Web viewYou should also submit all other candidate materials (manifesto, mini-festo, photo and poster) with the submission form. ... or a Word document

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Depute President Elections 2015

IntroductionCongratulations! By opening a candidate pack, you have taken the first step to becoming one of the first Depute Presidents of the new Highlands and Islands Students’ Association (HISA).

This is a great opportunity for you to play a part in representing all of the students at your UHI college or institution.

HISA is a new students’ association that exists to represent all students in the Highlands and Islands – whatever you study, wherever you study.

For more information about HISA, visit www.hisa.uhi.ac.uk

As a Depute President of HISA, you will represent the student voice, playing an active role in decision making at the highest level at your place of study and across the whole of the University of the Highlands and Islands.

This candidates’ guidebook will help to guide you through the key things you need to know for the elections:

- Key dates- How to nominate yourself- How the election works- What positions are open for election- Rules of the elections

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Deciding to run in the elections is a fantastic first step, and we’d like to wish you the best of luck in your campaign.

Key datesThis section of the guidebook outlines the schedule of the elections.

Election dates

Monday 14 September 2015 - Nominations open

Thursday 24 September 2015 - Nominations close at 12 noon

Monday 28 September 2015 - Campaigning begins after candidate briefing at 12.30

Monday 05 October 2015 - Voting opens at 12 noon

Thursday 08 October 2015 - Voting closes at 3 pm

Friday 09 October 2015 - Winners of the election will be announced by email and posted on the HISA website

Nominations open on Monday 14 Sept and candidates must submit their completed nomination form no later than 12 noon on Thursday 24 Sept. You must remember to get one other student to support your nomination and include their student details in the nomination form. Nominations must be submitted electronically to [email protected]. Forms will not be accepted after this time.

You must also complete a submission form and submit this no later than 48 hours after the close of nominations (12 noon on Saturday 26 September). You should also submit all other candidate materials (manifesto, mini-festo, photo and poster) with the submission form. This is where you explain what you stand for and why students should vote for you. Your candidate information will be displayed on the HISA website at www.hisa.uhi.ac.uk

PLEASE NOTE – If you have any questions, queries or complaints about the election process or anything in this guidebook, please

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email the team at [email protected] or raise it at the candidate meeting.

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The Depute President roleAs a Depute President, you are the lead student representative for your academic partner. You will play a key leadership role in representing the student voice at your partner and will work closely with other students and staff to do so. Your role will be to champion the development of students at your academic partner, to enhance their learning experience and to ensure the student voice is heard locally and regionally.

You will have an important role in representing your fellow students at a regional level. Within the Highlands and Islands Students’ Association (HISA), you are a full voting member of its Executive Committee and the Regional Student Council. Decisions are made at a regional level that impact upon the learning experience of all students, including those at your academic partner. The Principal Officers of HISA are the student representatives that sit on those regional bodies whose decisions affect all students in the university partnership. The Depute Presidents play a vital role to support the Principal Officers and ensure that they understand the feelings and views of the students at the partner they represent.

You also play a role in representing students at your partner to external bodies and organisations within your community, such as the local council, to promote ideas and policies important to the needs of your fellow students.

Alongside the other Depute Presidents in the university partnership, you will work with the three Principal Officers as part of the Executive Committee to agree the key priorities that HISA will take forward for the year. Your role will include supporting the work of the Principal Officers as well as holding them to account for their actions.

There will be key members of staff at your academic partner that you will work with. Depending on which academic partner you study at, you will be one of two student members on the Board of Management – the governing body of the college. Engaging with members of staff, such as the college Principal or those with responsibility for the student experience, is important to carrying out your role.

The Depute Presidents are paid an hourly rate of £8.97 an hour. This is based upon the same salary paid to the regional HISA Principal Officers of £16,337. The Depute Presidents at each of the academic partners have a time allocation which is detailed below:

1 Depute President (Argyll College UHI) 12 hours a week1 Depute President (Highland Theological College UHI) 4 hours a week1 Depute President (Lews Castle College UHI) 12 hours a week

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2 Depute Presidents (Moray College UHI) 14 hours each a week

1 Depute President (NAFC Marine Centre UHI) 3 hours a week1 Depute President (North Highland College UHI) 12 hours a week1 Depute President (Orkney College UHI) 10 hours a week1 Depute President (SAMS UHI) 4 hours a week1 Depute President (Shetland College UHI) 10 hours a week1 Depute President (West Highland College UHI) 12 hours a week

You will be supported throughout your time in office by the three Principal Officers of HISA and the staff team of HISA. You will also be helped by the staff at your academic partner. The role description for the post of Depute President is included at the end of this pack.

Nominations and eligibilityTo stand for election you need first to complete a nomination form. This is available on the HISA website at www.hisa.uhi.ac.uk or from the Returning officer by email to [email protected]

In order to stand for election, you have to be a current student at your academic partner. You must also get the support of another student and include their student details on your nomination form. The completed forms must be emailed to [email protected]

After close of nominations, your eligibility to stand as a candidate will be checked and confirmed by email by the Returning Officer.

You must also complete a submission form no later than 48 hours after the close of nominations. The submission form should sent by email to [email protected] along with your manifesto, mini-festo, campaign poster and a photograph. Please remember to submit this by 12 noon on Saturday 26 September.

Manifesto and mini-festoFor every position, each candidate must submit a manifesto, a mini-festo, a photograph and a campaign poster along with their submission form.

What is a manifesto?

The manifesto is the basis of your campaign and expresses why students should support and vote for you, and what you will do if elected. It is one of the most important ways for students to understand what you have to offer them, particularly those students you may not get the opportunity to meet during campaigning.

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Examples of what you may wish to include are a short introduction of who you are, what you pledge to do if you are elected and your views on any important issues.

There is a 200-word limit to the manifesto

What is a mini-festo?

Essentially, the mini-festo is a short version of your manifesto.

When we email students information on the election, and post information on the HISA website, we will display the mini-festos as “tasters” for each candidate. This is an opportunity for you to quickly catch the eye of possible voters.

There is a 140-character limit to the mini-festo – just like Twitter.

The campaign poster

This is an opportunity for you to catch the eye of potential voters at your college. Your submitted poster will be included on the HISA website but you may print copies to use as campaign materials during the campaigning and voting periods.

Posters must be A4 size, can be in colour; submitted as a .jpg, .pdf, or .pub or a Word document.

All material submitted will be published on the election website by HISA.

Candidates’ briefingOnce your candidacy is confirmed by the Returning Officer, you will be required to attend a candidates’ briefing. This is a compulsory session which all candidates must attend, or send a designated alternative. Any alternative must be made known to the Returning Officer in advance, and must be an enrolled student at the University or one of its academic partners.

The session will be delivered by the Returning Officer and will cover the rules of the election, and the election process.

The candidates’ briefing will take place at 12.30 pm, Monday 28th Sept 2015. Details of the venues will be circulated to candidates in the near future.

Venues

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Argyll College UHI (Campbeltown) - all rooms will be confirmed soonArgyll College UHI (Oban) - Argyll College UHI (Islay) - Argyll College UHI (Hazelburn) -Highland Theological College UHI -Lews Castle College UHI -Moray College UHI -NAFC Marine Centre UHI -North Highland College UHI -North Highland College UHI - Orkney College UHI -SAMS UHI - Shetland College UHI -West Highland College UHI -

Campaigning budgetTo help you in your campaign and reach as many students as possible, each candidate is entitled to a campaigns budget. You are entitled to spend the campaign budget on campaign materials and travel.

The campaigning budget allocated to each candidate is £20.

You may not spend over and above the money that has not been allocated to you on your campaign. A campaign budget exists to ensure that there is parity between each candidate in their ability to reach out to students.

You must keep all receipts for any campaign expenditure as these may be required by the Returning Officer at any point to confirm expenditure.

Voting process – how to voteStudents will vote for candidates online at www.studentjourney.uhi.ac.uk. The process we will use is “Alternative Vote (AV)”. The AV system asks voters to rank candidates in order of preference. Students can nominate as many preferences as they like. Only first preference votes are counted initially. Any candidate who gets more than 50% of these ‘first preferences’ is elected automatically. If no candidate gets more than 50% then the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated and their ‘second preferences’ are transferred to the other candidates. This goes on until a candidate gets over 50%, at which point a winner is declared.

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In all elections, there will be an option to vote for “Re-Open Nominations” (RON). Should RON win, then a by-election will be held for that position.

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Campaigning rulesCampaigning for an election is a great way to interact with students and start conversations about their student experience. It can contribute to a good atmosphere throughout all of the academic partners. We will support all candidates to participate fairly and openly in elections.

This also means that we require candidates to respect that spirit so that the election is conducted fairly, that students can vote freely and candidates can canvass openly. To ensure that the election is fair, candidates must follow the election rules. Any breach of these rules may result in disqualification from the elections or other sanctions.

All candidates must abide by the University’s policies and procedures.

Candidates must take reasonable steps to ensure that their supporters’ actions comply with the election rules at all times and must be able to demonstrate this in the event of a complaint against them.

Candidates must notify the Deputy Returning Officer if they (or a nominated representative) cannot attend the candidates briefing. If a candidate misses important information by not attending a briefing they will still be expected to comply with all Election Rules.

Candidates should act at all times as directed by college or university staff and raise any concerns directly with the Returning Officers.

No candidate may use resources not freely available to all students for the purposes of their campaign. This includes use of students’ association printers or use of college/university mailing lists.

Campaign spend may not exceed the budget limit set in the election rules (£20). Candidates must retain all receipts for expenditure and provide these to the returning officer if so requested.

All candidates must respect that every student has the right to vote confidentially and freely. Any complaints raised by students about being unfairly pressured to vote for any particular candidate will be taken extremely seriously. Candidates must not attempt to help students during the process of voting, even if a student has requested assistance.

Any complaints regarding the conduct of any candidate or campaigner should be made to the Returning Officers by email

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using the Complaints Form provided. Any evidence should be submitted alongside the complaint. No complaints will be accepted more than one hour after the close of polls.

If candidates are in any doubt the interpretation of these rules they should ask the Returning Officer by email or at the candidates briefing.

All Highlands and Islands Students’ Association elections are based on principles of democracy, trust and fairness for everyone involved. Any candidates in doubt about any aspect of these elections regulations should not hesitate to contact the Returning Officer.

The Returning Officer can disqualify candidates for breaches of election rules, so it is very important that candidates check first if there is any doubt whether an action they are about to take may result in a breach of these rules.

Student complaints about harassment by candidates will be taken very seriously.

All complaints must be submitted using the elections complaint form and submitted to the Returning Officer no later than 1 hour after the close of elections.

Returning Officer

The elections are overseen by the Returning Officer, who is responsible for the good conduct and administration of the elections and shall have the final interpretation of the election rules. The Returning Officer is assisted by a Deputy Returning Officer and a team of Election Agents.

The Returning Officer and Deputy Returning Officer are:

Returning Officer: Charlotte Lawley, Development Manager NUS ScotlandDeputy Returning Officers: Antony Blackshaw, HISA Interim Association Director, Melissa Schouten – EO Student Services

Election coordinators

Each academic partner will have a named staff member to act as contacts for candidates and students about the elections. These coordinators should be contacted for any general queries about the elections such as printing, timings or submitting nominations. The Deputy Returning Officer should be contacted for any clarifications on rules or candidate conduct.

The election coordinators are:

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Argyll College UHI - Helen Gillies/Liz RichardsonHighland Theological College UHI - Anne RogersLews Castle College UHI - David BellMoray College UHI - Laura CarterNAFC Marine Centre UHI - Caroline HepburnNorth Highland College UHI - Lindsay HendersonOrkney College UHI - Aimee PottingerSAMS UHI - Polly CrooksShetland College UHI - Greg McCarronWest Highland College UHI - Lesley Hellon

Voting rights of students

Any student registered and studying at an academic partner may stand as a candidate for the Depute President at this location and vote in the election for their Depute President.

The elections will be conducted using www.studentjourney.uhi.ac.uk

Results

The counting of votes will be verified by the Returning Officer.

Results will be declared by the Returning Officer when the count has been successfully completed.

In the absence of complaints, the results will become official 48 hours after voting has closed.

Complaints

Complaints about the administration of the elections or the conduct of candidates or supporters must be submitted in writing to the Returning Officer before voting closes. The Returning Officer will decide whether a complaint will require further investigation and if it should be upheld.

Complaints will be resolved, wherever possible, within 48 hours of submission.

The Returning Officer has the right to postpone elections pending complaints, and disqualify candidates from the elections.

The ruling of the Returning Officer is final. Any complaints must be submitted using the complaints form (available from the Returning Officer or from the HISA website), and must be submitted to [email protected] Complaints must be received before the voting closes.

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Election winners

All winning candidates will take up office from Monday 19 October. There will be an initial meeting and induction session for all deputes (by VC) arranged for that week and details will be sent to all successful candidates.

HISA Regional Council will be held on 6 & 7 November 2015 and all Deputes will be expected to be in attendance. This will be a residential event and all travel and accommodation will be arranged by HISA;

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Appendix 1 –Depute President Job Description

ROLE TITLE: Depute President

RESPONSIBLE TO: Board of Trustees

ACCOUNTABLE TO: Students at the relevant academic partner

DEPARTMENT: Executive Committee

DATE: September 2015

ROLE PURPOSE AND GENERAL INFORMATION

The Depute President has three key roles:

1. As a principal officer to represent students at your academic partner: to provide leadership and direction for HISA and to represent the interests of all further and higher education students at your academic partner. The Depute President will champion the development and evolution of the students’ association at the local level to help shape and influence learning and teaching for students and ensure the student voice is at the heart of all local strategies and policies relating to academic experience. The Depute President will also actively engage with principal officers and student representatives at the local and regional level to develop and implement services that enhance the wider student experience for the benefit of existing and prospective students at your academic partner.

2. As a principal officer to represent students at your academic partner at a regional level: participate as a full voting member on the Executive Committee and Regional Student Council of Highlands and Islands Students’ Association and ensure attendance by student officers or representatives at the Further Education Regional Committee and Higher Education Regional Committee.

3. As an external leader and ambassador: to act as a champion for Highlands and Islands Students’ Association with external bodies and organisations in your community to promote the reputation of the students’ association and influence local policies pertinent to the needs and aspirations of your local student body.

LOCAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Represent students at your academic partner through participation on the Board of Management and other relevant committees or task groups.

Through committee activity and meetings with staff, contribute to and influence your college

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or institution’s strategy and other key strategies, plans and documents to ensure that the interests of students are represented effectively at a local level.

Lead the development and delivery of students’ association strategies, plans and campaigns at a local level to inform learning and teaching, including academic and pastoral support, quality enhancement and assurance, assessment and feedback, libraries and academic services, IT provision and student employability.

Chair, or delegate attendance, at meetings or forums established by the local presence of the students’ association to secure agreement and approval of local strategies and plans and report on progress with implementation.

With support from staff, monitor the financial management of the local presence of the students’ association and compliance with all relevant legislation.

Provide leadership and be accessible to local students to understand their issues and priorities and ensure services remain relevant to their needs.

Attend and speak at official college or institution events and ceremonies as appropriate.

REGIONAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Participate as a full voting member on the Executive Committee of Highlands and Islands Students’ Association to shape and inform the regional agenda for student representation.

Participate as a full voting member on the Regional Student Council to discuss and approve the development and delivery of the organisation’s strategy and associated operational plans, monitor its financial management and monitor the performance of its sabbatical officers.

Encourage and promote participation within your academic partner on regional representation structures and nominations for the Further Education Regional Committee and Higher Education Regional Committee and ensure there are effective multi-lateral communications between these representatives, the students’ association, class or course representatives and the students.

With support from the staff at the ‘hub’ of the regional students’ association, undertake research, as and when required, to identify the priorities of local students to help inform the regional agenda.

Identify topics, issues or shared objectives where there may be scope to drive forward initiatives in collaboration with students at other academic partners.

EXTERNAL LEADER AND AMBASSADOR:

To represent the interests of students at relevant external events and conferences to help influence local and regional policies pertinent to the interests of the student body.

To raise the profile and reputation of Highlands and Islands Students’ Association to further the interests of local students.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS:

The Depute President will work as part of a team with other student officers, representatives, students, HISA staff and staff at their academic partner. They will also work in collaboration with the principal officers on the Executive Committee and Regional Student Council.

General

The Depute Presidents are HISA staff members and are covered by the terms and conditions of employment which will be issues to all Deputes once elected.

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The Depute Presidents are bound by the Officer protocol and are expected to demonstrate appropriate behaviours at all times. The Depute President will also:

With support from staff, adhere to and support all relevant policies and procedures, including Health & Safety.

Participate on training and development activities to enhance their skills and knowledge. Support the personal development and training of other student officers and student

representatives at your academic partner.

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Appendix 2 - An introduction to HISAThe Highlands and Islands Students’ Association has been established to represent all further and higher education students of the University of the Highlands and Islands and its 13 academic partners at a regional level. This means that the issues and topics of importance to students at all the academic partners will be communicated to the right people at the right time.

Regional representation

There will be a team of Principal Officers who are full-time paid sabbaticals who will work in partnership with student officers across the academic partnership to discuss, agree and deliver the regional agenda of HISA. This team will comprise a President, Vice President (Further Education) and Vice President (Higher Education). The Principal Officers will help inform policies and decisions at a regional level through their membership of the University Court, the Further Education Regional Board and other sub-committees of Court and through delivery of their strategy and associated campaigns.

Local representation - HISA

HISA will represent the local interests of students at ten academic partners:

- Argyll College UHI- Highland Theological College UHI- Lews Castle College UHI- Moray College UHI- NAFC Marine Centre UHI- North Highland College UHI- Orkney College UHI- SAMS UHI- Shetland College UHI- West Highland College UHI

Students will elect a Depute President1 at each of the 10 of the academic partner and determine their preferred structure to make sure the student voice influences local decisions and policies.

1 Moray College UHI will elect 2 Depute Presidents this year to reflect the size of the partner

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The students at academic partners where they are represented by HISA locally will all be members of HISA. The elected Depute Presidents at these academic partners will be full voting members of the Executive Committee of HISA.

Local representation – existing students’ associations

Students at Inverness College UHI, Perth College UHI and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig UHI will continue to be represented by their existing local students’ association on local matters.

Students at these academic partners will not be members of HISA but will be entitled to vote for the regional team of Principal Officers and will be eligible to stand for election for these roles. The elected Presidents or Conveners of existing students’ associations at these academic partners will also be full voting members of the Executive Committee of HISA.

HISA will work in partnership with these students’ associations to make sure they understand the issues and topics to inform the regional agenda.

Structure of HISA

The following diagram depicts the structure of HISA:

HISA has the following committees within its structure:

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- An Executive Committee- A Regional Student Council- A Further Education Regional Committee- A Higher Education Regional Committee

Executive Committee

The membership of the Executive Committee is:

- The President, Vice President (Further Education) and Vice President (Higher Education)

- The Depute Presidents from each of the ten academic partners where HISA represents students locally

- The Presidents or Conveners from the three academic partners that have retained their existing students’ association

The role of the Executive Committee will be to discuss and agree the topics of importance to students across the partnership and agree the priorities for the regional agenda. The strategies, plans and policies developed by the Executive Committee will be approved by the Regional Student Council who will hold the officers to account for their performance.

Regional Student Council

The Regional Student Council is the ultimate decision-making body for HISA and shall approve all policy decisions, strategies and plans of the Executive Committee. The Council will also hold the Executive Committee to account for its activities and performance.

The members of the Regional Student Council are:- The President, Vice President (Higher Education) and Vice President

(Further Education)- The Depute Presidents from each of the ten academic partners

where HISA represents students locally - The Presidents at the three academic partners that have retained

their existing students’ association - Subject Network Officers or a nominated higher education student

from those academic partners not represented by a Subject Network Officer;

- All elected class representatives from the whole of the university partnership.

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Further Education Regional Committee

The Further Education Regional Committee is responsible for developing HISA’s policy on all matters relating to further education. By liaising with students through local structures throughout the academic partnership, it shall recommend policies and actions to Regional Student Council. The Committee will support the work of the Vice President (Further Education) and hold this officer to account for their performance.

The Further Education Regional Committee will be chaired by the Vice President (Further Education) and the President of HISA will also attend the meetings. A nominated further education student from each of the academic partners will sit on the committee.

Higher Education Regional Committee

The Higher Education Regional Committee is responsible for developing HISA’s policy on all matters relating to higher education. Through the work of Subject Network Officers or nominated higher education representatives and by liaising with students through local structures throughout the academic partnership, it shall recommend policies and actions to Regional Student Council. The Committee will support the work of the Vice President (Higher Education) and hold this officer to account for their performance.

The Higher Education Regional Committee will be chaired by the Vice President (Higher Education) and the President of HISA will also attend the meetings. A nominated higher education student from each of the academic partners will sit on the committee where an academic partner is not represented by a Subject Network Officer. Subject Network Officers will be recruited by the HISA officers.

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Candidate’s checklist

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14 SeptemberCandidate nominations open

Thursday 24 September, 12 noonDeadline for submission of

nomination form, manifesto, mini-festo photo and poster

28 September 12.30pmAttend candidates' briefing

Monday 28 September, 1.30pmHISA elections are launched offical

campaigning begins

Monday 5 October, 12 NoonVoting open

Thursday 8 October, 3pmVoting closes

Friday 9 OctoberElection results announced