What is Student Council?
Student Council is where the Union decides what it will be doing, what it believes in, and holding the Sabbatical Officers to account. All students can attend, and submit ideas for discussion and for a decision to be made. You can read more about Student Council, and our other representative bodies in this document from our Schedules.
Student Council is typically held three times an academic year, with students able to attend in-person and contribute to the discussion. Only Student Council members can vote. Meetings are governed by our Standing Orders, which you can read in this document from our Schedules.
At each Student Council, your elected Sabbatical Officers will also update you on what they have been doing to represent you, and the chair of the Student Council will lead the discussion of the items submitted.
You can find minutes and agendas from meetings of Student Council at the bottom of this page.
How can I submit something to Student Council?
You can submit items for Student Council using the Microsoft Form found at the link here.
You can either submit something for discussion alone or for Student Council to make a decision on. In most cases, submitting something for discussion is because you think it's an important issue that more students should know about. Student Council might decide to start an Action Group (more information below) or work with you to put together a specific policy on.
If you are already clear on what you want the Student Union position to be, or what action to take, you can submit something for discussion and decision. If you'd like some help clarifying what that should be, please do email theunion@stir.ac.uk or contact one of the Sabbatical Officers.
Who sits on Student Council?
Student Council is made up of the Sabbatical Officers, who are the full-time student leaders of the Students' Union. The volunteer Campaign Officers, Equalities Officers, Postgraduate Officers also are elected to Student Council. We hold elections in Spring and Autumn to fill most of these roles, except for the Equalities Officers. These positions are filled by volunteers who are recommended by different student groups representing the five main strands of our work on equalities.
- There are four Campaign Officers who are elected on an open platform - they decide what their focus of work will be.
- Four other Campaign Officers are elected on specific remits - Housing, Transport, Sustainability, and International Students.
- There are two Postgraduate Officers. One represents Postgraduate Taught students, one represents Postgraduate Research students. They are elected in the Autumn elections, and also sit on the Education Executive.
- There are five Equalities Officers, who cover Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, BAME students, Disabled students, and Women students. They work closely with relevant student groups and the Union President to represent students from marginalised backgrounds.
- There are also three representatives from the Executive Committees, one from each, who also sit on Student Council.
What are Executive Committees?
We have an Executive Committee for three large areas of our work. These are Sports, Societies, and Education. You can read more specifics about what they do and how they work in this document from our Schedules.
In short, they bring together students actively involved in our key work to make decisions, feedback to the Sabbatical Officers, and be a hub of activity in these areas. Each Executive Committee oversees our work in this area, is chaired by the relevant sabbatical officer and also sends one member to Student Council
What is the Equalities Forum?
This body exists to hold discussions on different topics related to issues facing students from marginalised backgrounds or who may be subject to discrimination. It is chaired by the Union President and open to all students. It can request that the Student Leadership Team or Student Council take a closer look at an issue for formal action.
What are Action Groups?
Action Groups are created by Student Council to work on specific issues that students think need more attention. They are chaired by either a Sabbatical or Volunteer Officer, or a particularly engaged student, and are also supported by a named staff member.
We currently have Action Groups on Sustainability, Housing, and Harm Reduction.