Start Your Own
Create Your Own Group
Ratification Process
Alongside your proposal, the suggested group also needs to be added as an idea on our ‘Bright Ideas’ platform. In order for this to be valid you must receive at least 20 positive interactions. The interactions and comments will be used to guide the decision of Student Opportunities Committee. Once you have reach the 20 interactions and your application has been reviewed, the committee will give a presentation to our Student Opportunities Committee. Whilst the committee meet every week, ratification meetings will be limited to once a term. The committee is compiled of elected students that represent each category of our existing Societies, Sports Clubs and Media Outlets, as well as the Student Opportunities Chair. You will have 5 minutes to present your proposed student group’s core activities, to which the committee will have time to ask any questions they may have regarding the application. Notification of the meeting outcome will be liaised through either Vice President of Societies & Media or the Vice President of Sports & Development. If the presentation was successful you will receive notification of the next steps to formally presenting the student group. If unsuccessful, this is nothing to worry about. The Student Opportunities team will work with you to amend any uncertainties and a new date will be offered to present before the committee.
Next Steps
When your idea for a new student group has been passed by the Student Opportunities Committee, the Student Opportunities Coordinators will create the following implements to get your group off the ground:
- Page on the RHSU website
- RHSU affiliated email address
- Access to online finance accounts
- Login to our Room Bookings website
Once you have been ratified, you will be invited to use and gain from all the occasions Student Opportunities has to offer. This includes committee training and leadership experience (recognised through our Passport and Employability scheme), a channel to advertise events through official RHSU medium, the opportunity to apply for funding to make a difference student life at Royal Holloway, and much more.
Finance
As a new group, you will be given £15 from the Students’ Union. This will be deposited into what we call a ‘Restricted Account’. This does not mean that you cannot access it – it is quite the opposite! This account is the main place to store group funds, to which the income will be spent on the core activities of the group. You will also have access to a ‘Social Account’, to which the account will be used to fund events or socials. There is also an option to use a third account called the ‘Other Account’. For sports clubs, this will become the transport account. Societies may use this account for a specific activity, whilst media groups may use it to hold their compliance costs. It is only the Restricted and Social accounts that tend to be active with most our student groups.
New groups will have the opportunity to apply for further funding through a development fund. If this is something you are interested in, please contact our Student Opportunities manager, Sophie Harrison at Sophie.Harrison@su.rhul.ac.uk. Revenue can also be generated through organised events and socials throughout the year. For assistance in organising an event or social, please refer to the Events page of the RHSU website, and/or contact studentopportunities@su.rhul.ac.uk.
Your finance accounts will be accessible through Google Docs and a individualised login for each student group. The Google Doc allows you to view the overall balance of the student group, as well as a break down on income and expenditure made throughout the year.