Student Elections 2012

Student Executive Information Pack And Guide for Candidates www.cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk

City of Glasgow College Vision 'As a world class institution we seek to redefine the learners' experience of a college education. Our staff, clustered in Schools of national expertise, will pioneer new ways of learning, with seamless learning support opportunities. Our curriculum and international partnership sharing will encourage individual learners to flourish, amidst an inclusive and diverse learning community.' 'Our vision is also to create Scotland's first College super campus and be a positive catalyst for change, in partnership with other civic institutions to regenerate and renew Glasgow City Centre and on the riverside.'

Mission As a new College 'We will deliver world class learning for individuals and enterprises, for Glasgow, Scotland and the international community.'

Values As a new College we will value • • • • • •

The individual Equality, diversity and inclusiveness Integrity, honesty and transparency Excellence and achievement Partnership Innovation and enterprise

INTRODUCTION City of Glasgow College hold elections every year to its student representative body. All enrolled students over 16 years of age are entitled to stand for election by following the nomination process, and all enrolled students are entitled to vote. This Information Pack details the process for the Election for the new Student Executive. There are 12 positions with a time commitment of around 4 hours per week for each post.

Executive Positions The 12 Executive positions are: Equalities Executive x2: The Equalities reps will be the lead student representative on diversity and equalities issues, widening participation, and promoting equitable representation of the diverse student population. Charities Executive: The main focus of this role will be to support students to host events and activities to raise money for a range of charities. Volunteering Executive: The main focus of this role will be to encourage volunteering opportunities to students, helping to increase employability skills and confidence. Environmental and Green: This role would be suited to someone with an interest in the environment and would champion green and ethical issues in the College. International Executive: The International Executive is responsible for bringing the international students together by arranging events and activities and to represent the views of international students to the college.

Societies Executive: This role would be suitable for someone looking to increase the amount of extracurricular activities in the College and aim to start social societies like film clubs or photography clubs. Sport Executive: The Sports Executive is responsible for starting sports teams and helping organise a wide range of sporting events for students. Communication and Media Executive: The main focus of this role is to work with the College radio and Magazine to promote Students Association activity and student interests. Campus Executive: The Campus Executive is responsible for ensuring all campuses in the College are represented, have access to the Executive Committee and the events and activities run by the Students Association. Events and Social Executive: The main focus of this role is to arrange events and social activities for students, bringing students from across the College together to have fun. General Executive: The General Executive is suitable for anyone with an interest in the Students Association and will assist in all areas of the Executive Committee. The student representative body has a strong commitment to equality of opportunity, and expects all members of staff and student representatives to understand and promote equality and diversity. As a Student Executive member, you will be expected to be a role model to our wider student population with excellent attendance, a passion for learning and education, a commitment to hard work and be a positive ambassador for City of Glasgow College.

Student Executive members are expected to act as a channel of communication on issues affecting all students and to come up with creative and practical ideas and solutions to improve the learner journey for all.

Who Can Stand For Election? Any current student at the College, over the age of 16, can stand for election. All that is asked is that you demonstrate commitment to student representation and improvement of the student experience. Training and guidance will be provided.

College Locations

The College Campuses are as follows: • • • •

North Hanover Street (tower), Charles Oakley (Cathedral Street), BLZ ,Allan Glen’s and Townhead (Cathedral St.), Riverside (Thistle Street, south side of the river beside the Central Mosque), • Florence Street (by the river, just south of Glasgow Green), • Dornoch Street and Rogart Street (Bridgeton).

PVG Check All students elected to the Student Executive will be subject to the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme to ensure that the college protects both students and staff. The Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme (PVG Scheme) will: •

Help to ensure that those who have regular contact with children and protected adults through paid and unpaid work do not have a known history of harmful behaviour.

ELECTION TIMETABLE

Nominations Open:

Monday 17th September

Nominations Close:

Thursday 4th October

Announcement of Candidates:

Friday 5th October

Election Campaign Period:

Friday 5th October Friday 12th October

Polls Open:

Monday 22nd October at 10am

Polls Close:

Thursday 25th October at 6pm

Declaration:

Friday 26th October

For more information and support please contact the Students’ Association on 0141 566 4140 or the Student Engagement Team on 0141 566 4285

HOW TO TAKE PART IN THE ELECTION There are a few things to remember before seeking nomination for one of the Student Executive positions. 1. These are not paid positions; they are voluntary posts and require a commitment of around 4 hours per week. 2. The main priorities of the Exec Members will be: • To represent City of Glasgow College students at meeting and committees. • To ensure effective communications to all students in the City of Glasgow College. This will involve representing

student views, as well as communicating information to students. 3. Please complete the Nomination Form at the end of this pack. Please note that it is not possible to apply for more than one post. You will need five signatures from students in support of your nomination. 4. Write a brief statement (manifesto) explaining who you are and why you want to be a member of the Student Executive. You may want to highlight just what you plan to do to represent a diverse body of students across all campuses in the College. The manifesto has to be written in English and should not be any longer than 500 words (it must be produced as a Microsoft Word document, using Arial font). 5. Design a poster and Flyer to advertise and promote your campaign to all students around the College. The artwork can be as simple or as complicated as you like but it must be in a format that can be processed by the nominated staff who will be arranging printing. 6. Return your manifesto and poster/flyer, along with your completed and signed Nomination Form, to one of the undernoted named persons by Thursday 4th October: • Jillian Scott Student Engagement Officer Riverside Campus • William Crockett Student Engagement Officer Rogart Street • Sharon Macrury Student Engagement Officer Student Association Office, Townhead Building; • Sarah Gibbons Students’ Association Liaison Officer Student Association Office, Townhead Building;

Please provide the nominated person with an electronic version of your materials as well as a paper copy. This is to assist with arrangements for printing. Please email [email protected] You will be informed of arrangements for you to pick up and display your posters, and the timetable of election events, meetings, and the election itself. ONCE YOU HAVE RETURNED YOUR NOMINATION…

The nominated member of staff will check the poster design and Candidate Statement (manifesto) for each candidate to see that the content is acceptable in terms of word count, language, decency, and conforms to the college’s commitment to equality and diversity. Spelling and grammatical errors will not be corrected.

It is anticipated that approval of materials will be within three days of you submitting all of the completed documents. Candidates will be informed of this in person, by telephone, or if possible by email.

Then, the designated printers will arrange for the posters (25 A4 colour) and handbills/flyers (250 A5 black and white double sided) to be printed for you. Please note the posters will only contain the design by the candidate - the handbills will have this same design on the front and will also include the candidate’s statement (manifesto) on the back.

Candidates may also be re-imbursed up to a value of£10 towards additional campaigning materials. Candidates must ensure that this is spent appropriately, and provide receipts which should be returned to the Students’ Association in the Townhead campus.

If the candidate wishes to purchase more posters and/or handbills, this can be arranged at the Students’ Association Office. Candidates’ campaigning materials will be available from Monday 8th October in the Townhead Students’ Association on the 2nd Floor. Candidates are expected to pick them up from the designated office in person, where they will check and sign for them.

Don’t forget that the College has campuses across the city, so your campaigning should cover all sites to ensure that you obtain votes from a wide range of students

You would be expected to be responsible for ensuring that the activities of the student representative body do not discriminate or offend. You would be expected to ensure that the activities of the student representative body are fully inclusive.

NOMINATION FORM – Student Executive I hereby accept nomination for:

Name

Address

Email

Mobile Number

Home phone number Course Title (Include the main location of your course of study) Attendance ( Please Tick )

Full time

Part Time Day

Part TimeEvening

Declarations - I understand to abide by the rules and regulations as laid out. - I am prepared to complete a disclosure form under the requirements of the PVG scheme

Student Executive Candidate’s Signature

Date

Student Nominees All candidates require five people who are all enrolled students of City of Glasgow College to support nomination for the post. Please list your nominees below and include their signatures: Name of Candidate:

Student Executive Position

Nominees Name 1

Signature

Course

Date

2

3

4

5

Please hand in your completed forms, statement (Manifesto) and poster to the nominated member of staff at the named location.