Democracy

What is the NUS?

The National Union of Students is one of the largest democratic organisations in Europe with 5.2 million members, NUS has a large responsibility for representation, campaigning and supporting Student Unions at a local level. You will almost certainly know of the famous Discount Card, NUS Extra, getting you deals at Topshop and elsewhere, but NUS is much more than that.

Hallam Union is affiliated to the NUS which means we can take advantage of the vast political and commercial benefits of NUS membership.

How NUS Works…

NUS National Executive Committee is comprised of 27 national officers, some full time but most part time. Together they form the body that runs NUS, carrying out campaign work, supervising research and enacting policy passed at Annual Conference.

Annual Conference is where most of these officers are elected, including the President and five Vice Presidents; Union Development, Higher Education, Society and Citizenship, Further Education and Welfare and Student Rights.

The rest of the National Executive Committee are elected at other relevant student conferences. For example, the LGBT Students Officers are elected by LGBT students each spring, and the President of NUS Wales is elected by students at NUS Wales conference.

Annual Conference involves hundreds of students, and takes place each March or April. Besides electing the national leadership for the following year, it also passes policy on what NUS should be campaigning on and so shapes its priorities. Therefore Annual Conference is the most sovereign representative body of NUS.

Take a look at Jake’s (Your Union President from 11/12) time to shine when he had a motion passed at the NUS conference 2011. Fast forward to 1hr and 29mins. Or if you are really keen to find out about what NUS conference is watch the whole thing!

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How You Can Get Involved

Throughout the year, there are many opportunities to get involved with NUS. The key way is by submitting policy to national conference or by attending Conference.

Submitting policy

Look out for notice from Hallam Union on how to submit policy. Any student can submit a motion to Union Council, which will be discussed and voted upon to see whether or not it should be passed on to the next stage for discussion at Annual Conference.

What is the NUS Conference?

The Annual Conference is where most of the NUS officers are elected including the President and five Vice Presidents covering the following areas; Union Development, Higher Education, Society and Citizenship, Further Education and Welfare and Student Rights. NUS officer elections are similar to the elections Hallam Union holds to elect its officer team, except NUS officers represent students from across the country.

The Annual Conference involves hundreds of students, and takes place each March or April. Besides electing the national leadership for the following year, students get to vote on the policies and decide the direction and priorities for the NUS for the following year.

Each year, every student Union that is affiliated to NUS is invited to send a delegation of elected students to represent their Union and members at the Annual Conference. As Hallam Union is affiliated with the NUS we invited any hallam student to run for election for a chance to go to the conference. Every student will get the chance to vote for the person they would like to go to the NUS conference on their behalf. The Union president, attends as delegate leader.

Why Should I nominate myself?

to have something great to put on CV
to represent the views of over 30,000 Hallam students
to find out about the policies the NUS is proposing for 2012/13

Any Hallam student can nominate themselves for this unique opportunity. You don’t need any prior experience or knowledge of the NUS, we will help you with everything you need to know