Part-Time Officers (PTO) are voluntary roles. Each PTO represents a specific group of students, and it is their responsibility to promote the interests of that group. They are key student decision makers within the Union and ensure that as a Union we are student led.

The Liberation Officers represent and campaign on the behalf of the students they represent. Each Officer is responsible for leading the relevant Liberation Campaign.

Faculty Officers and Reps represent their Faculty at senior levels within the Union and University. Each Faculty can elect up to 3 Faculty Reps, the candidate who receives the most votes will become the Faculty Officer.

The Chair of the SUBU Summit is a current student who provides an extra layer of accountability to the Union and the Full-Time Officers. The SUBU Summit is the meeting where Union Policy is set and the Officers are held to account. The Chair is responsible for deciding which of the ideas, submitted through the Your Ideas platform should be taken forward to the Summit.

Any current student can put themselves forward, however for the Liberation and Faculty based roles you’ll need to belong to the group that you want to represent, e.g. only black students can apply for the role of the Black Students Officer.

Absolutely! Any student can apply for the roles, so long as they meet the requirements!

You can only apply for one position, unless you’re running for only a Faculty Rep.

PTO roles are all voluntary so the there is no formal time commitment, but expect to spend between 1-5 hours per week on the role. Depending on the role you apply for there will be different meeting commitments that you’ll be expected to attend, such as the Executive Committee, Student Summit and other university meetings.

Being a Part-Time Officer is an incredible opportunity for you to shape SUBU and BU by having a direct say in how SUBU is run. It’s also a great developmental opportunity for you where you’ll learn transferable skills that’ll look great on your CV, as well as being fantastic for developing networks and improving your confidence!

Part-Time Officers have a full induction programme to help them learn about the Union and their role, this includes ongoing training throughout the year. Part-Time Officers will also work very closely with other SUBU Officers and Staff who will help them achieve their goals.

Follow this link here!

A manifesto is how candidates sell themselves to voters; it sets out their aims and priorities and may also include a little bit about themselves and why they are the best person for the job. Manifesto’s become candidates promises to students about what they want to achieve if they are elected so it is important that they are realistic and achievable.

Candidates are asked to submit a 100-word manifesto during their application.

In the context of elections, campaigning is what candidates do to get votes - it's not just handing out leaflets though! Successful candidates take time to listen and speak to students, find out about the current issues relevant to the role they're standing for and persuade voters with ideas and enthusiasm. Don’t worry if this all sounds a bit daunting because all candidates have to attend a briefing where we’ll provide some tips and tricks.

No. For representative based roles we request that only students who belong to the community that the Officer represents can vote for that role. For example only LGB+ students can vote for the LGB+ Officers, and only students from within the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences would be able to vote for the Health and Social Sciences Officer.

You will need to self-define in order to cast your vote, this can be done when you go to cast your vote.

Once applications open, simply fill out the online application form.

We will be closely monitoring the regulations set out by both the Government and Bournemouth University. We are on track to be able to have events and campaigning in person, but will keep candidates and students informed of any changes!

Voting in all SUBU elections uses transferable voting. This allows voters to list their candidates in order of preference. You’ll also have an option to choose ‘re-open nominations’. In order to win a candidate needs to receive over 50% + 1 of the total votes cast. If a candidate does not receive enough votes after the first round, the candidate with the least amount of votes is removed and their votes transferred. This continues until a winning candidate is elected.

If you have any questions, or want to have an informal chat about the election, drop us an email at subudemocracy@bournemouth.ac.uk