UEA50

What is the UEA50?

The UEA50 is the highest decision-making board of the UEA Union of Students. Ideas come in through our website page for changes, events or ideas students would like to see implemented by their Union. Students put through a proposal, this comes in to our Voice team and then is taken to either one of our subcommittees or, if it affects the whole Union/University, to the triannual UEA50.

How often do the UEA50 meet?

The UEA50 meet three times an academic year to discuss large Union-wide or University-wide proposals. The subcommittees meet roughly once a month in term-time to discuss and approve any other proposals that relate to that subcommittees’ community.

Who makes up the UEA50?

The UEA50 is made up of 50 randomly selected students from across the University population. Every meeting is made up of fifty different randomly selected students. These students are selected by UEA randomly to ensure a wide cross-section of opinion is represented in Union spaces. The subcommittees are made up of a range of elected Union leaders, APP student staff/volunteers and any other members of the community represented by the committee who wishes to join.

What happens to a proposal after the UEA50?

If a policy passes through the UEA50, it is then sent to Executive Committee (a group made up of all our elected Student Officers) who check that the policy won’t be financially, reputationally or legally damaging to the Union or University. Read more about the Executive Committee and its process on its subcomm. Once passed through Executive Committee, or if the proposal came through one of our subcommittees, it is delegated by the Voice team to the relevant team who can make the change in the SU. For example, Club night proposals would go to our Venues team to implement, or changes to the Elections rules would go to our Voice team. The proposal is then tracked and checked in on to make sure it is being implemented properly. If you’re the proposer, you can check in on how your proposal is going anytime by emailing su.voice@uea.ac.uk. If a policy doesn’t pass the UEA50, the proposer is emailed the outcome of the UEA50 meeting with the minutes and invited to resubmit with relevant edits if they so wish.

How will I know if I’ve been selected for the UEA50?

We’ll email attendees to invite you to the meeting a month in advance- look out for our email in your inbox from our su.democracy@uea.ac.uk address! If you can’t make it, that’s fine, please just let us know so we can offer your space to someone else.

Do I get paid for my time if I’m selected for the UEA50? When will the payment come through?

Yes, if you’re selected for the main UEA50 you’ll be paid £50 for your time sharing your opinions and making decisions on behalf of the Union. Meetings are always a Friday, and we aim to have payment should be with you (if you have given us your details correctly) by the Wednesday of the next week. Sometimes this may be a day or two later, but we’ll let you know if this is the case. If you have any issues with your payment coming through, just email su.democracy@uea.ac.uk and we’ll get it sorted for you as a matter of urgency.

Speaking when the chair calls you to speak:

1. Introduce yourself with your name, pronouns and your role (that you are using to speak in this capacity). The chair will prompt you to provide this information if it is missed.

2. The chair will invite you to speak.

3. Speak about your point.

4. Addressing other students, the way we speak about and refer to other individuals in the meeting is important to ensuring everyone is comfortable to contribute their ideas.

We will adopt gender-neutral language throughout the meetings - this means:

- Refer to everyone using they/them/their(s) pronouns unless they have stated otherwise in their introduction, in which case use the pronouns they gave.

- Try to avoid group gendered terms where possible, for example say, “hello everyone” instead of “hello ladies and gentlemen”.