About the UCSA

About the Exec

The election experience

Running a campaign

Creating a pitch

Support from UCSA

Making your campaign look great

Questions?

Contents

Advocacy and welfare (including subsidised dental andoptometry)Early learning centresClub supportEvents Media (including CANTA magazine)Food and beverage outlets.

We're a not-for-profit organisation with charity status,dedicated to supporting students to succeed and belong atUC.

What we offer:

The UCSA has an annual turnover of around $10.0 million, itowns a 50% share of the University Book Shop, and has netassets valued at just over $12.0 million. It also employs 165 staffas of 4 June 2020.

About the UCSA

provide governance for the UCSA;protect and enhance the value of UCSA's assets, servicesand interests;represent students and ensure they're heard at UC.

The Student Executive's core jobs are to:

The Exec has 13 members - 12 are democratically elected by UCstudents each year, while the 13th member is co-opted from TeAkatoki.

To be a member of the Exec, you must be a member of theUCSA.

About the Exec

On any given month, an Exec may:

Act as a representative: The Exec source feedback from a variety ofchannels across UC, and members sit on a range of college and UCcommittee bodies. For example, the UCSA Engineering Rep sits inon Engineering College meetings.

Attend a UCSA Executive meeting: These are usually held on thefirst, third and fifth week of term time from 5pm-7pm.

Attend the odd UCSA event, like our wellbeing expos, gigs or BBQs.

Work on a special project: Members of the Exec have their ownprojects that they're passionate about. We have a small fundavailable to help them with an idea or a project on campus that'llbenefit students.

Job descriptions are available on our website.

The election experience

13 July - Returning Officer starts22 July (UCSA AGM) Nominations open Election info session held for candidates30 July - Nominations close11 August - Presidential debate / Campaigning closes12 August - Voting opens14 August - Voting closes / Result announcement ceremony

UCSA elections are a busy time on campus, with candidatespromoting their campaigns online and around UC. We also hold adebate between the presidential candidates, which gets a goodcrowd.

a Facebook page,signage on campus (UC grants candidates permission to usecertain areas - ask the Returning Officer for details),a campaign video for social media (30 seconds to a minute longcan work well), andan image on UCSA's digital signage (dimensions are listedbelow).

A campaign is way to communicate your values and vision forUCSA and UC students.

Tips:

Create a platform to let students know what you stand for.

Consider if you want a campaign team. For example, could one ofyour mates help you put together signage?

Consider if you'll run with others or go solo. One opportunity tomeet potential running mates is the Candidate Briefing sessionheld by the Returning Officer.

Bring your campaign to life with a bright colour, a strong theme, ora slogan. It'll help people remember you.

Get yourself out there. Some traditional options include:

Campaigns vary from candidate to candidate - some prefer to do alittle, while others go all out and explore new methods. If you haveany questions, it's best to check them off with the ReturningOfficer.

Running a campaign

Creating a pitch

Introduce yourself and the role you're running for.Let them know the Elections are on and UCSA members canvote.Explain that you're running and outline your aims succinctly.Tell them about your experience or traits that make you suitablefor a role.

Keep it short and sweet.

When it comes to policies, remember you might not get thechance to enact all of yours if elected - you'll be part of a teammaking strategic decisions together.

It's a good idea to think about what's realistic, too. If you have anyquestions about the feasibility of a policy, have a chat withmanagement at the UCSA. 

use of our digital signage across campus (you can claim oneimage or video to play for eight seconds at a time. Note thatdigital signage does not have sound).use of the UCSA Noticeboard on Facebook to post your owncampaign messages.space in CANTA magazine's election special, our website'sElection page, and our poster board in the Undercroft (wepublish the profile that you submit with your nomination papers- these cannot be edited after submission). limited credit towards printing and laminating signage.an opportunity to speak directly to students through ourscheduled Hall visits.

The UCSA hires a Returning Officer - they're your contact person forinformation about election rules and procedures.

We also offer:

Support from UCSA

Making your campaignlook great

Free tools you may find useful:

CANVA.com - Design templates for EVERYTHING.

Wordpress - One of many free website builders.

MailChimp - A tool to create e-newsletters.

Microsoft video editor or iMovie - Microsoft and Apple bothhave basic editing software if you want to piece together ashort video. Free music can be found on Youtube's MusicLibrary.

Standard artwork sizes

UCSA digital signage - 1920px x 1080px landscape(Please note that digital signage does not have sound.)

Instagram story - 1080px x 1920px portrait

Instagram post - 1080px x 1080px

Facebook post - Size varies depending on your needs, but oneoption is 940px x 788px landscape

Facebook cover - 820px x 312px landscape

CANVA has many of these saved automatically and lets youchoose from templates.

Questions?Contact the Returning Officer:returningofficer@ucsa.org.nz