A More Representative KUSU

KUSU Notes

1. That Kingston University has 4 campuses with a highly diverse student population.2. That KUSU has for some time been reviewing its governance structures.3. That student feedback has shown that students think that KUSU is Penrhyn Road centric and

that KUSU lacks sufficient presence on other campuses.4. The provision in the KUSU constitution for proposals to be decided by referenda, with a

threshold of at least 200 people voting in a referenda, the proposal must reach this and be passed by a simple majority.

5. That the executive currently consists of 4 full-time officers (President, Vice President Learning and Teaching, Vice President Student Life and Vice President Activities) and part-time officers directly elected in the KUSU elections each March

KUSU Believes

1. That KU students would be better represented through a structure that takes into account the different student needs and experiences on each campus of the University

2. That all 4 full-time officers should be equal, with no hierarchy implied3. That it is difficult for students who are not based at Penrhyn Road to engage with KUSU4. That as a principle of representation, decisions should be made directly by those effected by

them.5. The principles of autonomy and liberation are important and should be valued.6. Positions representing a specific groups of students should be elected only by the students

the position will represent (e.g. liberation positions such as LGBT officer, Disabled Students officer)

7. That electing part-time officers at the start of each academic year will better enable students to make an informed decision about whether they are able to take on the role.

8. That groups such as liberation, sections and campaign groups should elect their own overall representative who then becomes the officer and a member of the KUSU Executive Committee.

9. The rest of the executive committee should then include four full-time officer’s and the overall representatives of existing student groups (sport, societies, volunteering, senior course reps).

10. These changes will make KUSU more representative and will make taking part in decision making more accessible for students.

KUSU Resolves

1. To replace the current full-time officer roles with the following campus based officers: Kingston Hill Officer, Knights Park Officer, Penrhyn Road Officer and Roehampton Vale Officer.

2. To continue to make provision for all the current liberation and sections part-time executive officers by convening open meetings of the relevant student groups in October 2015, with each group electing an overall representative who becomes the officer and a member of the KUSU executive committee.

3. To facilitate the new officers to spend some time each week working on their home campus, as well as also working on KU-wide issues as part of a full-time officer team.

4. To reflect these changes in the bye-laws and elections regulations immediately, changing all references to the full-time officer positions and the method and timing of the election of part-time officers.

5. To elect the new full-time officer positions in the elections in March 2015.6. To incorporate these changes and other proposals from the research into a new constitution

to be presented to the membership for approval.

Referendum Question

‘Should the Students’ Union introduce a campus-officer model in place of the current full-time officer roles, and allow student groups to elect the part-time officers who represent them directly?’

YESNO