Union of UEA Students Union House

Student Officer Elections 2011 University of East Anglia

Nomination Pack Norwich NR4 7TJ

1 April 2011 Telephone: 01603 593272

www.ueastudent.com
Dear Candidate,

Thanks for showing an interest in being a Student Officer and running in the by
elections - this pack contains all the information you need to know to run as a
candidate in the by elections. Please read it all as it contains the rules you need to
follow and the forms you need to complete.

These by elections are happening because there are vacancies on the Student
Officer Committee - for the positions of Womens’ Officer, Ethnic Minorities Officer,
Mature Students Officer, one Non-Portfolio Officer, and the Academic Officer (Full
time position).

Elections are an incredibly exciting and vibrant time for our Union. It allows students
to get involved with their union in a very special way and offers you – the candidate
– a chance to show how much you care, what you want to change and develop
fantastic campaigning skills.

There will be a training day on the 13th of May, at 5 pm in the Board Room. Dan
Youmans will be running this training session. It is compulsory that you attend - if you
are unable to attend with good reason, you must contact me before 5 pm on
Thursday 12th May.

I am the Deputy Returning Officer for this election, and it is my job to ensure that the
elections take place fairly and that all candidates follow the rules. I will also be there
as a source of guidance and to answer any questions that you might have. Please
don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Good Luck!

Duncan Smith
Deputy Returning Officer

duncan.smith@uea.ac.uk
07850173070
 Union of UEA Students - By Election Timetable

Date Time Event

Friday 1st April 11 am Nominations open

Thursday 12th May 5 pm Nominations close

Friday 13th May 5 pm Candidate training - compulsory! Will be

run by Dan Youmans, 5 pm , the Board
Room)

Monday 16th May 9 am Campaigining opens

Deadline for elections material
(by email to duncan.smith@uea.ac.uk)
- Manifesto
- Youtube video link
- Photo

Tuesday 17th May 9 am Voting opens

Friday 20th May 8 pm Voting Closes

8:15 pm The count
8:30 pm Announcement of results in SOC office.
(provisional results, subject to
complaints)
The office will be locked until 8:25,
candidates are not to arrive before then

Friday 27th May 8 pm Deadline for all complaints. Once any

complaints have been resolved the
confirmed results will be posted on
ueastudent.com
What is the Union of UEA Students?

The Union of UEA Students is the representative voice for all UEA students. The Union
makes sure that the University and the wider world are listening to what students
want, and campaigns to make what students want to happen.

All UEA students are automatically members of the Union and have equal rights to
get involved. The decisions that the Union makes are made by students, whether
through elections or policy ballots, meetings of Union Council, or through the
elected Student Officer Committee.

The Union is led by and run by everyday UEA students.

In addition, the Union also oversees over 160 student-run clubs and societies, as well
as running student friendly services, such as the bars, LCR and the shops in the street.
The Union employs over 100 permanent staff and 250 student staff.

What is a student officer?

They're a group of students elected by the student population in a campus-wide

vote each year. There are 17 Student Officers. 4 full time paid positions and 13 part
time positions students hold alongside completing their degree. Together they make
up the Student Officer Committee.

The Student Officer Committee work on all issues to do with student life, from
supporting equal opportunity officers to developing the Union’s strategic plan. They
listen to how students want things to be done and work with the relevant people to
make it happen.

They represent student views to the University and local and national decision
makers ensuring that your voice is heard.

The full-time positions available in this by election are;

Academic Officer

The part-time positions available in this by election are;

1 Non-portfolio Officer
Womens Officer
Mature Students Officer
Ethnic Minorities Officer

For full details on each role, and the other members of SOC, including their
constitutional portfolios check http://www.ueastudent.com/voice/elections
Support for roles

There’s a range of support offered to the Student Officer Committee:

Sabbatical officers will be given payment for their role of £16,629 per year.

All officers will be offered reasonable out of pocket expenses when on union
business.

Sabbatical officers will normally attend at least one NUS training event over
the summer.

All officers receive an entertainments pass that gets them into all LCR nights,
Waterfront nights and gigs at the Union for free, to enable them to engage
with students.

There is a staff team who support the work of the elected officers as well as a
vibrant volunteer community of course reps, campaigners and society
committees who support the role.

The union is a member of the National Union of Students (NUS) who offer
support and training for all officers throughout the year.

The voting process

Nominations

To run in the election, you will need to submit several forms. Nomination forms must
be signed by the candidate, who must be a currently registered UEA student who
has not opted out of the Union of Students.

When completing the nomination form, candidates should include their postal
address, their telephone number and e-mail address. This information will only be
used to contact candidates on matters concerning the election, and if elected, to
provide them with information about training events. These details will be
confidential to the Returning Officer and Deputy Retuning Officer.

Manifestos

Manifestos will need to be completed by Monday 16th May at 9am. Manifestos are
public declarations of political intent - that is documents in which you state your
political aims and promote yourself.

Manifestos are one-sided A4 pages which should be ‘camera ready’ i.e. in exactly
the form in which you wish it to be printed. Check what it looks like when it is
photocopied in black and white.

You should also provide a copy of your manifesto in either Word or PDF format by
email to duncan.smith@uea.ac.uk. The Union will produce a joint manifesto which
will be available on campus on Monday 16th May.
The Campaign

To win votes, you will need to run an election campaign. Tips on how to campaign
can be found later in this pack, and will be further outlined at the candidate briefing
meetings. At these meetings, the campaign rules will be outlined and explained. You
can campaign between 9am Monday 16th May and 8 pm Friday 20th May.

Bear in mind that students may not be on campus as much during the exam period.

No candidate may distribute election material before the start of campaigning.

You may have similar policies to another candidate, but you should not use your
election publicity to promote another candidate, in any of the elections.

No campaigning shall take place in the Library at all, or in the Hive or IT suites during
voting times.

The Vote

To get elected you will need to gain more votes than anyone else during the voting
period. Voting will start at 9am on Tuesday 17th May. Voting will be online and so
open for 24 hours a day until 8pm on Friday 20th May.

Laptops will be set up in the Hive for students to use to vote.

These days and times may be subject to change depending on the online voting
system. All candidates will be notified of any changes as soon as they are known.

The election will be overseen by the Returning Officer, Al Powell, and the Deputy
Returning Officer, Duncan Smith.

Single Transferable Vote

Voting is done using transferable vote systems. This means each voter can rank all
candidates in order of preference – number 1 for their first choice, 2 for their second
and so on. If no-one gets over 50% of the vote, the candidate with the lowest
number 1 votes is eliminated and their votes go to their 2nd preference and so on.

This is important for candidates to know because they should aim to get votes from
everyone, even those already supporting another candidate.

Re-Open Nominations (RON)

All elections will include RON or Re-open Nominations, which will allow voters to
choose none of the candidates and for the election to re-open.
Support for candidates

Candidates will have the following support and opportunities to promote themselves
as organised by the union.

Each candidate will have election expenses of £70 to fund your campaign,
which will be refunded by the Union after the election, as long as you have
got 10% of the vote in your election.

You must not spend any more than this amount on your election campaign,
and you must complete a schedule of expenses. All receipts must be
included.

Training in the skills of how to campaign and win votes is available at the
candidate briefing

Photocopying support for materials at the following rate…

A4 – Black & White 2p per sheet

A4 – Colour 10p per sheet
A3 – Black & White 4p per sheet
A3 - Colour 20p per sheet

Full details are available at the candidate briefing which all candidates must attend,
or inform me before 5 pm on Thursday 12th May.

Other things to note:

The Union will post one A4 poster per candidate in one of the poster boxes in the
Street or the Upper Walkway on Monday 21st March. Places in boxes will be
randomly allocated and candidates who wish to have a poster displayed there
must submit it to the Returning Officer by 9am on Monday 21st March 2011.

Printed materials are one of the focal points of most election campaigns and it is
therefore important that they are used responsibly. Candidates must take care not
to use text or images which are copyrighted. The Union will not reproduce any
materials which infringe copyright, or support candidates should any legal action be
taken against them as a result of their infringement. Candidates who are in doubt
about the contents of their publicity should consult the Deputy Returning Officer
before having their materials reproduced.
Important contacts

Complaint and Queries

Any complaints will be submitted to the deputy returning officer.

Duncan Smith – Deputy Returning Officer duncan.smith@uea.ac.uk

Or Al Powell – Returning officer

For full details of the complaints procedure see www.ueastudent.com

Top tips for a winning manifesto

Writing a manifesto is one of the key parts of your campaign – it's an important
foundation that will set up your campaign, so it's important to get it right. A
manifesto is a political document that sets out why you're standing and what you
would do if elected. The manifesto book is available while people cast their votes,
and students often use it to make up their minds between candidates.

Start by making a list of the reasons you want to run in the elections and the
types of changes you might make if you got elected. Once you've got the list
and use this as a basis for your manifesto.

Try to be specific about what you want to do – people like to know exactly
what you want to do.

Test your ideas out on a couple of good mates.

Talk to the current post holder and get their thoughts on your ideas.

If you've got ambitious plans, have a chat with senior Union staff or officers
about them – they may be able to help you find ways to achieve the things
you want to do.

Don't make promises you can't deliver –students become quickly disillusioned
with the election process, and you can be sure that you will be challenged by
students as you campaign.

Always include a good photo – it's rare that a candidate will win without one!

Make sure your manifesto has your name in big letters on it – and make sure
that it's the same name as is on your nomination form. There's nothing worse
than voters being confused at the ballot box.

Think about how to lay out your manifesto – make it simple but easy to find
your key points.

Adding a bit of your own personality is good!

If you’re going to have a theme or a gimmick, use it on your manifesto too.

Checklist for submitting a nomination

 YES! I have read this pack carefully!

 YES! I have filled out and detached a nomination form

 YES! I have answered the questions to go on the website

 YES! I have filled out a Trustee Declaration (for Academic Officer or Non-
Portfolio Officer)

 YES! I have completed a contract (if running for Academic Officer)

To-Do List

 Attend candidate training at 5 pm on Friday 13th May

 Email a manifesto, photo and Youtube link (if you have one) to
duncan.smith@uea.ac.uk by 9 am Monday 16th May

 YES! I have answered the questions to go on the website

 YES! I have filled out a Trustee Declaration

 YES! I have completed a contract (if running for Academic Officer)

 The Union of UEA Students Nomination Form

For the post of ________________________________________________________________

Date______________________________

Candidates Name, etc ___________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

(This is the name and description that will appear on the ballot paper. You need to
include your first name and surname, as you are commonly known as. You may, if
you wish, also include up to six words after your name which will appear on the
ballot paper after your name.)

Registration Number______________________________________________________________

Email Address____________________________________________________________________

Term-time address _______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Mobile Number _____________________________________

Vacation Address ________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Signed __________________________

School __________________________

Year ____________________________

Please turn over and complete

 Please note that all answers to this will not be subject to editorial changes. They will
be reproduced with exact wording as of submission.

In 60 words or less please explain why students should vote for you. This will go on the
ballot page.

What course are you studying and how could this help you if you took office?

What experience have you had with the Union before?

Name one positive change you would make for students while being an officer?

In your opinion what is the greatest challenge facing the Union?

Why should students vote for you rather than any other candidates?
A Trustee of the Union

All Sabbatical Officers and two part-time voting members of the Student Officer
Committee will become a trustee of the Union of UEA Students, an exempt charity but
soon to become a registered charity, in accordance with the requirements of the
Charities Act 2006. This is a legal position and one that you will need to take seriously.

As a trustee, you will be personally liable for the Union’s finances and ensuring that it
complies with the law. This means that if, as a result of your decisions as an Executive
Officer, the Union is investigated by the police (or any other agencies), or the Union is
taken to court, you will be facing civil or criminal proceedings.

One of the most relevant laws will be the 1994 Education Act, and in particular, the
principle of ultra vires. The legal doctrine of Ultra Vires means that the Union’s resources
can only be spent for the benefit of its members (UEA students) and in accordance with
the aims and objects of the Union as set out in section 2 of the constitution. This means
that there are some things the Union can do, and some things it can’t. Find out before
you stand that your manifesto pledges only cover the former.

Being a trustee means ensuring that you take careful decisions that are within the law.
You will be trained about the law and advice will always be available throughout the
year, but it is important that you understand before you run for election the responsibility
you will take on if you are elected.

For more information about being a trustee of a students’ union, please check out this
briefing: http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/Trustee%20Responsibilities.pdf

If you have further questions, please see the Deputy Returning Officer, Duncan Smith.
(duncan.smith@uea.ac.uk)
CHARITY TRUSTEE DECLARATION

Union of UEA Students is a registered charity of England and Wales no 1139778. There is a
substantial body of government legislation and case law concerned with our activities
and with the conduct of Union’s trustees.

You are not allowed to be a trustee if you:-

Are less than 18 years of age.

Have been convicted at any time of any offence involving deception or
dishonesty, unless the conviction is legally regarded as spent; or
Are an undischarged bankrupt: or
Have made compositions with your creditors and have not been discharged:
or
Have at any time been removed by the Commissioners or by the Court of
England, Wales or Scotland from being a trustee because of misconduct: or
Are disqualified from being a company director: or
Have failed to make payments under the county court administrators’ orders.

You may not be employed as student staff of the Union or its subsidiary companies
during your term of office.

If you are in any doubt about your eligibility to act as a trustee you may wish to
discuss the matter, in confidence, with the Union’s Chief Executive or you should
either seek your own legal advice or contact the Charity Commissioners.

I have read and understood the criteria (above) for being a trustee and confirm that
I am eligible to become a trustee in the event that I am elected.

Name …………………………………………………… Date of Birth ……………...

Address …………………………………………………………………………………..

Position standing for ……………………………………………………………………

Signature ………………………………………………… Date ……………………...