Wolfson College Students’ Association Standing Orders

1. Specific Duties of the Officers

The President shall:

coordinate the affairs of WCSA and WCSA Committee;
chair all meetings of WCSA;
attend all meetings of College Council, Governing Body, and Finance Committee;
ensure due observance of the Constitution and Standing Orders of WCSA; and
stay as Transition Officer for the full length of the Michaelmas after the end of the tenure as President, in order to attend meetings of the new WCSA committee and provide advice.

The Vice-President shall:

deputise for the President as required;
attend all meetings of College Council and Governing Body;
assume the role of President in the case that the President resigns;
maintain a current list of WCSA membership; and
stay as Transition Officer for the full length of the Michaelmas after the end of the tenure as Vice-President, in order to attend meetings of the new WCSA committee and provide advice.

The Junior Treasurer shall:

account for and bank all WCSA’s income with the College Financial Office;
arrange for the payment for all relevant bills and prompt reimbursement of approved expenditure by WCSA sports clubs and societies;
attend all meetings of College Council, Governing Body, and Finance Committee;
maintain a full record of all WCSA income and expenditure;
present annual accounts to College Council with a summary provided for all members; and
present termly accounts at meetings of Finance Committee.
Stipulation: If the Junior Treasurer fails to present, with a week’s notice, detailed accounts of WCSA spending at the last meeting of the Full Term, they are considered to have tendered their resignation to the WCSA committee, pending the committee’s discretion.

The Secretary shall:

maintain accurate minutes of all meetings of WCSA;
circulate timely notice of upcoming meetings;
produce the WCSA termcard and other WCSA publications;
maintain the WCSA noticeboards;
maintain the online presence of WCSA, including the website and social media channels; and
administer the WCSA email list.

The Entertainments Officers shall:

organise social activities on behalf of WCSA;
recruit, supervise, and reimbursement Stewards and Welfare representatives; and
present the WCSA termcard for approval at House Committee.

The Sports and Societies Officer shall:

coordinate WCSA-affiliated sports clubs and societies (except for the Wolfson College Boat Club);
oversee the maintenance of the College gym facilities; and
organise an annual Sports Dinner to celebrate the sporting achievements of Wolfson students and WCSA-affiliated sports clubs.

The External Officers shall:

represent WCSA at any external bodies to which WCSA is affiliated; and
coordinate and organise Formal Swaps.

The Campaigns & Green officer shall:

promote campaigns as approved and directed by WCSA Committee;
undertake initiatives to promote sustainability at the College among members; and
represent WCSA on all College bodies relating to sustainability.

The Welfare Officers shall:

represent the interests of all students within the College;
represent WCSA on the Health & Safety Committee;
coordinate activities which promote the interests and welfare of all minority groups within the College.

In accordance with s.7 of the Constitution, Representatives and Internal Officers may be appointed in order to assist the Officers of the Committee in the fulfillment of their duties. WCSA Officers retain ultimate responsibility for their duties nonetheless

2. General Duties of Officers

In addition to the specific duties of Officers, all Officers shall also:

attend all WCSA meetings;
attend all meetings of College bodies to which they have been appointed;
assist with the setup and cleanup of events, such as bops; and
perform such duties as necessary from time to time.
Stipulations: Officers who miss without Notice two meetings of the committee in Full Term, are assumed to have tendered their resignation to the WCSA President, pending the President’s acceptance. Officers who miss with Notice three consecutive meetings of the committee up until the end of the Full Easter term, are assumed to have left to the discretion of the WCSA committee, the justifiability of their Notices and whether they are imputed thereby to have resigned their positions.

3. Meetings of WCSA Committee

Meetings of WCSA Committee shall be held not less than once every two (2) weeks during Full Term and once every four (4) weeks outside of Full Term.

The President shall not ordinarily vote except in the case of a tie, in which case they shall have the casting vote.

Quorum for any resolutions shall be five (5) Officers of WCSA Committee, excluding the President, or should any Offices be vacant, quorum shall be half the number of occupied Offices.

Meetings of WCSA Committee must normally be open to the public though reserved business may be discussed among only Officers and Representatives of WCSA Committee as necessary.

Agendas and minutes of Meetings of WCSA Committee must be made public. Agendas shall be posted not less than seven (7) days prior to Meetings of WCSA Committee. Minutes shall be posted not less than seven (7) days after being approved.

4. Annual General Meeting

Once per year, during Full Lent Term, WCSA Committee shall hold an Annual General Meeting which is open to all Members. All Members of WCSA present at the Annual General Meeting shall have one single non-transferable vote.

The Annual General Meeting shall have a quorum of not less than ten percent (10%) of WCSA members.

At the Annual General Meeting, any Member of WCSA may present any motion for discussion and resolution. Resolution of any motion must pass a simple majority vote (50% +1) of all WCSA members present.

Notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be given not less than fourteen (14) days in advance and the agenda must be posted not less than seven (7) days in advance.

5. Extraordinary General Meetings

Extraordinary general meetings may be held by WCSA Committee from time to time. Extraordinary general meetings shall be open to all Members. Extraordinary general meetings must be held during Full Term.

All Members of WCSA present at Extraordinary General Meetings shall have one single non-transferable vote.

Extraordinary General Meetings shall have a quorum of not less than ten percent (10%) of WCSA members.

At Extraordinary General Meetings, any Member of WCSA may present any motion for discussion and resolution. Resolution of any motion must pass a simple majority vote (50% +1) of all WCSA members present.

Notice of Extraordinary General Meetings shall be given not less than fourteen (14) days in advance and the agenda must be posted not less than seven (7) days in advance.

6. Conduct of Elections

The Returning Officer shall advertise elections at least fourteen (14) days in advance.

Any member of WCSA may stand for any one and only one post in any given election.

There shall be no joint tickets for a single position.

Candidates shall submit a signed nomination to the returning officer seven (7) days prior to the election. This must include a manifesto and a photograph, which will be circulated to all members.

Notwithstanding, certain restrictions apply to the election of specific Officers of WCSA Committee:

Candidates for President must be able to serve one full, contiguous calendar year;
Candidates for Entertainments Officers must be able to serve one full, contiguous calendar year;
Candidates for Junior Treasurer must be able to serve one full, contiguous fiscal year.

Within five (5) days of the election, the Returning Officer must conduct a public hustings at which candidates shall present their manifestos. For positions for which no candidate has stood for election, any WCSA member may be nominated at the public hustings. In this case, the candidate shall be added to the ballot following the hustings.

Elections shall be conducted online by secret ballot using the single transferable vote (STV) system in accordance with the University’s regulations on STV.

In the event of a tie, a second ballot shall be conducted online fourteen (14) days after the initial election.

For all positions, the option of “re-open nominations” (RON) shall be added to the ballot.

In cases where RON receives a majority of votes in the initial election, the post shall reopen for nomination for a further seven (7) days. After this additional nomination period, a second ballot shall be conducted seven (7) days following the end of the additional nomination period.

The Returning Officer shall announce the results within forty-eight (48) hours of the end of any election.

Officers-elect (except for the Junior Treasurer-Elect) shall take office not more than ten (10) days following the election. The Junior Treasurer-Elect shall take office at the commencement of the subsequent WCSA fiscal year.

Officers-elect shall meet with their predecessors or designated representatives for a handover meeting prior to taking office.

The President and Vice-President shall retain an advisory position in the new committee until the end of the calendar year.

The tenure of Office of those Officers who graduate in the summer, ends on the 30th of June. Elections to fill their positions for the rest of the WCSA term are to be held no later than the end of April of the same year.

7. Affiliated Sports Clubs and Societies

Any sports club or society may apply for affiliation to WCSA through the Sports and Societies Officer. Applications for WCSA affiliation are subject to a majority vote of WCSA Committee.

Applications received during term time shall receive a response within one (1) month of submission.

Newly affiliated sports clubs and societies shall receive not less than £100 from the WCSA annual budget.

All affiliated sports clubs and societies must:

have clearly stated aims and objectives which do not contravene the Statutes or Ordinances of the College;
provided for the democratic election of its officers;
provide membership to all members of WCSA free of charge;
retain the active support of a reasonable number of members of WCSA.

To maintain affiliation, sports clubs and societies must observe all required reporting requirements as determined by WCSA.

Non-affiliated sports and societies shall not receive funding from WCSA. The affiliation of any club or society can be revoked if, at any time, WCSA Committee decides that any of the above conditions is no longer met.

8. Financial Matters

The WCSA Committee administers the funds of WCSA to fulfil WCSA’s aims. No money belonging to WCSA may be allocated without the prior authorisation of a majority of WCSA Committee. If deemed necessary, WCSA Committee can refer a decision on any financial matter to a General Meeting and/or College Council. The Senior Treasurer has the authority to impose constraints on how money is spent and how expenditure is authorised.

A summary of the interim accounts must be presented by the President and Junior Treasurer at College Finance Committee meetings and a full set of accounts must be submitted at the end of the year. WCSA’s financial year will run 1 December to 30 November and this is de facto the term of office for the Junior Treasurer.

9. Amendments

All amendments to the Standing Orders shall be subject to approval from the Senior Treasurer and must be approved by a majority vote of WCSA Committee. All proposed amendments shall be presented to College Council for final approval.

10. Repugnancy

In cases of conflict, the WCSA Standing Orders shall be superseded by the WCSA Constitution.