The applications for our Solent Elections 2025 are currently open, and we want to see as many of you applying as possible. So, it’s only right we make sure every student is fully informed of what our elections are all about.
A big part of that is busting all the myths you may have heard about Solent Elections, which is what this blog post is all about. Everything you may have wondered or questioned regarding applying to be a Sabbatical Officer or Volunteer Officer can be answered below. However, if you still have questions you can always contact us at students.union@solent.ac.uk or pop into the SU Office by the East Park Deli to speak to one of our staff members.
Can I run as a Sabbatical Officer if I have been a volunteer officer before?
100% yes! Whether this is your first time running for a position or you’ve been one of our volunteer officers, nothing stops you from applying to be a Sabbatical Officer. Having already been a volunteer officer, applying to be a full-time officer is a great way to get even more involved in the work the SU is doing, while also earning a great wage and gaining lots of valuable and unique experiences that look great on your CV.
Can I run as a Sabbatical Officer in my final year?
Nothing is stopping you from applying to be a Sabbatical Officer in your final year! Stuck on what to do once you leave university? Need more experience to enhance your CV skills? Or just want to have some unique experiences and lots of responsibility while earning over £22k? Applying to be a Sabbatical Officer is a great option for graduates, there’s not a better time to apply in our opinion.
Can I run if I have not had any role in the SU before?
You do not have to be a part of the SU before applying to our Solent Elections 2025; any student is welcome to apply, whether this is your first role or 2nd. Being a part of the SU in any role is an amazing experience to have obtained, and it helps make a real difference to the university experience students at Southampton Solent. Applying for an officer role gives you an in-depth insight into how the SU works and the processes we take to make change on campus, which you’ll be right at the forefront of.
You must have experience to be a Sabbatical Officer.
You do not need any experience to apply – all you need is a desire to make a change and represent the student community! If you get elected as an officer, the SU will provide you with all the training you need, including the opportunity to arrange various trips to other unions and networking conferences across the UK.
The role isn’t permanent.
That is correct – each role runs for one term, starting around the middle of June and finishing the next year around the same time. This is not a permanent position, you could look at it as a 12-month contract, in that you work for Union for a year, and if you want to stay you rerun for the position, which brings us to our next myth…
You can only run for one year.
This one is slightly dependent on the role you are running for. Let’s say you were a sabbatical officer for one year, you can run for a maximum of two terms, so if you’ve already been a Sabbatical Officer for a year, you can only run once more. If you are applying for a volunteer officer position, you can only be in term for one year. After this, you can apply for another volunteer position, just not the same one.
You can run for multiple positions.
This is not true – you can only apply for one position at a time. When we run our elections, we follow a set of byelaws to make sure we are being democratically correct. One of these byelaws states that “candidates must not nominate themselves for more than one post in the same election”. We want you to have the best chance of being elected, just for one position and not multiple!