Working with Students’ Unions: a guide for UCU reps and branches
“The very fabric of the further and higher education system is under threat from the current government. Its policies are more likely to encourage ignorance than to promote education. Plans to increase the cost of accessing universities and colleges will hit millions of ordinary families, crushing ambition and thwarting aspiration.
Meanwhile suggested further cuts to budgets of more than 25% will see an estimated 50,000 college and university staff join the dole queues. While other countries are investing in education to beat recession, this country is cutting back.
That is why we are teaming up with the National Union of Students (NUS). Only by working together can we build an effective coalition to challenge the cuts and call on government to change course and fund our future.”
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt
“This is a crucial year for education. The future of education funding is being hotly debated and we face the threat of the most drastic retrenchment in public spending for sixty years. The student movement has played an important role at moments like these in the past. We must do so again now. To do this we must work with our allies and reach out to those in our communities who will feel the impact of these debates. We need to build for a year of action on a scale that we have not undertaken since the higher education bill six years ago and the first landmark in this year will be our joint demonstration with UCU. If you haven’t already please make contact with your UCU branch and organise to make this the most successful demonstration of recent history.”
Aaron Porter NUS National President
This briefing aims to give UCU representative and branches practical advice and guidance on how they may work with Students’ Unions at a local level to mobilise for the joint NUS and UCU National Demonstration. Whilst many of you have well established relations with your local Students’ Unions we hope that you still find this information useful for building for the national demonstration. For those of you who don’t and those of you who don’t know your newly elected Students’ Union Officers – or if are new to your UCU role please read this resource!
National Demonstration
“Fund Our Future: Stop Education Cuts”
Education changes the lives of individuals, families and communities. Education and skills will be also be key to our economic recovery. An attack on the opportunities education offers is an attack on all of our communities. Jobs, student places, funding for teaching and access itself are at risk from the Coalition Government and together we must fight back to protect ourselves, our values and the future of our communities.
Staff and students in further and higher education have joined together to build an unprecedented coalition to fight against the cuts that have been imposed upon us and our communities, as well as to resist the prospect of higher fees and increasing privatisation in education.
NUS and UCU are therefore be organising a mass national demonstration, ‘Fund Our Future – Stop Education Cuts’ on Wednesday 10 November 2010 in Central London.
Students’ Unions
Students’ Unions are associations of students at a university or college whose principal purposes include representing and promoting the general interests of its members as students. Students’ Unions are constituted as charities that exist to advance education. They therefore act in a similar way to trade unions.
Most Students’ Unions are composed of a directly elected executive committee which will comprise a number of full-time elected officers (sabbaticals). This committee will usually be accountable to an elected student council, which can also comprise clubs or societies representatives or other course reps. However, course rep systems and halls of residence representatives (HE) are not always a part of the Students’ Union and it is important to check those relationships.Note that most officers of Students’ Unions in FE are part time, non-paid volunteers.
To promote good governance, some Students’ Unions(mainly in HE) may also have a board of trustees which appointed people may sit on from outside the organisation to advise it. However, this body will not be involved in the policy decisions or the day to day running of the Students’ Unions. It is worth noting though, that some trade union officials may be appointed as trustees and could be a point of contact.
About NUS
The National Union of Students (NUS) is a voluntary membership organisation that represents its member Students’ Unions. It is a federation of affiliated students unions in the same way that the TUC is a federation of affiliated trade unions. The core values of NUS are equality, democracy and collectivism.
Affiliated and unaffiliated Students’ Unions
More than 600 Students’ Unions are currently affiliated to NUS. This represents around 7 million students within further education and higher education across the UK. A small number of Students’ Unions are not affiliated, they will still run in a similar way to other Students’ Unions but there are no formal links between them and NUS.
Each Students’ Union is autonomous. As they individually and independently affiliate to NUS as organisations, they are therefore not branches of NUS but affiliated constituent members. They receive support, training and representation at a national level from NUS but make their own policies, run their own campaigns and have their own individualised structures. For interaction purposes at a local level, it is therefore probably better to think of NUS as ‘the national union of Students’ Unions’.
Within Students’ Unions the president or education officer will most commonly cover issues related to representation with the university, college or parent institution and therefore be the most likely person to be contacted in relation to issues on campus. For more information on NUS and also a directory of affiliated student unions see and
UCU and NUS
NUS and UCU are deeply concerned about the future of education funding.
At a national level, we have pledged to work together to defend education, reflecting the belief that our sector plays a critical role in mitigating the effects of the economic recession that are still being felt by many, creating the conditions for future prosperity and providing all in our communities with access to the opportunity to learn.
Staff and students are rightly deeply concerned on the impact of any cuts to the student experience or the quality of provision.
UCU and NUS share the values of collectivism and democracy and will defend the right of the autonomous and democratic voices of students and staff to defend their interests.
Dialogue between students and academic staff
It is vital both that dialogue between UCU and NUS continues but also that strong lines of communication are built and maintained by trade union branches and Students’ Unions in order that staff and students are in a position to defend their interests and respect each other’s democratic autonomy and the principles of collectivism.
Our opponents in the debate ahead will seek to divide students and lecturers and we are acutely aware of the dangers in getting drawn into separate battles, with students and lecturers being placed in opposition, despite our numerous shared interests. It is clearly more important now than ever to work together wherever possible to defend education.
In these difficult times NUS and UCU will continue to work together to ensure that the voices of staff and students are heard.
Building relationships
Things to note:
1.NUS and UCU recommend making contact with student officers and Students’ Unions and developing a working relationship as soon as possible.
2.Discuss logistical issues such as travel and funding for the demo and how you might plan to build the campaign locally at the earliest possible opportunity.
3.Students’ Unions have autonomous democratic structures and Students’ Union officers are elected on a mandate to defend their members’ interests and are accountable to their diverse membership.
4.Both NUS and UCU at a national level can help facilitate dialogue between Students’ Unions and UCU branches where a relationship has not yet been built or where historically, tensions exist.
5.You may want to invite your localStudents’ Union officers to branch meetings to discuss the demo or promote certain activities. Student officers may also wish to invite UCU reps to their own meetings to discuss joint work and shared priorities. Regional meetings could also be set up in order to discuss the pooling of transport etc.
6.Event planning will depend on the priority and aims of the Students’ Union, the budget, the timing, and the culture of the campus or area you are trying to organise in. Events will work better at certain times of years than others and on certain campuses than others. Note that most officers of Students’ Unions in FE are part time, non-paid volunteers.
7.Many Officers will be planning their Freshers’ events for the start of the academic year and as such this is a great time to start working with them.
Contacting NUS
NUS have headquarters in London as well as regional offices. For more information call 0871 221 8221 or email
If you are having problems contacting representatives in a Students’ Union, or have a proposal for joint work or a campaign idea it may be useful for you to speak to a regional organiser at NUS. They will be able to offer an overview of Students’ Unions in the area and introductions to the Students’ Union officers at the relevant college or university.
Regional offices
NUS London 0871 221 8221
NUS South (Bristol)0870 896 6492
NUS Midlands (Loughborough)0870 896 6495
NUS North (Lancaster)0870 896 6491
NUS Scotland (Edinburgh)0131 556 6598
NUS/USI (Belfast)028 9024 4641
NUS Wales (Cardiff)029 2068 0070
Emma Green, North West ROKathryn Docherty, North East RO
0797430568007977980861
Emily Cannon, West Midlands ROAl Powell, East Midlands RO
07970296538 07977980850
Mel Lonsdale, South West RODave Gilmore, South West RO
0797798087107825706724
Chris Shelley, Regional Organising Manager,Ben Vulliamy Regional Organising
London and the South Manager, North and Midlands
0781308895807971097039
NB: London Regional Officials to be appointed shortly – please contact UCU campaigns team: or NUS headquarters 0871 221 8221 or email should you have any immediate queries.
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