The Students' Union
What is the Students' Union?
The Students' Union is an organization which, although it's attached to the university, is completely independent. The Students' Union run by students and it's there to make sure that the university gives the students a fair deal, and to basically improve students' lives.
What does it do?
The role of the students' union is basically to make students' lives better. Every student union is different, but basically they organise an awful lot of events. You'd have the bars run by the students' union, the shops, etc. They also help out on independent events like Freshers' Fair. You can join sports clubs and societies. You can get representation and advice from the students' union. Also, they might even organise a nurse or doctor.
Who runs the Students' Union?
The students' union is run by a team of elected students. They're elected by all the students at that particular university, so it's the students at the university who run the union. There are also part-time students who will do various representational roles, like an LGBT officer or a nursing students' officer, who are there to run the union for a specific group, and they're all supported by a member of full-time staff as well.
What issues will the union help me with?
The students' union can help you with a number of issues, be they academic or social. On the academic side, they can help you apply for things like mitigating circumstances or put in a complaint about the university. On the social side, they run a number of sports clubs, societies, volunteering events, and fund raising events, which students can get involved with. They might even offer a training program so students can learn some transferable skills for when you go out to work.
How can I find out about my rights as a student?
A lot of students don't realise that they actually have rights at university. You might find out that your students' union has a student charter which explains your rights. If you're not sure, you can go to your student union website, or go to the NUS website, to find out more.
What is a course representative?
A course representative is somebody who will go to departmental meetings and actually take the views of students to the course director and the lecturers so that they can be addressed.
How do I become a course representative?
If you want to become a course representative in your students' union, you should speak to your lecturer. At the beginning of each year, there's usually elections run for class representative, at which point you'll put up your hand and say, "I'd like to represent the class" and then people will vote for you. Generally, the person who stands will get in. Not many people apply, but it's a really good job if you do it.
How can I get involved with my Students' Union?
Getting involved with the Students' Union is really easy, because they're really friendly people. You can just turn up and ask questions, and there will always be somebody to answer them. Alternatively, you can go to the Union website or read their handbook, or even better, at the beginning of term they run something called "Freshers Fair", where you can meet all the sports clubs and societies, and join up with volunteering events, fundraising - whatever you're interested in.
