2016 Constitution

Committee Roles and Society Rules

All Societies affiliated to the Students’ Union shall hold a Society constitution which shall read as follows:

1. Name and Date

1.1. The name of the Society shall be, The Institute For Impure Science (IFIS), Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL) Science Fiction/ Fantasy Society hereafter referred to as ‘the Society’.
1.2. Date this form was filled in: 10/07/2016
2. Aims and Objectives

2.1. The aims and objectives of the Society shall be determined by the Society individually and revised and re-submitted yearly to the Co-President (Societies & Media). These aims should be written into the Society Development Pack.

3. Committee

3.1. The Society shall have a committee consisting of the following mandatory positions

a) President
b) Secretary
c) Treasurer

Any additional positions of responsibility required shall only be elected with the consent of the Co-President (Societies & Media).

3.2. The role of the committee is to manage all aspects of the Society’s administration and activity. The committee shall not work autonomously. Planning activities, buying equipment and administering other Society matters must satisfy all members and the Student Opportunities Department
3.3. The committee will be elected at least two weeks before the end of the spring term and will not serve for longer than one year without re-election. The committee-elect will shadow the current committee for the duration of the summer term. There must be a member of the Student Opportunities Committee or Executive Committee present at the elections which should be held at the Society’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) or online. The Student Opportunities Department should be notified of any elections held, at least two weeks in advance of the date and all elections must be advertised across campus and to all members of the Society for a period of two weeks prior to the election date.
3.4. All Society elections must adhere to the rules and regulations outlined by the Student Opportunities Department
3.5. The Committee has a joint responsibility to ensure that all information is effectively communicated both within the Society to its members, and to the Student Opportunities Department.

4. Duties of Committee Members

4.1. The President shall:

a) Be responsible for the constitutional running of the Society.
b) Chair the AGM and any other relevant meetings.
c) Be responsible for the administration and co-ordination of all the Society activities and to ensure that the Society meets all Royal Holloway Student Union (SURHUL) requirements.
d) Be the point of contact between the Society and Co-President (Societies & Media).
e) Attend Committee Training in person; non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Co-President (Societies & Media) at least 24 hours in advance.
f) Attend all Student Opportunities Councils in person; non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Societies Officer or the Co-President (Societies & Media) at least 24 hours in advance. If the President is unable to attend, then either the Society’s Secretary or Treasurer must attend in their place.
g) If a President misses two compulsory meetings of any type in one academic term, without adequate warning or reason given to the Secretary, Societies Officer or the Co-President (Societies & Media), then they will have been assumed to have resigned from their position. If this situation arises the Secretary must contact the Co-President (Societies & Media) immediately to initiate an emergency election procedure.
h) To ensure full committee presence at committee meetings, absence without apologies for more than two incidents must to be reported to both the Societies Officer and Co-President (Societies & Media).
i) Ensure that the Society does not contravene the Students’ Union Constitution, Regulations or Policy, any regulations of the Student Opportunities Department or the Society’s own Constitution.
j) Be responsible for ensuring that the Society is regularly publicising its activities and achievements through the available media.
k) Actively continue to seek to secure sponsorship for the Society.
l) Be responsible for completing Risk Assessment forms for all the Society’s Activities and submitting them to the Student Opportunities Department by the set date.
m) Ensure that Students’ Union news, events and information is passed on to all members effectively and efficiently.
n) Review the Society Constitution and send revised copies to Co-President (Societies & Media).
o) Should be responsible for all booking Students’ Union and College Rooms for the Society.

4.2. The Secretary shall:

a) Keep a full list of membership and ensure that all are full members of SURHUL.
b) Keep a record of all meetings held and minutes of these, which shall be available to all members of the Society and the Student Opportunities Department if requested.
c) Be responsible for ensuring regular monitoring of the Society post delivered to the Students’ Union and ensure that all information is dealt with correctly by the Society officers.
d) Attend Committee Training in person; non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Co-President (Societies and Media) at least 24 hours in advance.
e) If the Secretary misses two mandatory meetings of any type (including committee meetings) in one academic term without adequate warning or reason given to the President, they may face disciplinary action.
f) Keep an up-to-date inventory of equipment owned by the Society.
g) Keep a file of all Society correspondence for the current year and the previous two years.
h) Be familiar with all Students’ Union procedures regarding administration of the Society.
i) Coordinate the social activities of the Society.
j) Be responsible for regularly publicising the Society’s activities and achievements through the available media outlets.

4.3. The Treasurer shall:

a) Keep a record of and oversee all financial transactions of the Society.
b) Submit a financial report budget application to the Co-President (Societies & Media) as required annually.
c) Present a report on the Society’s finances to the AGM.
d) Be responsible for submitting all claims made by Society members.
e) Attend Committee Training in person; non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Co-President (Societies & Media) at least 24 hours in advance.
f) If the Treasurer misses two mandatory meetings of any type in one academic term without adequate warning or reason given to the President, they may face disciplinary action.
g) Be responsible for ensuring timely completion of Budget Packs. Keep a record of and oversee all financial transactions of the Society.
4.4. The Librarian shall:

a) Be responsible for the stock within the library and ensure it is all accounted for
b) Work to promote the IFIS library both to members and to prospective members
c) Ensure those using the library return books in an appropriate fashion.
d) Actively work to improve the library user experience – including the use of our society website
e) Work with our members to guide the society in purchasing new book/ expanding the library
f) In the event that a librarian is not elected, the above duties are to be split between the other committee members, as agreed mutually by them.

All other Committee Positions and their responsibilities should be outlined using the same format as above.

5. Meetings

5.1. The Committee will hold regular meetings, at least one per month. Any member of the Society is entitled to attend any committee meeting, unless a closed meeting has been agreed with the Co-President (Societies & Media). Only committee members may vote at these meetings.
5.2. The Society will hold an AGM at least two weeks before the end of the Spring Term, during which the following will take place:

• The Society Constitution will be approved by all members.
• Elections for the following year’s Committee will take place in accordance with the Student Opportunities Department elections policy
• Each committee member will deliver an outgoing report of the year.

All members must be given at least two weeks’ notice of this meeting. The Student Opportunities Department must be informed of this meeting and the Democracy Officer and/or a member of the Student Opportunities Committee must be present for the elections or the elections must be carried out online.
5.3. An Extraordinary General Meeting for a Society must be held if requested by at least 10% of the Society’s membership. There must be notice period of at least 24 hours before the EGM and all members of the Society and the Co-President (Societies & Media) must be informed.
5.4. Quorum at a Society General Meeting will be 25% of the Society’s membership or 20 members, whichever is the smaller.