Who can apply?

Any current student of Swansea University can apply for any of these roles.

It’s worth noting that full-time officer positions are paid, full-time work for one year outside of your studies. Whereas part-time officer roles as voluntary work alongside your study, so it wouldn’t make much sense to apply for a PTO role in your final year.

Can I apply for more than one position?

You can only apply for and hold one position at a time. If you would like to change your nomination to another role, please get in touch.

How do I apply?

Nominate yourself in the election above and fill out your candidate profile with your preferred full name, telephone number and email.

Once nominated you’ll be invited to attend our candidate briefing evening so that we can tell you all about the process.

On the nominations form, there is an option to upload a photo. Do I have to?

You can decline to upload a photo, but it may make your profile stand out less and affect your chances in the election. We’ll be taking nice headshots at candidate briefing, so bring a hairbrush.

On the nomination form, there's an option to upload a manifesto. What does this mean and how do I write one?

A manifesto is a document that outlines why people should vote for you. You should write about why you would be good at the role and what projects you would work on.

Can I stand to be a Full-time Officer if I am an International student?

International students can be Full-time Officers, but there are immigration implications that you should be aware of.

If you receive financial sponsorship, discuss your plans with your sponsor before standing for election in case there are restrictions.

If you stand as a Full-time Officer, this is permitted under the immigration rules, but you will need to extend your student visa at some point. It is important that you discuss this with an advisor from the International Office before you start the role!

This guidance is for student or Tier 4 visa holders. If you are here on a different type of visa, you should discuss your options with an advisor from the International @ Campus Life.

(This information is for general guidance and does not constitute immigration advice. If you require more details about your rights or what action to take, please contact Campus Life via international.campuslife@swansea.ac.uk)

I have additional needs - how will I be supported?

All candidates will be supported by the Elections Team at the Students’ Union. If you have any additional requirements or ways that we can support you, speak with us at the candidate briefing or contact us by email.

What is campaigning?

Campaigning is encouraging students to get involved in the election and to vote for you.

We’re not expecting all candidates to be campaigning or political experts, it’s not a requirement for standing! To give everyone the chance to run the best campaign they can we’ll provide more detailed advice once all our candidates are confirmed.

The Election Rules make clear that you cannot campaign until 9:00 Monday 10th March 2025. You must also have attended a candidate briefing, where we’ll go over the campaign rules and trustee agreements to make sure everyone is on the same page and understands their role as a candidate

When can I start campaigning?

There are two types of campaigning: Soft and Active.

Soft Campaigning is the preperation period. This is when you might get a campaign team together, make videos, and create social media pages. Basically, you can tell people you are standing for your position, but you can’t tell people to vote for you or give them reasons that would encourage them to vote for you. No materials with your manifesto on, no videos online, no posters up.

You can start soft campaigning from 21:00 Tuesday 18th February 2025.

Active Campaigning is going out and getting people to vote for you. Materials are allowed to go online, posters and banners are allowed to go on display, lecture shout outs are allowed!

You can start active campaigning from 9:00 Monday 10th March 2025.

Can sports clubs or societies endorse candidates?

Clubs or societies can't support candidates directly, as they are affiliate groups of the Union and should remain impartial. Leaders of these groups should allow all candidates to promote themselves in an equal manner, which can mean not at all. However, it is strongly advised that clubs and societies promote and support the elections generally!

Where can I campaign?

You can campaign anywhere on any of our campuses, and within the city where students may be.

You can’t campaign in a few places, such as in computer rooms and the library, in Union owned retail outlets, or anywhere that you might cause a nuisance. Always ask permission of the elections team, venue owners and general managers where appropriate.

How can I pay for my campaign?

Each candidate has a budget to adhere to. This is to ensure fairness.

Full-time officer candidates can spend up to £75 on their campaign. Part-time officer candidates can spend up to £30 on their campaign.

Candidates will be refunded up to these totals, provided that receipts are shown to the elections team at the end of the campaigning period.

How do I campaign for students’ votes?

How you campaign for students’ votes is entirely up to you (providing it is within your budget, positive, legal and within the Election rules).

We’ll provide more information at candidate briefing but here are some ways that you may choose to campaign:

• Going out and talking to students
• Running a social media campaign
• Getting creative and creating a song about Swansea
• Doing lecture shout outs
• Speaking at club and society events
• Wearing fancy dress
• Build a campaign team
• Creating posters and flyers

There’s no right way to campaign, but you’ll need to appeal to a large number of students, so a combination of these ideas will work best.

How does voting work?

At the Students' Union, we use alternative or transferable voting. Watch this video from Wolverhampton Students' Union explaining Transferable Voting!

What is RON and NFP?

RON Stands for Re-Open Nominations and all elections in the SU have this option for voters. If you do not like any of the candidates in the election you can choose to vote RON. If RON wins an election, the role would not be filled or a by-election would be held at another time. Selecting No Further Preferences (N.F.P) is an expression of indifference towards all remaining options.

Campaign

Campaigning is the activity where candidates try and secure votes. Expect flyers, videos, t-shirts, banners and more!

Candidates

Students that are standing in the election for any position.

FTO

Full-Time Officer - the heads of the Students' Union who are elected by students to represent their views. They are elected in for a term of one year.

LGBT+

LGBT+ is an overarching term that represents people are not heterosexual or whose gender identity is not based on traditional gender binary. The letters in LGBT specifically stand for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual. Whereas the plus extends to other sexualities and gender identities.

Liberation Groups

Liberation Groups are BME, LGBT+, Students with Disabilities, Women and Welsh Language. Liberation campaigns seek to represent and empower individuals who experience discrimination and disadvantages in terms of status and opportunity because they belong to, or are perceived as belonging to, a particular social group.

Manifesto

A manifesto is the set of goals that a candidate hopes to achieve if successfully elected into post. They help voters make an informed decision on who to vote for.

Nomination Period

This is when students can nominate themselves to stand in the elections!

NUS

National Union of Students - the national voice of students. The NUS helps students to campaign, get cheap student discounts and provides advice on living student life to the full.

PTO

Part-time Officer - they're elected by students to represent different areas students are effected by. These positions are undertaken alongside students' studies and are part-time and voluntary.

Question the Candidates

This is an event where candidates can debate issues affecting students. Questions for the candidates can be submitted by students.

Referendum

This is when all the students at the University are asked to give their opinion about or decide an important political or social question. For each referendum motion, arguments for and against are put forward by campaigners for both sides.

Soft Campaigning

This is the preparation period for candidates in an election before voting opens.

SUSU

Swansea University Students' Union

Trustee

A trustee is legally responsible for a charity, such as the Students’ Union, and makes decisions on the direction of the organisation. The Students’ Union has a board of 9 trustees – 6 elected student officers and 3 externally appointed trustees.

Quorum

This is the minimum number of votes needed for a policy to pass.