If you're a student at the University of Bristol, congratulations! You're officially a member of Bristol Students' Union!
Your student union is for all Bristol students, led by elected reps working to get you the best from your time at uni.
Want to see what we mean by that? Click here to see what we've done for students recently.
Whether you're looking to pursue your hobbies, improve your employability, make a difference or just blaze your own trail. If there’s anything you want or think needs to change, we’re here to listen to and support you, so get in touch.
Twice a year we elect over 600 students like you who represent students on issues around course quality, cost of accommodation and improving the experience at the University of Bristol.
Our elections take place in October and March. Find out more here.
The Annual Members Meeting (AMM) is the SU’s biggest democratic event and any student can attend and vote on new police.
You can also submit a motion in advance of the meeting that if passed, will become SU policy for the next three years.
Student Council is the primary representative forum of the Students’ Union. It creates policy which directs the focus of the elected officers.
Members discuss and vote on motions submitted by students and any that pass become active SU.
Student groups are legally part of the Students’ Union, and so the laws regarding charitable companies also apply to student groups, and affect what the Union and societies can spend their money on.
The purpose for which Bristol SU may spend its funds are defined by the Union’s Articles, these are called the objects of the Union and are noted in the table below. Any expenditure other than for those purposes stated is classed as Ultra Vires and is therefore illegal.
The objects of the Union are the advancement of education of students at the University of Bristol for the public benefit by:
Ultra Vires is a phrase used legally to mean anything beyond our stated aim. Legally we are not allowed to make any ‘ultra vires’ payments, so we cannot spend money on things that are not achieving the stated aims of the Union or the society. Any donations are also affected by the legal rules on charitable companies – in their most basic form, this means we cannot donate union money to other charities, political parties, campaigns or trade unions.
When considering Ultra Vires we use the following three ‘golden rules’.
The most common examples of Ultra Vires are: