Association Council & Policy
WHAT IS COUNCIL?
Council (sometimes referred to as Association Council) is the core policy and decision making body at the York GSA and is made up of a group of elected and appointed officers by GSA members to represent the membership as a whole. You can make change through Council and hold your elected/appointed representatives to account.
Who is part of Council?
Sabbatical Officers
- President
- Vice-President Academic
- Vice-President Wellbeing and Community
Elected Part-Time Officers (including elected Faculty Reps) – They are voting members of Council and are democratically elected each year by you (elections happen in the Autumn of each academic year)! They hold a vote on Council and make decisions about what the GSA campaigns on, the policy it creates, and holds Sabbatical Officers to account.
What can Council do?
- Mandate elected representatives and Officers of the GSA to express a particular view on a particular issue, or to carry out a particular function.
- Set, amend, and repeal policies or bylaws of the GSA;
- Scrutinise and hold to account the Principal Officers of the GSA and positions elected to Council
- Decide on a motion of censure or no-confidence in any of the Officers, members of Council or Trustees of the GSA;
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
There are many ways you can get involved with Council and be part of making change at your GSA!
- Standing for election
Each academic year, we elect members to sit on our Council. They hold a vote on Council and make decisions about what the GSA campaigns on, the policy it creates, and holding Sabbatical Officers to account. In addition, our Part-Time Officers can also run their own campaigns for change. - Attending Council meetings
Did you know that you don’t just have to be a Council member in order to attend meetings? Feel free to come along to any of our Council meetings and contribute to the discussions (please note that for any confidential matters you may be asked to leave for those items). Your input can be part of influencing what decisions are made at Council! - Submitting a motion
You can make change by submitting a motion to Council! Any student may submit a motion, paper or report to Council. This could be by mandating your elected representatives to take a certain stance or carry out certain work, creating policy or holding your elected representatives to account!
SUBMIT A MOTION
How to Submit a Motion
Any student may submit a motion, paper or report to Council. This could be by mandating your elected representatives to take a certain stance or carry out certain work, creating policy or holding your elected representatives to account!
Motion template:
Creating motions is easy! All you need to do is tell us your proposed policy title and write about what your policy is!
You can find the motion template here
The Process:
Once a policy has been proposed it will be reviewed by the Student Voice and Representation Manager. The policy proposer is welcome to meet with the Student Voice and Representation Manager prior to or following submission if they require any advice on their policy submission.
The policy will then be passed to the Chair of Council for inclusion at the next GSA Council meeting.
Papers for each meeting are sent out a week before Council, so any policy proposals received in the week before a Council meeting will appear on the agenda of the subsequent meeting.
The proposer will be invited to present their proposal. It will be debated by the GSA Council, and the secretary (Student Voice and Representation Manager) may be asked factual questions relating to implementation or past practice.
The proposer will be asked to leave the room whilst the policy is voted on.
If the policy is rejected, the proposer may ask for feedback on how to improve the policy, and work with the Student Voice and Representation Manager to revise the policy.
If the Policy is approved, it will become a by-law. Council approved by-laws are reviewed by Council on an annual basis from the meeting of their approval.
OUR DEMOCRATIC POLICIES
Democratic Policies
Through decisions made by students, we have a number of policies here at the GSA that impact how we run. Our policies reflect the values of our membership and ensure that we are democratic and representative of our members.
Here you will find current GSA Policies which have been passed by our Council. Our Council is the core policy and decision making body at the York GSA and is made up of a group of elected and appointed officers by GSA members to represent the membership as a whole.
- POLICY – For the GSA to support the Industrial Action – SUGGESTED BY – President of the GSA – REVIEW DATE – December 2022
- POLICY – Supporting Student Sex Workers, Supporting the Decriminalisation of Sex Work Policy – SUGGESTED BY – Vice-President Wellbeing and Community – REVIEW DATE – February 2022
MINUTES, PAPERS AND PREVIOUS MOTIONS

Motions
All of the motions passed during Council, with links to further information.
Click here for more info M.2021 – 01 Election restrictions changes – 09/11/2020
M.2021 – 02 Minor Textural Correction to Part-Time Officer By-Law – 09/11/2020
M.2021 – 04 ‘Women and Non-Binary’ PTO name change – 09/11/2020
M.2021 – 05 Should the Chair be allowed the deciding vote on motions to Council? – 30/12/2020
M.2021 – 06 Religious and Faith Representative – 30/12/2020
M.2021 – 07 Creation of Welfare-subgroup – 30/12/2020
M.2021 – 08 Should Council update by-law 5 (and any other relevant by-laws) to clarify the number of votes Council members have? – 30/12/2020
M.2021 – 10 Demand for the University of York to offer an optional blanket extension of six months to all PGR students enrolled at the University of York in the academic year 2019/20, regardless of year of study. – 30/12/2020
M.2021 – 11 Declare a Climate Emergency and create a sustainability policy – 30/12/2020
M.2021 – 12 Creation of a Sustainability Student Working Group – 30/12/2020
M.2021 – 13 Clarification of Two PTO Roles – 30/12/2020
M.2021 – 14 Clarification of Manifesto Mandates – 30/12/2020
M2021 – 15 Advocacy for student parents, carers, and guardians – 30/12/2020
For the GSA to support the Industrial Action – 18/11/2019 – Motion is now GSA policy – you can find it here
Students Sex Worker support Motion – 03/02/2020 – Motion is now GSA policy – you can find it here
Drug Harm Reduction Policy – 29/06/20 – Motion is now GSA policy – you can find it here
Motion to support Industrial Action – 11/02/22 – Motion is now GSA policy – you can find it here

Council Minutes and Agendas
All the minutes and agendas saved from Association Council meetings from 2018/19 - 2021/22
Click here for more info2022/23
- 13th June 2023 – Agenda / Minutes
- 21st February 2023 – Agenda / Minutes
- 12th January 2023 – Agenda / Minutes
2021/22
- 15th March 2022 – Agenda / Minutes
- 10th February 2022 – Agenda / Minutes
- 25th January 2022 – Agenda / Minutes
- 15th December 2021 – Agenda / Minutes
2020/21
2019/20
- 3rd August 2020 – Minutes
- 15th May 2020 – Agenda / Minutes
- 9th March 2020 – Agenda / Minutes
- 3rd February 2020 – Agenda
- 18th November 2019 – Agenda / Minutes
2018/19