If you're a programme leader, or another member of academic staff who work with Student Reps, you may need to run a Student Rep Election at the beginning of the academic year. This page will guide you through everything you need to know about Electing Student Reps: from how many reps you need, through to how to run the election.
Don't forget, if you'd like further guidance just ask The Students' Union Representation team.
Email: SURepresentation@uwe.ac.uk
UWE needs Student Reps for every level of study, on every programme of study. You should facilitate the election of at least one rep per cohort. The ideal number of reps will depend on the size of your group, we recommend you elect enough reps to give you a 1:25 ratio, with one Student Rep for every 25 students in the cohort.
We appreciate that as teaching staff, time is often short! A Student Rep Election doesn't have to be difficult or time consuming, and it can have a huge positive influence for the cohort. When students have a say in who represents their programme as a rep, they're more likely to engage positively with them, and understand how Student Voice influences changes on their course. In addition, the rep themselves is more likely to achieve and engage throughout the year, as their voter peers keep them accountable.
In this guide, The Students’ Union provide you with a variety of different election methods, with a view that one of them will be suited to you and the needs of your cohort.
We ask Student Rep candidates to self-nominate, i.e. put themselves forward to be a Rep. This is often best done in a welcome lecture where you have students all in one place.
Method
Show of hands
Online Election
Ballot boxes
Sticker voting
Use for
Smaller cohorts, so you can easily count hands.
Any cohort, live with Menti, or remotely
Small, campus-based groups
How
Students self-nominate by raising their hand.
All candidates do a brief speech (30s-1min) about why they’d like to be a Student Rep.
Candidates leave the room.
Voters raise their hands to select their rep, counted by staff.
Students self-nominate with a written statement or recording of their interest in the role.
Staff create a menti/form for voting- this should be set so voters have x votes, for x positions available
Candidates self-nominate, and either give a speech or produce a resource.
Voters use paper slips to indicate prefered candidates, can be tickboxes, writing in names, or even multiple slips.
These are posted into ballot boxes and counted by staff.
Students self-nominate and write a manifesto.
Pin up candidate’s manifestos.
Allow voters to place their sticker on their choice/s
Resources
None
Screen to present, voting devices (phones)
Paper slips, ballot boxes
Printed manifestos
Stickers: number of rep positions x number of voters
Pros
Highly interactive. Cohort can vote on candidates’ public speaking, a key skill.
Names put to faces early on
Anonymous: voting outcomes can be hidden, candidates with very few votes protected from embarrassment.
Quick result, no physical counting. Can be done in or out of class time
Can evidence a democratic process, but format of results isn't easily shareable.
Anonymous
Visible system, build student trust in the process
Can see at a glance how voting is going
Cons
Students who are shy, use English as an additional language, or have certain access needs (eg D/deaf or HoH) may not be able to participate in a fully verbal election.
Staff will need to monitor hand-raising to prevent double-voting
May have lower levels of engagement than a physical vote, as it's easier for students to opt-out
Potentially resource heavy
Less green
Staff time may be needed to count votes
The integrity of the process is less visible
Potentially resource-heavy
Only semi-anonymous
Candidates with very few votes may feel embarrassed
Photo by Arnaud Jaegers on Unsplash