Bylaws & Policies
Bylaws and policies guide our organization and ensure transparency, accountability, and fairness in all our operations and decision-making processes.
The Constitution of the Students' Union is the Post Secondary Learning Act of the Province of Alberta. Contained in this act are the fundamental rules that Students' Council must follow in exercising its power to govern the Students' Union.
In addition to the act, the Students' Union is governed and managed in accordance with rules set out chiefly in three areas–Bylaws, Political Policies and Operating Policies. In addition to these primary rulebooks, individual departments and services often have their own guidelines.
Students' Council Legislation
Bylaws
Bylaws are the primary legislation of the Students' Union and set out the basic legal structure and operational parameters of the Students' Union. The bylaws are concerned with major governance issues such as the structure of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the Students' Union as well as its finances. Elections, referenda, faculty associations and access to information are additional areas in which Council has legislation. Bylaws include Governance, Elections, and primary legislation.
Political Policies
Political Policies are statements of principle set out by the Students' Council that direct the Executive Committee in their advocacy efforts. They set out the formal position of the Students' Union on the political issues of the day. It then becomes the job of the Executive Committee to implement the political policies as they best see fit.
Operating Policies
Operating policies are regulations set out by the Executive Committee that govern the day-to-day operations of the Students' Union. Essentially, operating policies start where the bylaws of Students' Council end. They serve to provide direction to the UASU bureaucracy in the execution of their respective roles.
Standing Orders
Standing Orders are the rules that govern how meetings are conducted. They describe who sits on a committee, what kind of business that committee does, and how it calls and conducts its meetings.