All about NUS

NUS is a voluntary membership organisation comprising a confederation of local student representative organisations in colleges and universities throughout the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland which have chosen to affiliate and which pay a membership fee. We have 600 constituent members (CMs) - virtually every college and university in the country- and as such we represent the interests of over 7 million students.

NUS is one of the largest student organisations in the world. We provide research, representation, training and expert advice for individual students and students' unions. Each year we train over 3,000 students' union officers.

NUS fights barriers to education, empowers students to shape both a quality learning experience and the world around them, and supports influential, democratic and well-resourced students’ unions.

In doing so, we have three values at our core:

Equality

We believe there should be equality of opportunity for everyone to participate fully in a society that celebrates diversity.

Democracy

Our policies and priorities must be student-led and students’ union-focused through building open, transparent and accessible democratic structures that increase performance and strengthen accountability.

Collectivism

Students and students’ unions are more effective when they organise together locally, nationally and internationally: unity is our strength.

Students' unions, guilds and associations

Students' unions are the backbone of NUS and are integral to student life. They provide a broad range of services from welfare advice and information to clubs and societies, bars, shops and catering services, student community action projects and charity fundraising events.

Students' unions also play a vital role in facilitating the representation of students' views within the institution. Students' union officers often sit on the board of governors of the college or university and students' unions help student course representatives at a departmental level as well as supporting students in academic appeals.

Elected student officers conduct the affairs of the students' union and implement policy. Every student has the opportunity to take part in making decisions on policy and areas of work through general meetings or elected councils. In larger students' unions, some elected officers spend a sabbatical year working full time for the students' union whilst many unions also employ professional staff. Students' unions decide whether they wish to affiliate to the National Union of Students.

Every constituent member of NUS pays an annual subscription fee. This is calculated by a number of means, depending on the number of full-time and part-time students who are members of the union and the amount of money the union receives from their college or university.

The funds raised from affiliation fees are used to fund the campaigns and activities of the National Union, including the running of all of the democratic structures in which the union is entitled to take part.

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19 Mandela Street
London NW1 0DU

Tel: 0871 221 8221
Fax: 0871 221 8222
Textphone: 020 7380 6649