~ [[130 - Governance]] # Salford SU Elected Officers By-Laws The Elected Officers By-Law governs the structure and duties of elected student officers at Salford SU. It has been substantially amended twice during 2024-25 and 2025-26 through the Democracy Review process. ## Current Position (post November 2025) The By-Law now covers **Full Time Officers only**. Two categories of Voluntary Officers have been removed across two Board decisions: ### November 2024 Decision — Non-Liberation Officers Removed At [[2024-11-20 - Board of Trustees]], the Board voted 8-4 to remove the following Voluntary Officer roles: - Sports & Societies Officer - Community & Wellbeing Officer - International Students' Officer **Rationale:** These roles were identified as carrying significant single-point-of-failure risk. The SLT noted real value in the associated work (e.g. the International Café) but concluded that officer-led models were insufficient to sustain it. ### November 2025 Decision — Liberation Officers Removed (Trial) At [[2025-11-25 - Board of Trustees]], the Board approved a one-year trial for 2026/27 removing Sections 9 and 10 of the By-Law — the provisions creating liberation-based Voluntary Officers (Women, LGBT+, Trans, Disabled, and BAME Officers). **Rationale:** The liberation officer model was not succeeding: - Low engagement due to competing pressures (studies, work, caring responsibilities) - Responsibility for identity-based advocacy placed on a single isolated individual - No guarantee that voters for a Voluntary Officer candidate are from the protected characteristic they represent - Structural conflict with the strategic objective to combat loneliness through collective action **Replacement:** The [[Protected Societies Scheme]] — dedicated liberation societies, each with a constitutionally mandated four-person committee (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Wellbeing Officer), formal recognition, and a budget. This shifts from individual officer advocacy to collective community infrastructure. **This is a trial for 2026/27.** The Board will receive progress updates during the year. Both models ran concurrently in 2025/26 while Protected Societies were being developed. ## Elections Framework (April 2025) At [[2025-04-16 - Board of Trustees]], following the University's independent review of the 2025 elections: - MSL formally approved as the elections platform - School-based officer electorates aligned with constituencies: only students from a School can vote for that School's officer (from 2026 onwards) ## Related Notes - [[Elections Governance Changes]] — full history of democracy review process - [[Protected Societies Scheme]] - [[Salford SU Board of Trustees]] ## Source Documents - `251108 Elected Officers By-Law paper.pdf` — Board of Trustees Meetings / 2025.11.20 - `Elected Officers and Elections by laws - Copy.docx` — Board of Trustees Meetings / 2024-25 Year / 2024.11.20