Class Reps

Article 8 – Class Representatives

8.1 The duties of a Class Representative (also referred to herein as a ‘Class Rep’) are, inter alia:

(i) To make themselves known to their constituents.

(ii) To attend meetings of Union Council or, if unable to do so, forward apologies by email to the Union Secretary.

(iii) To attend meetings of committees of which they are members and use those committees to represent the best interests of students in accordance with Union policy and the views of their constituents.

(iv) To consult the President or relevant Officer before making any representation or publishing any publication.

(v) To assist in the distribution of Union publications to their constituencies.

(vi) To regularly inform their constituents of any initiatives or campaigns being undertaken by the Union

(vii) To take an active role in the formation of Union policy in the interests of their constituents.

(viii) To hold the Union Executive to account at meetings of Union Council.

(ix) To organise social activities for their constituents and work to create a positive social environment for their class

8.2 A Class Rep shall be deemed to have resigned if they fail to attend two consecutive meetings of Council, save when such absence is caused by justifiable circumstances which have been explained to and accepted by the Chairperson. Such a deemed resignation will take effect one week after it is notified in writing to the Returning Officers by the Chairperson and Secretary, unless it is reversed by the Chairperson as set out in this subsection within that one-week period.

8.3 Having consulted with the President, the Returning Officers shall set the constituencies and allocation of seats for the election of Class Representatives for the following academic year no later than six weeks before the beginning of the first semester, in the following manner:

(i) There shall be one seat in every constituency which has at least forty but less than one hundred and twenty members.

(ii) A constituency shall be allocated a second seat where it has at least one hundred and twenty members and shall be allocated an additional seat for each full one hundred members it has in excess of one hundred and twenty.

(iii) The membership of a constituency shall be assessed on the basis of the number of members in the year of review.

(iv) The results of this review shall take effect at the Class Representative elections following the review.

8.4 Members of the Union who are not members of a Class Representative constituency at the time of these elections by reason of their study of a new academic programme shall be allocated to a constituency by the Returning Officers for one academic year as an interim measure.

Class Reps work alongside your SU’s six full time Sabbatical Officers and nine part time College Officers on behalf of the 30,000+ of you.

They are elected at the beginning of each academic year by their peers to represent different courses, schools, and stages across the UCD student journey. They are trained to ensure that the student voice is at the heart of life in UCD, both inside and outside the classroom. Class reps also sit on UCDSU Union Council (which meets every 2 weeks during term) to represent the views of their classmates and help to steer Union policy.

Class Reps play a vital role in the two-way information flow between the elected officers and issues on the ground. Typically the go-to person if a class has a problem, your class rep will know which member of faculty to approach, will be in-the-know about issues that affect the education and wider student experience of their classmates, and will regularly read emails from the SU that highlight key university updates to their class. Class Reps are good at managing relationships and can communicate with professionalism. They are best placed to ensure that students get the chance to provide feedback on the university’s academic and quality assurance mechanisms and to escalate issues to the Sabbatical Team should the matter require it.

Often, Class Reps will arrange social events for their class. Sometimes they will delegate this part of the role if there is someone in their group who is better placed to do this. Each Class Rep also has a seat on UCDSU Union Council, which you can read more about HERE.

It’s vital that you and your classmates get a Rep in place!

Around September every year as life in UCD takes off again, nominations open for the annual Class Rep elections. Where there is more than one candidate, all students who are registered to a particular course vote in the election. Elected Class Reps serve for a term of one year.

Class Rep Elections take place at the start of every academic year. Nomination forms are handed out every year and more recently, there has been the option to fill out an online form. To be nominated, you must fill in this form, get 5 classmates to sign it and then return it to the SU before the closing of nominations.

If you are studying a joint major, you can only be nominated in one constituency. Classes above a certain size may be allocated more than one class rep. Constituencies are reviewed on an annual basis by the SU’s Returning Officer.

No previous experience is necessary! UCDSU Class Reps receive full training and support throughout the year from the SU in order to go about their role effectively and conscientiously. This covers everything from effective communication to understanding UCD decision-making processes.

You may heard the old adage that “it looks good on your CV” but it is so much more than just a space-filler on your next job application. Amongst other things, becoming a class rep will help develop and strengthen your leadership skills and help you connect better across the UCD community.

There are two main ways you can campaign, either in person or online.

To campaign in person:

Get chatting to your classmates. Let them know you are running for class rep and ask for their votes. Ask a lecturer or a tutor if you can make a quick speech at the start of a lecture or a tutorial. Introduce yourself and let the class know who you are and why you would like to represent them.

Don't forget to explain to students when and how to vote. You might have won them over but if they do not get out you may miss out on their votes.

To campaign online:

Only members of your class or constituency can vote for you, so you need to find them. Add them to a class group on Facebook or WhatsApp and you're good to go! Tell them who you are and why they should vote for you.

Don't know who your classmates are yet? Get in touch with your peer mentor, your college officer, or join our freshers' group on Facebook to find them!

You can also ask a lecturer to allow circulate a message on your behalf to a class list. You can also direct them to a group where you have further information.