Affiliation/Re-affiliation documents
Before the year starts, it’s essential that all the below documents are considered by all student activities. Constitution and a Risk Assessment, are compulsory. Budgets are strongly advised at the start of the year but is not compulsory UNLESS your activity wishes to apply for grants, in which case a budget becomes compulsory. The remaining documents are strongly advised to ensure that the student activity operates effectively and within the AUSA regulations.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO??
Pre-AGM (Deadline for the AGM is 1st of April)
- Download Constitution Template, edit, and vote on new Constitution at your AGM. Without a new version of the constitution, your activity will not meet 'Affiliation' requirements.
Post-AGM
- Click 'Committee Contacts' and submit your committee conatcts through the form provided
- Upload both Constitution and Risk Assesment as per the instructions below.
Activities Documents 25-26
Step 1: Log into your activity email account to access the drive
Step 2: Add a new folder in the drive and title it the name of your activity, NO ABBREVIATIONS!
Step 3: Upload both your constitution and your RA - Make sure they are both in the new format, using the templates provided below. If your documents are not in the new format, you will not be approved for affiliation. Please also ensure to title your documents with your activity name - Use the Example: Noodle Appreciation Society for reference - MAKE SURE THE FILES YOU UPLOAD CANNOT BE EDITED!!! (See below guidance)
Congrats on Affiliation. How much easier is this? 😉
Committee Contacts
When new committees are elected all details for the incoming committee should be submitted through - Committee Contacts 25-26
Note: You must be logged into your Student Email in order to complete the committee contacts. If you are unable to see your activity on the selections, please email activities@abdn.ac.uk
Constitution
This document is basically a rulebook that outlines all the guidelines that the student activity must follow to ensure that they operate effectively and don’t break any of AUSA’s or their own specific Byelaws / guidelines.
Please view the template constitution for a guide on how to change/vote on constitution.
If you have any questions regarding the constitution, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with activities@abdn.ac.uk
All Activities must have a constitution in the new format - Constitution Template (download and edit)- Updated 11/3/25 - and it must be uploaded alongside your Risk Assessment in the Activities Documents 25-26 shared drive. Note: You must be logged into your activities 'ausa.org.uk' email in order to upload. Documents can be uploaded by either outgoing or incoming committee.
Risk Assessment
An annual risk assessment is a systematic process of evaluating the potential risks that may be involved in a projected activity or undertaking. These can be risks to staff, volunteers, guests, and reputational risks to both your student activity or AUSA.
Examples: Food poisoning – not following food policy. Slips, trips, and falls – obstruction to dance floor, fire exits, cables not secured.
Your annual Risk Assessment is important to complete, and to include, all possible scenarios for any event, activity, or training session.
Please see below the Risk Assessments for each cluster. Save the spreadsheet as a copy before making edits.
Society Risk Assessment Templates:
Sport Risk Assessment Templates:
All Activities must have a Risk Assessment in the new format - Choose your template above - and it must be uploaded alongside your Constitution in the Activities Documents 25-26 shared drive. Note: You must be logged into your activities 'ausa.org.uk' email in order to upload. Documents can be uploaded by either outgoing or incoming committee. ALL RA'S must have a minimum of 3 additional risks within the 'Activity Specific' tab.
IMPORTANT - Please make sure to not include any personal details on the Risk Assessments!!!
Budget
A student activity budget is essential to ensuring the society, group, or sports club is successful.
A template has been provided for you below to help you detail all of the income and outgoings that you expect to be making during the year.
Please remember that a budget is your best guess, no one can plan it out to the penny a year in advance.
More information and training can be found on the AUSA Skillshub and the template is linked below. If you have any further questions please contact activities@abdn.ac.uk.
Activity Budget Sheet Template
Development plan
This is one of the most important documents that a student activity could have in place and if used correctly, it is highly beneficial to both the presidents and the overall committee.
This document should outline the main goals for all committee members and the overall activity itself for the year ahead. Enabling committees to track their progress and work out when and what support may be needed to enhance their development further.
The development plan should be monitored regularly during committee meetings and before any big decisions are made to ensure that the student activities work stays in line with the vision set out at the start of the year.
Development Plan for Societies and Student Groups
Development Plan for Sports Clubs