Five zones within DSU coordinate action and implement change on the lives of each and every student at DMU.
They provide an opportunity for critical discussions, creation of campaigns and development of student interest areas.
Academic Zone - Leads on the representation of academic experiences. Impacting the delivery and experience of DMU students, representing academic interests.
Equality & Diversity Zone - Leads on driving change to the systems of inequality, ensuring DSU actively consults with groups to provide a platform.
Welfare Zone - Leads on DSU activity regarding student wellbeing. Covering areas such as housing, cost of living, mental health, physical health, sexual health and more.
Opportunities Zone -Leads on the development of student groups and student employability.
Open Zone - Leads on the general development of DSU’s services, commercial functions and all democratic matters.
Student Council is a democratic meeting ran by elected representatives to provide an opportunity for students to influence, change and create policies and activities, ensuring the Students’ Union is guided by the voice of all DMU students.
All Zone members are automatically voting members of Student Council alongside the elected Executive Officers and Liberation Officers.
The Trustee Board monitors, guides and ultimately takes responsibility for the way that the Students’ Union operates. DSU’s Trustees are made up from;
Elected Executive Officer Team
Recruited Student Trustees
Recruited External Trustees
They ensue that the Students’ Union is truly a student led organisation, whilst incorporating a wealth and breadth of knowledge and experience.
The Trustees’ General Authority and powers include but are not limited to;
Governance of the Union
Budget of the Union
Strategy of the Union
The Trustee Board may override any decision or policy made by Student Council which the Trustees consider (in their absolute discretion);
Has or may have financial implications for the Union
Is in breach or inconsistent with charity or education law or any other legal requirement
Is not in the best interests of the Union
Full list of the Trustees' Power and Responsibilities found in DSU's Article of Association
The Bye-Laws are a set of rules and regulations that summarise the day-to-day running of DSU and link back to the Articles of Association. They also outline the areas of activity for each of your full-time Executive Officers.
The rules for Zones and Student Council are also outlined within the Bye-Laws. To gain a full understanding of how democracy works at DSU it is recommended that you read them so you can effectively carry out your duties.
The DSU Bye-Laws
Each Zone member is a voting member of student council and they are responsible for;
Engaging in discussions to shape and form campaigns and activities relating to their zone.
Supporting, scrutinising and working closely with their respective Executive Officer for the development of the Students’ Union and matters related to their zone.
Contribution to the development of the overall De Montfort University student experience, including policies, initiatives, student representation and DSU activity.
Collating and championing student feedback, to advise student council on issues relating to their Zone in order to shape union policy and activity.
The Zone Opportunities Fund is an exciting initiative designed to empower Zones to launch projects with a £250 budget.
Any bid will be considered by the Student Voice team – who will judge applications based on the bidding criteria and provided guidance on how to make a campaign effective.
The criteria for the Zone Development Fund are the following;
The decision must be a unified agreement from all Zone Members.
The opportunity must be open to students outside of the Zone.
The spending must occur in the academic year that the Executive Officer and the Zone members are elected.
Funding cannot go against DSU policy or for activities that stretch beyond the legal authority of the SU.
All applications must provide a budget plan that details the funding required for the opportunity with proof (price listings, communication with suppliers etc.)
Your submission must include a quantifiable or qualifiable report on the positive impact it will have for students.
The Executive Officers will create and circulate an Agenda for each Zone and for Student Council. This is a meeting plan that will outline all the topics that will be discussed. These will be sent to you no later than 5 working days before the meeting.
At the first Zone and Student Council meeting of the Academic Year, a chair and deputy chair will be elected from Zone and Student Council members. The responsibilities of the Chair include;
Co-creation of the agenda alongside the Executive Officer
Facilitating equal and free discussion on topics, supported by the Student Voice Coordinator where needed.
The Chair and Deputy Chair will receive full support, including in depth training from the Student Voice team to prepare them for the role.
The Deputy chair will assume the responsibilities of the Chair in the event that they are unable to attend the meeting.
As a member you can contribute in various ways;
Policy - Policies are official mandates to DSU that may be submitted by any student and considered by Student Council.
Proposals - Student Members may submit proposals to DSU with the aim to improve or introduce new elements to the Union. If more discussion is needed, it will be debated at student council.
Bye-Law Amendment - Students can submit suggestions for changing, adding or removing clauses from DSU’s Bye-Laws.
Voting Rights - All elected members have voting rights with the option to vote for, against or abstain. All members have equal voting rights.
Officer Mandate - Students can assign a task to an Executive Officer to enact the wishes of Council and report back at subsequent meetings.
Removal of Members of Council - All elected members can participate in the vote to remove members from Zone and Student Council. This happens when a member fails to attend either two consecutive meetings, or three meetings in total within an Academic Year.
A procedural motion is a special class of motion that takes precedence over all other business, except if called during a live vote. Any elected members may propose a Procedural Motion during a meeting.
Once called, the proposer and the opposition (if any) shall have one minute to present their case. Further rounds of speeches may be granted. It will then require the approval through a vote by members of Student Council that are present during the meeting.
Examples of Procedural Motions include (but are not limited to);
Vote of no confidence in the chair
Amendment of a motion
Refer a vote to referendum to the wider student body
Adjourn the meeting to a later date
Officer mandate
A full list of Procedural Motions can be found in the Bye-Laws (9.1.4.) – We do not commonly see these in action.
To complete your Student Council Training you must take and pass the test below
To pass the training you must get 7 out of 10 answers correct. You can take the test as many times as you need.