Petroc (college) - Petroc Students' Union

Petroc Students' Union

The Petroc Students' Union is constitutionally one Student Union, but both sites' Unions operate independently.

Barnstaple and Tiverton both have a Students' Union executive team. These are made up of part-time officers who are students at the college. Each executive team's officers are elected bi-annually by secret ballot which is conducted through the college's intranet system. The officer roles differ between sites, but President and Vice President are positions which constitutionally cannot be abolished or changed. Each site also has a member of staff who serves as their SSLO (Student/Staff Liaison Officer) and Administrator.

While the President and Vice President spend most of their time managing the rest of the team and representing the Student Union at NUS UK events which take place throughout the academic year, the other officers have their own specific areas to run. They each run campaigns throughout the year. Last year these included Go Green Week, LGBT Talk Week, Black History Month and other specific area-orientated campaigns. The point of these campaigns is to encourage students to get involved in helping to make a difference to their own lives and the lives of others.

Each site also organises events throughout the academic year. The Barnstaple executive organises parties including 'Tech Dances' and, in 2010, a fundraiser for the Haiti relief effort which was attended by Nick Clegg. The Tiverton executive also organises parties and charity events throughout the year, including an annual Rag Day in October, and a Summer Ball.

Both Students' Union Sites are affiliated to NUS UK and the officers from each Students' Union site take their campaign ideas from NUS UK Campaigns.

All students who attend the college (including full-time, part-Time, apprenticeship and evening students) automatically become a member of the Students' Union. This entitles them to attend Students' Union events and much more. Individual students can opt out of membership, although this right is rarely exercised. Individual societies within the college can also disaffiliate from the Union, although this right has never been exercised.

The Tiverton site is led by an 11-member Executive Committee, which is made up of part-time officers, who serve while continuing their studies. The Barnstaple site is led by an 12-member Executive Committee, which is made up of part-time officers, who serve while continuing their studies. The satellite campuses of Brannams and Tiverton Way do not yet have student representatives on the main union sites.

The Students' Union also hosts a Learner Voice Forum, where every tutor group sends their own representative to a bi-monthly forum where they put their ideas and concerns to both the Students' Union and also Managers from Petroc's senior management team. The student body then gets published feedback from all parties involved.