What is the Trustee Board?
Your Students' Union is a charity (a CIO to be precise, click here to learn more), which is a legal way of recognising that we only exist to benefit our student members. To make sure that we're being a charity correctly, there are a few specific things we have to do, which include having a Board of Trustees. This meeting group ensures that we're keeping to our promise to prioritise our students.
Who sits on the Trustee Board?
- Four Sabbatical Trustees - This is a fancy name for our four Elected Officers.
- Up to Five Student Trustees - This could be you! These are current students who volunteer their time to see on the trustee board.
- Up to Four Lay Trustees - Lay Trustees are volunteers who serve for a term of up to 4 years, and provide continuity to the Board as well as bringing external experiences and professional knowledge to the work of the Union.
Who can be a Student Trustee?
There are some eligibility criteria that you must meet to be able to hold this position. These are simply because you would be taking on a role as set out in law to support our work. This isn't something to worry about! We support students to become amazing trustees every year, and our team will support you through every step of the process. To summarise the main points:
- You have to be passionate about our Students' Union and ready to accept the responsibility
- You must be a current Staffordshire University student whilst holding the role of Student Trustee
- You cannot be employed by the Students' Union in any capacity
- You cannot have been previously excluded from being a Trustee or director for another organisation
- There are also some legal checks that we will walk you through
- This year, we are predominantly seeking female applicants (and would love some representation from our Stafford campus)
Why be a Student Trustee?
You'll attend 4-5 meetings a year (at about 2-3hrs per meeting), representing the student body and its interests. It's an exciting and unique experience that also looks great on your CV. Don't believe us? Here are a few words from Lillith, a previous Student Trustee for the Students' Union:
"Being a student trustee has been a really great experience and has been an amazing insight into how a Students' Union runs! It has been an amazing opportunity to represent student perspectives on decisions being made and help shape the student experience for potentially long after I graduate. I've had the chance to meet and work with some really wonderful people."
Sounds awesome! What now?
Interested in this exciting opportunity? Head to our Become a Trustee page and submit your details at the bottom of the page!