Welcome!
Hello, I'm NUS National President Wes Streeting and welcome to our national campaigns' page.
In this section you'll find out about all the national campaign work that we, and you, are doing. As the year progresses you'll find more and more resources to support your campaigns as well as up to date campaign news. So add us to your favourites and keep checking us regularly. If you have any comments or suggestions about what you would like to see on this page email campaigns@nus.org.uk. We'd also like to highlight your own work towards the national objectives - so send pictures, videos and news clippings (along with a short explanation of what you did and who was involved) to the same address.
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Latest convenor blogs
Education Funding Update
Round up of activities at the start of the year.
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 24/09/2008
Broke and Broken at TUC Conference
Report from TUC fringe event
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 09/09/2008
Broke and Broken press coverage
Some of the news articles that the report attracted
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 08/09/2008
Report on young people and debt
Rainer report ‘Why do the Young Pay More?’
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 03/06/2008
Higher fees will damage education, union leader to tell conference
Opening day speech slams market in education.
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 28/05/2008
Political strategy update
Over turned curfews, demonstrations and more
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 27/02/2008
Education Funding Campaign Actions and more
News including a network for staff with campaign responsibilities and a students in the community briefing.
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 08/02/2008
Political Strategy Update
Read more information about the work of the political strategy unit in the past fortnight.
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 19/11/2007
Students to apply for loans earlier
Universities secretary John Denham tells the Times that, in a bid to widen access, potential undergraduates will be able to apply for student loans at the same time as they apply for courses.
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 06/11/2007
Political Strategy Update
Read more about the work of the political strategy unit over the last fortnight.
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 31/10/2007
Political Strategy Update
A summary of the goings on in the public affairs and campaigns department.
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 16/10/2007
Praise for NUS in the Independent
Anna Fazackerley: We need a public debate on fees - soon
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 11/10/2007
Political Strategy Update
A summary of NUS' campaigns and public affairs work.
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 24/09/2007
Tories plan tax breaks to aid universities
Universities would get massive U.S-style tax breaks to help ease their funding crisis under radical plans to be set out by the Conservatives this week.
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 15/08/2007
Tuition Fees: Ten Years on from Dearing
The Dearing report broke a taboo by asking students to pay for their university education. But 10 years on, fees remain highly controversial.
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 24/07/2007
Leading article: Set them all free to fix their own fees and other stories
News round up
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 27/06/2007
Debt burden for students rises to a record £3 billion
And other stories
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 14/06/2007
Finland's SDP Slates Budget
The SDP joined the National Union of Students in criticising the government's plans to raise the student grant only next year.
Blogged by: National Campaigns on 29/05/2007
Consultation on alternative models for higher education funding
Added on 09/12/2008
Final chance to submit to our alternative visions of higher education funding.
NUS has an open consultation to help us develop alternative policies on higher education funding. We have been consulting with the membership and sector stakeholders to develop new approaches that are fairer and more sustainable. NUS want to offer proactive and principled solutions to the funding debate, and to do this we need your opinions. It is vital that students and student unions submit their answers to our consultation and in doing so contribute to developing these ideas.
Consultation paper, please email responses to fairerfunding@nus.org.uk
The consultation ends on the 17th December. The second stage will begin in the new year. Keep checking the website for more information.
Day of Action Round-Up
Added on 09/12/2008
The final round of students in the red activities was marked with Nottingham Trent’s Students' Union ‘How much does your education cost DEMO!’ Over a hundred people turned up on the bitterly cold day to demonstrate their support for a fairer funding system.
Royal Holloway, Wolverhampton, Gloucester, Bath Students Union and last but not least the Liverpool Guild of Students held the latest in a series of debates. The events offered an opportunity to challenge local representatives and informed the SUs submission to NUS' alternative visions for education funding consultation. Cumbria also got in on the act by hosting a flash mob on the local streets.
Over forty students were involved in various days of actions designing their own activities to get the issues of education funding out to their local communities and tailoring them to whatever works best for their students. A vast array of events took place and unions were particularly successful in securing local media coverage.
Over all thousands of people were engaged by tha activities of hundreds of students from across the country who partook in the day of action. The vast array of activities targetted different sections in the general public including school children, FE students, councillors, VCs, MPs and the readers and listeners of the local media.
Leeds World Class Funding Campaign
Added on 24/11/2008
NUS' Anual Conference resolved that the state should increase its contribution from general taxation to match the OECD average. Then in October 2007 Gordon Brown stated, “…our ambition must be nothing less than to be world class in education”. Yet only three OECD countries in Europe and North America spend less than the UK on higher education (per GDP). More information .
The average OECD country’s expenditure on Higher Education is 1.1 per cent per GDP with expenditure in the UK at just 0.9 per cent. Based on 2005 figures if this average were met there would be an extra £2.5 billion in our Higher Education system per year. This additional income for Universities could increase the number of lecturers by 67 per cent or reduce fees by £1000 per student per year. If we are to have world class education we need a world class funding system to achieve and support it.
Leeds have tabled Early Day Motion (EDM 2238) calling for the Government to meet the OECD average spend on higher education has already been submitted by Colin Burgon MP and has received twenty supporting signatures.
You can join Leeds and support this campaign by contacting your MP and asking them to sign EDM 2238, Leeds University Union World Class Higher Education Funding Campaign
Day of Action
Added on 07/11/2008
Thousands of people were engaged by tha activities of hundreds of students from across the country who partook in the day of action. The vast array of activities targetted different sections in the general public including school children, FE students, councillors, VCs, MPs and the readers and listeners of the local media.
Government Cuts £100m from Student Support
Added on 29/10/2008
The Government has announcement that students starting university in 2009 will only be eligible for a partial grant if their parents earn up to £50,020. Meaning financial support for future students is to be cut.
John Denham announced these plans today 29th October. Read full statement.
Take action
We are urging student unions to take action now and issue a press release to the newsdesks of their local media.
NUS have produced a model press release for you to use. There is room at the bottom of the press release to add details of your 'students in the red' activities.
If we are to win a fairer funding system we will need the wide support of the general public as well as the student community. Sharing this issue with the community is a first step in engaging people in the campaign.
Result
The Guild of Students at Liverpool did this and recieved this press coverage.
News coverage
A full briefing will be available on this issue shortly and we will be refining some of our messages around the day of action on the 5th so keep checking the website for more information.
Press Support for the Day of Action
Added on 23/10/2008
Regional NUS Press Release
We hope to issue a regional press releases about the activity in your region. If you would like your union's activity included send NUS the details of what you are doing, a contact name and number. If you send us this information before Tuesday 28th October we will include it the event grid we will issue the week. If you send your information before the Tuesday 4th November we can include it in the release on this day.
Model Union Press Release
We have also produced a model press release for your union to issue. We would strongly recommend that before you issue it that you localise the content with local and regional examples and details for your local media. With the results of the American elections dominating the national news, local media outlets will be looking for local news.
The Consultation on Alternative Funding Models is Now Open
Added on 21/10/2008
NUS is now embarking on the next stage of our education funding campaign.
NUS is opening a consultation to help us develop alternative policies on higher education funding. We will be consulting with the membership and sector stakeholders to develop new approaches that are fairer and more sustainable. NUS want to offer proactive and principled solutions to the funding debate, and to do this we need your opinions. It is vital that students and student unions submit their answers to our consultation and in doing so contribute to developing these ideas.
Consultation paper, please email responses to fairerfunding@nus.org.uk
The first consultation stage ends on the 17th December. The second stage will begin in the new year. Keep checking the website for more information.
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Frequently read
Campaign Networks
Information about how to get in touch with other campaigners.
Education funding campaign activities for 2008
We have produced a number of suggested activities for the education funding campaign. We hope these are activities will help your union on a local level as well as NUS nationally.
We hope everything you need is here but if anything is missing do not hesitate to contact us.
Introduction and lobby briefing
Effective lobbying tips
They say, you say
Presentation from regionals
NUS evidence briefing to the Innovation, Universities, Skills and Science Select Committee on OFFA
Campaign Resource Library
Accomodation
Plagiarism
South East weighting
SHAG week
Shhhh!
24 hour library access