University of Sussex Students' Union
Register
Skip to Content
About us > Union Council & Committees  

About us

The University of Sussex Students' Union aims to make the lives of its members better by providing opportunities such as sports clubs and societies, advice and support services on issues such as housing and coursework and student-friendly shops and bars on campus.

Contents

► Union Council & Committees

Union committees are entrusted with decision making powers and are responsible for ensuring that the Students' Union operates in a way that benefits its membership, i.e. University of Sussex and Brighton & Sussex Medical School (BSMS) students. For practical reasons decisions are divided between the following committees, click their title to find what these committees do, including minutes from previous meetings, a list of committee members and their responsibilities:

  • Union Council is the most important decision making body of the Students' Union. All full & part-time elected officers and Union Councillors are eligible to vote at Council. The councillors are students elected by students in their school, as well as representatives from the main areas of the Union's work.  Any University of Sussex or BSMS student can attend these meetings and have speaking rights, but only elected representatives are able to cast a vote.
  • Executive Committee, previously known as Operations Committee, is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Union, and to ensure that Policy passed by Council, Referendum or General Meeting is properly implemented. The Executive is made up of all Full-Time & Part-Time Officers, and the Chair of Union Council.
  • Activities Committee discusses issues and opportunities for all student activities including sport, societies, volunteering and media, and makes decisions on allocation of funding to clubs & societies.

     

The Structure of the Students' Union

This diagram shows how the decision making process within USSU structures how the union works on a day to day basis. Different levels and areas of decision making are entrusted to various committees. Union Council exists as the primary representative body of the Union, but General Meetings & Referenda have even more authority, as they allow all students to take part in the process of making decisions. All committees are accountable to the union membership through Council and General meetings.

Council Referenda Members' Meetings Executive Committee Trustee Board Activities Committee