President: includes acting as the chair of the Board of Trustees, along with being responsible for the financial position and performance of the Students' Union. The President focuses on representing the student voice at the highest levels within the University including being a Governor and championing the services of the Students’ Union internally and externally. The President also leads the team of Part Time Officers.

Vice President: includes being both a Trustee of the SU and a Governor of the University. The Vice President heads up the representation structure as well as supporting societies. They also sit on Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Committee, keeping an open line of communication between staff and students regarding academia. The Vice President is a point of call for anything that students may need during the year whether that be support or advice whether academic or welfare related.

To become an SU Sabbatical officer you must nominate yourself with support of another Cradiff Met student. Nominations open on the 19th February 2019 and close on the 26th February 2019 (midday). Following this there will be campaigning and an election where students will vote for their preferred candidate. Prior to submitting a nomination it would be a good idea to meet with either Ieaun Gardiner (President 2018-2019) or Jon Nottingham (Vice President 2018-2019) for any further information about the process or the roles of SU President and Vice President.

Elections Officer – Ieaun Gardiner – igardiner@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Further info – Jon Nottingham – jnottingham@cardiffmet.ac.uk

Elections are open to all Cardiff Met students regardless of year or course of study, if successful you would need to take a sabbatical (period of leave) year from your studies to undertake the role. You can also undertake these roles in the year after you have graduated.

Nomination forms are available from both SU offices or on the SU website here www.cardiffmetsu.co.uk/elections2019/. Once you have completed your nominations form and had it seconded by a fellow student, it needs to be returned to either SU office. Make sure that you get your nominations form signed by the person in the office that you hand it to.

Winning one election does not mean that you will win another, every candidate is in with a chance of winning as it is up to the students who vote to decide who is successful.

A manifesto is, a public declaration of policy and aims, especially a manifesto that has been issued before an election by a political party or candidate. In the context of Cardiff Met SU elections your manifesto is the document where you get to show your fellow students (the voters) why you’re the best person for the role and what you aim to do if successful.

Guidance will be available to candidates from 4th – 18th February.

In the context of elections, campaigning is what candidates do to get votes. However it’s not just handing out leaflets! Successful candidates take time to listen and speak to students, find out what the current issues are that are affecting the student experience and what students would like to see from their President and Vice President.

As outlined in the What roles are available? the role of a Cardiff Met SU Sabbatical Officer is a hugely diverse one, and this means that it gives the successful candidate the opportunity to develop a unique set of skills to use in the future.

These skills include:
• Time management
• Organisation
• Leadership
• Project management
• Research
• Public speaking
• Reading and creating high level papers for committee
• Chairing meetings

All SU elections give the option for voters to express their wish that nominations for a role be re-opened. Voting R.O.N is usually taken when voters do not feel any of the candidates offer viable or credible policies.

Should R.O.N win an election, the post would not be filled, and a bi-election would be organised at a further time deemed suitable.

These are the people representing you for the next year, you should have a say in who is representing you at the highest level of the University. Even if you are graduating this year and leaving Cardiff Met, think who would I have liked to represent me this year?

Your vote is unique to you! No one can tell you who to vote for but we can ask you to use your vote wisely. Make sure you take some time to read up on candidates manifesto points, speak to the candidates and make an educated decision when you’re ready.

All SU elections give the option for voters to express their wish that nominations for a role be re-opened. Voting R.O.N is usually taken when voters do not feel any of the candidates offer viable or credible policies.

Should R.O.N win an election, the post would not be filled, and a bi-election would be organised at a further time deemed suitable.