Are you interested in being a part of OUSA in Scotland (or indeed in any other nation or region)?
Would you like to be a part of OUSA in Scotland?
Elections to the OUSA Scottish Student Assembly are about to take place and you could be joining us. The OUSA Scottish Assembly consists of 32 O U students who have been elected by their fellow students to act as students' representatives. It's a great opportunity to have a say in how OUSA represents students' interests both within the University and externally to other bodies right up to Scottish Government level.
It's now time for our next round of elections and this is the opportunity for you to be part of the Assembly or even it's Executive over the next 12 months commencing in August.
What is the Assembly?
The Assembly has the following functions:
- to facilitate the representation of O U students at a local and national level within the Open University and Higher Education sector
- to define national level OUSA policy
- to facilitate obtaining the widest possible student opinion and access to discussion and decision making in OUSA
- to provide an OUSA public face at O U events within Scotland (e.g. residential school, graduation)
- to support local OUSA Groups within Scotland.
Over the last 12 months the Assembly has been involved in tasks such as running online surveys of student views, responding to Government consultations on the future of Higher Education, highlighting to M S Ps the current inequity of part-time students paying fees whilst full-time students receive free tuition and providing a student input into O U in Scotland meetings.
Assembly leadership and administration is undertaken by an Executive which is made up of 6 elected student representatives.
You can read more information on the work of OUSA in Scotland in our latest annual report at http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/discuss.php?d=983051 or see our website at http://www.ousa-in-scotland.org.uk/assembly.html.
What Level of Commitment is Required?
As an Assembly Member you will be expected to attend the majority of its meetings. There are approximately 4 of these over the course of the year and attendance may either be at a face to face meeting or via remote online methods (whichever is most convenient for you). The face to face meetings take place on Saturdays at various venues across Scotland and travel expenses are paid, including essential overnight accommodation where required.
In between formal meetings the Assembly continues its activities by means of online forums. You will get more out of being an Assembly member if you are prepared to participate in these forums.
You will be expected to be a member of at least one Working Group. These Working Groups have been established to enable smaller groups of individuals to focus on particular aspects of the Assembly's work. The current working groups are:
Education and Academic Affairs
Student Support
Finance and Events
Communications
Website and Technology Development
Being part of the Assembly Executive will require a greater level of commitment. You will need to participate in an online forum on a fairly regular basis as this is where most of the Executive's work is done and decisions are made. You may also be asked to take the lead with one of the above Working Groups.
What's in it for me?
- Being part of the O U in Scotland student community
- An opportunity to have a say in the policy of OUSA in Scotland and hence the student viewpoint that we represent to the O U
- Experience for your C V
- Networking with O U students from all walks of life
- The chance to meet new people and make new friends
Standing for Election
Standing for election to the Assembly or Executive is a simple process. Click here http://www.open.ac.uk/ousa/regions_nations.php for more details and to obtain a nomination form.
You will be given the opportunity to provide a short election address. Although this is not compulsory we would recommend that you do complete this section as most of the people voting for you will not know anything about you. You can use the election address to provide information on your O U student experience, other experience you have that is relevant or just to express your views on how you would like OUSA in Scotland to progress. Return the form to the office no later than 6th June.
That's all there is to it. No hustings, standing up giving speeches or having to deal with questions from the voters. Voting is administered by our office staff and usually takes place online (occasionally postal voting may be used). All O U students registered in Scotland are entitled to have a vote in the elections provided they ask to be included on the electoral register.
If you would like an informal chat about what is involved, please feel free to contact us on executive@ousa-in-scotland.org.uk.
Details of the elections and nomination forms are available for download from
http://www.open.ac.uk/ousa/regions_nations.php
