The University of Stirling Podcasting Society

Your University Podcasting Society: For Students, By Students!

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Constitution

Correct as of January 2023.

Name

The name of the society shall be the “University of Stirling Podcasting Society”, hereinafter known as the “StirPod”.

Aims

The Society’s aims shall be: 

i. Promote Creative & Inventive Podcasting 
ii. Provide Podcasting Support 
iii. Build a powerful podcasting initiative. 
iv. Encourage new and former podcast creators and listeners into and back to the medium. 
v. Empower individuals and groups to create great podcasts. 
vi. Support Podcasting Collaboration 
vii. Provide Space for Pitching Podcast Ideas 
viii. Support Podcasting Planning (including the development of business planning; legal requirements and best practices) 
ix. Support Podcast Monetisation (including helping with advertising, promotion and merchandise sales)
x. Support Podcast related projects such as, but not exclusively, live events. 
xi. Support recruitment of guests and voice actors 
xii. Support podcast pre-production, production, and post-production 
xiii. Host an annual Podcasting Awards ceremony 
xiv. Provide a ‘production house’ space for podcasts to be published (if required) 

Membership

a) Membership shall be open to all registered students at the University of Stirling. The General Meeting (GM) may award honorary membership. Non-students can join the Club/Society, but will have non-voting status and be ineligible to run for a Committee position. 

b) A fee shall be charged for membership, set annually by the Club/Society Annual General Meeting. The price shall be the same for student and non-student members. The fee must not fall lower than the minimum advised by the Students’ Union. 

c) The Club/Society may waive this fee with ED&I Accreditation by submitting such an application to the Communities Zone Executive Committee. 

d) To purchase membership to a Club/Society, the ‘Clubs & Societies Membership’ option must also be purchased. This must be paid regardless of the Club/Society’s individual fee.

Committee

a) The Committee shall consist of the following minimum, core positions that must be held be different members: 

  1. President 
  1. Secretary 
  1. Treasurer 

b) If within the period of an academic semester, a committee member fails to attend three committee or general meetings of the society without having had apologies for their absence accepted, they will at the discretion of the majority (50% +1) of the committee be considered to have resigned from their position. 

c) It is permissible for the election of a Fundraising Manager; a PR & Social Media Manager; and a Social Events Manager as extra-committee members to support the work of the Executive Committee.

Committee Meetings

The Committee is recommended to meet at least once a month, or if a meeting is called by a committee member. Notes and minutes of these meetings should be made available upon request by Club/Society members.

Elections

The Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) or in the case of a vacancy arising mid-term, at an Emergency General Meeting (EGM). Candidates must have purchased membership to the Club/Society prior to the election. 

Procedure for election of Committee Members: 

  1.  A meeting must reach a quorum of 50% +1 of the active student membership before elections can take place (or 25% +1 if an ED&I accredited society).
  1. One member of the elected Committee will act as Returning Officer in the election, unless a Union Officer is present to carry out this role. The RO will be tasked with conducting the election, counting the votes and announcing the result. They will abstain from voting. 
  1.  There will be a secret ballot for all elections regardless of whether the election is contested. Re-Open Nominations will be a valid candidate in all elections. 
  1.  A system of Simple Transferable Vote (STV) will be used to determine the winner of the election. 
  1.  The President is responsible for ensuring an updated Committee List, in Excel format, is emailed to the Union as soon as possible. 
  1. The Committee shall be (re-)elected each February, either in person or through the use of an online ballot. Results must be made available for all members to see, and the platform used for voting must have a trustworthy status. 
  1. The voting shall take place in February to enable committee-elect members to shadow current committee members until the end of the year to enable a smooth transfer of powers; and allow time for EGMs before the end of the year should a Committee member-elect decide to stand down before the start of their term. Committee Members elected in  February will take over officially from July 1st as previous members will stand down on May 31st.

General Meetings

A General Meeting shall be held at least once each semester and shall be convened upon receipt of a request signed by eight persons or 10% of the membership (which ever figure is the least). 

Annual General Meeting

  1. The AGM shall be held by February 28th.  This date may be moved to a later date at the discretion of the VP Communities. When informed, the Union will endeavour to send an Officer to oversee.  
  1. The Committee shall be elected by the procedure outlined in Point 6b and 6f. 
  1. The Treasurer will present a yearly summary of the Club/Society’s financial position.

Affiliations

The society shall be affiliated to the University of Stirling Students’ Union and abide by its regulations. The society may be affiliated to such organisations as a GM shall deem desirable, any decision from a GM to affiliate/disaffiliate must be passed with a two-thirds majority.  The Club/Society must update their constitution with any organisations that they become affiliated to and any changes to the constitution must be approved by the CZEC or Sabbatical team if the CZEC is for any reason unavailable.

Equipment

An annual inventory shall be submitted to the Students’ Union by 31st May each academic year.  All new equipment must be added to the inventory throughout the year by completing the appropriate form and submitting it via email to the Activities & Volunteer Coordinator and VP Communities. All property and equipment must be insured through the Union’s policy.

Data Protection

The Club/Society will comply with the relevant data protection, privacy and data handling policies of the Students’ Union, as outlined here: www.stirlingstudentsunion.com/privacy/

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

The Club/Society will adhere to the Union’s ED&I Policy.

Changes to the Constitution

Changes to the constitution must be passed by a simple majority either at an AGM, an EGM or GM of the society. For a constitutional change to be binding it must subsequently be approved by the Communities Zone Executive Committee.

Additional Committee Members

Fundraising Manager

Responsible for coordinating fundraisers, this includes setting specific monetary goals, choosing an activity for the fundraiser, they are directly accountable to the Treasurer.

Public Relations & Social Media Manager

Is the front figure out the society. This person shall represent the society and reach out to news outlets, other societies etc. to gain the society and specific campaigns, fundraisers etc. more publicity. Responsible for overseeing social media activity, keeping track of the social media group, making sure that they are reaching their goals, expanding their reach online and producing appropriate content. They are directly accountable to the President.

Social Events Manager

Organises informal socials for society members and aspiring members, to provide a space of positivity and increase the social life within the society. They are directly accountable to the Secretary.

Podcasting Production Manager

Responsible for supporting the organisation of guests for podcasts and for presenting at events.

Clubs & Societies Liaison Manager

Responsible for recruiting, organising and supporting clubs and societies with starting, launching and continuing a podcast.