please contact Sophia.daly@dudleycol.ac.uk or studentunion@dudleycol.ac.uk

SURNAME FORENAME(S) DATE OF BIRTH AGE

ID NUMBER POST YOU ARE STANDING FOR (one only)

HOME PHONE NUMBER MOBILE NUMBER

EMAIL ADDRESS

TERM TIME ADDRESS

PLEASE SIGN AND PRINT YOUR NAME DATE

______________________________ | ___________________________________ (SIGNATURE) (PRINT YOUR NAME)

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I PROPOSE THAT THE ABOVE CANDIDATE IS SUITABLE FOR THE POST

PLEASE SIGN AND PRINT YOUR NAME ID NUMBER DATE

_____________________ | ____________________________ (SIGNATURE) (PRINT YOUR NAME)

NAME COURSE

POST YOU ARE STANDING FOR (You can only stand for one Post)

I WILL DO THE FOLLOWING FOR STUDENTS AT DUDLEY COLLEGE…. (PLEASE MAKE THIS RELEVANT TO THE POST YOU ARE STANDING FOR)

WHY I WOULD BE THE BEST PERSON FOR THIS JOB… Personal description of the qualities you think you have which will help you do the job