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Students at Societies AGM
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AGM

Get important information and tips on how to hold an AGM for your society.

Why is it important to hold an AGM?

Every academic year, societies need to run an AGM to elect their committee for the following year, and approve any constitutional changes. The AGM provides members a fair and democratic opportunity to stand for a committee position and affect the way that your society is run.

AGMs set the direction of your society and so they are important to get right. From ensuring you get the right candidates for the appropriate committee position to ensuring everyone can provide feedback and vote, a well-run AGM will ensure that preparations for the new year are on track.

All societies must hold an AGM before the end of semester 2 (29th March), during which they should elect a new committee. This is set out in the Societies Policy. This is the first stage of the committee handover process. 

How should you organise an AGM?

If this is your first time holding an AGM, or you need a reminder, we have outlined the key steps and information below:

  • Decide on a date, time, and venue for your AGM - you may wish to consider hybrid options as well to make the meeting accessible. 
  • Notice of the AGM should be given to all society members and must be advertised at least one week in advance of the meeting taking place.
  • Open nominations for positions and encourage candidates to submit manifestos (these do not need to be extensive – a few sentences is enough).
  • AGMs can be attended by all members of the society, but only Strathclyde student members are entitled to vote on committee positions.
  • During the meeting, you should elect the new society committee and present the annual financial accounts of the society.
  • Any student members should be able to stand for any of the available committee positions.
  • Societies must use a consistent election process e.g. paper ballot, show of hands, online vote. Please retain some evidence of the vote taking place. 
  • Count the votes after the election and share the results with society members and the societies team.
  • If your society wants to change any of your society aims, these should be voted on. However, if the aims are significantly different to what your society affiliated with, you may need Societies Executive approval.
  • The AGM must be minuted and a copy of these minutes should be uploaded to Your Resources in your admin tools on the Strath Union website.

Which committee roles need to be elected?

The structure of society committees varies widely with societies and there is not a one-size-fits-all structure that all societies must adhere to. The basic idea remains the same: societies are run by a student committee that is democratically elected at a society AGM for the benefit of their members. All committee positions should go up for election each year.

If you want to add or remove committee roles then members must agree to it by voting to accept the changes in your constitution.

Some key reminders on roles are included below:

  • The minimum requirement for any committee is a President and a Treasurer. The society may create other committee positions as required and these positions must be approved by members at the AGM.
  • We encourage societies to consider electing a Wellbeing Officer or including wellbeing responsibilities within your committee roles. Some suggestions for a Wellbeing Officer role description:
    • Lead on improving member wellbeing and society inclusion
    • Be the main point of contact for members and union staff if they have any concerns
    • Take responsibility for reporting concerns and signposting to union and university services
    • Attend training and stay in touch with the union and other wellbeing officers to make sure you and your society are safe and supported
  • All society committee members must be student members of Strath Union unless a society’s AGM specifically chooses to create and elect a Development Officer.
    • The Development Officer must be a former committee member and no longer a student member of Strath Union, and they must possess an Associate Membership of Strath Union. They will act solely in an advisory capacity but can be delegated additional responsibility by their society, as they see fit, but not including access to finances, room bookings or vehicle hire.
    • Societies should only have 1 Development Officer and they should only be elected for one academic year.
    • Development Officers are Ordinary committee members and cannot vote in society elections, Societies General Meetings or Annual General Meetings.
    • Societies may exceptionally be permitted to have another ex officio committee role in addition to the Development Officer. This is at the discretion of union staff and only where it is deemed necessary to carry out the Society’s aims.   
    • The administrative affairs of the society shall be conducted by or delegated to members of the Society committee.

Common AGM challenges and solutions

Knowing some of the challenges that might arise will allow you to address and hopefully avoid some of these common problems.

Members don't know what they're running for.

Try and provide them with as much information about the roles as possible. Outline example role descriptions that you could email out and/or host a pre-AGM meeting/Q+A.

No one wants to run for a committee position.

Talk up the opportunities and personal development that being on a committee offers. While you shouldn’t campaign for an individual, there is nothing wrong with telling someone that you think they would be perfect for a role.

I don't think the person is suitable.

While you might not be a fan of the person running for the position, don’t forget that your committee is democratically elected and so a majority might like this person to be elected. Think about your reservations and consider discussing them with the individual, the union societies team or your VP Community.

I think attendance will be low.

While an AGM must accomplish set objectives, it doesn’t have to be boring! This should be as much about celebrating the year as planning for the next, so add in some awards among the compulsory elections aspects. Make the venue accessible and at a convenient time, or just ask your members what they want from an AGM so they have no excuse not to attend!

Don't forget every society is entitled to a £25 AGM grant to make it as fun as possible to get your members to attend!

What if there's a tie?

If there's a tie, it's up to you to decide what the best thing to do is. For example, you can have co-presidents.

If it's looking likely you'll end up with a tie, you can do single transferrable voting rather than first-past-the-post which reduces the likelihood of a tie. This can be set up on the wesbite for you as otherwise it can be confusing to count.

If you are unsure about any aspects of the AGM and would like some advice, please contact the societies team by email.

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