► About Chairs and Secretaries

Chairs

Who chairs my Staff Student Committee?

All Staff Student Committees have a student as the chair, in order to make the representation system student led and ensure that all members of the committee feel comfortable raising issues. There is also a deputy chair to give the chair some support and to take over if the chair cannot attend a particular meeting.

The student chair position is additional to the Course Reps, so that the chair can remain balanced and does not need to represent the views of a particular cohort. All chairs and deputy chairs are offered full training for the role by the Students' Union.

How are chairs elected?

In most cases, election of the chair is on the agenda of the final Staff Student Committee meeting of the academic year - so the chair for 2012/13 would be elected at the final meeting of 2011/12. This ensures that the chair is someone who already has experience on the committee and has been elected previously by the wider student body.

There are exceptions to this, notably for Staff Student Committees which deal solely with one year courses. In this case, a staff member chairs the first meeting of the year, where a student chair for the remainder of the year is then elected.

Secretaries

What does the secretary do?

The secretary to any committee makes sure it runs smoothly by looking after all the required administration. This includes putting together an agenda for what will be discussed, taking notes at the meeting, and typing up and circulating these notes.

Who is the secretary of my Staff Student Committee?

Some Staff Student Committees have a student secretary, and others have a staff member fulfilling this role. This is determined by the students and staff in your school or department. All student secretaries are offered full training for the role by the Students' Union.

Can I be the secretary of my Staff Student Committee?

If you would like to take on this role, please speak to the staff facilitator of your Staff Student Committee, who can give you details of the arrangements for your school.

If you have any questions or concerns about any of the above, please let us know.