This is the central hub of information regarding the AUC Student Council elections of 2019-2020. Here you can find all you need to know about the election process in general and running for the AUC Student Council of 2019-2020 in particular.
What do the AUC Student Council elections entail?
The AUC Student Council is a yearly rotating participatory governance body. Each year, the AUC election committee – this year, for the first time, under the auspices of the VU election committee – organizes an election to establish the new board for the following academic year. The new members of the Student Council are chosen democratically by AUC students that are eligible to vote. A term on the Student Council lasts for one year. Members of the Student Council can run for re-election.
Election reforms
The AUC Student Council of 2018-2019 has been able to streamline the Student Council election process with that of the VU. To explain why it was imperative to do so, some historical background information is needed.
Amsterdam University College is a joint initiative of the UvA and the VU, the major research universities of Amsterdam. To ensure the effective managerial and administrative governance of AUC, it was incorporated in the two science faculties of these universities: the UvA faculty of Science and the VU Beta faculty. It has been agreed on by AUC and its mother universities that the representational rights of AUC students would reside with the VU. In practice, all rights of say (advice, consent) that are conferred to the Beta faculty student council by the Dutch Law of Higher Education (WHW), are executed by the AUC Student Council, insofar as these rights concern AUC. In other words, the AUC Student Council is effectively a separate faculty student council, while legally being an extension of the VU Beta faculty student council. The AUC Student Council is, therefore, required to follow VU procedures regarding student representation, also when it comes to the elections. As this has not been the case in the past, we saw to it that the proper procedures in regards to the elections would be followed from this year onwards. We did so successfully.
As a result of our efforts to streamline the Student Council election process with that of the VU, the elections will take place in a different guise than in previous years. First of all, we will employ the VU list system, applying to the faculty student council elections, which prescribes that the candidates are placed on one list by the current Student Council after a pre-selective procedure (see “Procedures” for more information). Second of all, we will make use of the facilities of the VU, which has two major consequences: (1) the votes will be cast digitally this year and (2) AUC students are not only eligible to vote for the AUC Student Council of 2019-2020, but also for the VU University Student Council, the participatory governance body of and for all VU students. Finally, we will follow the election timeframe as determined by the VU election committee. The campaigning period, in which the candidates can convince the electorate to vote for them, will run from March 25 until April 5. The voting period will be from Monday, April 8 until Thursday, April 11.
Why should I vote during the Student Council elections?
Because much is at stake with the forthcoming elections. AUC students sometimes have the tendency to underestimate the impact that the AUC Student Council has and can have on the educational and managerial course that AUC sails. However, the AUC Student Council is invested with several substantial representational rights that should not be readily disregarded. For example, the AUC Student Council has consent rights to the headlines of the AUC budget, meaning that we have to concur with the budget for it to be passed. Furthermore, the AUC Student Council has consent rights and advisory rights on specific changes made to the Academic Standards & Procedures. Our advice on AUC’s state of affairs is also not taken lightly by the AUC Management. That is to say, if we voice student concerns about, for instance, the course registration process, in a constructive dialogue with the AUC Management Team, then they have to act on them.
So, the AUC Student Council has immensely influential representational rights and responsibilities. You as an AUC student must do your part and cast your vote wisely, in order to ensure that these responsibilities are conferred to the, in your view, most capable of candidates.
Go vote in the week of April the 8th!