An AGM doesn't sound like the msot exciting of events, so think about how you're going to encourage people to attend. At least 50 percent of your overall membership should be in attendance for your AGM to be valid. Think about how you're going to encourage people to attend. Some groups order in pizza, some hold their AGM during one of their events. What will work for you?

Student Groups should include the following in their AGM. Remember, EGMs do not require a financial or annual report.

Annual Report

A review of the last year, highlighting the group's main achievements, the issues that the committee have faced, and anything else worth noting. Allow members to ask questions before a vote to accept of reject the report.

An example report can be found here.

Financial Report

The Treasurer should review the finances for the last academic year. A financial report should include the following.

Balances for all accounts at the beginning of the year

Current account balances

Income from membership fees, sponsorships, etc.,

Any grants awarded by the Student's Union and how these were spent

Expenditure for key events or trips

Any other information you think is important

Allow members to ask questions before a vote to accept or reject the Financial Report.

An example report can be found here

Constitutional Amendments

Members can propose an amendment to a group’s constitution, which must be passed at an AGM or EGM. Proposals should be submitted to the committe in advance of the meeting, but you can take proposals during the meeting if you wish.

A discussion of proposals should include the following.

Introductory speech from the proposer of the action

Speech against the motion, if someone wants to speak against it

Further rounds of speeches, at the discretion of the chair

Questions and discussion amongst members

Vote through simple raising of hands

You must check that any successfull proposals are valid– contact the SU if you need this checking.

Approving the Constitution

Your constitution is the agreement your group makes when they affiliate to the SU. Without this, you cannot be an affiliated group and therefore would fold. Make sure at the end of your AGM you vote whether to approve the updated constitution or not. If approved, submit this as part of your handover

Any Other Business

Any other business–AOB– allows members to have their say on any issues relating to the group. You should allow time for this at the end of your AGM.

Afterwards, the Student’s Union needs a copy of your updated constitution. Let us know if anything needs updating, e.g., group name change, or roles added.

Groups should follow the below procedure to set up and run their elections. You can also find a step–by–step guide in the committee handbook , which all groups should follow. From 2025, there are regulations for both societies and sports clubs to follow. You can see the committee elections guidelines here.

The Nominations Period

When setting up your election, the nomination period should last a minimum of one week. This gives all members time to consider running in the election. If there s someone who you think would be a great committee member, tell them. Your encouragement could persuade someone to run.

Elections appear on your group s webpage. Contact your coordinator if you can t find your election. Share the links to your social media and in emails to all members so that everyone hears about the election.

The Candidates

When nominations close, you need to approve the candidates list before voting can open. Head over to the Elections Admin to do this. Make sure you leave enough time between nominations closing and voting oepning to do this.

When setting up your election, you can allow candidates to submit manifestos, pictures and slogans to help with their campaign.

Only those with a standard membership can run and vote in the election, but they can join your group at any point in the year. Committee members can upload candidates if they are unable to do so themselves. This cannot be used to avoid paying membership fees, however.

The Voting Period

The voting period should last at least one week and you should share the election link on your social media, and via email during this period. Don t forget to remind people to vote during events.

Election Results

Email your coordinator to get your election results. These will be emailed out for you to announce as you wish.

By–Elections

Sometimes you need to hold a by-election during the year if you were unable to elect certain positions– if you have not elected a full core committee, you will need to hold a by–election ASAP. You can also hold a by–election after an EGM if you create a new position. By–elections are run the same way. Please note that all groups must have filled the three core committee roles–President, Secretary and Treasurer

A good Handover can make all the difference for a new committee coming in. It can support them as they learn how to complete their new roles and ensures knowledge that you have learnt over your time on committee isn't lost at the end of the year. This page will help you to build a strong handover.

Handover Document

Creating a Handover Document is a great way to support new committee members long after you have left the committee. It is a record of the things that you have done throughout the year and reviews what worked and what didn’t. It means committee members don’t start from scratch and can learn from your experiences.

You can create your Handover Document however you like, although we recommend using a Google Document as multiple people can access and edit the document at the same time and can be easily updated passed over each year.

Things to include in a Handover Document:

• Descriptions of each role and their responsibilities
• Key Contacts in the SU and University and for sponsors, venues, coaches, etc.
• List of events you have run, descriptions of how they were organised, what went well and what didn’t
• Usernames and passwords for social media and other accounts
• Group-specific information

Shadowing

New committee members officially take over your Society on 1^st August, although they may be given access slightly earlier to start making arrangements for the new academic year. Once elected, new committee members can start shadowing the current committee and start learning how to do their new roles.

Things you can do during shadowing include:

• Invite new committee members to Committee Meetings and other meetings
• Include new committee members in organising events and activities
• Support new committee members to lead regular sessions or activities
• Allow new Treasurer to help submit finance requests – these must still be signed off by the current Treasurer!
• Introduce new committee members to SU Staff, University Staff, sponsors, venues, coaches, etc.

Core Documents

Your handover must include the following three core documents. The templates for these can be found on the Committee Resources home page.

Constitution

This is the agreement made between your group and the SU when affiliated, which needs to be updated each year at an AGM. New committee members should familiarise themselves with this, as it gives information about group aims and objectives, committee strcutures, etc. This document must be passed down to new committees, and groups shoud avoid creating new documents each year.

Equiptment Inventory

A list of all equipment owned by the group, including time of purchase, value and location. All equipment owned by the group is also owned by the Student’s Union, meaning it can be covered by our insurance. The inventory helps us monitor this and also helps new committee members track their equipment. Use our template to create your inventory. If your group own's no equipment, we will need a blank copy of the template with your group's name.

Risk Assesment

This risk assessment should cover all of the activities which your group will be planning to do on a regular basis. All group activity needs to have been risk assessed, so having one thorough document for regular activities means that they are all covered. The more detailed and thorough your general risk assessment, the less work you have to do in the future. Use our template to complete this.

More Hints and Tips

Here are some more ideas for Handover:

• Hold one–to–one meetings or discussions for each committee role– allow the incoming committee member the chance to ask questions
• For Societies– encourage them to create a Development Planand give ideas about how to achieve their targets
• Advise them on how to run a committee meeting
• Remind all committee members to purchase their membership when it comes on sale– they’ll be removed otherwise!