Voting in this referendum has now closed.
Students' Union Referendum 2018
The Students’ Union at RGU exists to support and represent our students in many different ways.
To do this, we need a strong team of student representatives working with us to ensure that your voices are heard, and that we can help to make your student experience the best it possibly can be. Some of these students work at the Union full time as your Student Presidents, and some are volunteers who take up roles such as Student Vice Presidents, elected heads of our Student Groups, plus all of our Society and Sports Club Presidents.
Main benefits of this proposal
- Make it easier for students to understand the function of the Vice President roles, as the name and purpose will be clearly defined.
- More evenly align the Vice President roles with the President roles, making it easier for the Presidents to provide support to their respective Vice Presidents.
- Help ensure the roles on the Executive Committee correspond with the strategic priorities of the Union and the needs of the Union.
- Embed a commitment to environment and ethics in each of the Executive Committee roles.
- Provide more clarity on where student groups (Nightline, Purple Wednesdays etc) sit in the overall Union structure.
The current Union Structure
As the Union has grown and developed over the past few years, we have come to realise that our structure is no longer fit for purpose, and that it doesn't fully allow us to focus our resources on representing the needs of RGU students effectively. In order to address this, the Union Executive Committee has redeveloped the structure to reflect the changes the Union has gone through recently.
What changes will be made?
The amended structure involves the renaming of some current Vice President roles, for example Vice President (Student Affairs) will become Vice President (Education), and Vice President (Wellbeing & Equal Opportunities) will become Vice President (Welfare). No changes will be made to their remits, however these title changes will allow us to align the VP roles more effectively alongside their associated Student President, leading to improved communication and a more supportive structure.
Two other roles, Vice President (Community) and Vice President (Environment & Ethics) will be merged under the title of Vice President (Community). This has been proposed primarily due to a high crossover of duties between the two positions, however there is also an expectation going forward that environmental and ethical concerns will become embeded within the core remit of each President and Vice President, allowing them to work closely with our newly-created LivEco environmental student group.
It is also proposed that we remove the position of Vice President (Entertainment & Events). Since the closure of our Schoolhill building (bar, cafe, venue) in 2014, it has been apparent that opportunities for student development in this role are quite limited, and this has been echoed by students who formerly held this post. Responsibility for campaign-based events are now led by individual Presidents and Vice Presidents, with the support of our staff team, meaning that the role of VP Entertainment & Events has increasingly become surplus to requirements.
Finally, the position of Raising And Giving (RAG) Chair will no longer sit on the Union’s Executive Committee alongside our President and Vice Presidents, but will instead be placed in line with the heads of our other Student Groups, Societies and Sports Clubs.
Amended Union structure
The reporting structure of these Vice Presidents will be distributed evenly amongst our three Student President roles to align them correctly and improve communication and also to allow for greater support.
What happens next?
Each of these changes will help the Union greatly, and will allow us to keep supporting your student experience in many different ways. But we need your help to make it a reality.
In January we will be holding a university-wide referendum to approve this amended structure. All RGU students are members of RGU:Union, whether you study on campus or by distance learning, so the referendum will allow everyone to have their say on this significant matter, which will effect the future of our Executive Committee and the Union in general.
For the referendum to be binding, we need 1300 students to take part and cast a vote, so your participation is vital.
If you would like to find out more, stop by the Union office on Union Way and speak to a member of our team. Remember to cast your vote in the RGU:Union referendum on 29th and 30th January online at rguunion.co.uk