The Representative Council is elected through elections

The highest decision-making power within the Student Uunion is held by its the Representative Council. Representative Council is elected through annual elections. The Representative Council is elected through the Representative Council elections every year, where all Student Union members have the right to vote and run as a candidate.

The tasks of the Representative Council include:

• Electing and releasing the Chair and Vice Chair of the Representative Council.
• Appointing and releasing the Chair and members of the board.
• Selecting student representatives for the university’s board and other multi-member bodies as specified in the University of Applied Sciences Act (932/2014) Chapter 4, Section 4, and appointing or releasing auditors or an auditing firm.
• Approving the budget and action plan and setting the guidelines and instructions for the student union’s finances and operations.
• Determining the membership fees and joining fees of the Student Union.
• Selecting the Student Union Central Election Committee.
• Noting the Student Union’s financial statements prepared by the board.
• Noting the Student Union’s annual report prepared by the board.
• Deciding on the approval of the financial statements.
• Granting discharge of responsibility to the board and other accountable individuals.
• Approving necessary rules.
• Deciding on matters that significantly expand or reduce financial operations.
• Deciding on the purchase, sale, mortgaging, or construction of properties.
• Deciding on the official communication methods of the student union.
• Deciding on the student union’s membership in other legal entities.
• Confirming the honorary members of the Student Union.

Meetings of the Council

The Representative Council has meetings around 2-4 times during academic terms.  Meetings are hosted in Finnish. Meetings are held mostly in the Savonia’s facilities on different campuses. Representatives can attend to the meetings also remotely. The Council can hold evening schools before the actual meetings. In this way, issues can be dealt with more broadly and discussed before the actual meeting.

The Representative Council consists of 12 members – elections are held annually in October-November

Twelve (12) members and twelve (12) alternate members are elected to the Representative Council. The representatives are elected by proportional list election. Every member of the student union can establish an electoral list. The electoral list must be in accordance with the values of the Student Union. The list can have 2-12 eligible participants. A student can be nominated only on one list.

The Representative Council elections are held annually in October-November. The organization of the student union’s elections and Representative Council elections is the responsibility of the central election committee elected by the Representative Council, and the elections are further specified in the election regulations approved by the Representative Council. Each Representative Council member has one (1) vote, and the vote can only be used personally.

For more information on the election and tasks of the Representative Council, please refer to the student union’s bylaws.