There are two full-time roles that UCA students can run for:
 

• President Kent
• President Surrey

Overview
President Kent and President Surrey are the two full-time sabbatical officers elected by the student body to run the Students’ Union. They are the figureheads for UCASU, trustees and help to oversee the strategic direction of the SU.

What does a President do?

• Main student representation for the entire UCA student body seeking and taking their feedback to the highest level in the university.
• Deliver on elected manifesto points
• Lead on UCASU campaigns such as “Something Not Right?” and “It’s Not OK”
• Liaise directly with UCA’s Senior Leadership Team
• Student representative on University committees and working groups including Access & Participation, Student Experience and Sexual Violence & Misconduct
• Member of Board of Governors; you will represent students’ interests at the highest decision making body in the University
• Trustee of UCASU; you will ensure that the SU is making decisions that are in the best interest of students
• Sit on the UCASU’s Board of Trustees; this is where decisions such as strategic direction are made as well as ensuring that the SU is financially viable.
• Member of Union Council; this all student committee, made up of Presidents and part-time officers, discuss both SU and University matters as well as create and vote on motions that impact the running of the SU.

Why should I run for President Kent or President Surrey?
Being President gives you the incredible opportunity to lead a charity with over a half million pound turnover, be responsible for elevating the voice of 6000 students as well as delivering on projects and campaigns that matter to you. You’ll learn transferable skills such as negotiation, communication, self-awareness, conflict resolution and more - all of these will look great on your CV, not to mention the experience you’ll gain to back them up. On top of this, you’ll also be paid a salary of £18,500*, receive 25 days holiday (excluding bank holidays), have training opportunities and get to work with a fantastic and supportive staff team.
*Pending review

 

 

There are 8 part-time roles that UCA students can run for in the Election, however you must be a continuing student into the 2022/23 academic year:
 

• Higher Education Canterbury
• Higher Education Epsom
• Higher Education Farnham
• Higher Education Rochester
   
• Open* Canterbury
• Open* Epsom
• Open* Farnham
• Open* Rochester

*Open denotes any student can run (FE, UG and PG)

Overview
The elected 8 part-time officers (PTOs) come from all four campuses, representing issues from their respective area as well as the wider student body. They sit on Union Council and can make significant change within UCASU and the University by voting on motions put forward by other officers and/or students. They support the Presidents and UCASU staff with events and student voice as well as having staff support with their own manifestos. From September 2022 there is the opportunity for Further Education (FE) students to be co-opted as PTOs and join Union Council, there is one FE space on each campus taking Union Council membership up to 12.

What does a PTO do?

• Member of Union Council; this all student committee, made up of Presidents and part-time officers, discuss both SU and University matters as well as create and vote on motions that impact the running of the SU.
• Student representation for not only your respective campus but the entire UCA student body, taking feedback from students to Union Council and higher
• Deliver on elected manifesto points
• Get involved with the planning and running of SU events

Why should I run for a PTO?
As a part-time officer, you have the fantastic opportunity to be directly involved with the Students’ Union, have a say in how large scale events are run, be responsible for elevating the voice of 6000 students as well as delivering on projects and campaigns that matter to you.

In your volunteer position, you’ll learn invaluable transferable skills such as communication, influencing others, teamwork and more - all of these will look great on your CV, not to mention the experience you’ll gain to back them up.

You’ll have the support of a great staff team as well as the two Presidents and we can provide training and social opportunities to benefit.

 

As well as meeting loads of great people, running for a position and being an officer enables you to have a say in the direction of the Students' Union as well as influencing the University. It will also help you develop a number of important skills that can enhance your employability and academic development.

Of course you can! If you get elected to a non-Sabbatical role (President Kent or Surrey), you carry out your responsibilities alongside your studies in your second or third year. If you are elected as a Sabbatical Officer, the University lets you take a year out of your studies to work full-time!

Nearly any position! If you run for a Part-time Officer you will need to still be a UCA student for your term in office.

Yes! You can run for any role as long as you are at UCA for the next academic year. If you get elected to a full-time Sabbatical role, you won’t need a new Visa. The University will sponsor your Tier 4 Visa, which allows you to work and undertake a full-time Sabbatical Officer post. You can do the role part way through your course or in the academic year directly after you finish.

No! People from all different backgrounds run in the elections. What matters most are your ideas for improving life for students. Whatever role you’re interested in, you will get training and support from staff at UCASU who will help develop your ideas and get the most out of your year.

Many candidates feel like this, don’t worry! You can always bring together a Campaign Team plus every candidate can access staff for support and we’ll put on a workshop to help you run a great campaign.

Candidates sometimes feel like they don’t know enough people to run, but we work hard to give everybody an equal platform to ensure students hear about you and understand your ideas. You don’t have to be a Big Name On Campus to win!

Don’t worry! Concentrate on the issues that matter most to you and chat to current officers or UCASU staff to explore how you could address them in your manifesto. Once you nominate yourself, you can attend workshops that help you to fine-tune your thoughts as you will still have time to edit your nomination. These workshops include information on writing a manifesto where you can learn how best to present your ideas!

We open a ‘nominations’ period, which is when you can put yourself forward as a candidate. We’ll ask you to submit a manifesto about what you plan to do if elected, so students know why they should vote for you. Once nominations close, we will publish the list of all candidates and manifestos on our website.

Students have less than 4 days to cast their vote, so you need to get the word out that you’re a candidate and ask everybody to vote for you.
Voting is based on a system called the Single Transferable Vote. Students vote in order of preference:

• #1 against their first choice candidate
• #2 against their second choice candidate
• #3 against their third choice candidate
  And so on.

This means if a voter’s preferred candidate doesn’t receive enough votes, they get knocked out of the running. For this reason, you should ask voters to mark you as #1 first, but #2 if they already have a preferred candidate. That way, if their preferred candidate gets knocked out of the running, you will receive their vote in the next round. This system means students still get a say on who is elected, even if their first choice doesn’t receive enough votes.

 

TRUE
Yes, this is true. Our President Kent and President Surrey (Sabbatical Officers) work full-time in the Students’ Union and get paid an annual salary of £18,473. Alongside this, they are given 25 days of paid holidays, plus bank holidays and additional time off over Christmas. It’s a proper job!
Other perks include joining a fantastic staff team and loads of opportunities to train and develop their skills further.
If you are elected as a Sabbatical Officer, you’ll become a trustee of UCASU, which has a half-million pound turnover and represents over 6,000 students.

MYTH
We work closely with University senior management and can influence change through formal committees, but also via campaigning with students and student groups. Here are some key recent examples:

• During the first lockdown, UCASU secured a commitment from the University to reimburse all of students’ rent from their term three accommodation - equating to roughly £1 million pounds in total.
• We campaigned for ‘lecture capture’ so students could review video of their lectures. This was implemented in summer 2020.
• We campaigned for ‘Fair Assessment’ so students’ work would be graded on their skill rather than how much money they spent on creating it. This was added as a commitment by the university in 2019.

 

TRUTH
With the Government failing to deliver satisfactorily for students during the Covid pandemic and Universities struggling to deliver the quality and experiences students expect, the role of students and their unions in fighting for their rights has never been more pressing. More broadly, students are also at the forefront of local and global movements relating to the climate emergency and racial injustice.

MYTH
While this is true for the day to day running of UCASU, the political direction and main activity of the Union is guided by our elected officers, who are Trustees of the organisation, and the student body.
As in other member-led charities, managers in the SU make decisions and manage the resources and operations of the organisation. However, UCASU staff are ultimately here to support you, our members, to participate in the activities, campaigns and decisions most important to you.

MYTH
Everything we do is for students. As a charity, our primary purposes are to represent students' interests to the University, improve your education and empower you to make positive social change. We also play a crucial role in your development outside of your degree, by providing opportunities such as sports clubs and societies, Identity Communities and Course Reps.

MYTH
You don’t need to have experience - just passion. Our staff will help you throughout your campaign, providing training on digital campaigning, as well as manifesto development. If elected, you will continue to receive support and training from UCASU staff and you will become part of a team of student officers that works collectively and supports each other.