The Leadership Race: Staff FAQ

The Leadership Race: Info for those who work at Staffs

Whether you are a Dean, part of the Campus life team or on shift in Squeezebox, its important that you understand what the Leadership Race is, why its important and some "do's and don'ts" that are vital when working with students. Already up to sopeed? Then head straight to our quickfire FAQs at the bottom of the page.

What is The Leadership Race?

The Leadership Race is our annual election for Students to choose their Full-Time Officer Team, the students who work for a whole academic year to represent everyone studying a Staffs Uni course.

We also elect the committees for our Representative Networks and Student Groups, plus the Subject and PGR Reps for the following academic year.

This Year's Key Dates:

• Nominations: Midnight [am] 1st March - Midnight [pm] 31st March 

• Candidate Induction Period: 1st – 12th April (Easter Break) 

• Manifestos Live: 10am Monday 15th April 

• Voting: 10am Tuesday 23rd April – Midnight Thursday 25th April  

• Results: Evening of Friday 26th April (online) 

Why should students vote?

• Every vote counts: This is very cliché, but our closest election came down to less than a single vote. A single society of 10 members could be the difference between getting elected or missing out and our venues could well serve enough people in 5 minutes to set the outcome of the race!

• Indifference never changed anything: Every student has an opinion on everything at Staffs, if you don’t vote you lose that chance to have your say and select those who you feel share priorities with you.

• Everyone is different: We have a very diverse University; if students don’t vote then views of smaller groups go unheard. The University is still going through a huge transition and it’s crucial that every student has the opportunity to make their voice heard.

• Reps do great things: over the years, the impacts, or “wins” from Officers, Course Reps and Dept. Reps have shaped students’ experiences at Staffs. If students want more of this, they need to choose the best candidates to do the job! You can see some wins and more reasons to vote in an article linked at www.staffsunion.com/vote 

How to vote:

• Voting is by Single Transferable Vote (STV) this means that students can choose a list of candidates in order of preference of who they want to win. Students can choose as many preferences as they want to, if there are 20 candidates, they can choose 20 candidates (but don’t have to).

• Students can vote on any mobile device via a browser and will have instructions in their inbox on how to vote. We also made a quick video that explains all.

What to do if students can’t vote:

• If a student can’t vote, go to www.staffsunion.com/canivote and get them to type in their student number.

• If this tells them they are not eligible then they may not be able to vote in this election.

• If there any further or different problems email: studentvoice@staffs.ac.uk

Staff Impartiality

As staff members of the University (or Students' Union), it's very important that you remain impartial; any suggestion that your behaviour may have influenced voter choice means another candidate could challenge an election result.

The principles of all our elections are Fair, Safe, Legal and Constructive. Our elections rules are only one page long and are shared in a separate article.

Here's some helpful top tips:

• Don't like any posts from candidates relatin got them running on social media. Other students could see this as an  endorsement from an influencer.

• Offer the same opportunities to all candidates (like lecture shouts or putting posters up), so that no-one can claim you've been biased

• Don't endorse specific candidates (even if you teach them and you think they'd be a great Officer), but rather encourage everyone to vote for whoever they wish to!

Quick-Fire Voting FAQs

Here's three of our more frequently occurring questions from voters:

Can I only vote for one person?

No! You can order the candidates in an order of your preference. You can still just choose one person, but you may as well order all candidates so you have a say even if your top choice isn't successful.

I'm a Candidate, can I vote for myself?

Yes! As a student, you get to vote, so if you're also a candidate, of course you can vote for yourself.

Can I go back and change my vote?

Nope - once you've clicked your final confirmation, you can't log back in and adjust your vote. Once your vote is submitted, there's no way for anyone to access how you've voted or to edit your preferences - but don't worry, you'll be prompted through the process.

I've got a more complex question about the election. Who should I talk to?

You should get in touch with the Student Voice Team, who administer all Union elections

Still have questions?

If you need more information, please contact:

E | studentvoice@staffs.ac.uk

Tel | 01782 29 5840

.