Have Your Say

FAQs

What are Ideas?

We are a Union shaped by the Ideas of our members. An Idea is a Students proposal for how to make the Union, the University or the City of Leeds better for students

The idea to ban bottle water, the idea to campaign on student fees, along with many others, all came from our students like you.

The journey for an Idea to become policy of LUU is relatively short and designed so that any student can submit an idea.

How can I submit an idea?

Any student at Leeds can submit an idea at any time. The idea can be no longer than 400 words and must be submitted in the form of question that can be answered yes or no. Ideas must state what you want to change and why and the title of the Idea must reflect these changes. When submitting your Idea you must specify the aim of their Idea as one of the following: Make the University better, Make Leeds better, Make the Union better

Getting my idea passed

Once you have submitted your idea to the Campaigns and Democracy Support Office you will be told which meeting your Idea will be discussed in and when. Depending on the content of your Idea it will be sent to either the Better Leeds, Better Union or Better University Forums.

What are the Better forums?

The Better Forums are meetings where students discuss ideas raised by other students. The forums are split into three: Better Union – to discuss ideas affecting the Union, Better University – to discuss ideas concerning education in the University and Better Leeds – to discuss Leeds Students role in wider society and the local community. Any student is allowed to attend any of the three forums. At these forums you will be allowed to speak about any of the ideas and why you think they would be good for LUU. Once everyone has been allowed to discuss the Idea it will be voted by an independent Student Panel. This panel consists of 16 randomly selected students, which changes at every forum. They will be asked to vote on all ideas presented to the forums. If more than 75% of the panel agree with your Idea then it becomes policy of LUU. If more than 75% of the panel disagree with the idea then that Idea will not pass. If the neither Yes or No gain 75% then the idea will be submitted for Referendum

What is a referendum?

A Referendum is a process of asking every student to vote on an Idea that has been proposed by another student. All voting is done online and the Referendum will normally last for a week. There will be signs all around the union telling asking you to vote and info on what is being asked. You may also see students campaigning on the issue. You will be asked to vote yes or no to the idea. Referendums are only valid if 1500 students vote on it, however the outcome of a referendum is final and cannot be appealed.

For more information, visit the Have Your Say Referendum page or download the Referendum Handbook.

What do the Student Exec do?

The Student Executive Officers are voted into their roles by the members to represent them at the Union full-time. Their roles have different areas of interest but they are all here to:

Listen to how the members want things to be done, and work with Union staff, Union Council and the Board of Trustees to make it happen.
Represent members to the University, external organisations and the community.

To find out more about the 2009/10 Student Executive visit the Have Your Say Student Executive page.

Why do we have elections?

As you may be aware, LUU is a democratic, member-led organisation. For this reason, it’s imperative that officers are elected annually from our student membership to head the organisation and work alongside the 200+ staff whom we employ.
Elections give all our members the opportunity to take an active part in the governance process. With a wide number of choices, our members are in a unique position to decide the future direction and governance of their union. More importantly it allows any member to come forward and present their ideas, solutions and practices for taking the Union forward and ensures that we continue to be a forward-looking, student centred movement. It is the mission of LUU to provide effective representation and a range of student-led services that are of consistently high quality and embrace the needs of all students. Find out more about how the Union is goverened on the About LUU Governance & Trustees page.

How can I get involved in Union decision making?

One of the easiest ways of getting involved in the Unions decision making process is to vote in elections and the referendum. You can vote online or in the Union building. It only takes a few moments of your time and can have a massive impact on your time at Leeds.
If you fancy being a little more active you can submit an Idea to the Better Forums, taking part in the discussion and putting items on the agenda.
Finally, you can stand for an elected position Positions are available on the Student Executive Committee and you can find out more information about upcoming elections and referendum on the Have Your Say section of the website.

I want to change part of my course, who should I talk to?

If you are dissatisfied with a particular aspect of your course or want to question why something is done in a particular way your first port of call should be your Course Representative.
Each year the students within all departments of the University elect a student to become their Course Representative. The University has up to 600 course representatives who ensure that their department takes into account the needs of its students.
They are there to enable all students to actively participate in their education and to work in partnership with academic staff in improving their own learning. They support and represent their peers through attending their Departments Student: Staff Forum and liaise with staff when necessary.
Course Representatives are supported by their faculty Union Academic Representative (UAR) and by the Union.