Student Group Committee training Running a Student Group For returning committee members, new information is highlighted. Objectives: 1. Explain the roles of key student group committee positions. 2. Describe the purpose of additional positions, including those specific to Team Leicester clubs. 3. Outline key tips for success within committee roles. Congratulations! You have succeeded in being elected to a student group committee. This training will be your first step to ensuring a smooth and successful year for your club or society. This session is an overview of different committee positions and how they relate to each other. Here we will also look at some scenarios to demonstrate the ways that you can overcome some of the challenges you may face. For more information on running a student group, please read through the Committee Resources page of the Union website: http://bit.ly/1eknebd. Did you know? Your contribution as a committee member can be accredited on your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) This is included with your degree transcript and shows future employers what you have done outside of your academic work. All you need to do is sign up to the Volunteer page of the Union website, and submit timesheets for any hours you spend doing work for your committee.
For more information, see the Student Officers Volunteering Guide: http://bit.ly/1vnespv. How to run a student group successfully Tips and advice from previous committee members (New video for 2016-17): http://bit.ly/1vvv5ut The Committee The committee are the backbone of a student group, so it is vital that everyone takes responsibility for their role. It is a good idea to meet as a committee at the start of the year to go over the roles of each committee member. This makes sure everyone is aware of their own and each other s roles, and make sure the workload is shared evenly. Every society must have a President or Chair, a Secretary and a Treasurer. Team Leicester clubs must have a Club Captain and a Treasurer. President/Chair Purpose: To oversee general running of the student group, including part control of the budget. Responsibilities: Chair regular committee meetings. Chair Annual General Meeting (AGM) and produce a report for members. Make sure the student group constitution and Students Union policies are followed. Make sure at least one committee member attends each student group assembly. Treasurer
Purpose: To manage the group s budget in co-ordination with the President/Club captain and the Activities Sabbatical Officer. Responsibilities: Attend regular committee meetings. Prepare the budget for the upcoming year. Make sure all money is paid into the fundraising account correctly. Process withdrawals from the fundraising account (and grant fund for Team Leicester clubs). Log expenditure and income. Report any issues to the Activities Development Co-Ordinator. Secretary Purpose: To organise meetings, and keep members informed of events, meetings and other issues. Responsibilities: Keep minutes of regular committee meetings and AGM Deal with emails in co-ordination with the president. Administrate student group elections at AGM. Carry out administrative tasks such as room/table bookings, and ensure that all relevant forms have been filled out. Additional positions Marketing/Publicity Officer Promote student group activities and events. Maintain the group website and social media pages. Events/Social/Trip Secretary Arrange trips and social activities for members.
Notify the Union of all events, including all relevant documents. Welfare Officer Keep up-to-date with welfare issues relevant to members of the group. Represent members both within the group and wider communities. Vice-President/Chair Assist President/Chair in running the group. 'Floating member', assiting where needed, for example chairing when President is absent. Campaigns Officer Keep up-to-date with campaigns relevant to members. Work with the Union to put together and run relevant campaigns. Other positions Other optional positions include: Kit/Equipment Officer Health & Safety Officer Prayer Group Leader Academic Representative Sports Officer Team Leicester There are also a number of positions which are specific to Team Leicester clubs and sports societies. Club Captain Oversee general running of the club, similar to President. Communicate with coaches, officials and leagues/governing bodies. Act as point of contact for Union Activities and Team Leicester.
Team Captains Manage and lead the teams they are captain of. Act as coaches during training sessions when there is no external coach. Vice-Captain Assist the Captain in the running of the club or specific team, similar to Vice-President. Fixture Secretary Organise fixtures in co-ordination with Team Leicester, leagues/governing bodies and other teams. Organise venues and officials for fixtures. Update members on upcoming fixtures. Running an effective committee While each member of the committee has their own responsibilities, it is important to recognise that these positions overlap. Committees work best when each member is willing to step in and help each other out when things get busy. Successful committees are often the ones who maintain regular communication, and whose members are not afraid to ask each other for help. It is also valuable to have an empathetic attitude, supporting committee members who are struggling rather than getting frustrated with them. Committee Induction Programme (CIP) Committee elections take place in the Spring Term. This can be done online, or at your AGM. New committee members will shadow their outgoing counterparts throughout the Summer term. They will take over the running of the group from 25 June 2016-23 June 2017.
The outgoing committee must provide the following to Union Activities by 27 February 2017: CIP Plan (schedule for the handover of responsibilities) Incoming committee details Committee Positions & Job Description Template. The incoming committee must provide the following to Union Activities by 27 May 2017: Student Group Registration Form Budget Template Master Risk Assessment Student Group Constitution and Code of Conduct Welcome Programme Application (if you want a stall at Fresh Fair) Equipment Inventory (even to confirm you have none) The outgoing committee must provide the following to the incoming committee as part of their handover. Committee roles and descriptions Details of important contacts Development plan Up-to-date finance and budget information Access to social media pages and website Facility/venue hire information Details of equipment, suppliers and storage locations Competition, event details Location of Finance officer, pigeon holes, Union Activities etc.
Website administration Two members of your committee can be registered as website administrators. You can indicate which members you would like to register on the committee details form. These members will have access to the Union Cloud dashboard, and be able to edit your group area of the Union website. For information on how to use the dashboard, see the Union Cloud Admin Guide: http://bit.ly/1peiqnf Scenario 1 The Secretary and Welfare Officer of the Antiques Society have approached the President with concern over the Treasurer. Whilst the finances are all in check and the committee member is fulfilling his duties, members of the group have made comments that he makes them feel uncomfortable when he is around as he can be quite touchy feely and overly friendly. What should be done next? 1) Communication is key sit down in the first instance and explain to the treasurer that his friendly behaviour may not have been appropriate. Assume benefit of the doubt, that the treasurer wasn t aware his behaviour was causing offence. This may be enough to resolve the situation. Give a friendly nudge to review Union policies, particularly looking at which behaviours could be interpreted as harassment, however inadvertently. 2) If the behaviour continues, ask for statements from the members making the comments to open investigations further. Sit down with treasurer again to highlight why people are feeling uncomfortable (without mentioning any names).
Advise that if it continues, an investigation may have to be opened alongside Union Activities and member could potentially end up being excluded from the group 3) If situation does not improve, arrange an appointment with activities development coordinator to open up a formal investigation into the incidents. Scenario 2 The Secretary of the Hop Scotch Society has not been turning up to committee meetings, or fulfilling their duties on behalf of the society. The group have repeatedly tried to contact the secretary and asked that she attends meetings to update them, but she rarely turns up or completes tasks she has been given. This has led to the group having to cancel a planned event with a guest speaker because none of the documents were submitted within the Union Activities time frame, and the event could therefore not be approved. What should the group do next? 1) The President should speak individually to the secretary, to see if she is coping with her workload and the responsibilities of holding a committee position. It may be that she is feeling overwhelmed trying to find a balance. 2) If this is the case, the President should identify areas where the committee can support the secretary, and establish whether she stills wants to be involved in the committee. The secretary may decide she has signed up for too much and withdraw from her position, in which case nominations would reopen within the group to fill this role. However, she may decide after guidance from the committee that she is able to balance her workload and dedicate time to complete the tasks. 3) The committee should work with the secretary in supporting her in the role should she choose to continue.
However, if despite these conversations and attempting to support her in the role, issues continue to the detriment of the group, the committee can opt to hold a vote of no confidence to remove her from the committee. At least 2/3 of the committee must vote in favour of this for the motion to be passed. Committees should always try to solve problems internally at first. If this is not possible, Union Activities are happy to support issues that are sensitive or need impartial support. Student Group Accreditation Scheme (SAS) The SAS scheme recognises Student Groups for their hard work. Instead of being accredited for the number of members in your group, you will be given points for meeting certain targets. These points contribute to your overall SAS score, potentially raising you form 'Ratified', to 'Bronze', 'Silver', or 'Gold'. For more information, come and see us in the Student Hub. Inactive Student Groups If groups don't meet all 10 of the criteria for ratified student groups, they will enter a probationary period. During this probationary period, you will be invited to a meeting with the Activities Development Co-ordinator to discuss what extra support may be needed. If this is not arranged within one month, the group will become 'inactive'. Fundraising accounts of inactive groups will be frozen for up to 2 years. If the group is not re-formed within this time the funds will be absorbed back into the grant fund.