ICU Principal Officers Training v1.3

Principal Officers

imperialcollegeunion.org/trainingimperialcollegeunion.org

Principal Officers

Principal Officersimperialcollegeunion.org/training

Contents

Contents 2

Introduction 3

The Sabbatical Officers 4

Organisation 6

Management Group Meetings 11

CSB & RWB 12

Running your Group 13

Membership of Clubs, Societies & Projects 17

Required Information from Groups 19

Storage & Equipment 20

Electronic Services 23

Health & Safety 27

Insurance 32

Version 1.3 - 15 October 2010

Principal Officers

imperialcollegeunion.org/training

Introduction

This booklet is your guide as the Principal Officer of a Club, Society or Project. This booklet provides the information that is specifically intended for you as the person in charge.

Various other training booklets exist, which can also be found online at imperialcollegeunion.org/training. These are recommended reading. Between them they cover all aspects of leading and running student groups within Imperial College Union. Depending on the nature of your activities some will be of more use than others.

Of particular importance is the booklet on Finance Overview – this is considered compulsory reading. As the Principal Officer of a Club, Society or Project you are also financially responsible for the your group’s activities.

Important Contacts

If you need help with anything related to what is containted in this booklet, you can get in contact with your Management Group Chair or Treasurer see Appendix 1.

For Clubs & Societies enquiries you can contact the Deputy President (Clubs & Societies). For Projects enquiries you can contact Deputy President (Welfare) (right). General enquires can be directed to the Student Activities Centre at [email protected].

Heather JonesDeputy President (Clubs & Societies)E: [email protected]: 020 7594 1763, extension: 41763

Charlotte IvisonDeputy President (Welfare)E: [email protected]: 020 7595 8064, extension: 58064


The Sabbatical Officers

Clubs, Societies and Projects form an integral part of Imperial College Union, and the Principal Officers of these groups are a key part of making things actually happen. Clubs, Societies and Projects are collectively part of the Student Activities Programme.

The Union is run by students, for students. Every year, a campus-wide election takes place where every full member of the Union (i.e. a full-time UG/PG student) votes for who will be running their Union for the next year; those elected are known as the Sabbatical Officers (the 2009/10 Sabbs are pictured below).

The Sabbatical Officers are:• President Ultimately responsible for

everything in the Union. As a Club, Society or Project officer, you should hopefully not be in contact with them too frequently.

• Deputy President (Finance & Services) Responsible for the Union’s money. If you ever have any financial queries which your Management Group Treasurer cannot answer, they are the one to ask. The Deputy President (Finance & Services) also oversees the annual Summer Ball.

• Deputy President (Clubs & Societies) Responsible for looking after and representing all the Clubs

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& Societies in the Union. They also organise Freshers’ Fair. This is the Sabbatical to whom you should address all your Club or Society-related queries, unless they are specifically finance things.

• Deputy President (Welfare) Responsible for looking after all welfare related activities the Union undertakes, as well as looking after CAG & RAG and therefore all the Projects. This is the Sabbatical to whom you should address all your volunteering and Project-related queries, unless they are specifically finance things.

• Deputy President (Education) responsible for all the academic representation the Union carries out, you will rarely need to contact them on Club, Society or Project matters.

There are also two other officers on sabbatical who work for the Union for a year:

• Felix Editor responsible for ensuring that Felix – the student newspaper, is written and printed every week. As a publication which is read by nearly everyone in the College, this is an excellent place to advertise your Club, Society or Project if you want to raise your profile.

• The ICSMSU President responsible for running the Imperial College School of Medicine Student Union.


Organisation

Each Club, Society or Project (generically known as Groups) is allocated to a Management Group, through which their operations are controlled and various services offered, for example much of the financial operations. The allocation to a Management Group is based on the type of activity the Club, Society or Project undertakes and is in some cases historic.

Clubs and Societies are managed via one of the Clubs & Societies Committees (CSCs), Campus Union (in the case of Silwood Park), the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) or Faculty Unions (FU). Projects are managed via the Community Action Group (CAG) or Raising & Giving (RAG). The CSCs, Campus Union, GSA, FUs, RAG and CAG are collectively known as Management Groups.

The CSCs and Silwood Campus Union report to the Union’s Clubs & Societies Board, as do the Faculty Unions and GSA in respect of Club & Society activities. CAG and RAG report to the Representation & Welfare Board, because their activities can be classed as outreach and community engagement which fall within the Welfare portfolio. The Faculty Unions and GSA also report to the Representation & Welfare Board in respect of welfare and academic issues as well as the Union’s Representation system.

Each of the Management Groups are run by elected students, their role is:

• To represent the interests of your Club, Society or Project within the Union and in the College.

• A first source of information, advice and support.

• Where you get cheques written, purchase orders approved and receive advice and support with your Club, Society or Project finances.

• Where budgets for your Club, Society or Project are set.

• Where contingency funds are awarded.• There to represent you at either the

Clubs & Societies or Representation & Welfare Boards, Health & Safety Committee, Union Council and some College Committees.

• Organise social events and activities.

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Each of the Management Groups will have a Chair and Treasurer who should be your first port of call for Club, Society & Project related issues; they will be the experts in the type of potential challenges likely to affect your group and should always be ready to offer advice and guidance. A list of their contacts can be found in Appendix 1.

Clubs & Societies Committees

The CSCs are:

• Athletic Clubs Committee (ACC) looks after all competitive sports and martial arts Clubs & Societies.

• Social Clubs Committee (SCC) looks after all common interest Clubs & Societies (including religious, political and discussion based ones).

• Recreational Clubs Committee (RCC) looks after all recreational type

sport, activity and skill focused Clubs & Societies.

• Arts and Entertainments Board (A&E) looks after all arts and entertainments type Clubs & Societies.

• Overseas Clubs Committee (OSC) looks after all the overseas Clubs & Societies.

• Media Group looks after all the media Clubs & Societies.

• Royal School of Mines Committee (RSMCSC) looks after all the Departmental Societies as well as the sports and interest Clubs & Societies within the Royal School of Mines.

There is also a Campus Union which operates as a Clubs & Societies Committee: the Silwood Park Union.

Clubs & Societies Committees provide similar interest Clubs & Societies with simple and readily accessible


management with a wide knowledgebase. This knowledge base can be considered as a forum for sharing ideas and refining best-practice.

Faculty Unions

Imperial College Union has three Faculty Unions. These student organisations are a fundamental component of the Union’s welfare and representation provision. Each Union represents the undergraduatestudents within that Faculty:

• Royal College of Science Union (RCSU) represents student scientists.

• City and Guilds College Union (CGCU) represents student engineers and students in the Business School.

• Imperial College School of Medicine

Students’ Union (ICSMSU) represents medical students.

The central aim of each of the Faculty Unions is to advance the education of its members and to meet the social, cultural and sporting needs of their students. In order to pursue this goal, Faculty Unionsrepresent the interests of their members to Imperial College, Imperial College Union and to external organisations.

There are four main roles of the Faculty Unions:1. Educational representation to the

Faculty.2. Welfare.3. Clubs & Societies.4. Social activities.

Organisation cont...

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The Faculty Unions are democratic organisations lead by a student President and run by student officers. Almost all the officers in these organisations are fulltime students, although as a sabbatical officer the ICSMSU President is a notable exception. These organisations are run according to the procedures andregulations outlined in their own constitutions. These constitutions are bound by the Imperial College Unionconstitution and regulations.

In general, these organisations have a General Committee and an Executive Committee.• The General Committee is the

governing body dictating the policy and directions of the Faculty Union.

• The Executive Committee is the administrative body and is the body responsible for policy, management issues and facilities. Both committees have the power to create and dissolve sub-committees. Typically, Club & Society issues are discussed in specific

Club & Society meetings or within the context of general meetings. This is important as it determines when specific issues facing your Club or Society can be aired. These bodies have representatives on various Union and College committees in order to co-ordinate the Union’s response to welfare and academic issues affecting Imperial students.

In addition to their roles in representation and welfare, Faculty Unions also support Clubs & Societies where the majority of members are likely to come from theirFaculty, although all Faculty Union Clubs & Societies are open to all members of the Union, regardless of their home department.

These Clubs & Societies play a vital role in helping the Faculty Unions achieve their aims and objectives. Common Faculty Union Clubs & Societies includethe Departmental Societies, Sports Clubs and Motor Clubs. Departmental Societies also provide a link to the representation and welfare provision, along withopportunities for social activities.

Graduate Students’ Association

The Graduate Students’ Association exists to represent the interests of Postgraduate students in an academic sense, as well as facilitate social activities and some Clubs & Societies.


The Clubs & Societies that the GSA look after are either social in theme and located at Postgraduate campuses, or are departmental societies for exclusively Postgraduate courses. Postgraduates are an important and growing part of Imperial’s student population, accounting for around half the new students every October, so the GSA forms a key role in the Union’s mission to support this group of students.

Raising & Giving

The RAG Committee look after charity fundraising activities for the Union, whether those are events organised centrally, or through Projects particularly dedicated for the purpose of raising money for specific causes. RAG can also advise any student group wishing to carry out a fundraising activity. More information on arranging a charity collection can be found in the Charity Collections booklet.

Community Action Group

The CAG Committee oversee groups carrying out volunteering, in the local community, nationally and internationally. Everything from soup runs for the homeless in central London, to building bridges in Malawi.

Organisation cont...

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Management Group Meetings

Management Group meetings are run by your Management Group Officers, e.g. Medics Exec, ACC, CAG etc. Each Club, Society or Project in a Management Group is represented in these meetings and they are a chance for all the Groups in your Management Group to meetand discuss things relevant to your Group. Your Management Group Chair and Treasurer will use these meetings to pass on important information from the Union, let you know about deadlines, any policy changes and big events going on which may interest your Group. This is the place to air any particular problems affecting your Group which need to be addressed by the Union. Other things which happen are:

• Budget appeals.• Approval of any changes in a Club or

Society’s constitution.• Contingency claims. The Sabbatical

Officers may well also attend these meetings, so it is a good chance to raise matters for them to address.

Frequency

Once a month. You will be notified of the date, time and location of the meeting two weeks in advance.

Who Attends

Every Group in the Management Group is required tosend one representative. This is usually the Chair; however, other Committee members can attend in their

place. More than one person from a Group can attend if they want to.

Important: It is the ‘Group’ not the Group’s Officer who is a member of the Management Group. Therefore, if more than one representative from a Group attends, there will still be one vote per Group. Any member of the Union can attend a Management Group meeting and observe.


CSB & RWB

The Clubs & Societies Board

The Clubs & Societies Board (known as CSB) looksafter all Club & Society related matters, from Club & Society funding to setting policy for approval by Council. CSB is also the route for any appeals by Clubs & Societies from their own CSC/FU. The Committee may decide upon any of the following:• The validity of a Tour proposal as a valid

tour.• Subsidy rates for tours.• CSC/FU funding for the forthcoming

academic year.• Budget appeals.• New Club & Society appeals.• Contingency claims to CSB.• Amendments to Club & Society-related

policy; this may be Clubs & Societies Policy, New Clubs Policy or Tours Policy.

Frequency

The committee meet once every three weeks. A list of the upcoming CSB meetings can be found at imperialcollegeunion.org/committees.

Who Attends

The meeting is chaired by the Deputy President (Club & Societies). All the other sabbaticals, FU Presidents and CSC Chairs. Union meetings are open and transparent, so any member of the Union may attend CSB and observe.

The Representation & Welfare Board

The Representation & Welfare Board (known as RWB) looks after academic and welfare issues. The outreach and charitable work undertaken by RAG & CAG fall under the Welfare portfolio, therefore RWB looks after all Project related matters.

Additionally they also look after some aspects of Departmental Societies, particularly with regard to welcoming Freshers. RWB oversees RAG, CAG, FU and GSA funding and setting relevant policies for approval by Council. RWB is also the route for any appeals by Projects from their own Management Group.

Frequency

The committee meet once every three weeks. A list of the upcoming RWB meetings can be found at imperialcollegeunion.org/committees.

Who Attends

The meetings are alternately chaired by the Deputy President (Welfare) and the Deputy President (Education). All the other sabbaticals, FU Presidents and Academic Affairs Officers, Welfare Officers, and CAG & RAG Chairs.

As with CSB, any member of the Union may attend RWB and observe.

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Running your Group

Responsibilities of the Club, Society or Project Chair/President

The person in charge (i.e. the Chair) of the Club, Society or Project has some specific duties:• Ensure the Group Constitution and any

policies of the Club, Society or Project are followed. The Constitution outlines the aims and objectives of the Group, members of the committee, election procedures etc. The Club or Society may have standing policies which should be followed, e.g. how activities are operated.

• The Chair, while not necessarily getting involved in the day-to-day operation of the Group’s finances should have a reasonable knowledge of what is going on.

• While the Chair has been elected to

be in overall charge of the Group it should be run as a democracy, not a dictatorship. There are other committee members for a reason. Make sure they are involved in the running of the Group.

• Ensure all activities stay within the Law and the rules of Imperial College and Imperial College Union. The Union has relatively few rules governing how Clubs, Societies & Projects are run and what they can and cannot do compared to most other universities. Be sensible to help ensure that this situation remains as it is.

• Keep your members safe in everything that your Group does. Do sensible things and make sensible decisions.

• Ensure your Group offers activities for ALL members of your Group. These include activities at different times/days


Running your Group cont...

and for different levels of experience and skill. Remember also that not everyone drinks alcohol!

• Ensure regular committee meetings happen and are effective.

• Represent the Club, Society or Project Management Group Committee meetings.

Important

Imperial College Union believes that the best people to run Clubs, Societies & Projects at Imperial are ImperialStudents, not College or Union Staff members. A vast amount of trust is placed in Group Officers at Imperial, far more so than at many other universities in the UK. However with this comesresponsibilities for the actions of your Group.

Each Group is an intrinsic part of bothImperial College Union and Imperial College London – not a separate entity acting alone.

1. You and your Group members are ambassadors for Imperial College Union AND Imperial College London. You are responsible for what your Group does and says. This includes conduct at all Club, Society & Project events and what is published in the media and on the web.

2. You, as a Club, Society or Project Officer, will be expected to act in the best interests of your Group. You have

authority, within the remit of your role, over your Club, Society or Project.

3. You are accountable to the members of your Club, Society or Project for what happens, this includes if nothing happens at all.

4. You are also accountable to the Union and the College for the actions of your Club, Society or Project, and the collective and individual actions of the members whilst undertaking your Group activity. Aside from this accountability there is a level of liability which you as a Club, Society or Project Officer undertake.Club, Society or Project Officers found responsible for breaching Union or College rules and regulations, as well as the Law, may be subject to Union and/or College Disciplinary Proceedings. These proceedings may result in varying levels of punishment as well as an entry possibly being placed on your permanent College record. For medical students this may affect your Fitness to Practice. Disciplinary action resulting from Club & Society activities can include Bringing The College Into Disrepute. Imperial College Union is prepared to refer conduct of Club & Society Officers to the Police if it sees fit.

Holding Meetings

All Groups will need to run committeemeetings regularly in order to keep up-

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to-date with what needs doing and to ensure that the Group runs smoothly and carries out successful events & activities for members. Most committee meetings which are held during the year are called‘Ordinary Committee Meetings’, unless it is the ‘Annual General Meeting’ (AGM). For more info on AGMs, please see the Elections and Handover Information sheet.

Frequency

Most Club, Society & Project committees meet once a week during term time. If there is a big event coming up, you may need to meet more frequently.

Who Attends

The Club, Society or Project committee – all Clubs and Societies must have at least a Chair, Treasurer and a Secretary to form their Club & Society committee. Projects may have all of these or a combination of these as approved by

their Management Group. Many Groups will have more positions than just these. It is at the Chair’s discretion to allow certain members of a committee to miss a meeting, e.g. if there is a large sub-committee in charge of a large event, usually only the ‘Chair’ of the sub-committee will be required to come to Group committee meetings.

All members of the Union can attend any Group committee meeting and observe.

Who Does What

The Club, Society or Project Chair will normally run the meeting. The Chair is responsible for:

• letting everyone on the committee know the date, time and location of the meeting well in advance (at least a week is advised).

• reminding people to send the Secretary any apologies and items for the agenda.


Running your Group cont...

• taking votes on matters during the meeting.

• ensuring that everyone at the meeting contributes something and is listened to.

• assigning, along with the rest of the committee, action points to the appropriate committee member and ensuring that that person is clear in what they must do.

• keeping the meeting in order.• setting the date of the next meeting.

The Secretary is responsible for:• compiling the agenda for the meeting

and circulating it to all committee members in advance.

• taking minutes during the meeting.• writing up the minutes from the

meeting and circulating them to all committee members soon after the meeting.

• Minuting who received action points in the meeting, and what needs to be reported back to the next meeting.

• Remember: if something is not minuted, it did not officially happen – this includes anything which was voted on. Minutes also serve the vital function of reminding people what they agreed to do before the next meeting

Sample Meeting Agenda

• Apologies (those unable to attend the meeting).

• Minutes of last meeting.• Matters arising from the minutes.• Chair’s Business.• Treasurer’s Report.• Matters for discussion (this is the main

bulk of the meeting, e.g. any events or trips you may be running).

• Date of next meeting.

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Membership of Clubs, Societies & Projects

Anyone who would like to join an Union Group Society must first be (or become) a member of Imperial College Union.The three types of membership are:

• Full Members All registered students of Imperial College are automatically Full Members of the Union.

• Associate Members College or Union staff, or any Further or Higher Education student over the age of eighteen.

• Life Members Someone is entitled to become a Life Member of the Union if they have been: a Full or Associate Member of the Union for at least one academic year; a Research or Teaching Assistant for at least two academic years; a member of the full time Union staff for at least two years, or a member of Imperial College London staff for at least two years.

Membership is only available to people who fit into these categories because we are a private establishment, and here to serve our members. Furthermore, we only allocate our resources for the use of our members. Groups should not invite people who do not fall into any of these categories to join them, as they will not be covered by insurance and they could potentially be taking opportunities and resources away from our other members that we are here to serve.

Purchasing Associate/Life Membership

1. Associate Membership: costs £4/month. This can be purchased in person from the SAC. You will need to provide proof of staff/student status.

2. Royal College of Music/ Royal College of Art Associate Membership: because these institutions are our close neighbours, Associate Membership for these students costs an annual fee of £5. This can be purchased in person from the SAC or at the beginning of the academic year at their institution. They will need to provide their student ID.

3. Life Membership: costs £50 as a one-off payment. This can be purchased online1.

Anyone can register and purchase items online too.


External individuals engaged as instructors (whether paid or otherwise) are not required to become members of the Club, Society or Project, provided theservices they are providing is on a purely instructional basis. If an Instructor is engaging in the general recreational activities of a Club, Society or Project, rather than merely instructing then they must become a member.

Note: For individuals who are associate or life members, apart from online, its is also possible to join a Club, Society or Project by using a paper membership form. This form is clearly labeled for associate/life members, and requires their membership number. This is to ensure the necessary levels of information are collected, especially with respect to contacts and Next of Kin details.

2. Buying Club, Society & Project Membership Online Every Club & Society has its own ‘Shop’ page which can be found on the Imperial College Union website Club & Society A-Z list, where people can purchase memberships online.

Clubs, Societies & Project memberships must be purchased online.

Membership data and money will go directly into the Club, Society or Project’s account. This is an improved service and is quick, easy to use and secure. If potential members have any queries about the service, there are four levels of security to safeguard against fraud. All students should have a UK bank account that is compatible within the first few weeks of their arrival. Any other questions should be directed to [email protected].

Membership of Clubs cont...

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Required Information from Groups

The following information must be submitted online via eActivities using your personal account, through the course of the year. Failure to do so will usually result in the Club or Society accounts being frozen. Other penalties may apply to Projects.

Info Required Description & Deadline for 2010/11

Financial Responsibility

Form signed by the Chair and Treasurer after Finance Training to indicate their financial responsibility for the Club, Society or Project and state that they will adhere to the duties of Clubs, Societies & Projects.

01/08/2010

Contact Details Contact details of the current committee 01/08/2010

Naughty Officers

All Club & Society officers must be members of their Club & Society by this date. 01/11/2010

Risk Assessment Evaluates Club or Society activities for potential risks and outlines prevention measures to avoid them. For more information see Health and Safety.

01/11/2010

Instructor Registration

Provides details of any instructors used by the Club or Society. 01/11/2010

Affiliations Indicates external organisations to which the Club or Society is affiliated. 01/11/2010

Inventory List of all items owned by the Club or Society whose combined worth is £200 or more. 18/03/2011

Code of Conduct Outlines the expected behaviour of a Club or Society on Health & Safety issues with regards to the Risk Assessment. See the Health and Safety section for more info.

18/03/2011

Constitution This outlines the structure of a Club or Society and the way in which it is run. It defines the aims and objectives, membership, committee structure, officer duties, electoral procedures and policies of a Club or Society.

18/03/2011

Next Year Committee Details

Filled out after the AGM to indicate the contact details of the committee for next academic year. 18/03/2011

Profile Short promotional abstract about your Club, Society or Project’s activities for promotional material for the next academic year.

20/05/2011

Specific information about each document will be issued in the lead up to the respective deadline, and information about use of eActivities can be found in the eActivities booklet.


Storage

Many Groups own a large selection ofequipment for members to use during activities; this kit is stored away for most of the week. Storage space is at a premium on Union premises as there is a limited amount of room available. As a result, many Groups share dedicated store cupboard spaces, with Groups being allocated storage according to what can be found that is big enough for the items. Access to these store rooms aregiven by key list.

Key Lists

A key for each storage space is keptwith the Security Office of the area (e.g. Beit Security Lodge for Beit-based storage) and is identified with a number and a name (e.g. East Basement StorageRoom 3 is Key 7). Access to the store is gained by visiting the Security Office andrequesting to sign out the correct key after showing ID (ie. College swipe card). The key needs to be signed back in after each use.

Each key is shared by all Groups allocatedto that storage space, and has an associated list with it, identifying the Group/s which have access to that storage space, and a list of all the members who are allowed to sign out the key. Generally, only the committee orresponsible Club & Society members

are listed on each key to prevent over-access to valuable equipment. Also, because these stores contain Union owned equipment, people who are not full members of the Union cannot have access to stores.

Updating the Key list

Updating the key list is done online through eActivities. This needs to be done at the beginning of each academic year, but it can also be amended throughout the year. This can only be done by the Chair/President.

Storage & Equipment

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Key List Rules

There may be times when several Groups need access to the stores on thesame day, which can lead to situations where the key is not in the Security Office. Being on a key list means complying to the following rules in order to prevent this situation:• If the room will be in use for long

periods, it is advisable to return the key as soon as it has been used.

• All Club & Society store users should know who the key is with should another Group need it.

• The key should always stay in the vicinity of the store when signed out.

• If another Group requires access immediately following your Club, Society or Project, it is helpful to hand over the key directly to the next Group. However, contact should be made with Security to let them know who it has gone from and to, otherwise the first users will still be held accountable for anything that happens subsequently.

• Security maintains a record of who signed out the key so the Union can trace and charge the Group who lost the key or was responsible for any damage.

• Keys should NEVER be taken home, or off campus!

Security is manned around the clock; however there may be times when the Security Officer is on patrol. In these

cases, wait a few minutes for them to return. There is the option of telephoning central Sherfield Security on Ext. 58900 to radio the Officer to return early from patrol. If returning the key, it is acceptable to drop the key through the letterbox rather than summon the Security Officer back. If these rules are not followed, your group will be punished.

Make sure during handover that the location of equipment and store rooms is passed on to the next committee.

How to Obtain/increase a Club & Society’s Storage Space

Clubs, Societies or Projects who wish to obtain storage space should contact the Deputy President (Clubs & Societies) in the first instance who will try and find a suitable storage space. Please be aware that there is very little Club & Society space available and this should be a major factor when considering


whether to purchase new equipment. If a request is made, it is helpful in the process to describe what the items are, and approximately the amount of cubic metres required. There may also be smaller lockers available.

Laundry

All Clubs, Societies & Projects are given access to Union laundry machines which are located in Beit Wing West Basement (entrance next to Metric) and are provided free of charge. The key list number is 30 and anyone with a valid College ID card can gain access. This facility is of particular importance to sports Clubs & Societies who use the machines to wash team kit each week.

Equipment

There are several key things to remember about equipment:• All Club, Society and Project equipment

is and remains the property of Imperial College Union.

• All Groups are required to annually submit an Inventory to the Student Activities Centre – see Required Information. This is so the Union can compile its asset register and also helps Clubs, Societies & Projects to keep abreast of the value and life expectancy of their equipment.

• Any external sale, loan or discard of Club, Society or Project assets must

be approved by the Deputy President (Finance & Services).

• Equipment which belongs to your Group should only be used by your members. If another Club, Society, Project or an external wishes to use your equipment, an agreement should be drawn up between them detailing any payment and conditions of hire. Hiring out Club, Society or Project equipment out is a good way for Groups to make some money, as long as the procedure is clear in the event that the items get lost, stolen or broken.

• Equipment insurance – replacing the loss or damage of Club, Society or Project kit worth less than £10,000 is normally covered by the relevant CSC/FU Contingency Fund, whilst anything over £10,000 in value is covered by Union

• Insurance – see the section in this booklet on insurnace for more details.

Storage & Equipment cont...

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Electronic Services

There are a number of electronic services available to Clubs & Societies that utilise web based products and portals or are services offered by the College which groups can use for free.

It is vitally important that during your handover logins and passwords for these services are exchanged where appropriate.

Each Club and Society should have an Imperial College login and email address (e.g. [email protected]). This login allows you to access your Club & Society email, as well as the login to Workbench.

The main Union website at imperialcollegeunion.org has a Clubs,Societies and Project interface, called Workbench which you can use to administrate and organise your Group and use the online shop facilities.

Much of the information required by the Union about your Club, Society or Project is submitted using an online portal called eActivities. Information about eActivities can be found in the specific booklet on this.

The Union operates a webserver at union.ic.ac.uk which hosts websites which Groups have built themselves. See the booklet on Building & Hosting a website.

You can use mailman mailing lists provided by ICT which enable you andyour committee to communicate with each other, and with your members. Other sites such as facebook, Flickr and YouTube.

Email and Club & Society Logins Each Club & Society can be allocated one or more College ICT accounts for use by its committee. These include an email address and some storage space on the College file servers. The main Group login is also used to gain access to the Club, Society or Project’s workbench – see following section.

If your Group has a login but the password has been lost, or if you are uncertain as to whether you have a login, the Chair should log this by emailing [email protected]

All Club, Society & Project contact email addresses must end @imperial.ac.uk,


email addresses provided by external organisations are not permitted.

Using a Group login

This is the account allocated to your Club, Society or Project, and can be used in the same was as your personal ICT account. Make sure you keep the password safe, and remember that the Chair or President of the Group can be held responsible for any emails sent from it.

NB: Please remember to pass on details of the login and password to the subsequent committee.

Workbench

Workbench is an application based on the Union website at imperialcollegeunion.org that enables Officers to use advanced features to manage theirClubs, Societies & Projects.

Each Group has a username and password for Workbench, this is the same as your Group login. Your membership fee is set at the start of the year and cannot be changed by your Group on Workbench. If you think it might be necessary to change this, you should contact your Management Group Chair who will guide you through the process. Having been set in the previous year’s budgeting round, it will automatically be set up as a product on

the website so people can buy it from 1st August.

For full details on how to use Workbench, please refer to the Workbench booklet.

Functions

In addition to letting your members purchase their membership online. Workbench allow you to:

• See and download an up-to-date list of all Club or Society members.

• Add new online shop products for sale via the Website; with the exception of membership items, products must be more than £5 in value.

• See and download up-to-date sales

Electronic Services cont...

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reports for all your online products.• Quickly email all the members of your

Club or Society.• Add, edit and amend pages in

your Club or Society’s section of imperialcollegeunion.org.

• Easily register all your Club & Society Activities online for our records eg. trips or tours

eActivities

Much of the information required by the Union about your Group is submitted using an online portal called eActivities. The information collected via eActivities is generally information your predessors would have provided on paper documents – the advantage of this online system is that information is now stored from previous years, meaning all you are required to do is update it.

Information about eActivities and how to use it can be found in the specific booklet

on this.

Webserver

The Union operates a webserver where Clubs, Societies & Projects can build their own websites, as an addition to their pages on imperialcollegeunion.org

Technical information about the services provided can be found in the Building & Hosting a website booklet. Any enquires about the webserver can be directed to the server’s System Administrator, [email protected]

Please note that any Club, Society or Project websites which are created must be hosted on the Union’s webserver, and be actively maintained throughout the year and from year to year.

Mailing Lists

A Club, Society or Project can have one or more mailman mailing


lists to allow Club Officers to contact members by email easily, or to facilitate discussion among members. These are provided by the College’s ICT Department.

Setting up a list

If you want to have a mailing list set up for your Club or Society, first check to see if one exists already. You can do this by visiting mailman.ic.ac.uk and searchingfor your Club, Society or Project name.

If you find a list, but don’t know the Administrator password, you’ll need to email [email protected] and ask to have the password reset. If there is no existing list, you’ll need to fill in a request form online at http://www.imperial.ac.uk/ict/servicedesk/mfd/login.aspx

Administering a list

Once your list has been set up, you can change its settings by visiting the List Administration Overview, http://mailman.ic.ac.uk/mailman/admin From here you can add or remove members, specify who is allowed to send email to the list, deal with pending requests and much more. Queries and questions relating to mailing lists should be directed to [email protected]. This service is provided by ICT, not by Imperial College Union. The membership of these lists should be current and maintained. You

will not be able to set up another list if an existing one has been poorly maintained.

Other

Sites such as facebook, YouTube and Flickr provide useful tools in running your Club, Society or Project – communicating with your members and sharing information and experiences.

Make sure you set up official groups if you are using these sites, and make your members aware of these groups. It is important to ensure that passwords and permissions for these groups are passed on to your successors so they can be administered into the future. Remember, new students are likely to look at these sites to get an idea of the type of activities your group is undertaking.

While these sites are external to Imperial, you are still responsible for the content being published on them. Make sure what is posted is sensible and does not risk bringing the College into disrepute.

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Health & Safety

Each Club or Society has a responsibility to ensure the safety of their members while they are participating in Club or Society activities. Undertake sensible activities and make sensible decisions. Clubs & Societies generally have an excellent safety record. Incidents and accidents do however occur - there are a number of procedures in place to manage these incidents and ensure the correct reporting is carried out.

Activity Registrations

Registration of activities is mandatory for all Clubs & Societies. The information provided will help the Union and the College in the case of an emergency

Increased Risk Activities

Other Activities

On Campus None None

Off Campus but within M25 Part A & Part B Part A

Beyond M25 Part A & Part B Part A & Part B

Residential Activities Part A & Part B Part A & Part B

involving members of a Club or Society. The registration must be done online using Workbench (See the Workbench chapter in the Club & Society Officers Handbook). It will literally take two or three minutes. The information required falls into two parts, namely:

• Part A: Details of where, when & what the activity is, who is in charge, as well as departure and arrival places and times.

• Part B: Details of who is participating, their names & CID numbers.

Depending on the activity being undertaken, the following pieces of information need to be provided:


The list of Increased Risk Activities is: • Airsoft • Basketball • Caving • Canoeing • Clay Pigeon & Rifle Shooting • Climbing • Cross Country • Cycling • Football • Free running • Gliding • Hill walking • Hockey • Ice Hockey • In-line Hockey • Kickboxing • Kite Surfing • Lacrosse • Martial Arts (all types)• Motorsport • Mountaineering • Orienteering • Parkour • Paintballing • Parachuting • Polo • Riding • Rugby • Rowing • Sailing • Skiing • Snowboarding • Squash • Surfing • Wakeboarding • Water polo • Waterskiing • Windsurfing • Yachting

Health and Safety cont...

NB: The level of information required is relative to the activity being undertaken rather than the Club or Society undertaking it.

EG: Yoga Club, who usually do their activities in a room on Campus, generally would not be required to register their yoga sessions. However, if the Yoga club decide to go on a sailing trip then they would need to register that activity. Conversely, the Sailing Club must register each of their trips sailing, but if they decide to have an evening of Yoga on campus then they would not need to register that activity. The only exception to this registration scheme is for regular sports training, such as the Hockey Club training at Harlington on a Monday evening, or the Boat Club training on the River Thames each morning.

Accident Reporting

If an accident or dangerous occurrence (i.e. an event that could have resulted in an accident) happens, you must fill out an Accident Report Form1. Paper copies are available from the Student Activities Centre. You should ensure you take some paper copies away with you on trips or to sports matches. Accident Report forms must be returned to the Student Activities Centre within 48 hours of an incident occurring. Minor injuries and dangerous occurrences, as well

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as major incidences must be reported. Imperial College is required by Law to submit details of accidents and provide accident statistics. This is not a piece of bureaucracy that is applied only to Clubs & Societies - every College department and employee is required to report accidents and dangerous occurances in the same way. The objective of accident reporting is to stop identical accidents reoccurring in the future if possible. A Club or Society will not get into trouble for reporting accidents, nor will your activities be stopped, save under severe circumstances. Accident reports will be reviewed and advice to review risk assessments may be provided by the Union Health & Safety Committee2.

Unplanned Incidents & Emergencies

Normally all Club & Society activities pass without incident. Very occasionally though, something unplanned happens. The level of response from your Club & Society very much depends on your activities - for example the wind getting stronger very quickly could mean serious issues when mountaineering or SCUBA diving, but might provide an excellent day’s activity when sailing or windsurfing. You have responsibility for thinking and responding sensibly and safely when planning for and responding to unplanned incidents.

Each Club or Society needs to be aware

of what to do when unplanned things happen and establish a clear procedure for dealing with them. This should be outlined in the Club & Society Code of Conduct1. It is important that everyone involved in organising a trip is aware of what is written in the Club or Society Code of Conduct so that they know what to do.

The three different levels of incidents and response needed is detailed below:

1) Simple Unexpected IncidentSimple things that do not adversely affect the overall operation of the event, trip or activity. Such things may include a coach or bus turning up late, forgeting to pack some of the necessary equipment, a disagreement over how to cook dinner.


What to do: • Do what is necessary at the time to

resolve this incident. • Learn from the experience and enjoy

the rest of the activity. • Try to ensure something like this does

not happen again in the future.

2) General Unplanned IncidentSituations that are unplanned for and are likely to have an impact on the overall activity, for everyone involved. For example a vehicle breaking down, a participant needing to be taken to A&E for a simple injury, forgetting the keys to the accommodation.

What to do: • Deal with the incident on the ground at

the time. • Be aware if any of the circumstances

have turned (or are likely to turn) the incident into a critical incident (eg. press interest).

• If so, then follow the Critical Incident Procedure below.

• Call the Student Activities Centre, if necessary, to report the details of the incident.

• Complete an Accident Report Form on return from the activity if necessary.

• If any type of assistance is required or if in

3) Critical IncidentSerious incidents which are likely to require professional staff at the Union and College to resolve. This would include:

• A death or multiple or serious injuries.• Members missing, overdue or in other

immediate danger.• Serious illness or hospital admission.• Arrest or detention by Police.• Members being a victim of a criminal

incident.• Serious Road Traffic Accident• Any situation where the emergency

services are involved.• Any situation which is likely to bring the

College into disrepute. • Any situation where the media are

attending or may attend or have an interest in.

As experts in the activity the Club or Society has undertaken, members present

Health and Safety cont...

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need to deal with the incident in the very first instance. This is why it is vital that organisers know the Club & Society’s Code of Conduct as this should outline what to do.

What to do: • Call 999 for the emergency services if

necessary. • As soon as possible (when the situation

is under control), call Imperial College Security on 020 7589 1000 to report the incident.

• Calling the phone number and providing information about the incident will also allow a briefing to be given to the College Press Office - this is a very important consideration as there is generally a large amount of media interest in incidents involving students.

The staff who answer the phone and deal with the incident have extensive experience in this area. Most things have been seen before so do not be afraid of calling. The number is manned 24 hours, every day of the year. Additionally a senior member of Union staff is always on duty to deal with Critical Incidents. Wallet-sized business cards detailing what to do in the event of a Critical Incident are available from the Student Activities Centre. Every person leading a Club or Society activity should have a copy of this.

Things to Remember

1. Do not talk to the Press and certainly do not attempt to sell stories to the Press.

2. No Club & Society member should admit liability for an incident.

3. Under no circumstances should any member of a Club or Society contact the Next of Kin of a fellow Club or Society member. If Next of Kin need to be contacted call the Critical Incident phone number: 020 7589 1000.

4. Ensure you have a well-thought out Risk Assessment and Code of Conduct.

5. Ensure people organising the event/trip know what is on these.

6. Fill in an Accident Report Form if you have had an accident or a dangerous occurrence.

7. Keep calm.


Insurance

Please note that all references to people covered by insurance in this section only apply to Members of Imperial College Union. Our insurance policies do notcover external people that may be engaged in Club, Society or Project activities, such as instructors. These people should have their own insurance, which is often provided by membership to their National Governing Body. If you have any queries about Insurance, please get in touch with the Membership Services Manager.

Liability Insurance

The Union is covered by the Imperial College Public Liability Insurance. Any member of a Group acting in accordance with the rules and procedures of their Club, Society or Project (as set out in their Code of Conduct), Imperial College Union and Imperial College are covered by this policy. For example if a member of the public is injured by a Group member during a Club, Society or Project activity then they are covered by this policy. You can obtain a copy of the Union’s Insurance certificate from the Membership Services Manager.

Personal Accident Insurance

Club, Society or Project members are covered by Imperial College’s Personal Accident Policy. This is an outlinePersonal Accident policy, covering the

most serious of injuries. Details of the policy can be found online at http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/finance/sections/insurance/overseastravelinsurance.

It should be stressed that this policy is an outline policy only and does not cover many injuries or costs that may affect your studies. For example dental treatment, taxis to College after breaking an ankle or massage treatment for whiplash resulting from a road traffic accident are not covered.

For Liability and Personal Accident Insurance, if you are doing an activity other than your regular day to day activities e.g. going on tour or trying something new not on campus, don’t

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forget to register your activity on eActivities so that the Union can notify College. College need to know who is at increased risk of requiring insurance cover at any time.

Travel Insurance – Summer 2010 TripsIt is absolutely essential that anyone travelling outside of the UK on a Club, Society or Project activity has suitable travel insurance for the country they are visiting.

The Club, Society or Project Officer in charge of a trip should ensure that all participants are covered by suitable travel insurance, including search

and rescue cover where appropriate. Organisers should check the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s current travel advice before planning or embarking on an overseas trip, available online at http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/

Some Club, Society or Project trips outside of the UK, which are of a representational nature, may be able to make use of the College’s Travel Insurance Policy.

Use of the College Travel Insurance is subject to regular change, so please do not assume you are automatically


covered. If you wish to make use ofthe College policy please contact the Membership Services Manager well in advance of your trip.

Details of the College’s Travel Insurance can be found online at http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/finance/sections/insurance/overseastravelinsurance. Groups wishing to make use of the policy should read the policy wording in detail to ascertain if the policy is suitable for their needs.

For Club, Society and Project trips the excess for personal property claims (such as mobile phones, cameras, iPods

etc..) is £100. Participants are welcome to arrange independent cover for their personal possessions as they see fit.

Trip organisers need to be aware that the College’s Travel Insurance will be unlikely to respond to travel cancellation/disruption claims arising from a cause “which existed or the possibility of which existed and for which advance warning had been given before the date on which the Journey was booked”. It is likely that volcanic ash disruption and BA strikes will fall within this exclusion category. Trip organisers are welcome to use whichever insurance provider they feel most suits their needs.

Insurance cont...

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There is a likelihood of foreseeable travel disruption over the summer months. Given these circumstances trip organisers may conclude that it would be prudent to avoid incurring non-refundable expenditure until as close to departure date as is reasonably practicable, therefore reducing the likelihood and severity of any cancellation/curtailment claim arising.

Trip organisers are encouraged to look closely at the insurance policy they will be using for their trip and make participants aware of the details of that policy should the need for a claim arise. Queries can be directed to the Membership Services Manager. Equipment Insurance

The Union has insurance for equipment under the Imperial College’s Policy. It is important that your Club or Society has an accurate Inventory of equipment toaid in any insurance claim.

The excess on this policy is £10,000 and it only covers pieces of equipment owned by the Union (this includes your Club, Society or Project). What the policy does not cover is equipment loaned to your Club or Society, or property owned by individual Club or Society members, even if stored temporarily on Union premises. Insurance for items such as this should be arranged separately,

preferably by the owner of the property.

To take account of possible claims for lost or damaged equipment which falls below the £10,000 excess value each Faculty Union or Clubs & SocietiesCommittee holds a Contingency fund to which Clubs & Societies may apply for small amounts. The Clubs & Societies and Representation & Welfare Boards hold a larger contingency fund for more substantial claims.


Cancellation Insurance

If a Club, Society or Project is anticipating organising an event which has a reasonable possibility of being cancelled resulting in large irrecoverable costs then it would be advisable to take out some form of cancellation insurance. An example of such an event would be ashow with a large initial outlay on costumes, sets, venue etc.., where the audience are primarily external people.

A good example of such an event would be the Musical Theatre Society’s annual two week show which is hosted in Devon; the audience being made up of almost totally local people and holiday makers from Devon.

To arrange such insurance please contact the Membership Services Manager who can assist. Be aware that any insurance company are likely to need details of the activity being organised and the financial plans behind the activity, so its important to have a thorough itinerary and budget prepared.

Vehicle Insurance

Imperial College Union operates various vehicles including a fleet of minibuses. The Union makes use of the main College vehicle insurance policy, givingeconomies of scale when insuring vehicles. It is generally possible to

arrange extra cover via our main insurers for other vehicles used by Groups at very competitive rates, in some instancesfor nothing. These include vehicles lent or hired to a Club, Society or Project. This includes vehicles being used in other countries, not just EU Countries. For details please contact the Membership Services Manager in good time, and certainly before you accept a vehicleloan or arrange a hire.

Insurance cont...

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Sport National Governing Bodies

National Governing Bodies (NGB) of various sports may offer some level of insurance as part of an affiliation fee. This affiliation fee may have to be paidindividually by the Group members (eg.BSAC for SCUBA diving) or by the Group as a whole (eg. the RFU for Rugby Union). If any fees are payable by the Group as a whole it is very important that fees are paid on time as insurance may lapse. Any insurance afforded byNational Governing Body membership will be specific to each sport so it is important that the details are researched when paying the fees. For most sportsthis insurance is an added bonus, for some sports it is essential that members have this insurance in place before they participate, a particular example being Rugby.

External Instructors

Any person who is not a Club, Society or Project member and who is offering their services as an instructor (even if it is for free) is not covered by any of the Unionpolicies. It is vital that before engaging the services of an instructor it is clarified whether they have insurance, particularly liability insurance. Generally this will be provided by membership of theirrespective National Governing Body.

Other

Imperial College Union also operates various other insurance policies. Examples include cover for boats,gliders and antique vehicles for which the respective Club, Society or Project is aware. If your Group has an insurance query or is doing something which doesnot fall into any of the categories above then please contact the Membership Services Manager.

Appendix 1 – Management Group Contacts

These positions are held by students who volunteer their time to carry out these roles.

Group Chair TreasurerACC Monya Zard

[email protected] [email protected]

AEB Adam Khamis [email protected]

James Geraets [email protected]

CAG Nicolas [email protected]

Christopher [email protected]

CGCU He-In [email protected]

Tsz Shing [email protected]

GSA Deena [email protected]

Llewellyn [email protected]

ICSMSU Clubs & Societies Officer – Adam [email protected]

Benjamin [email protected]

Media Matt [email protected]

Brigette [email protected]

OSC Ahmad [email protected]

Chia Wei [email protected]

RAG Naida [email protected]

Tessa [email protected]

RCC Nathaniel [email protected]

Michael [email protected]

RCSU Scott [email protected]

David [email protected]

RSM Benjamin [email protected]

Mark [email protected]

SCC David [email protected]

Kajann [email protected]

Silwood Mark [email protected]

Jennifer [email protected]

Imperial College UnionBeit QuadranglePrince Consort RoadLondon SW7 2BB

Tel: 020 7594 8060Fax: 020 7594 8065Email: [email protected]

ICU Principal Officers Training v1.3

Documents

Transcript of ICU Principal Officers Training v1.3