Secretary Training Role of the Secretary The Secretary

Secretary Training

Role of the Secretary The Secretary is the main organiser of the society! The key element of the role is to ensure that things run smoothly. As a secretary, you will organise meetings, book rooms, write minutes and communicate what’s going on to members. By undertaking this role you have the chance to really boost your skills, including; communication, organisation, time management, strategic thinking and problem solving, as well as make a big difference to the Union community and your fellow society members.

Monitoring the society email address and sending out all email correspondence to society members Monitoring Facebook/Instagram pages and messages sent to them – advisable to change passwords each year Ensure that all emails are answered in a timely manner Track society sign ups – how many members do you have? How many have paid their membership fees? To provide secretarial support by booking rooms, creating agendas, and taking and distributing minutes to the committee Key Responsibilities

a) General Meetings: Notice shall be issued at least 7 clear days in advance to committee members. b) Annual General Meeting (AGM): Notice shall be issued at least 14 clear days in advance. Notice shall be given through email to the membership and a facebook event. c) Extra-Ordinary Meetings (EGM): Notice shall be issued at least 7 clear days in advance of the meeting being held. Notice should be given through emailing the membership and a facebook event Notice of Meetings:

Room bookings (once government guidance allows) As the Secretary, it is your responsibility to book rooms for committee meetings. These meetings can take place wherever you please, but I would recommend having the meetings either in DUSA or the Library. To book rooms with DUSA, head to: https: //www. dusa. co. uk/get-involved/societies/members/ To book rooms in the library, head to: https: //libcal. dundee. ac. uk/booking/mainlibrary

Creating Teams Events Log in to your Teams account (you will all have access to this through your student email account) via the app or website. It will only work with Google Chrome as your browser if accessed via the website. Navigate to the calendar in the toolbar on the left side of the screen (circled). Once in the calendar, on the right side of the screen click the drop-down arrow to get the two meeting options.

How to share Teams Meeting links Once you have created the meeting/event, open the booking Right click on where it says ‘join the Microsoft Teams meeting, ’ Share this link with your members so they can access your online events!

Agendas To ensure your meetings are well organised, have purpose, and don’t go so off-topic that the meetings runs longer than it has to, you should create an agenda. Open agenda submissions at least a week in advance so your committee members can tell you what they wish to raise. Send the agenda out to those attending at least 3 days in advance of the meeting. Keep track of those who cannot attend the meeting. The President is expected to Chair the meeting.

Minuting meetings All committee meetings that take place should be clerked. This means you must write down a full and accurate account of what topics were raised at the meeting and what was said by whom. You should include: Date and time of the meeting Names of the meeting participants and those unable to attend Acceptance or corrections/amendments to previous meeting minutes Decisions made about each agenda item, for example: Actions taken or agreed to be taken Next steps Voting outcomes – e. g. , (if necessary, details regarding who made motions; who seconded and approved or via show of hands, etc. ) New business Next meeting date and time

At AGM’s and EGM’s, voting is required to elect in new committee members or to approve motions (such as changes to the constitution). It is the Secretary’s role to track votes cast. Voting in person Every full member present shall be entitled to one vote upon every voting matter. Only full members shall be allowed to vote. No proxy votes shall be accepted for any purpose; no fraudulent votes should be placed. Voting should be done via a show of hands or ballot. Online voting isn’t recommended as the link can be shared to those who are not present. When using a ballot, ensure the paper hasn’t been ripped and extra votes cast. The number of votes cast should match the number of full members present within the room.

My recommendation for online AGM’s is to encourage anyone wishing to run for a position to submit a video of their speech to the committee. Voting Online This video should then be circulated to your members via social media, where members are then able to ask questions based on the speeches. If candidates really do not wish to submit a video, or you would prefer written speeches submitted via email, that’s fine too. For voting, I recommend using Microsoft Forms – this is a single sign on via your Uo. D credentials. Using this would ensure that people are not casting multiple votes for the same person. Google forms is also fine to use as long as you check for multiple votes cast from the same person.

If a complaint is made against a society member the society committee must initially inform the VPSA and then form a complaints committee comprising of the President, who is responsible in investigating the matter, two other committee members and the society secretary to clerk the meetings. The VPSA should be informed of the outcome. Complaints If the complaint or breech is deemed to serious or there is a conflict of interest with the committee, then please refer the case directly to the VPSA

Secretaries are permitted to create mailing lists to send out mass emails to current society members For information on how to create a mailing list, please click here Mailing lists These mailing lists must be updated yearly When using mailing lists, you MUST Bcc all members

GDPR Each DUSA affiliated student society is responsible for ensuring it is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant; meaning you must ensure any personal information you hold on your members, associates, or the general public is stored securely; and only used for the purpose that it was acquired.

GDPR If you wish to ask a question about your society, contact dataprotection@dusa. c o. uk

DUSA has created a privacy notice template which you can customise for your society. You must share this policy with your existing members and all new members during sign up. It should also be available to them to re-read whenever they require. You can do this by including it on your social media or email it directly to all members. Any time you amend or update the policy, you must reissue it to all members. If you require the privacy policy template, please email the VPSA at vpsa@dusa. co. uk Privacy Policy

Constitution Every Society should have an up to date Constitution that governs how they run. It is the joint role of the President to ensure their constitution is current and the Secretary’s role to ensure it is available for all members to look at. Any changes to a constitution must be approved at the annual AGM or an EGM A draft constitution can be accessed at: https: //www. dusa. co. uk/getinvolved/societies/start-a-society

Societies Guidelines These can be accessed on the DUSA Website ‘Get Involved’ ‘Societies’ ‘Members Area’ ‘Societies Handbook’