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Agenda
National Executive Council
Meeting of: Place: Date and time: 29th meeting of the National Executive Council of the National Union of Students UNISON centre, 130 Euston Road London, NW1 2AY Thursday 20 February 2014, 11:00am

Members: Zones

Toni Pearce (President & Chair) Joe Vinson & Amy Smith (Further Education) Rachel Wenstone & Tom Flynn (Higher Education) Dom Anderson & Hugh Murdoch (Society & Citizenship) Raechel Mattey & Nosheen Dad (Union Development) Colum McGuire & Chantel Le Carpentier (Welfare) Aaron Kiely & Malia Bouattia (Black Students) Hannah Paterson & Jawanza Ipyana (Disabled Students) Sky Yarlett & Finn McGoldrick (LGBT) Kelley Temple & Tabz O'Brien Butcher (Womens) Daniel Stevens & Arianna Tassinari (International Students) Josh Rowlands & Emma Barnes (Mature & Part Time Students) Amy Gilligan (Postgraduate Students) Stephanie Lloyd & Rhiannon Hedge (NUS Wales) Gordon Maloney & Robert Foster (NUS Scotland) Rebecca Hall & Fergal McFerran (NUS-USI) Jeni-Marie Pittuck, Rosie Huzzard, Harry Fox, Ben Dilks, James McAsh, Peter Smallwood, Paul Abernethy, Charles Barry, Chris Clements, Jessica Goldstone, Edmund Schluessel, Marc McCorkell, Kirat Raj Singh. Rosie Huzzard, Matt Stanley, Anna Chowcat Amy Davies, Meg Evans, Alex Jones, Graeme Wise, Ben Kernighan, Hilary Carter

Liberation

Sections

Nations

Block

Apologies: In attendance:

No

Item

Action

Paper

Lead

Time

1. Introduction and administration 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Welcome and Presidents opening remarks Apologies, quorum count and notice of meeting Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest from the agenda Minutes of the last meeting 20th November 2013 Actions and matter arising from the last meeting 20th November 2013 Note Note Approve Discuss Verbal Verbal Verbal 1.4 1.5 TP TP TP TP TP 11:05 11:10 11:00

2. Accountability and NEC Member Reports 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 National President report and questions Zone reports and questions Liberation reports and questions Sections reports and questions Nations reports and questions Scrutiny and Group Committees report and questions Report from Block members on Member Unions Approve Approve Note Note Note Note Note 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Verbal Verbal TP VPs 11:15 11:25 11:50 12:00 12:10 12:20 12:25

3. Papers 3.1 3.2 Update on NUS Group KPIs Equality and Diversity Report Note Note 3.1 3.2 TP TP 12:30 12:35

4. Consultation 4.1 LUNCH 4.2 Strategic Plan Discuss 4.2 TP 13:45 Update from UCU on industrial action with Q&A Discuss 4.1 TP 12:45

5. Motions 5.1 5.2 6. AOB NEC motion text to National Conference Ordinary Motions to NEC Approve Approve 5.1 5.2 TP TP 15:30 16:00

Date of Next Meeting

11:00 13 May 2014 16:00 14 May 2014 this will include an overnight in London

Minutes
National Executive Council Meeting of: Place: Date and time: 28th meeting of the National Executive Council of the National Union of Students Unison Centre, 130 Euston Road, London, NW1 2AY Thursday 23rd January 2014, 11:00

Members present: Zones

Toni Pearce (President & Chair) Joe Vinson and Amy Smith (Further Education) Rachel Wenstone and Tom Flynn (Higher Education) Dom Anderson and Hugh Murdoch (Society & Citizenship) Raechel Mattey and Nosheen Dad (Union Development) Chantel LeCarpentier (Welfare) Aaron Kiely (Black Students) Hannah Paterson & Jawanza Ipyana (Disabled Students) Sky Yarlett & Finn McGoldrick (LGBT) Kelley Temple & Tabz OBrien Butcher (Womens) Daniel Stevens (International Students) Josh Rowlands (Mature & Part Time Students) Anna Chowcat & Amy Gilligan (Postgraduate Students) Gordon Maloney & Robert Foster (NUS Scotland) Stephanie Lloyd & Rhiannon Hedge (NUS Wales) Rebecca Hall (NUS-USI)

Liberation

Sections

Nations

Block Charles Barry, Jessica Goldstone, Marc McCorkell, Kirat Raj Singh, Edmund Schluessel, James McAsh, Paul Abernethy. Apologies: Rhiannon Durrans, Fergal McFerran, Ben Dilks, Colum McGuire, Malia Bouattia, Rosie Huzzard, Arianna Tassinari, Emma Barnes.

Absences: In attendance:

Harry Fox, Peter Smallwood, Chris Clements, Jeni-Marie Pittuck Amy Davies, Meg Evans, Beth Button, Peter Robertson, Hilary Carter, Ben Kernighan, Alex Jones, Dave Farbrother.

1. Introductory & Administration 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Toni Pearce (TP) opened the meeting and welcomed members to NEC. Apologies were noted. There were no conflicts of interests declared. Minutes of the meeting held on 20th November 2013. Remove Paul Abernethy and Kirat Raj Singh from attendance list. 1.6 Matters arising from the minutes

The minutes were approved. TP noted that the Trustee Board minutes were not included because they had not been approved by the Trustee Board yet and were still in draft form. TP noted that the Policy Cycle Review presentation was given at the Policy Development Convention but could be circulated at the request of NEC members. TP also noted the Key Performance Indicators and that progress on these had been embedded into officer reports. 2. Reports and accountability 2.1 Presidents Priorities Toni Pearce: Report was taken as read; TP added the following: Tom Flynn asked for TP to elaborate on her meeting with Vince Cable and BIS. TP discussed the sale of the student loan book with Vince Cable, who gave assurances that there would be no changes to terms and conditions following sale of the loanbook. Vince Cable also gave assurances that he had no plans to implement private financing for Post graduate education. Other discussions included NUS work with BIS on employment, especially around unpaid internships and also the Women in Leadership priority. TP also updated on her meeting with Tristram Hunt and discussed Labours intentions for EMA, cuts to Further Education funding and Labours plans to reinstate the requirement for teachers in FE to be qualified. CB asked about the breakdown of expenditure for each of the Zones, Liberation and Sections areas of the organisation. CB also asked about TPs trip to Israel and whether there was a cost to the organisation. TP clarified that there was no cost to the organisation. Gordon Maloney asked about the use of the term Palestinian settlement, which will be changed in the minutes. GM asked TP to speak more on the trip. TP reiterated what she learned from the trip. James McAsh asked about elections at National Conference and what TP was doing to encourage people to run for election at National Conference.

Dom Anderson praised TP for NUS press release on the passing of Nelson Mandela. Hugh Murdoch asked about voter registration, specifically in Scotland for the referendum. HM asked what NUS were doing to encourage voter registration in Scotland. TP updated on the work of the Assistant Community Organisers and the work around National Voter Registration Day. GM added that NUS Scotland was about to launch information on how to register for a postal vote. The Assistant Community Organiser for Scotland has also just started. Edmund Schluessel asked about how NUS had responded to the mandates passed in the Strike motion that was passed at the last NEC. TP responded to say that she believed all the mandates had been fulfilled.

2.2 Zone Convenors gave updates on their areas of work. Joe Vinson: Report was taken as read but Joe Vinson (JV) updated on some other areas of work: Since the report being submitted, the Government has announced a 17.5% cut to the Further Education budget. JV talked about the Day of Action happening on February 14th. JV and Colum McGuire have been working on developing a new financial support scheme for 16-19

years olds. This is due to several political parties talking about their intention in this area, and we wanted to influence their policy making process before they come to a final decision.
CB asked about the Policy Papers that were mentioned in the workplan. JV noted that he had to deprioritise this due to other campaigns work but will be launching a Manifesto for Further Education at National Conference. GM asked about what the proposals were for FE student support plans. Also added that Scottish MPs get to vote on issues affecting English students and suggested doing more joined up work in lobbying Scottish MPs on this issue. Robert Foster asked about the work JV was doing around a universal admission systems and what consultation had happened with the membership and the issues this might have for Scottish students. TP added that the work on a universal admission system was a mandate from National Conference and was about making applications more accessible, not necessarily replicating UCAS for further education.

Rachel Wenstone: Report taken as read. Rachel Wenstone talked about the work thats been happening with the Student Opportunities funding and what students unions can do to help this work in terms of lobbying. RW also talked about the NSP and the great successes that had come fro m the work of students unions, resulting in 28million going into students pockets. RW spoke about an upcoming meeting with the Regulatory Partnership Group (RPG) and noted that she was continuing to lobby to ensure students unions are recognised in the regulation of HE. Sky Yarlett asked generally about what was happening with the UCU strike in terms of the two-hour strike currently happening and also the position on Vice-Chancellor pay increases. RW had met with UCEA and challenged them on the pay rise for Vice-Chancellors. As well as talking about VC pay, RW also talked about universities paying the living wage.

On the UCU strikes, TP gave an update from Sally Hunt, the General Secretary of UCU. UCU will be seeking legal recovery for lost wages for lecturers who are striking for two hours but are being docked a full days wages. TF asked about who was on the negotiating team for the Vice-Chancellor pay negotiations; RW does not know if that information was public but will find out. JM thanked RW for the work that she had done around Cops off Campus and asked about the possibility of creating a legal plan for students. RW noted that she has looked into it and whilst NUS is not in a financial position to provide legal costs for students, it does have a number of partnerships with organisations who do pro-bono work. RW added that she had been working with activists at Sussex University who have been receiving pro-bono advice, as well as encouraging students to use the Office of the Independent Adjudicator. Dom Anderson: Report taken as read. DA noted that he had sent a letter to the Sikh Students Alliance re: the 1984 Yes its a Genocide campaign as mandated and would be circulating it after the meeting. On National voter registration Day, NUS will be working with Westminster Kingsway college and setting up a voter registration station. DA will be visiting an Amazon factory, having raised the issue of workers rights following an undercover investigation into Amazons practices. DA will report back to NEC. GM added that DA had been doing some work with NUS Scotland to get the Students Green Fund extended to Scotland. Steph Lloyd and Rebecca Hall added that DA was also working to extend the Green Fund to Wales and Northern Ireland as well. DA apologised that his report was late. Raechel Mattey: Report was taken as read but Raechel Mattey (RM) updated on a couple of areas of work. RM updated on the NUS London meeting that had taken place since her report was submitted. 80 student officers from 30 students union across London attended and RM praised the quality of the discussions, as well as updating on who had been elected to the working group. RM updated that the view of what NUS London should be was quite mixed, which she felt was positive. RM added that there were questions around who the membership of NUS London should be, taking into account things like satellite campuses. JM congratulated RM on the NUS London day but asked why RM had met with University of London without the knowledge of ULU. RM clarified that this was a update meeting and no decisions were taken. London Higher were also present at the meeting as they are keen to work with NUS London. Josh Rowlands stated that he had been contacted by the Learner Voice Practioners Network who felt that there wasnt enough notice for the meeting. RM noted an error on the mailbase that prevented emails going out to students before Christmas but was working on ways to get more students from Further Education to the meetings.

Colum McGuire Report was taken as read. DA congratulated Colum McGuire for the responses to the housing consultation. 2.3 Liberation priorities were outlined to note Black Students Campaign To note. Aaron Kiely talked about Black Students Winter Conference and some of the speakers that attended the event. AK will be giving evidence to a select committee on Race and Higher Education next week. AK has submitted evidence to the Home Offices Stop and Search consultation. KRS asked AK about upcoming elections and what the Black Students Campaign was doing to encourage Black students to stand in students union elections and the kind of support Black students running in election facing racism. The campaign has produced information on how to write manifestos, tips on public speaking and campaigning. AK noted that the Campaign was part of a broader movement opposing racism and had been working with partner organisations to fight against racism. DA asked what resources in the Black Students Campaign were being used in terms of unemployment for young black people. AK talked about partnerships with other organisations and the Black Manifesto for 2015 in the lead up to the General Election. DA also asked about what the campaign was doing to tackle the sexism that black women often face. AK updated that there was a lot of work being done by women on the committee around this issue, such as womens only seminars and talks at conferences. AK also noted that Black Students Conference was attended by a majority of women. Rhiannon Hedge asked about whether any work was being done around agricultural migrant workers, given that the National Farmers Union had been talking about the issue . AK responded that no work was specifically taking place around the racism that migrant agricultural workers were facing but that there was work being done to broadly tackle anti-migrant rhetoric. Disabled Students Campaign To note. Hannah Paterson talked about the work around Disabled Students Conference and the work around the governance review in the campaign that will be voted on at Disabled Students Conference. 57 organisations had signed the Time to Change pledge. There are a number of Anti-ATOS demonstrations happening across the UK which NUS are supporting and taking part in. Jawanza Ipyana added that the demonstrations were being co-ordinated by Disabled People Against the Cuts and how students unions could get involved with this work. BIS are still in consultation on the Disabled Students Allowance.

HP has been working on mitigated circumstances. HP has also been invited to talk part in some work around disabled sport. CB asked about what was happening with the Accessibility working group; HP gave an update on the work that had been happening with accessibility and how this was going to manifest itself in terms of Conferences and events. LGBT Campaign To note. Finn McGoldrick updated on Sports Gay and the action that was taking place on February 1st around the Winter Olympics and Russias anti-LGBT laws. NUS LGBT Campaign are co-ordinating a response with Amnesty. Research is currently ongoing into Real Educational Change for LGBT students and preliminary findings will be released in February. There is also a lot of work about the employment experiences of LGBT people and problems around the HEAR in terms of outing students. Working on LGBT Conference planning. SY talked about Sports Gay and the objectives of the protest. Womens campaign The report was taken as read and to note. 2.4 Sections report: Daniel Stevens: To note. TP noted a major success in the International Students Campaign. The Home Office has developed an improved set of service standards for international students when they are applying for their visas, including a 15 day turnaround time for all out of country student visas and a commitment that applications will not be refused on the basis of omissions or errors. 2.5 Nations report: NUS Wales Stephanie Lloyd The biggest project has been around the Education review that has been happening. Lots of work has been done around preparing unions for the education review. SL has been doing a lot of work around transport for FE students, especially around college mergers and campuses spanning large areas. ES asked about the Pound in Your Pocket survey that was currently out. ES asked why there was a question on graduate tax when NUS Wales has policy on free education. Rebecca Hall clarified that the survey had to be exactly the same as the England survey in order for the data to be comparable.

NUS Scotland Gordon Maloney Report taken is read. Around student support, student support packages will go up with inflation in FE and just above inflation in HE. NUS Scotland has won the UKs first postgraduate support package. NUS Scotland have been commissioned by the Scottish Government to research the kind of support that asylum seekers and refugees have in terms of accessing further and higher education. In terms of Student Finance, GM is working with the Scottish government to tweak some of the terms and conditions of student loans. Scottish government has also agreed to fixing international student fees. In terms of Vice-Chancellor pay, NUS Scotland is close to securing students union and trade union representation on remuneration panels. DA asked about some of the successes that NUS Scotland has achieved and in terms of the independence referendum, whether these successes would still be carried out. GM responded that he thought the narrative was interesting; that Scotland is often seen as an outlier in the UK but actually it was the rest of the UK that was the outlier in Europe. NUS USI Rebecca Hall Report taken as read, but Rebecca Hall gave an update. Since the report, RH, TP and Joe OConnor (The President of USI) have held the Trilateral meeting. Moving forward with all-Ireland training which will allow students unions in Northern Ireland to take advantage of training from NUS, USI and NUS USI without having to travel to three events in different locations. Have held a Voter Registration event with the Assistant Community Organiser for Belfast. Marc McCorkell congratulated RH for the press coverage that she had received for the Haass talks and how it was great that NUS-USI was being seen as a voice for young people in Northern Ireland. RH also gave an update on what was happening now following the Haass talks. FMCG added her congratulations on the work that RH and NUS-USI was doing with teaching training colleges in Northern Ireland (One Catholic, one Protestant). RH elaborated on the work that was happening and the joint events that were taking place between the two students unions, including training for part -time officers and class reps. RH has been working with both students unions to come up with a joint vision for the future of teacher training. 3. Organisation Reports 3.1 TP presented the Estimates 2014-5 paper. The Estimates predict that NUS Group will make the same amount of money as last year. TP outlined the headlines of the Estimates and noted that NEC approves the budgets to be sent to National Conference to be approved. One of the increased costs comes from the decision to have two full-time LGBT officers. TF asked about whether there were any aspirations to subsidise Zone Conferences further in future. TP noted that they were break-even events but in future, the organisation should aim to increase the capacity. JM added that he agreed with TF and that he believed that affiliation fees should go up in order for democratic events to

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be free, which was a more progressive way. TP responded that she felt that the feeling from students unions was that they wanted affiliation fees to go down and that she would feel more comfortable with this debate taking place at Conference with students unions. TP outlined the process for submitting challenges to the Estimates. NEC approved the Estimates to be sent to National Conference. 5. Consultation 5.1 Priority Work There was a consultation around community organising and National Voter Registration Day. 6. Priority Motion Priority motion: New Deal for the Next Generation Speech for: Toni Pearce Amendment 1 Speech for: James McAsh Speech against: None Vote: Passed Amendment 2 Speech for: James McAsh Speech against: Rhiannon Hedge Vote: Falls Back to main motion Speech against: None Summation: James McAsh Vote: Passes Motions: Motion 1: A Review that matters to everyone, not just Wales Speech for: Steph Lloyd Speech against: None VOTE: Passes Procedural motion received to change the order paper. ES spoke to move motion 9 to be debated next. RW spoke against moving the motion. Procedural motion: falls. The order paper remains the same. Motion 2: For a United Europe with Open Borders Speech for: Gordon Maloney Amendment 2.1 Speech for: Steph Lloyd Speech against: James McAsh Vote: Passes

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Interrelationship if amendment 2.1 passes, we can only take Add parts on the next two amendments because any amendment to replace or delete things are now redundant because amendment 2.1 seeks to delete all and replace. Amendment 2.2 Speech for: Edmund Schluessel Speech against: Rachel Wenstone Parts: Parts to remove Add Resolves 2 from Amendment 2.2 Speech for parts being removed: James McAsh Speech against parts being removed: Edmund Schluessel Vote on parts: Passes Back to amendment 2.2 Vote: Falls Amendment 2.3 Speech for: Charles Barry Speech against: None Vote: Passes Back to the main motion as amended Speech against: None Vote: Passes Motion 3: 3 Cosas Campaign Speech for: James McAsh Speech against: None Parts have been submitted to delete Resolves 4. Speech for deleting parts: Rhiannon Hedge Speech against deleting parts: Gordon Maloney Vote to remove parts: Passes Parts are removed. VOTE: Passes Motion 4: Cops off campus! Speech for: Amy Gilligan Amendment 4.1 Speech for: Chantel LeCarpentier Speech against: Sky Yarlett Parts have been submitted to remove Believes 1 Speech to remove parts: Tabz OBrien Butcher Speech against removing parts: Finn McGoldrick Vote on parts being removed: Falls Parts are kept Back to amendment 4.1 Vote: Passes

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Amendment 4.2 Speech for: Rachel Wenstone Speech against: Edmund Schluessel Parts have been submitted to keep Resolves 4 from Amendment 4.2, which would seek to delete it from the main motion. Speech for Resolves 4 being kept: James McAsh Speech against Resolves 4 being kept: Rachel Wenstone Vote on parts being kept: Falls Parts are removed from the amendment. Parts have been submitted to keep Resolves 5 (bullet point 2) in the main motion Speech for keeping parts: Edmund Schluessel Speech against keeping parts: Rachel Wenstone Vote to keep parts: falls Parts are removed. (Recorded vote)

RW Ag

HM Ag

ND Ag

JR Ag

KT Ag

TOBB Ag

HP Ag

JRI Ag

TF Ag

AC Ag

GM Abs

RF Ag

JM Fo

DA Ag

CB Ag

MMCC Ag

JG Ag

SL Ag

SY Abs

RHH Ag

RH Ag

KRS Ag

FMCG Ag

CL Ag

AS Ag

JV Ag

DS Ag

AK Fo

MS Fo

ES Fo

AG Fo

Vote on amendment 4.2: Passes Amendment 4.3 - Withdrawn Vote on motion as amended: Passes Interrelationship: If 4.3 passes, this will delete the main motion and replace with the text of the motion, but amendments 4.1 and 4.2 would still apply. Motion 5: Focus E15 mothers Procedural motion that this motion is referred to another body. Kelley Temple spoke to refer this motion to the Womens Campaign committee. Speech for procedural motion: Kelley Temple Speech against procedural motion: None Vote: Passes Motion 6: Stand up to racism and fascism supporting UN Anti-Racism Day 2014 Speech for: Aaron Kiely Amendment 6.1 Speech for: Aaron Kiely Speech against: Charles Barry Vote: Passes

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Back to the main motion Speech against: None Vote: Passes Motion 7: Stop the privatisation of student debt (AK accepted the amendment to the motion.) Speech for: Aaron Kiely Speech against: None Vote: Passes Motion 8: Stop the Lobbying Bill Speech for: Toni Pearce Amendment 8.1 Speech for: Gordon Maloney Speech against: None Vote: Passes Back to main motion as amended Speech against: None Vote: Passes Motion 9: Support the strike Speech for: Edmund Schluessel Amendment 9.1 (Accepted by the proposer into the main motion) Amendment 9.2 Speech for: Charles Barry Speech against: Gordon Maloney Vote: Falls Back to main motion Speech against: Hannah Paterson Vote: Passes AOB: TP outlined the process for submitting the NEC motion to National Conference. Action list: Item 1 2 Action Remove PA and KRS from attendance list Change Palestinian settlement in minutes Lead ME ME Deadline Next meeting Next meeting Progress

Resolutions: Priority Zone Proposal Conference Believes: 1. Continued attacks on the prospects of students both in education and in their communities represent a whole generation let down by those with power

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2. A feeling of powerlessness and precariousness is increasingly common among the rising generation, squeezed by global recession and biting financial pressures, uncertain about its prospects and its future 3. We too often feel let down by politicians who fail to speak on our behalf in a world where the odds are already stacked against us 4. Young people and students prospects continue to worsen due to rising unemployment and living costs 5. Evidence from Ipsos Mori public opinion polling shows more than two thirds of people believe the UK government does not adequately consider future generations in the decisions it makes today 6. The next UK general election is due to take place on Thursday 7 May 2015 Conference further believes: 1. At the 2010 general election, just 44 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 voted, compared 76 per cent of the over 65s 2. The introduction of individual voter registration (IER) threatens to further reduce the number of students and young people voting 3. The gulf in voting levels between the generations leaves young people losing out in policy terms 4. That NUS approach to the general election needs to be both local and national, supporting students to win locally and on a national level. 5. To achieve a new deal for the next generation we will need public support, and this is best achieved through working together with people in the communities we live in and finding common cause. 6. That NUS analysis of the 2011 census data demonstrates that there are over 60 constituencies in the UK with over 10 per cent full time students, and that the strength of the student voice and the student vote should be reaffirmed at every opportunity. Conference Resolves: 1. To campaign for a new deal for the next generation across the themes of education, work and community 2. To use the opportunity of the next General Election to win for students both locally and nationally 3. To continue and develop the new campaigning partnership between NUS and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to work together for a better deal for students and workers through a strong collective voice 4. To work with external allies and partners to maximise voter registration and electoral participation among young people and students to ensure their voices are heard 5. To launch a general election hub in 2014, and support every students union to develop their own election strategy - supporting students to win both locally and nationally. 6. To empower students and to connect student communities with wider society, including through continuing our community organising work and training students as community organisers on their campuses and in their communities. 7. To campaign nationally for political parties to adopt NUS demands, taken from policies passed or ratified by National Conference, and chosen by NUS NEC.

Motion 1: A review that matters to everyone not just Wales NEC Believes: 1. A wholesale review of Higher Education Funding in Wales has been announced by the Welsh Government 2. Although the detailed terms of reference are yet to be announced we know that the main areas of focus for the review will be: a. How course are funded b. How students are funded and supported c. This will all be reviewed with an increased focus on part time study and widening access 3. The NUS Wales President will have a seat on the review

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4. The review is not due to report back until after the Welsh Assembly elections in 2016. 5. The review presents us with a real chance to take the work of the Imagine Education Commission NUS Wales ran last year and change the parameters of the debate away from fees and debt and challenge them to think about how they can create an education system that truly works for students across Wales. 6. The Welsh Government has already committed to the broad recommendations of the Imagine Education Commission in their future of Higher Education policy document released in 2013 7. We have to ensure that we turn their previous commitments into legislation and solid recommendations of the review. 8. We want to use the research of Pound In Your Pocket Wales, our ground breaking research on part time students and Imagine Education as the evidence base for our lobbying. 9. We have to ensure that the length of the review does not silence public debate on education funding. NEC Resolves: 1. Due to the size and scope of the review we need to ensue as a UK organisation that we are maximising the opportunity it presents not just in Wales but as best practice if we win for the rest of the UK. 2. That NUS UK will provide more organisational support and resource to NUS Wales for the duration of the review. Motion 2: Challenging rhetoric and turning out voters NEC Believes: 1. The European elections will to be held on Thursday 22 May 2. The European elections often have a much lower turnout than the General Election which leads to an increase of power in the hands of voters that vote for far-right parties and candidates. 3. Currently the UK is represented by members of the BNP in the European Parliament and both Nick Griffin and Andrew Brones are seeking re-election. 4. The rise of UKIP is symptom of a much wider political narrative of the mainstreaming of antiimmigration rhetoric 5. NUS has a proud history of opposing racist, fascist and xenophobic views and also a proud history of campaigning against this European elections. 6. NUS should support the aspirations of students who wish to migrate and travel to other countries to study and improve their lot in the life. 7. International students, as with all migrants, ultimately benefit the UK: culturally, socially and economically. 8. Economic studies have suggested that if all countries opened their borders to migrants, world GDP would double. A literature review by Clemens (2011) found papers estimating open migration would increase world GDP from 67% to 147%, compared to worldwide free trade, which would boost world GDP by 0.3% to 4.8%. Kerr and Kerr (2011) surveyed the impact of immigration on 74 countries, concluding immigrants appear to have a minor positive net fiscal effect for host countries. 9. Other economic research suggests that open borders could dramatically reduce world poverty. Clemens and Pritchard (2008) noted that of all Haitians who have escaped poverty, more than 4 out of 5 did so by emigrating.

NEC Resolves: 1. For NUS UK to continue a principled stance on being pro-immigration and to challenge the wider racist, fascist and xenophobic views that feed into the rise of far-right political parties. 2. For this to the one of the main themes of our European elections. 3. To ensure NUS UK pushed voter registration and voter turnout for the European elections.

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4. That this statement should also condemn the rhetoric of UKIP, oppose British withdrawal from the EU and advocate a united fightback to level up conditions and rights, and win greater democracy, across Europe and beyond. 5. To make these themes a major part and priority of the NUS campaign around the 2014 Euroelection and 2015 General Election and in its community organising work. 6. NUS will support the policy of open borders and will oppose any efforts to remove the free movement of labour laws contained within the treaties of the European Union.

Motion 3: 3 Cosas campaign NEC Resolves: 1. To support the ongoing 3 Cosas campaign by outsourced University of London workers, and advertise and promote it widely. 2. To ask the VP Society & Citizenship to meet representatives of the campaign to discuss working together. 3. To mobilise Constituent Members for the 27-29 January strike. Motion 4: Cops off Campus! NEC Believes: 1. The struggle waged by students up and down the country against police, legal and management repression last term, under the slogan Cops off campus, in connection with support for workers' struggles (the national HE workers' pay dispute, the University of London 3 Cosas campaign). 2. The police brutality meted out at the University of London (UoL) in 2013 was part of a concerted attempt to crush protest and dissent through force 3. As well as at UoL, university managements at Sussex, Birmingham, University of Ulster, Edinburgh and Sheffield have colluded with police and the state in attempts to crush protests, victimise participants and often institute bans on occupations and other forms of direct action. In Cambridge, police have attempted to recruit students to spy on student activist groups 4. The cops off campus protests that took place at the end of last year showed enormous anger exists against this repression and a determination to fight the attacks is present among ordinary students 5. The scale, scope and overall significance of these attacks on democratic rights make this a crucial national issue for our movement which requires an adequate national response from NUS 6. Some students, particularly those vulnerable to hate crime, feel safer having a police presence on campus and NUS should not dispute or put that in jeopardy through its policy or action. 7. Some of our member students' unions have partnerships and relationships with their local police service where they can engage constructively, act as a critical friend and receive funding for crime prevention work. It is not the place of NUS to criticise or undermine that. 8. It is right that NUS should criticise police actions where that is warranted, and support those of our members who wish to adopt a 'cops off campus' policy but in such a way that relationships that provide students with safety and security are not put at risk.

NEC further believes: 1. The growing intolerance of dissent by university managements is linked to the marketisation and privatisation of higher education. Universities, more and more run like private businesses, consider democracy an unaffordable and easily disposed of luxury. 2. It is in the context of austerity and of huge attacks on education that democratic rights are being undermined 3. Democratic and civil liberties have been won by working people over generations of struggle and must be vigorously defended 4. The demonstrations that were called at short notice over this issue, saw thousands taking to the streets and joining campus protest

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5. That this swift response, organised by anti-cuts students and left students union leaders was effective and helped ensure that the police lacked the confidence to enter University of London campuses or attack protesters on 11 December 6. Now our movement must demand the right to protest on campus as part of our campaigns to end the cuts, the privatisation of the student loan company, attacks on bursaries and grants and for decent pay and conditions for all university staff NEC Resolves: 1. To support and promote the London demonstration on 22 January and the Birmingham demonstration on 29 January. 2. To support students' unions who wish to have 'cops off campus'. 3. To be clear that supporting any 'cops off campus' action relates only to those students' unions who wish to adopt a similar approach. 4. To continue to support our members with crime prevention work on campuses and in communities for the safety of students. 5. Continue to support students unions and students campaigning to defend the right to protest, and against the privatisation of their campuses. Re-launch our Occupations and Protest Guidance, ensuring that students unions are equipped with the arguments against university management seeking to criminalise protest. 6. Continue to work with trade unions on the right to protest, and help students unions and trade unions work more effectively together on this issue. 7. Continue to work with Defend the Right to Protest and Green and Black Cross, and look into working with other appropriate support groups on supporting students facing criminal charges. 8. Continue to press the Mayor of London for an inquiry into police tactics and behaviour towards protestors in London. Work with Andrew Dismore, GLA member for the area to ensure Boris Johnson is held accountable for the action of his police force. 9. Call on the police to drop unjustified charges against students arrested during the protests in November and December. 10. Call on UUK to condemn those universities attempting to criminalise students and make their campuses protest free zones. Motion 6: Stand up to racism and fascism supporting UN Anti-Racism Day 2014

NEC Believes: 1. A day of action against racism has been called for across Europe to coincide with the marking of the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 2014, with eyes on the European elections in May. 2. These elections are set to be dominated by racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and the scapegoating of minorities Muslims, immigrants, Roma, Black and Asian communities. 3. Across Europe the fascist and populist racist right are on the rise. From the violent Golden Dawn in Greece, the anti-Roma Jobbik in Hungary, the Islamophobic Freedom Party of Geert Wilders in the Netherlands to the success of the Front National in France, these currents are encouraging hatred, fear and prejudice in a frightening wave across the continent. 4. In Britain the far right is hoping for gains in the Euro elections. The British National Party (BNP) is seeking the re-election of Nick Griffin in the North West and Andrew Brons is seeking re-election in Yorkshire and the Humber. 5. Following the rising violence of Golden Dawn and the murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas, (also known as Killah P), the Greek anti-fascist and anti-racist movement has proposed that next years UN

18

6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

Day Against Race Discrimination on March 21/22 should be the focus for actions against racism and fascism across Europe. ChildLine reported a 69% rise in the number of calls from children who were victims of racist bullying in school. That there has been a recent ruling on the Mark Duggan inquest, that his death, at the hands of the Metropolitan Police, was lawful. That the statistics for deaths in police custody show that between 1990 and 2013, 249 people died in the custody of the Metropolitan Police, 969 died in police custody, and a total of 1476 people died in police custody or otherwise died following contact with the police. 1 That, to date, not a single police officer has been successfully prosecuted for any wrongdoing relating to these deaths. That there was a recent peaceful vigil on 11th January in Tottenham, where Mark Duggans family called for a continued fight for justice, and which had speakers from other examples of police brutality against working class communities, such as the Hillsborough Disaster. That there have been other examples where the police have been accused of racial profiling on our campuses including recent stop-and-search drugs raids on primarily black students at Royal Holloway University2, and previous raids on Muslim students homes in counter terrorism investigations, such as in the aftermath of the 7/7 bombings at the University of Birmingham.3

NEC further believes: 1. The Tories and UKIP look set to try to outdo each other in their calls for draconian anti -immigration policies and promoting a Little Englander anti-foreign, anti-Europe mentality. 2. The go-home vans sent out by the Home Office over the summer were a sign of things to come as immense hostility has been whipped up towards Bulgarian and Romanian migrant workers who gained the right to work in Britain in January. 3. Such campaigns simply whip up racism in general and induce a blame game for falling living standards and squeezed incomes that falls on visible minorities in stepped up discrimination, institutional racism, abuse and violence. 4. This all encourages currents like the English Defence League, which turn their Islamophobic prejudices into real attempts to terrorise the Muslim population attacking Mosques, assaulting veiled women, insulting religious sensitivities with vile slogans and throwing pigs heads, and organising intimidating marches into Muslim communities. 5. While there is a real threat that openly racist parties may win the 2014 Euro-elections in some countries, this can be prevented by the widest possible unity against them and the mobilisation of the broadest progressive forces and students can play a vital role in this. 6. That Mark Duggans killing was unjust. 7. That there have been many similar examples (albeit with differences), including: Sean Rigg, Ian Tomlinson, Leon Briggs, Jean Charles de Menezes. It is all too common for people to be killed by the police. 8. That the Police in the UK have a case to answer that they remain institutionally racist. 9. That the killing of Mark Duggan cannot be separated from questions about institutional racism in the Metropolitan Police. NEC Resolves: 1. To re-affirm NUS commitment to the elimination of racism in all its forms. 2. To join the individuals and organisations signed up to support the Stand Up To Racism rally and demo on the 22nd March that includes Frances OGrady (TUC General Secretary), Rabbi Lee Wax, Emily Thornberry MP, Peter Hain MP, Diane Abbott MP, Claude Moraes MEP, Natalie Bennett (Green Party), Farooq Murad ( Muslim Council of Britain Secretary General), Don Flyn (Director Migrant Rights Network), Habib Rahman (Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants Chief Executive), Morris Beckman (43 Group Co-Founder), Leon Silver (East London Central Synagogue President), Phyllis Opoku-Gyimah (UK Black Pride Executive Director), Gerry Gable (Searchlight Editor), The Sikh Federation UK, (Sylvia

19

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Ingmire Co-Ordinator / CEO Roma Support Group) and 20 General Secretaries of trade unions across Britain. To encourage students to attend the demonstration in London and hold activities on their campuses around the day of action. To wholly condemn the Metropolitan Police for killing Mark Duggan To condemn the Metropolitan Police for its continued inability to deal with concerns about institutional racism. To issue a public statement of support to Mark Duggans family. To support any calls for a judicial review of the case. To publicise events called by the Justice for Mark Duggan campaign.
1

http://www.inquest.org.uk/statistics/deaths-in-police-custody 2 This has been written about extensively in the local and student press, and Daniel Cooper, ex-Royal Holloway President, who was arrested, has stated his view on the nature of the police activity here: http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2013/09/29/police-raid-royal-holloway-students-union 3 http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/local-news/anti-terror-raids-student-halls-city-397002717

Motion 7: Stop the privatisation of student debt NEC Believes: 1. Government plans for funding undergraduate higher education is in complete disarray. 2. The government grossly underestimated the real cost of the new higher education funding regime. For every 1 lent to students through the Student Loan Company, it is estimated that the government will only recoup on average 46p. 3. Forcing debt onto students as a way of funding universities is an experiment that is failing. The system of debt is unsustainable, and the same generation faced with increased fees, will be forced to pay for the mess left by the new funding regime. 4. In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced plans to lift student number controls for institutions in England. Although we support the principle of universal access, this policy is badly thought through and uncosted. The government plans to rely on the sale of the student loan book to fund this policy, and to continue relying on the sale of loan book going forward, despite the fact it is not yet possible to sell the 2012 loan book. 5. National media outlets, including The Guardian, have reported on the black-hole in the BIS budget due primarily to private providers, with designated funding, recruiting significantly more students than expected. Consequently, the National Scholarship Program and Student Opportunity Fund have been removed or threatened in order to give public money to private, for-profit providers who use it to make money off the back of students. 6. The Government has consistently and conspicuously failed to secure the terms and conditions of student loans in primary legislation, which means they can be changed without a vote in Parliament. 7. A leaked document, authored by Rothschilds, made it clear than in order to make loans profitable for sale the government would either have to change terms and conditions of lenders, or underwrite the amount of profit the company should expect to receive from recouping the debt. 8. NUS has taken a strong stance against the sale of the loan book and any change in terms and conditions, and the National President gave evidence to a hearing of the BIS Select Committee in December to that effect. 9. NUS received assurances from the Minister for Universities and Science that he would not look to change the terms and conditions on loans, but as it stands this is a hollow assurance and in any case there is no guarantee that it would extend beyond the 2015 General Election. NEC Further Believes

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1. Students wishing to return to study at Level 3, over the age of 24, have been forced onto the same loan regime as higher education undergraduates. 2. NUS won concessions on loans for apprentices over 24, but there are still many students forced to take loans in further education. There has been no clarity on the sale or change in terms and conditions of those loans, and the government has remained silent on the future of level 3 funding for over 24s. NEC Resolves: 1. To make three demands of Government: Do not sell the student loan book Secure past, current and future student loan terms and conditions in primary legislation Stop designating public funding to for-profit alternative providers Ensure all of these demands are made in reference to both loans in further and higher education. 2. Encourage students to lobby their MPs to sign up to Early Day Motion 542 on the Sale of Student Loans. 3. Organise action in reference to the demands above, during the national week of action, taking place between Monday 3 Friday 7 February 2014. 4. Organise action on the Budget Day, 19th March 2014, against the use of public money funding private for-profit providers.

Motion 8: Stop the Lobbying Bill NEC Believes: 1. The Transparency of Lobbying, Non Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill (Lobbying Bill) represents an attack on the ability of charities, non-government organisations, trades unions and students unions to have their voices heard in the run up to a General Election 2. The almost halving of the amount of money that charities and non-government organisations can spend on non partisan campaigning in the run up to a General Election threatens to seriously inhibit the ability of NUS, students unions and activist groups to influence policies during the 12 months before a General Election 3. It is a fundamental right of civil society that organisations can join together to influence political parties and the political process for the benefit of their members 4. The Lobbying Bill does not sufficiently tackle the influence of big business and the private sector in the political process NEC further believes: 1. The Commission for Civil Society and Democratic Engagement has been instrumental in leading an evidence based call for changes to the lobbying bill 2. The government have conceded a number of significant amendments to the Lobbying Bill which increase the amount of money that organisations in the nations, as well as smaller charities (including students unions), can spend in the year leading up to a general election 3. The government have also conceded significant exemptions to the Lobbying Bill which include the translation of materials into Welsh, making materials accessible to disabled people and security around rallies and demonstrations, as well as all activities coordinated by the Parades Commission in Northern Ireland 4. A review of the bill has been hard fought and won by the Commission 5. The Bill is irredeemably bad and whilst we should continue to fight for concessions, it would be better if it were withdrawn entirely. NEC Resolves: 1. Celebrate the very significant concessions that have been won by civil society organisations and students unions through the Commission for Civil Society and Democratic Engagement 2. Continue to argue for staff costs to be excluded from the cost of campaigning

21

3. Continue to campaign for greater clarity around the opportunities for organisations to work in coalition with each other on general election issues 4. Continue to lobby for an increase in constituency level spending limits for campaigning organisations before a general election 5. Continue to campaign for an increase in the overall spending limits for campaigning organisations before a general election 6. To continue to make the case for the Lobbying Bill to be withdrawn entirely. Motion 9: Support the Strike NEC believes 1. Due to the intransigence of employers the dispute over pay and conditions for university staff represented by Unite, Unison, UCU and EIS, is ongoing. It is likely that further strike action may take place in February 2. This would be the third strike that has been called over a 1% pay offer, which represents a real terms wage cut. This comes after many years of declining wages. Academic staff have seen a real-terms pay cut of 13.8% since 2009 3. Many of the workers taking part in action will also tell you that their reasons for striking include ever increasing work-loads, low-pay, casualistion, zero-hour contracts, bullying and discrimination 4. Many students are among those who will be striking, including the many thousands who rely on teaching and part time work to continue their studies 5. Both of the previous two strikes drew wide support from students, many of whom joined rallies and pickets in support of those on strike NEC further believes 1. NUS correctly took a position in support of the last strike. The blame for disruption students might experience as a result of strike days lies with employers and the representatives of university managements 2. The issues the strike relates to directly affect students. Under-paid, overworked and undervalued staff are never going to be able to give students the best possible help and support, however dedicated they may be 3. This strike is part of both the fight to defend education and to beat back the brutal austerity policies that are seeing jobs destroyed, living standards decimated and the future for the next generation snatched away 4. Strikes are the most powerful weapon working people have to fight to change things for the better they demonstrate the huge potential power of workers 5. For students, this strike may be a minor inconvenience in the short-term, but the long term damage thats being done to education will have far more detrimental effects if it goes unchallenged NEC resolves 1. To stand in complete solidarity with workers taking strike action in our universities 2. To produce a leaflet for distribution on campuses, explaining why students should support strikes and attend picket lines to bring support and solidarity 3. To make the campaign to support the strike a top item on the NUS website and use social media networks to publicise it 4. To write to all students unions advising them to host joint public meetings with campus trade unions in the run up to the strike to attempt to raise awareness of the issues and build support for the strike 5. To officially support students who take the decision not to cross picket lines and to produce material explaining why doing so is an act of solidarity and is part of a proud labour movement tradition 6. To include encouragement not to cross picket lines in the top article on the NUS website and in the leaflets produced

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7. To disseminate legal information on the rights of students in not crossing picket lines, to help student staff know their rights & to outline to constituent members what support NUS can provide in defending students victimised for supporting strike action.

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Report
President
Author: Date Produced: Committees: Action: Toni Pearce 06/02/14 NEC Approve

Priorities
Main Priorities Education Progress (what have you achieved since the last NEC) Launched campaign to protect the Student Opportunities Fund Developed detailed proposals for an independent FE complaints pilot with 157 Group/OIA Attended HEFCE board where Universities and Science Minister David Willetts MP was guest Met with former BIS Secretary John Denham MP to discuss higher education funding Chaired UCU conference on education and marketisation Employment Summit announced for March 2014 Commission on the Future of Work developed Series of membership webinars and briefings on New Deal for Work launched NUS confirmed involvement in TUC Young Workers Conference Lobbying and influencing on Lobbying and Transparency Nationwide programme of activity for National Voter Registration Day Met Speaker of the House of Commons to discuss digital democracy/participation I Will Lead platform launched I Will Lead online scheme launched

Work

Community Women in Leadership

KPIs Area of work Education Education Education Education Education Education Education Education Work Work Work Work Work Work Work Work Work Work Work Work Community Community Community Community Community Women Women Women Women KPI Developed FE complaints pilot with the 157 group/OIA Discussed single application and admissions system with UCAS for post-16 education Pilot funding for Postgraduate Taught (PGT) via BIS Office of Fair Trading (OFT) inquiry into non-academic debt Student protection assurances over sale of pre-2012 student loan book Office of Fair Trading inquiry into UK Higher Education Scrapping of 24+ Advanced Learner Loans for apprentice Agreement from BIS to launch Framework for Partnership with UUK NUS/New Economics Foundation Report Modern Jobs Economy (July 2013) NUS/TUC Campaigning Partnership (September 2013) NUS/UNISON Living Wage Report (November 2013) Employment Summit (March 2014) 12 regional community organising and employment events hosted Commission Consultation: Regional Employment Events/Webinars (March 2014-) Employment Summit (March 2014) Commission on the Future Work (March 2014-) Produce collaborative think-piece on student employment issues Organise a day of action on students at work 20 students unions initiate campaigns on the Living Wage 20 students unions ban the advertising of unpaid internships through Careers Services/ JobShops 8 x Skills for Change Events Delivered (August/September) We Are The Change Event (October 2013) 12 x student-staff community organisers in post (October/November 2013-) 12 x Voter Registration Activities 10 x local I am/We Are The Change events 50 women leaders mentored for 1 year 50,000 more votes in elections the majority being from Women 20% increase in the number of women standing in students union elections 100% of staff to have attended equality and diversity training Status Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Date set Pending Pending Pending Pending Pending Pending Pending Pending Complete Complete Complete Complete Pending Pending Pending Pending Pending

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Attendance at events/meetings and actions taken or agreed

Event/Meeting Civil Society Commission Meeting with John Denham MP Trilateral meeting Pan London meeting Meeting with Nick Hurd MP Meeting: Nic Dakin MP Meeting: Commons Speaker John Bercow NUS Wales 40th Anniversary dinner HEFCE Board meeting Outcomes and/or actions taken or agreed on Attended meetings with Ministers Lord Wallace and Greg Clark Meeting with former BIS Secretary to discuss education funding Established monthly teleconferences with NUS and USI Attended Pan London meeting?? Discussed youth affairs, the Lobbying Bill and Individual Voter Recognition To discuss cuts to funding for 18 year olds To discuss Speakers commission on digital democracy and participation Attended a dinner to celebrate NUS Wales 40th Anniversary Attended HEFCE Board meeting where David Willetts invited

Membership Engagement
Member Union Ravensbourne Student Society Liverpool Hope Forum Edge Hill University SU Coleg Went Students Union Westminster Students Union Hertfordshire Students Union Leeds Trinity Students Union Scottish Students Union visits Suffolk Students Union Leicester Students Union Loughborough Students Union Nottingham Trent Sheffield Hallam Manchester Metropolitan Students Union Purpose and anything to report on Panel and debate on Internships, Employment and Graduate pay Spoke around Women in Leadership and encouraging people to stand for election Visit and catch up with Sabbs. Spoke about Women in Leadership programme. Visit to meet with Sabbs Speech at Women in Leadership event Panel debate at Student Rep training conference Attended Student Forum and met with Sabbs Visited Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh College, University of Edinburgh, City of Glasgow College, Glasgow Caledonian to meet with Sabbs. Q&A with Union Council and Provost Attended Sabb Election debate Visited the sabbs Visited the sabbs Spoke at their candidate briefing Attended Women in Leadership event

Media engagement and external relations

Media Outlet istudent debate in Cardiff Independent article New Statesman article Purpose and anything to report on Debated on the subject A generation of young people will never vote conservative or lib dem because of this government National Voter Registration Day Individual Electoral Registration National Voter Registration Day Russell Brand

Declaration of gifts, hospitality and interests

Declaration Further comment

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Report
Vice President (Further Education)
Author: Date Produced: Committees: Action: Joe Vinson 13/02/2013 NEC Discuss/Approve

Priorities
Main Priorities Real Education Change (Organisation Priority shared with Toni Pearce, Rachel Wenstone and Colum McGuire) Fighting regressive qualifications and curriculum policy #keepFEteachersqualified Student Finance (working jointly with the Welfare Zone) Progress (what have you achieved since the last NEC) Attended the UCAS Annual Dinner and continued discussion about them taking a bigger role in FE applications. Now working with some exam boards to monitor and display the long-term effects of GCSE and A-Level reform. OCR are working with us to do this, and a new survey has now been launched. IfL are doing most of the work on this for us, and have found some colleges who will pledge to only employ qualified teachers as a pilot. Scheme to be launched to the membership shortly. Commission an external party to cost the new student financial support proposals.

Other achievements of my Zone

Achievement New appointments In the know with Joe Campaigning against funding cuts Progress (what have you achieved since the last NEC) We have appointed two new Learner Engagement Officers, along with a new Policy and Development Advisor. Policy briefings now going to all unions every Thursday from the FE Zone. Mobilised the membership to campaign against the 17.5% cut for 18 years olds in FE, as well as the additional cuts announced for adult education.

Key Performance Indicators

Event/Meeting Release of 5 voices policy position papers Publication of 2 pieces of research one on GCSEs, one on work experience 3 x meetings of student commission on IAG Learner Voice Quality Framework (LVQF) website launched Outcomes and/or actions taken or agreed on Will be ready for NUS National Conference. New survey on A-Level reforms launched. Now undertaking work with OCR to carry out a longitudinal study on the effects of qualification reform. The IAG student commission will be set up this year and we have already secured some sector bodies that are willing to give evidence. Not yet started.

Attendance at events/meetings and actions taken or agreed

Event/Meeting 16th 17th January - FTO/SLT Residential 24th January AoC meeting 3rd February Student Governor Forum 4th February Education and Training Foundation Board Meeting 6th February FE Nations Summit 7th February NUS Wales 40th Outcomes and/or actions taken or agreed on Discusses strategic plan and campaign plan for the next few months. Met with the AoC to discuss cuts to adult education. Hosted the Student Governor Forum with the AoC. Over 60 student governors attended. My first ETF board meeting. Discussed the strategic plan. Took part in a meeting with all three nations to discuss FE issues going forward. Ate lots of food, drank lots of wine and appreciated the Welsh accent thoroughly.

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Anniversary Dinner 10th February Traineeships roundtable with Minister for FE and Skills 13th February NUSSL Board

Listening exercise hosted by BIS to gauge the sectors views on traineeships. Made the point that IAG before and during traineeships is still poor, but overall the new pre apprenticeship model is working. Attended the meeting and discussed NUSSL type things.

Plans before the next meeting

Action/Work area Key Performance Indicators Attendance at events/meetings Membership Engagement What I hope to achieve Hold the #sweptoffmyFE day of action, encourage FE attendance at National Conference, encourage FE unions to submit policy to National Conference. #sweptoffmyFE day of action outside BIS, catch-up with AoC CEO, National Society of Apprentices leadership meeting, FE Zone meeting, SFA Advisory Board, Education and Training Foundation Board Residential, meeting with Ofsted, Ministerial Advisory Board. Manchester College, Scottish Colleges, Tresham College, Sussex Coast

Membership Engagement
Member Union 11th January Sussex Coast College 17th January South Downs College 20th January Middlesbrough College 20th January Bradford College 29th January Stanmore College 12th February South Thames College 13th February Derby College Purpose and anything to report on Meeting with exec about future campaigns and union development. Took part in a Question Time with other MPs and councillors. Meeting with exec about future campaigns and union development. Meeting with exec about future campaigns. Meeting with exec about future campaigns. Spoke at their learner voice conference. Meeting with exec about future campaigns and #sweptoffmyFE.

Media engagement and external relations

Media Outlet 8th January - FE Week 15th January FE Week 16th January FE Week 20th January Press Release Purpose and anything to report on Quoted on the government delay of clamping down on apprenticeships being advertised below the minimum wage. Gave a quote on my appointment to the Education and Training Foundation Board. Quoted on the amount of colleges that made it into Stonewalls Top 100 places to work. On A-Level Reform (joint with AoC)

Declaration of gifts, hospitality and interests

Declaration None Further comment

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Report
VICE PRESIDENT UNION DEVELOPMENT
Author: Date Produced: Committees: Action: Raechel Mattey 17/01/2014 NEC Approve

I would like to declare I was off ill for a week so had to cancel some union visits and events due to this- it is also the reason my report was submitted late. Also the short time frame from the last meeting Ive tried not to repeat myself but only add new updates, hence the report isnt as long as previous ones.

Priorities
Main Priorities Work, Community and Women in Leadership Priorities Designing 10 Models of student communities and 10 models of democracy Pan London Representation Progress (what have you achieved since the last NEC) A number of the overall A new deal for the next generation priorities will be delivered through the UD zone (please see priorities update for more information) The democracy commission day took place on 21st January with the pilot unions to discuss the findings and allow unions to come up with potential solutions. We will be funding certain projects that are innovative in some unions to map and research the success. Final report on research findings is being pulled together with the diversifying union elections report to be published in April. The first meeting of NUS London took place on 21st January at Southbank. A working group was elected to take forward plans of the area. Chair: Shelley Asquith, SU Arts. Vice Chair: Jamie Green, Royal Holloway. Womens Reserved place: Susuana, ULU. Small and Specialist Reserved place: Matt Whithers, CSSD. FE Reserved place: Helena McCoy, Stanmore College Open: Katie Kokkinou, UCLU. Open: James Perkins, City SU The group are meeting regularly to follow on from discussions at the initial consultation day, including setting a date for a follow up open meeting. After successful work in SUs on women in leadership activity, we have been working to develop a guide on how to run WIL conferences/events bringing together the fantastic work currently happening in unions and sharing the recourses from our WIL conference.

Women in Leadership-

NUS Charitable Services Report (to note)

Area National Society of Apprentices Further comment The interim leadership are meeting again in February to determine membership options ready to invite members to join at the end of the month. Internal conversations around membership and how that fits into overall democratic policies have taken place and will be reported to the interim team. Activity and press is being prepared for apprentice week and national conference. A first apprentice provider has submitted application for membership to NUS- another exciting first for the society and NUS. -4 student opportunities boot camps took place in January in London, Sheffield, Glasgow and Cardiff bringing together over 100 officers (including about 40% from FE which was a really positive turnout). -Initial scoping activity for support student enterprise has started reviewing our previous enterprise project and scoping what funding pots are available currently for this work. -Preparations for student volunteering week are developing with funded activity taking place in 10 unions and press for Good deeds day. Further expansion of the resource hub, now contains 39 resources developed between NUS and Students Unions -Further 3 webinars held with an average of 46 participants per session.

Student Opportunities (Work on Student Activities, Volunteering, Sport, Media and enterprise)

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Direction and Oversight boards (DOBs)

Feedback 85%. Now expanded programme to include topics across the NUS group. 4 DOBs have been established to allow member unions and externals scrutiny and direction of four keys areas in the charity; Student opportunities, Development, E&E, Quality. This includes having a strong representation from staff, officers and students to shape what we do.

NUS Services Report (to note)

Area Ownership Further comment After successfully purchasing 94% of shares of NUSSL we are now focusing on developing the Cooperative Enterprise units to allow increased flexibility and participation of unions who participate in different areas of the company. This will take place at NUSSL convention in April. We currently have 32 unions on the platform and have been working hard to bed in new functionality and train unions. We have also been undertaking a significant number of visits and reviews to ensure that feedback as to how we can further improve. The platform is starting to bed down and generate results, during the AugustNovember window stats across the 31 live unions were: - 844,000 unique users - 8.5m web pages served - Over 4m emails sent - 3,104 clubs and societies with 79,000 memberships - 5,437 events managed through the platform with 53,000 e-tickets purchased - 1,171,081.06 of transaction processed - 160k of license revenue and 53k service charges

NUS Digital

Attendance at events/meetings and actions taken or agreed

Event/Meeting FTO and SLT residential Board responsibilities for NUS, NUSSL and Charity Democracy commission day NUS London meeting 4 student opportunities bootcamps Outcomes and/or actions taken or agreed on Developing the NUS strategy Attending and chairing meetings for the group Bringing 10 pilot unions together to highlight research outcomes (as above) London Sheffield Glasgow Cardiff

Membership Engagement
Member Union Wallsall College Huddersfield SU Bath SU Bath Spa SU UWE SU Bristol SU Purpose and anything to report on Support with Sabbatical officer proposal Talks with president about UD zone and new building development Meeting with Sabbaticals and union, presentation on diversifying activity in their union and lad culture Meeting with Sabbatical team on new building development and opportunities plan Meeting with president on UD priorities and internal development Talk through communities priority with some officers and UD update

Declarations: Sheffield Hallam t-shirt- its white with purple writing, currently winning the SU stash competition.

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Report
Vice-President (Welfare) NUS Welfare Zone
Author: Date Produced: Committees: Action: Colum McGuire January 2014 NEC Approve/Discuss/Note

Priorities
Four key priorities: Homes Fit For Study Winning on Welfare Area of work Private Rented Sector research Guidance for students unions Housing How To Student Health Local Public Services

Priority area Homes Fit For Study Homes Fit For Study

Homes Fit For Study

London Academic Forum (London only)

Homes Fit For Study

Discussions with Which? on housing advice content Worked with Priced Out housing campaign (England only) Drafting casework recording guidelines

Homes Fit For Study Winning on Welfare

Winning on Welfare

Expanding welfare representation

Student Health Local Public Services

Alcohol Impact Students and crime

Progress Continuing data analysis of 7000 responses, and planning launch event. Continued to launch editions of Housing How To which continues to have high uptake and positive response from the membership most recent edition was on student burglary with upcoming editions on international students, Rate Your Landlord surveys and tenants unions. We are getting some brief legal advice for students unions on how to avoid libellous activity when conducting Rate Your Landlord research. Work continues to try to secure an affordability requirement for private student accommodation in London. We will be identifying ways to put pressure on Boris Johnson to follow through on the current proposals which NUS successfully lobbied for to be included in the Further Alterations to the London Plan document. Have had preliminary discussions with Which? about working together to produce some student-facing housing advice resources and to generate some media coverage around specific issues such as early renting. Linked up local students unions in high cost housing areas in England with the Priced Out housing campaign, to see if there are possibilities to work together locally on key housing issues. We have begun work, alongside a number of students union representatives, to draft casework recording guidelines. These will be voluntary, but will help to enable students unions to input into national data collection on students union casework. Where this work has previously only been focussed on those unions who use Advice Pro, we are establishing ways to open this up to other students unions as well. Weve been working this year to work with students unions to expand welfare representation in their unions 4 unions have now created a new full time welfare officer position in their structures that will be up for election this year (will a few more close to finalising it) as well as a number of other unions to create part time positions along with groups/committees working on student welfare. We have secured arrangements and funding to launch an Alcohol Impact programme which is incredibly exciting. Have nominated students union representatives to sit on national level working groups looking at specific issues around students and crime including cybercrime, student housing and crime targeted at international students.

Other work of the Welfare Zone

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Area of work Welfare zone policy development Faith and belief groups in FE Faith & Belief 2 day residential

Hate Crime

Research project on isolation and vulnerability Pay day lenders targeting students Monthly student finance payments New EMA development Non-academic debt sanctions Student loan repayments across the EU

Progress (what have you achieved since the last NEC) Two motions, key theme reports and a Zone Report were submitted for National Conference Have started looking into work on broadening our work of faith & belief further into FE. Have had discussions with AFAN (All Faiths and None) to look at a project to launch faith/belief groups in FE. Ran a 2 day residential event on Faith & Belief the first time we have done an event like this. Over 50 delegates attended from across HE, FE, staff and officers and brought together external partners to deliver training including Stop Hate UK and Three Faiths Forum. Due to many requests from students unions we will be pulling together some guidance on how to set up a third party reporting centre. We have been talking to students unions who have already done this to get their insight but also looking to broaden this work out to other initiatives students unions can do on hate crime. We have conducted a small research project to help better understand the extent to which students might become isolated and vulnerable, in particular looking at pastoral support and tutor contact. A few students unions have contacted me as there have been advertising campaigns from pay day lenders launched a few cities specifically targeting students. Were working with them to support them taking action against this. Are you aware of this happening in any cities? Please let me know! Working towards a week of action to lobby for monthly student loan payments In conjunction with the VP FE have been discussing the development of the new version of EMA. Discussed draft report with OFT expecting final report to be published later in February Attended meeting of representatives from education ministries across the EU, as well as ESU, on topic of repayment of student loans across the EU (with other nations having the same issue as the UK in securing repayment if the borrower leaves that nation). No firm conclusions but will keep this monitored.

Key Performance Indicators

KPI 9 x Homes fit for study briefings produced Leadership in welfare document produced Mental health conference held with 80 delegates PCC guide produced 24+ALL policy amended to exclude higher apprenticeships CPAG book written and distributed to SUs Outcomes and/or actions taken or agreed on 4 briefings produced Completed Completed TBA Completed Completed

Attendance at events/meetings of note

Event/Meeting AMOSSHE NUS London event BASSH (British Association for Sexual Health and HIV) stakeholder group Date 20th January 21st January 25th January Details Met with AMOSSHE to broaden working partnership on student services work Attended NUS London launch event and facilitated sessions on priority development Attended stakeholder group where we had a really interesting presentation on a new website to act as an information umbrella for all sexual health services check it out here (http://sxt.org.uk/) and let me know what you think as Im interested to pursue further work with this project First time we have ran a residential event on this was a really great first step and looking forward to doing more work like this

NUS Faith & Belief 2 day residential

27th & 28th Feb

Membership Engagement
Member Union Brunel students union Swansea students union Trinity St David students union Swansea Met students union Aberystwyth students union Date 24th January 29th 29th 29th 30th January January January January Purpose and anything to report on Visited and met with officers and advisors to help plan launching campaign on accommodation costs at Brunel Union visit Union visit Union visit Union visit attended Course Rep conference and spoke at welfare executive committee

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Media engagement and external relations

Media outlet Guardian Sky News Date 7th January 3rd February Purpose and anything to report on Article for Guardian students on rising cost of student housing in universities Spoke about Neknominations and the dangerous of online spaces and influences

Declaration of gifts, hospitality and interests

Declaration Lunch from Swansea Students Union Pregnancy test from Swansea Students Union Womens Officer Further comment

It was negative.

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Report
National Black Students Officer
Author: Date Produced: Committees: Action: Aaron Kiely 06/02/2014 NEC Note

Priorities
Main Priorities Organising Stand Up To Racism - March 22nd Progress (what have you achieved since the last NEC) Working closely with the TUC and a broad range of organisations to mark UN Anti-Racism Day and respond to the rising levels of racism in society. Putting together a programme for March 22nd (#m22) that opposes racist scapegoating of migrants, rejects Islamophobia and says yes to diversity. Events will take place in London, Edinburgh and Cardiff. Well be organising a student day of action to support this important initiative. Coordinated with the Student Assembly Against Austerity to organise a week of action against the sell off of student loans. Over 50 campuses have taken part, receiving positive press coverage, culminating in a protest outside of the Department for Business Innovation & Skills. I also worked to help produce an activist guide for students, particularly to help engage new students as well as a national activist meeting with students. Over the coming period the Black Students Committee will be sharing our briefings, experiences, supporting students campaigning on campuses, writing manifestos and offering help and advice on the phone. Organising the second anti-racism and anti-fascism event which will take place in Liverpool, focussing on the EU elections and what we as students can do to stand up to racism and the far-right.

#StopTheSellOff national week of action

Supporting Black Students In SU Elections NUS ARAF Conference

Other achievements of my Zone/Section/Campaign/Nation (select one)

Achievement Spoke at APPG on Race & Communitys investigation in to higher education Palestine Solidarity Campaign demo Womens Assembly Against Austerity Stop and Search consultation Progress (what have you achieved since the last NEC) Gave oral evidence to Parliamentary inquiry - using our Campaigns Race for Equality research. Spoke at the PSCs demonstration marking 5 years since the war on Gaza. Committee member Barbara Ntumy is set to address what looks like a fantastic conference on 22nd February. Fed in our Campaign contribution to the consultation closely following StopWatch.

Key Performance Indicators

Event/Meeting Outcomes and/or actions taken or agreed on

Attendance at events/meetings and actions taken or agreed

Event/Meeting Outcomes and/or actions taken or agreed on

Plans before the next meeting

Action/Work area What I hope to achieve

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Membership Engagement
Member Union Essex Uni SOAS London Met Birmingham Uni Leeds Met Sussex Uni Purpose and anything to report on Student loans meeting SOAS Student Assembly Against Austerity rally Student loans rally National student meeting & demonstration Holocaust Memorial Day meeting Occupy Sussex anti-disciplinary rally

Media engagement and external relations

Member Union The Independent Huffington Post Morning Star Guardian Purpose and anything to report on

Declaration of gifts, hospitality and interests

Declaration Further comment

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Report
NUS Womens Officer
Author: Date Produced: Committees: Action: Kelley Temple 28/1/2014 NEC Note

Priorities
Main Priorities Women and Leadership (High Priority) Progress The 3 aspects of women in leadership work are: individual capacity (confidence, public speaking skills etc.), structural barriers requiring structural solutions (fair representation/reserving places for women) and changing organisational culture. The message of the work is that in order to tackle womens underrepresentation meaningfully you have to do all three not just one or two. Call for coaches and coachees specifically targeting black/lgbt/disabled women has went out to membership and to external partners and organisations. More targeting is required of black/lgbt and disabled women We are organising a coaching event for all the women involved in the project for the beginning of march to physically bring everyone together and reflect on the successes so far and where to move forward next.

Awaiting an update regarding the Jewish Womens Leadership training in conjunction with the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) Staff Train the Trainer day took place on 3rd December and we trained 20 Student Union Staff Members to take back to their unions how to start addressing the 3 prongs of the women in leadership work. Ginger presented a session on women in leadership at Canterbury College. Student Carers (High Priority) We are behind on delivering the 5 mini locally focused briefings based on the research recommendations for student unions to implement the Fair to Care? Campaign. A review meeting on this will be happening in the next week to assess capacity issues and have deliverables for womens conference. By Womens Conference my priority will be having a clear plan on the 2 national focused campaign asks on collecting data and student funding recommendations to support both local and national campaigning of student unions and womens groups. We also met with Carers UK to develop a shared agenda in them supporting our campaigning work and they will be providing funding for us to provide resources for various education bodies to provide support for student carers including developing systems around disclosure and support and training advice staff and organising a carers summit targeted at decision makers who have the ability to start addressing the lack of funding for student carers. Once we have developed a campaign plan for the national asks, we will hopefully be able to use Carers UK funds for this and they are willing to fund a student carers summit and co host it with us. We opened up a Consultation and Call for Evidence for Student Unions and individual students to begin to shape the national strategy tackling lad culture. On November 26th we launched the results of the consultation which backs up our initial research.

Lad Culture (High Priority)

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The Lad Culture Summit on 21st February which will bring womens officers and student unions together with other key stakeholders involved in all elements of the student experience to deepen understanding and develop cross sectoral solutions. This will enable participants to develop a shared vision on the issue and set parameters for the commission/working group to respond to lad culture in higher education. We will subsequently organise a working group / commission to develop a national strategy to respond to lad culture in HE. Agenda is nearly finalised and one of the focal points will be about intersectionality in the strategy, which will be session that is ran before people start developing solutions. Sexism in Further Education Workshop at Festival was the most popular workshop and feedback had been great. Joe Vinson VPFE and I are currently sourcing funding to conduct research and in the meantime focus groups with FE Students to start to capture what Sexism in Further Education looks like. Awaiting feedback.

Other achievements of my Campaign

Achievement Abortion Rights Briefing NUS Womens Conference Womens campaign mailing list Progress After the Abortion Rights Executive Committee meeting Susuana and I attended I am compiling the legal advice into our official briefing which would allow student unions to be pro choice in accordance with the law. Agenda nearly finalised, venue secured in Bradford Monthly newsletter. If you are not on the list please email me to get put on it.

Key Performance Indicators

Event/Meeting n/a Outcomes and/or actions taken or agreed on

Attendance at events/meetings and actions taken or agreed

Event/Meeting NUS NEC NUS Liberation Equality and Diversity Committee Full Time Womens Officer Meeting NUS Anti Racism Anti Fascism (ARAF) Committee Meeting Abortion Rights Executive Committee Meeting NUS Liberation, Equality and Diversity Strategy Meeting TUC Apprenticeships Race and Gender Report launch and policy discussion Home Office Violence Against Women and Girls Quarterly update NUS Full Time Officer/Senior Leadership Team Residential Bradford and Nottingham Outcomes and/or actions taken or agreed on Subcommittee to the NEC, wider NUS Liberation and E&D strategy and operation planning.

Planning for ARAF Conference With Susuana Antubam Developing NUSs LED strategy Working with apprentice providers and education staff members to develop targeted and strategic solutions to the extreme gendering and underrepresentation of women and black women in apprenticeships. Plugged the lad culture summit and received offers of support from the VAWG team in the Home Office for the lad culture work. NUS Strategic Planning and Group updates Womens conference site visits

Plans before the next meeting

Action/Work area Student Carers Lad culture Women and leadership Womens Conference What I hope to achieve 2 Mini Briefing Toolkits Launched, national campaign formulated Lad Culture summit a success, at least 3 media outlets providing coverage, numerous applications for working group Mentoring scheme numbers full, coaching event well attended and successful Being good to go!

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Membership Engagement
Member Union Loughborough SU Bournemouth SU Liverpool SU Bristol SU Femsoc Leeds Femsoc Middlesex SU Womens Assembly Gateshead College Worcester SU Midkent College Purpose and anything to report on Womens Officer Campaign planning and support Womens Officer Campaign planning and support Womens Officer Campaign Planning and Support Womens campaign updates and Q and A Femsoc Jamboree planning and support Spoke about womens campaign and fair representation Sexism in FE discussion Womens Officer Campaign Planning and Support Womens Officer Campaign Planning and Support

Media engagement and external relations

Member Union BBC News Purpose and anything to report on We commented on the Girlguiding Report on Sexism

Declaration of gifts, hospitality and interests

Declaration Further comment

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Report
Review of Trustee KPIs
Author: Date Produced: Committees: Action: Hilary Carter 10 February NUS UK Board of Trustees Discuss

Summary:

A review of NUS Trustee Board Key Performance Indicators, to ensure greater alignment with NEC and Presidential KPIs. As requested by Trustees, the amended KPIs include an overview of Nation targets, Group financial KPIs, and an increased focus on engagement and involvement satisfaction metrics.

Current Approach
Historically, KPIs have been themed around the 2010 Surfing the Wave Strategic Plan. integration between Presidential, NEC, Nation and NUS UK KPIs. There was little

Furthermore, there were no financial KPIs for the Group, to put targets within context. To date, engagement and involvement KPIs in relation to National Conference have been blunt measurement tools, with one indicator showing overall delegate satisfaction. NUS Liberation KPIs were limited to measuring the percentage of National Conference delegates and election candidates who self-defined within a liberation constituency.

Analysis
The KPIs have been amended to reflect the 2013-2014 presidential priorities and to monitor progress on external influencing factors such as the Transparency and Lobbying Bill. KPIs for National Conference have been amended to track satisfaction levels for first time delegates, FE delegates and delegates who self-define within Liberation campaigns. A target of 75% has been set from which to benchmark in future years. Nation core KPIs have been included, although more extensive KPIs are scrutinised by the respective Executive Committees. Membership satisfaction metrics with NUS have been incorporated, while the measurement of members takes up of NUS products/services and programmes are being developed for future inclusion. A KPI to deliver a NUS Liberation, Equality and Diversity strategy has been included to increase organisational engagement, support and effectiveness for Liberation. From May, there will greater sophistication in the evaluation of member and volunteer engagement in NUS committees, boards and structures now that NUS has a volunteer co-ordinator back in post. The new set of KPI now include NUS Group financial targets to illustrate the inter-relationship and between NUS UK, the Charity and NUSSL.

Recommendation
The Board are asked to consider if the amended KPIs provide greater clarity on performance and whether alignment to presidential KPIs should continue once the goals within the 2014 Strategic Plan are public.

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Report
NUS Scotland | ANO Alba
Author: Date Produced: Committees: Action: Gordon Maloney 07/01/2014 NEC Note

Priorities
Main Priorities Budget Rec23 strong, autonomous, sustainable and appropriately funded students associations Student housing Progress (what have you achieved since the last NEC) The final budget was voted on last week and our last ditch attempts on college funding (somehow) bore fruit and we got an extra 13 million (!) to create 3500 places. We have launched our consultation on college students association development exciting stuff. Happy to chat through if youd like Weve now had all the path-clearing meetings for tenants unions and are pulling together our launch event for march/april But weve also (!) secured council tax exemptions for continuing students after having been moaning about it for ages Weve been speaking with the various unions about the dispute, and it looks like it is now going to a marking boycott. Lets chat about this. Happened! Our LGBT campaign has played a pivotal role in making this happen over the last few years. Robert wrote to every Principal in Scotland asking that they ban all payday lenders from advertising on Campuss, had a really positive response Lobbied the group to add items to the code that benefits our members, Student involvement in remuneration and performance of Principals, Students as full members of any board with access to all items, a move away from tokenistic Student member status, research on women board members, Student selection to boards Over 1000 responses to our student experience survey

HE industrial dispute Equal marriage Payday lenders Code of Governance for Colleges Student experience survey

Plans before the next meeting

Action/Work area Tenants Unions Rec23 Conference Postgrads Student experience survey Imagine Tomorrow report Civic coalition What I hope to achieve Launch event planned for March Aiming to speak to every college president between now and June to get a response to this consultation aahhhh Can talk more if youd like. Working to expand a currently quite unambitious review into postgrad funding massively to cover caps on fees and what courses are eligible. Analyse results from survey, and examine cross over with learning Journey research, work with Liberation officers on what the next steps will be for Liberating the Curriculum Finalise and launch our Imagine Tomorrow report ask Robert for more! Pulling together a civic coalition to influence the post-referendum policy agenda

39

Report
NUS Group KPIs
Author: Date Produced: Committees: Action: Hilary Carter 27/01/2014 NUS UK Board Approve

Summary:

These are the NUS Group KPIs for 2013-14 and their progress. This is for the Board to discuss and approve.

NUS UK Key performance indicator Launch General Election Strategy

Target

Measurement

Timescale

Progress to date February 2014

Red/Amber/ Purple/Green status (failed/ warning, on course or achieved) On course

Notes

To launch General Election strategy

Output

October 2014

January NEC passed General Election strategy motion to focus on work, education and community priorities. NUS General Election Hub for members and students being built. Polling & research complete on student voting intentions.

Positive metrics to assess KPI: NEC & National Conference to pass priority motion, NUS General Election Hub & social media traffic, percentage of unions who adopt NUS priorities, numbers of students and unions who engage in community organising, political party policies which reflect NUS mandated policy

40

Deliver Strategic Plan

Secure amendments to the Transparency and Lobbying Bill

To develop a strategic plan in which the practical, big ideas can be delivered so that NUS and the student movement can deliver sustainable positive change To secure concessions on staff campaign restrictions, constituency and overall funding limits

Output

July14

All key constituent audiences consulted on their ideas and priorities, a suite of key ideas and a strategy framework has now been developed

On course

Next steps consultation of ideas with Critical Friends & Strategy and Scrutiny

Impact

July 14

Deliver President's Priorities Education

Fixed terms and conditions on post2012 student loans: either won OR government or opposition parties agree Postgraduate loan schemes: Either won OR government or opposition parties agree to action this in next Parliament FE 24 plus learner loans abolished 100 external stakeholder opinion formers participated in Students and Work summit March 3.

Impact

Jun-14

Secured amendments on timescale of restricted activity, funding threshold for NGO registrations and review of legislation post General Election. The Bill will receive assent and pass into law Toni presented evidence to BIS Select Committee on student loans.

Amber

Key amendments on constituency spending and staffing limits defeated by Commons. Next step: influencing Electoral Commission Guidance

Amber

BIS report not yet published, but unlikely to be won by June

Impact

Jun-14

We won the creation of a PG support scheme to explore best approaches to PG funding and fair access, and ensured close SU involvement in the schemes. Achieved. Coalition agreed to scrap 24 plus apprentice loans November 2013 Delegates and speakers invited, research to be launched at summit

On course

Until the results of programme are evaluated it is unlikely that we will get full-scale PG funding, we should focus on getting a promise from Labour.

Impact

June 14

Green

Deliver President Priority: Students and Work

Impact

Mar-14

On course

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Student opinion research on attitudes and experiences of work Member summit on work delivered, weekly briefings dispatched Development of Good Employers for Young People kite Mark Deliver President Priority: Women in Leadership 50 women leaders mentored through launch of Women's Leadership Programme 11 community organisers delivering with partners 250,000 individual voter registrations Launch the NUS Liberation, Equality and Diversity Strategy 1 million Oct to Dec 104

Impact

Apr-14

Member summit in February. Weekly action orientated focused briefings dispatched Concept in development with key stakeholders and employers with whom NUS has working partnerships Mentors and women leaders identified and matched

On course

Impact

April 15

This strong concept will take time to develop with partners to ensure that it is robust and can be rolled out across employers On course

Impact

Jul-14

Deliver President Priority: Community

Output

Feb 14

Community organisers have targets of 500 voter registrations per pilot

Results not yet available

Increase cross organisational engagement in Liberation Press Advertising Value Equivalent Hansard mentions

Output

June 14

Output Output

June 14 June 14

Identification of strategic questions and practical solutions have been identified. Strategy to be agreed by May for launch in June 1.3 million Oct - Dec 68 mentions July December

On course

On Course On course

New metrics to monitor tone of coverage to commence July 14 Transparency & Lobbying Bill, Payday Loans & Student Governors main focus

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NUS Engagement and Involvement key performance indicators National Conference Satisfaction First time delegate satisfaction Black students National Conference representation and satisfaction Disabled students National Conference representation and satisfaction Women Student National Conference representation and satisfaction LGBT student National Conference representation and satisfaction FE student National Conference representation and satisfaction Number of women, black and LGBT students standing for election and satisfaction Number of HE unions visited by NEC Number of FE unions visited by NEC Member satisfaction with NUS ODP satisfaction Numbers of FE unions taking part in ODP Numbers of HE unions taking part in ODP

Target

Timescale

Performance

Red/Amber/ Green status (for achieved or failed)

Notes

90% 80% 25% & 75%

May 14 May14 May 14

6% & 75%

May-14

50% & 75%

May-14

28% & 75%

May-14

33% & 75%

May-14

Black Students 19.6 (25%), Disabled Students 24% (no data), LGBT Students 41.3% (24%), Women 38.6% (35%) 100% 71 79% measured annually in membership satisfaction survey 90% 40 115

May-14

Jul-14 Jul-14 July 14 Oct-14 Oct-14 Oct-14

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Nation key performance indicator s Design and develop Pound in your pocket surveys concerning students in Northern Ireland and Wales Officers both participate and are satisfied with the Officer development Programme which includes an allIreland training event To secure sustainable funding for 12 merging college students associations in Scotland Imagine Tomorrow/ Change Today

Target

Measurement Impact

Timescale March 2014

Progress to date February 2014

Red/Amber/Purple/Green status (failed/ warning, on course or achieved) On course

Notes

Use evidence and participation in EMA/ALG evaluation to at the very least protect and hopefully increase current levels of investment in FE student support - 26m pa for EMA, 8.2m pa for ALG (FE) Number of students unions taking part 50% of FE Colleges 100% of HE Institutions 95 officers attend 80% satisfaction rate for AIT

Survey has been designed and circulated 1,800 responses so far in NI 1,500 responses in Wales

Output

June 2014

At least one sabbatical officer in each college At least one dedicated staff support whether employed by the college or directly by the students association To ensure at least six focus groups have taken place at associations on Imagine Tomorrow. To ensure non-traditional students (such as apprentices and prisoners) are included. To write a report of focus groups and case studies of other education systems in time for conference. To seek support from 10

Impact

June 2014

Output

June 2014

100% of FE Unions took part in the programme plus the Agricultural College for the first time CAFRE (November) 100% of HE Institutions also took part (July) Two meetings have taken place for the AIT working group Support given to Edinburgh Colleges financial bid for 2014 15 Negotiations in hand with the Scottish Funding Council on funding mechanisms for students associations in the future We have begun focus groups with associations, and have an apprentices focus group at the end of Jan. An interim report is planned in advance of conference. We have begun contacting institutions seeking their support on Change Today and will aim for next steps from March 2014 onwards.

Green

Priority for both to build a robust evidence base for proactive campaigning on student financial support NUS USI Priority to build stronger students unions and develop the skills and capacity of elected officers

On course

On course

NUS Scotland Priority working in partnership with sparqs on externally funded project Partnerships for Change IT/CT is NUS Scotland priority for 13/14. It looks to engage students in the future of education in Scotland. In addition, Change Today aims to give associations five option for local campaigns, supported

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Develop a Further Education College support/guidance/ training package

institutions against pay-day loans and in favour of a living wage Meet with elected representatives and staff to identify learner voice needs across Wales Develop and deliver student governor training in partnership with Learner Voice Practitioner Network (LVPN) Programme ready for implementation 2014/15

by NUS Scotland nationally. Output June 2014 College visits have taken place meeting with student governors and student support staff to identify key areas. Dates have been confirmed for student governor training in the North and South Meeting has taken place with LVPN chair to draft training agenda. On course

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Key performance indicator Group Finance NUS Extra net profit to NUS (k) NUS Extra Cards sold Money returned to unions 2013/14 surplus

Target

Measurement Output Output Impact Output

Time-scale

Progress to date February 2014

Red/Amber/Purple/Green status (failed/ warning, on course or achieved) On course Amber On course On course

Notes

1500 K 650K 4.5 million 100 k

July 14 July 14 July 14 July 14

750 K 490 K On track 444k

Likely to fall slightly short

Performance against phased budget

95%

Output

July 14

120%

Green

Affiliation Fees as % of overall income of Group

22%

Impact

July 14

20%

Amber

As at end of December. We expect to hit or be very close to full year budget. Ahead of where we need to be both in first and second quarters At this point we are behind due to lower than anticipated Extra revenues. It is unlikely that we will be able to bridge the gap

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Report
Equality and Diversity Report
Author: Date Produced: Committees: Action: Graham Atkinson 30 January 2014 NEC, NUS UK Trustee Board Note

Summary:

This report highlights progress over the past year in relation to our Equality and Diversity practices. It gives an overview of our key developments, priorities and areas of focus for the coming year. The NEC are asked to note this report. There are no adverse effects of this report or its recommendations on people (staff / potential staff / members) with protected characteristics as defined within the Equality Act 2010.

1. Background and Context We began work towards the Investors in Diversity Standard in late 2012 and have been making progress against an agreed action plan over the past 18-months. When we began our Investors in Diversity journey and work, the results from our initial diagnostic in August 2012 were variable. Largely, the quantitative scores within the survey were positive for example 84% of internal stakeholders agree that my leaders and managers take equality, diversity and inclusion seriously and 83% were aware of equality, diversity and inclusion related activities that have taken place in the organisation in the last 12 months. The diversity of our staff team, whilst improving, remains a weakness in some areas and priority for the future. It is positive that 60% of our staff team and 54% of our managers are women, but currently only 20% of senior managers are women. At the end of 2011 only 5.88% of staff across the NUS Group were black; this now stands at 7.5%. Whilst our appointment rate over 2013 shows that over 12% of our appointments have been black staff, there is still clearly some work to be done. 2. Key Priorities and Areas of Focus I believe that the following areas form our key priorities in relation to Equality and Diversity. They have formed the focus for our work over the past 12-months and will continue to do so over the next year: 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. Achieving a high-performing, inclusive culture across the NUS Group Diversifying our Workforce Improving our ability to use data effectively to inform decision-making

3. Progress and Highlights over the Last Year Over the past year, we have made some positive progress in our equality and diversity practices, which Id categorise under the above headings as follows: 3.1. Achieving a high-performing, inclusive culture across the NUS Group

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3.2.

Outstanding Managers Programme commenced culture change is a key feature of this programme and in particular the role of our leaders and managers in shaping and driving the organisation culture of the future. Established a Diversity Champions programme to act as a network of staff across the organisation that will support Heads of Department and will take a lead in moving our E&D plans forward. Reviewed and rewritten Equality and Diversity policy and Dignity at Work policy. 90% of staff will have undertaken Equality and Diversity training by the end of February.

Diversifying our Workforce Significant improvement in approach to recruitment strategies all external roles now consistently advertised beyond the student movement and have worked with new advertising partners across the year such as the Network for Black Professionals, Asian Times and The Voice.

3.3.

Building engagement and satisfaction levels with staff with protected characteristics Continued to engage positively with our Black Staff Group, and have worked on a number of shared goals / initiatives to increase cultural engagement across the organisation for example cultural festival factsheets. Funding on ongoing programme of development and training events for black staff, which have been well received.

3.4.

Improving our ability to use data effectively to inform decision-making Improved recording and reporting on diversity data in some areas including pay gap, staff engagement ratings and overall diversity monitoring.

4. Priorities and Focus for 2014 There are also a number of objectives and important areas to focus on over the coming year to ensure we continue to improve in these four areas: 4.1. Achieving a high-performing, inclusive culture across the NUS Group 4.2. Focus on recording, mapping and reporting impact of Outstanding Managers Programme especially in relation to cultural change across the organisation. As an outcome from the OMP to formally define and articulate our desired culture and set clear expectations of managers in terms of attitudes and behaviours that fit within that cultural framework. Celebrate successes and share positive stories from existing learning and development opportunities including E&D and Intercultural Competency training. Regular updates to staff through Monday Morning Live or Heads of Department against progress on Equality & Diversity Work. Ensure effective embedding of Diversity Champions programme and clear realistic plan in terms of outcomes.

Diversifying our Workforce We are putting in place a number of aspirational milestones to measure our future progress towards a more diverse workforce. Those milestones will include long-term measures around: o By July 2016, % of women in top quintile of earners = xx% or greater o By July 2016, % of black staff = xx% or greater o By July 2016, % of black staff in top quintile of earners = xx% o By Dec 2015, % of Senior Leadership Team that are women = xx% o By Dec 2015, % of Senior Leadership Team that are black = xx% There has been discussion at HR Sub Committee about ensuring that we agree a set of milestones which are ambitious and aspirational, but that are also realistic given the requirement for staff turnover and cultural change etc to affect long-term change in this area. The Committee will agree the exact milestones at the April meeting and these will be reported back to Board.

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We will implement much more effective promotion of our employer brand. Our new online recruitment and selection site will be much more effective in encouraging and attracting a diverse range of applicants for our roles.

4.3.

Building engagement and satisfaction levels with staff with protected characteristics More effectively utilise our strategic partnerships, including with Opportunity Now, Investors in Diversity, Race for Opportunity and Network for Black Professionals to continue to enhance EDI practices and activities.

4.4.

Improving our ability to use data effectively to inform decision-making We need to further improve our ability to efficiently and systematically collate and report on data that will be useful in informing our practice. Specifically over the next year we plan to be able to report on the following: o Diversity monitoring of all job applicants, including the advertising strategies that are most effective in diversifying our range of applicants. o Progression rates and statistics. In depth recruitment and selection training for all our Heads of Department including unconscious bias training. A full review of recruitment and selection policy and procedures in particular a review of levels of delegated authority (i.e. makeup of selection panels). Improve Select HR and implement online recruitment and selection to ensure automated rather than manual processes around data reporting.

5. Conclusion It is clear that we have taken some positive steps in enhancing our internal equality and diversity practices over the last year, however there are still some important challenges to address as a priority over the coming year notably further targeted efforts to diversify our workforce. Our follow up IiD survey in February 2014 will provide a timely assessment of our progress and success. 6. Recommendation It is recommended that the NEC note this report, as an update on progress over the past year and an outline of our focus of work for the coming year.

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Report
Shaping Our Work: Developing a New Strategic Plan for the NUS Group Revision and Update Paper, February 2014
Author: Date Produced: Committees: Action: Introduction We are now some way into the process for developing our new strategic plan, and this paper looks back on what has occurred so far, and updates the three boards and NEC on what will happen next. A reminder first of all that the strategic plan is the shared responsibility of the NUSUK Board and the National Executive Council. The primary officer responsible is Toni Pearce, and SLT responsibility is with Ben Kernighan supported by Peter Robertson and Graeme Wise. Before getting into the detail of where we are and whats next, it may be helpful to situate the strategic planning process in the context of our overall work, including the inheritance of important understanding from prior processes, in particular the brand review. TASKS FOR NEC: At your meeting on 20 February, we will have another strategic session. We would like you to: Comment on the approach we are taking to the strategic plan, as outlined in this paper Read through the list of ideas that has been generated (starts on page 9), as we will be asking you to work in groups to pull out the ideas you would prioritise Graeme Wise 10 February NEC Discuss

Mission, vision and values? This strategic plan needs to be underpinned by our recent brand review. The brand review is about much more than just the way we present ourselves in public it was a creative process that runs to the heart of how we express and give energy to our mission. The review led to the creation of a set of central positions explaining what NUS is, what were trying to do, and how we are going to do it. These were: Scope; our area of activity Status; our rank or status Ambition; our heart-felt ambition Ensuring students can thrive Championing students Shaping the future of education to help create a fairer, prosperous society

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Ethos; what are the principles behind our actions?

Representing the realities of students lives Passionate about the power of students to drive change

Style; how we go about our business

Pragmatically provocative, Insightfully authoritative, Energetically inspiring 7 million student voices By students, with students, from students unions

Response; the impression do we want to create Focus; our basis for making decisions

The organisations broad mission remains: to promote, defend and extend the rights of students, and to develop and champion strong students unions. This mission is defined in article three of the NUS Constitution, which cannot be easily amended. It is not therefore that the brand positioning supersedes or replaces the mission, but rather that it defines how we give expression to the mission and, furthermore, determines the shape of the strategy for pursuing the mission at this particular time. We do not want to unnecessarily duplicate work that has already been done, so we plan to build the strategy onto these foundations. Strategy, ideas and judgement A strategy is really just a plan for doing things. It may be a roadmap that sets out fully how the journey is to be taken or just a statement of objectives to accomplish within a specified timescale. Either way, good strategies must be rich with ideas. These do not have to be new ideas they can be time-old and well known and can even have been tried before without success; the aim is to identify those ideas whose time has come. To do that, two essential things have to happen. Firstly, we need to understand the challenges and opportunities that we and our key stakeholders are likely to encounter in the timeframe of the plan. Secondly, we need to make a judgement about which ideas are right for the time. Judging strategic ideas is not easy and it is not possible ever to be definite about whether the right judgements have been made. Criteria for judging them must include: would they lead to a significant advancement of the mission? would they represent a response to the challenges and opportunities faced by NUS and its key stakeholders? are they potentially achievable, within the bounds of resources and the time available? It will also be very important to make judgements about what elements of the strategic plan should be pursued within our core resources, and what elements may be pursued if we can obtain appropriate external and/or additional resources. We are working in a rapidly changing and often unstable environment, and it is therefore also crucial to involve wider groups in making these judgements, and to keep the whole plan under review, allowing changes to it as circumstances change or as new judgements are made. Challenges and opportunities We used a joint away-day of full-time officers and senior staff to initially frame a set of strategic questions that capture the key challenges and opportunities. These were:

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Impact What are the major impacts we want to have on education and society? How can we enable students themselves to make a positive impact? How do we plan for, achieve, monitor, demonstrate and celebrate our impact? Future students What should our relationship with students be? On an individual level? On a collective level? What are they going to be facing? How will we respond to their increasing diversity, and inequalities between them? Students Unions - How will we support students unions in the future? How will we help them to change? How will we understand, support and help to resource students unions? Sustainability How can we help the student movement to be underpinned by a more sustainable economy? How can we diversify our income streams? How can we further advance our green commitments? Prioritising How do we get better at it? What are the benefits of getting better at it? Is our governance as good as it should be? Partnership Who should we be working with, why and how? Which partnerships are for NUS, and which are for the student movement as a whole? What international connections do we need to cultivate? Brand and reputation How will we improve our reputation where it is weak? What do we want our reputation to be? We sense checked these questions with the boards of the three group vehicles. In addition, we used four broad landscape factors to help initiate strategic discussion in a range of focus groups (see below) these were around subject choice, technology, money and labour market structure. We considered this sufficient as did not want to spend a disproportionate amount of time thinking about questions, instead of using our time to focus on ideas. However, to ensure that we have covered this aspect of the process completely, we will be publishing and consulting on a PESTLE (or similar) analysis looking ahead to the next five-years, which will be used to inform judgements about which strategic ideas we take forward.

Consultation & Emerging Themes In the search for winning ideas, we have consulted widely though four primary means: Member consultation via Shape Our Work: promoted via all the main NUS membership communication channels, this exercise has received responses from around 40 different students unions [see Appendix A], which are now being analysed. Interviews with external stakeholders: conducted by the NUS Research Unit, around 30 interviews have been conducted with a sample of external stakeholders designed to cover a range of perspectives on NUS and our work (a list of those spoken to is appended [App. B]; NB it is not too late to speak to additional stakeholders, so if there are any proposals for doing this please do make suggestions).

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Focus groups: a range of focus groups of different scales and sizes have been exploring the strategic questions, including: the NUSUK board, NUS Services Board, NUS Charitable Services Board, National Executive Council, critical friends (students union lead staff), NUS Heads of Department, NUS Staff. More than a hundred people have participated in only the first six of these, and several additional, informal focus groups have been conducted elsewhere and fed into the process. Although it may not have felt like it at the time, the NEC session was particularly helpful to us in quickly building up a strong list of core ideas to take forward. Chief Executives visits and meetings: as part of his induction, Ben has conducted a large number of visits and held meetings with a range of stakeholders, many of which have touched (directly or indirectly) on the strategic questions. We are now at the stage where a large number of potential strategic ideas have been assembled (more than 150), and these now need to be subjected to a critical process aimed at distilling from them which ideas may be the right ones. To do this, we have already started asking NUS officers and staff to reflect on the ideas that have come through, we will be asking all three boards to do so in February, and we will be running an extensive session focused on this at Strategy and Scrutiny. A number of themes are emerging from the various consultation elements. We will talk through those themes when we introduce this item at the meeting. Structure, publication and dissemination We are beginning to give consideration to matters such as the title of the strategic plan, how it should be structured to represent the contents most effectively, and our approach to launching and communicating the plan. While important, these matters are not as crucial as the quality of the strategic ideas that will make up the plan; we want to keep the focus there for the time being. We do know that we want to publish the plan in July to link to the Students Unions 2014 summer convention. We also know that we want the structure of the new plan will be designed to be highly flexible, with an structure that allows the plan to be adapted over time, as circumstances change. A further update will be given in due course. Next Steps The forward process will now move at some pace. We would recommend the following schedule of actions: A new set of focus groups will begin to sense-check and narrow the field of potential ideas, and look for gaps in what we have (NUS SLT, FTOs and HODs done on 16/17 Jan; NUS staff on 3 Feb; critical friends on 4 Feb; Charitable Services Board on 11 Feb; NUS Services Board on 12/13 Feb; NEC on 20 Feb; NUSUK Board on 21 Feb). We will also seek to run a focus group with some key external stakeholders, at a similar point in time. An extended session involving and bringing together many of the above groups will convene at Strategy and Scrutiny; we will present a long list of possible strategic ideas (e.g. definite programmes, initiatives, campaigns to take forward); we will also be asking participants to respond to the emerging themes from the consultation and the PESTLE analysis, using them to inform judgements on the ideas under formation A small working group of FTOs and SLT members will then meet to crystallise a shortlist from the long list ideas; this will take place between 3 and 24 March. A working version of the strategic plan will be circulated for comment to members of the three group boards and the NEC, in w/c 31 March.

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A selection of strategic proposals from the working version will be previewed in special sessions at National Conference and NUS Services Convention, and feedback sought (mid-April). A close to final version of the strategic plan will be on the agenda at the post -Conference NEC meeting (13/14 May), followed by the NUSUK Board meeting (30 May). In particular it will be crucial to ask these bodies to advise on what elements of the strategic plan should be pursued within our core resources, and what elements may be pursued if we can obtain appropriate external and/or additional resources. Final sign-off will be by the National President following those meetings and any final amendments, to take place in mid-June for launch preparation.

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Appendix A: List of Students Union Respondents Represented University College London University of West London University of the Arts, London London School of Economics and Political Science Nottingham University Kings College London Middlesex University Sunderland University Newcastle College Bath University Institute of Education Southampton Solent University Worcester University University of East London Glasgow Caledonian University Leeds Metropolitan University Chester University Weymouth College Durham University Lincoln University Exeter University Glasgow Kelvin College Leeds University Birmingham University Heriot-Watt University Sussex University Liverpool Hope University Canterbury College Royal Holloway, UoL Liverpool John Moores University Coleg Gwent Falmouth & Exeter (FXU) Aberdeen University Eight additional student officers who did not identify their institution.

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Appendix B: List of External Stakeholders Consulted ColegauCymry HEFCW Welsh Language Commissioner Welsh Governance Centre Department for Education & Skills The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education Universities UK The Association of Colleges The Association of Colleges FE Consultant FE Consultant 157 group 157 group The Association of Colleges Education and Training Foundation SEDA and Roehampton University of York British library Institute of Education NEON Bridge Group and Brightside Trust The Student Room Behavioural Insights Team Public Health England Institute for Public Policy Research Confederation of British Industry Student Loans Company National Association of Student Money Advisers AMoSSHE (The Student Services Organisation) Brook Unipol Student Homes Mind UKCISA Equality Challenge Unit Institute of Education/Birkbeck Universities Scotland Universities Scotland Colleges Scotland Scottish Funding Council Scottish Funding Council Scottish Government UCU Scotland SAAS SAAS/Scottish Government EIS Equality Challenge Unit SDLP MLA UUP MLA

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Green Party MLA Chief Executive of Colleges NI NI Human Rights Commission NI Youth Forum

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STRATEGIC IDEAS GENERATED THROUGH THE CONSULTATION PROCESS: ORGANISED BY THEME

Future Students It seems that all our individual offers to students are commercial (e.g. Extra); where are the non-commercial equivalents (e.g. advice, casework)? We should understand and have an approach to transient, short-term students, especially as this study mode may be becoming more prevalent. There are collective student issues where the collective doesnt really know it exists (see UCAS and application issues); on A-level results day, people web search us in large numbers, but what do we do? We need much better research that drills right down into what different kinds of student actually think and how they see the issues. We should get into the MOOC revolution at the start, not leave it too late. What would be the massively open online NUS (MOONUS)? We should have a clear offer for supporting students and students unions in the event of changes to their institution (e.g. mergers). We should better understand the influence of geographical factors on student choices and lifestyles (and constraints on them). We should provide an SU in a Box service to build up capacity in new providers / small FE / small and specialist contexts. We should be set up as a mother ship, acting as an umbrella but also a supplier of a wider range of services locally. We should think through what our international duties might be (e.g. LGBT rights on overseas campuses); do we have enough of an international perspective? We are good at convening special interest groups (e.g. liberation) how can we exploit this area of strength and extend it to new areas? What is liberation 2.0 how do we take that to the next level? We need to make sure that if we become more professional in some respects, that this doesnt make us remote. We need to understand that there is a political economy to the way NUS is funded, and reducing our reliance on affiliation fees could make us more distant from students unions do we understand the implications of that? We should make sure we dont make promises that we cant keep. NUS should reach down the educational system towards schools, trying to connect with future students not just current students.

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At the same time, we should take measures to keep people involved for the long term, even after they have moved on from being a student (in the first instance, but also on the understanding that people are now much more likely to become students more than once. NUS should do far more local work, enabling partnerships and opening up FE/HE spaces and resources to local communities. We need to get fully engaged with big data establish systems to collect far more data on students and develop the analysis systems to gain insights from it. The connection between students and the governance of NUS is going to look more and more dubious as time moves on we need to do a governance review that is student-focused. Traditional and Non-traditional are themselves huge stereotypes; increasingly individuals are blending both approaches in their learning journeys. We need to do much more to promote engaged and active citizenship. That our policy and world view should be larger, e.g. in relation to working with schools. That many students are now working towards UK degrees in other countries, and perhaps we should support them as well as those studying on UK soil? That NUS should be seen as a national platform for students to make a difference, symbolising student social impact and acting as a focal point for it. Our fundamental representative model has hardly changed in decades we should look at new forms of governance that are revolutionary not just evolutionary. The world is becoming more personalised and we have to respond to that by creating more of a personal relationship with students; but our resource limitations mean that we can never bespoke everything so what do we prioritise? Allow membership of NUS by school student councils could be transformational. NUS should run a major programme to influence health improvement and promote healthy student lifestyles. That NUS should take back quality and standards from the QAA, and get more directly involved in this are a (does the same follow for FE? GW) That NUS should intervene more directly in the widening participation agenda, by running a programme like AimHigher. Students unions That NUS should advocate for individual students unions through a national PR se rvice. That NUS should extend the role of the strategic support unit to actually provide support for students unions strategic planning processes.

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That NUS needs to move fast to understand what kind of digital offer may be necessary in three years time, and this will require real investment of time/resources. That NUS should run a major programme with students unions to shape the future of activism how should we go to the next level on promoting students social impact on their local communiti es? NUS should do more facilitation, bringing students unions together to learn from each other. NUS should recognise and provide appropriate insight and support for different students union models, types, approaches, etc. NUS needs to push staff development support to the next level of performance. NUS should help students unions to build relationships with key public institutions, e.g. local authorities and other agencies at the local/regional level. NUS needs to go much further on what it can help students unions to do with data, analytics and insight generation. We need to be ready for an increasing move away from physical spaces to online communities; we should help to create those new communities. Their diversity is now very hard to manage . Should we have different categories of membership; e.g. gold, silver, bronze, with different levels of service provision? We should do more to showcase students unions work nationally we expect them to promote our campaigns but do we promote their successes enough? We should work to bring them together much more on a city/regional basis, including the idea of the citywide SU in some contexts. We should overhaul the Contact system it doesnt work. We should invest far more in students union staff development and support. We should be more inclusive and less judgemental of difference the U.N. and not NATO. We should work harder to understand what colleges and universities want from students unions and help those things to be delivered protect the core funding. We should help them to become vibrant and authentic democracies, not paper democracies where actually staff and student elites are in control of the agenda. Representation of and support for students organised at the city or city-regional level. Virtual students unions in areas where they dont exist or are not strong, operating in the digital realm. That NUS should secure and deliver a new programme building on the Active Communities Fund which ran several years ago; what does student activities 3.0 look like? Sustainability

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A nationally negotiated block grant rate across the HE/FE sectors. That NUS could provide vertical services (an NUS brand coffee franchise network and advice services were both cited as examples), available for subscription by students unions. That NUS should provide resources and space for proper incubation of service ideas should there be an NUS skunkworks? Should NUS be involved in letting agency / housing co-operative work? That NUS should run or sponsor credit unions or similar financial services. That NUS should become extraordinarily good at handling, manipulating and developing value from big data. That we should follow the money; should there be an ACAS for conciliating between students unions and institutions especially around block grants, but also other matters. That we should establish a partnership to design and produce an NUS MOOC promoting student representation, activism, sustainable development and so on. That NUS should set up a student owned bank. That NUS should set up a TV station or channel, probably with online delivery. That NUS should start a national collection of student art. That NUS should regard student health as the next E&E in terms of scale and success. That NUS should run or support a number of student music festivals across the UK. If students unions were considered/framed as social enterprises, how would NUS support this and make sure it produced good outcomes? NUS should investigate and pilot social impact bonds to lever additional funding on a performance -linked basis. NUS should offer central support for students unions to make external funding bids, block grant negotiations, and critical appraisal of commercial strategies/operations. We should enter into the financial services sector banking, credit union, pre-paid credit cards, savings bonds, etc. We should set up an NUS Rightmove for the private student rental sector? We should Bring energy into the purchasing consortium. We should set up a service for exiting students to transfer goods (e.g. textbooks, domestic kit) to students who are starting their courses. We should provide more in the way of central services to students unions: finance, HR, etc.

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We should do more secondment/exchange of staff between NUS and Sus, in both directions. Partnership We should run a national advice call centre; should we partner/merge with other organisations to do this? That NUS should form an alliance with a partner to connect with parents. That NUS should outsource/out-commission big projects to better placed partners e.g. Shelter on housing research and policy. That NUS should find a partner to deliver a major project around international student mobility and tracking the student experience across borders. That NUS should instigate new partnerships to create citywide students unions. That NUS should partner with a major financial institution to achieve a great leap forward in student access to finance on good terms. That NUS should partner with a range of international youth organisations to develop an international programme for youth leadership. That NUS should become far more serious about our alumni an association for past students union officers? This is especially crucial as we move towards the centenary. We should be much clearer on whether or not we see our members as our partners. If they are our partners, what does that mean? How does it influence the member relationship? If they arent, then what are they (clients, customers, scrutineers, governors, etc)? That we should understand the strategies of our partners far better than we do. Have we got an analysis of their futures? In particular, do we have a sophisticated understanding of how some organisations may be both friends and rivals at the same time? That we should engage in a partnership of some kind to promote/develop lifelong learning in a major way. That we should stimulate and incubate partnership working at the local level, as this is more often than not where real results can be achieved where are the partnerships between students unions and voluntary organisations, local government, and each other? We should work with partners to internationalise NUS Extra. We should ensure that the partnerships we form are lasting and sustainable, not superficial and transient even if that means having fewer partnerships. We should support students unions to create and develop more local partnerships. We should focus on partnership building in areas where we have a strong interest but are not practically strong enough e.g. equality/liberation, housing, welfare. We need to be clear about how we will measure the effectiveness of our partnerships.

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Report
Strategic Plan Emerging Themes
Author: Date Produced: Committees: Action: Graeme Wise 10 February NEC Discuss

Untapped potential the sense from the consultation is that NUS and perhaps the whole student movement are both more than and less than the sum of their parts; there is a strong loyalty, not just from students unions to NUS, but amongst the many people who make up the movement, and there are many everyday successes that we dont celebrate enough; but at the same time it feels that we are falling behind on the bigger issues, it has been a long time since we created or provoked a major change for students, and this may be because our aims are not sharp enough and we struggle to pull together around key priorities; in particular it will be increasingly crucial that we can focus our resources to help students, their families, students unions and others at the critical moments where they need us most Diverse journeys and lifestyles the majority of students are not full-time, not in their late teens and early twenties, not affluent and carefree; the student movement could be rebuilt around the interests and needs of the new majority, who are diverse in dozens of respects and have complex lives outside the classroom, but are also more naturally engaged in society and wider social concerns; we must form new partnerships to connect with a wider demographic of students and pursue their interests in far broader and more diverse ways; most importantly it seems crucial to reconsider the basic model of students unions to reflect the pressures of a rapidly changing world Reaching for families students are also engaged in family life, and we may achieve more influence by connecting with their parents, siblings, children; the nature of mass further and higher education means that a large majority of families have students within them, often several students; the institution of the family is becoming radically more diverse and complex, yet it remains a central locus of political power, which we could do more to harness Global resonance educational and social issues are increasingly seen in global terms for example the unsustainability of student finance models, the growth of further and higher education provision in surging economies, student mobility, the resurgence of feminism, the new LGBT rights international, and so on yet our partnerships in other countries are not strong; we are the best established and best resourced movement of students in the world, and we should consider how we can be world-leading in our aims and our approac

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Technology avalanche technology will now even more rapidly and radically change education and student lifestyles and that we should take action to understand and respond to this; the student movements technological capability will have a decisive bearing on whether we can meet our aims; access to technology is becoming a central issue of equality and social justice in both national and global terms Localism and partnership a sense of urgency to bring local institutions, organisations and firms together in partnership, especially in the context of city-regions and metropolitan clusters, but also in other less dense spaces and localities; students increasingly need representation and support that functions in this context; students could have a much stronger positive civic impact if we inspire them and support them to act Long-term engagement the students of tomorrow will have learnt more, have more life experience and different needs before they become our members than in any previous generation, and we should find ways to connect with them earlier and more effectively; the students of the past are more likely to become students again than ever before, and also form networks of influence in society that we must connect with to achieve our aims Shaping future generations within a few years, students and former students will represent more than half of the population, and this will not reverse; if we are ambitious and work with the right partners, we could be in a unique position to influence their values and behaviours to help produce a healthier and more environmentally balanced society for future generations Daring and doing the student movement has a tradition of saying and doing things that others shy away from, and this is one of our greatest strengths; todays struggles for civil rights and fair treatment for instance around immigration, trans rights, access to welfare are not popular causes, yet they are causes we have been prepared to champion; the student movement should have an increased reputation for social action and supporting others Openness and resilience our democratic culture is a great strength, but the way we practice democracy is becoming increasingly strained, unrepresentative, and unable to focus on the most important things, so we should explore more participative and imaginative ways to set our agenda; we can only become stronger by being prepared to change how we work, securing future income and becoming and remaining the authority on our key areas of interest

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Motions to National Conference

Motion 1: A New Deal for Education Funding
Proposed by: Rachel Wenstone Toni Pearce; Raechel Mattey; Joe Vinson; Dom Anderson; Rebecca Hall; Beth Button; Colum McGuire; Rhiannon Hedge; Stephanie Lloyd; Finn McGoldrick ; Hannah Paterson, Marc McCorkell, Amy Smith, Paul Abernethy, Fergal McFerran, Jessica Goldstone, Kirat Raj Singh, Hugh Murdoch

Seconded by:

Conference Believes: 1. The Coalition Governments 2010 higher education funding reforms sought to continue a trend of redefining direct public investment in education as private debt resting on the shoulders of individuals 2. The Government pays more than 7 billion annually to fund higher education tuition fee loans alone; of this the most recent revised figures suggest that up to 40 per cent will be covered by public sources due to non-repayment. 3. The extension of a funding system framed in terms of loans and debt to individual students has created a destructive narrative of waste in place of one where the public investment in higher education can be properly recognised and celebrated as vital to a fair, sustainable and prosperous society 4. The 2010 funding system has left students facing the prospect of paying twice for higher education: once in the form of loan repayments and subsequently through taxation to fill a putative economic black hole, which is neither fair nor sustainable 5. The narrative of waste has hastened the sell-off into private hands of a public asset in the form of student loan book, and with no legal protection for students terms and conditions, putting repayment thresholds and rates at risk of amendment 6. The higher education tuition fee sticker price drives a marketised system in which students are encouraged to make narrow choices on the grounds of costs that in reality they may not end up paying. 6. While those who access higher education remain disproportionately those from higher socio-economic groups, a universal public subsidy will not win over public support 8. An alternative funding system that moved from loans and debt to individual entitlement and fair contributions from graduates in employment would build and maintain popular support for public investment to pass on the opportunity for the next generation to benefit from higher education 9. Any alternative funding system must not maintain an artificial divide between further and higher education, and should move towards a model of funding that enables individuals to access the type of education they need at the point they need it. Conference Resolves: 1. To forge a new deal for education funding to unify public investment in further and higher education and campaign for it ahead of the 2015 general election 2. To support sustained public investment in further and higher education and to promote its role in creating a fair and prosperous society 3. To support moves away from increasing fees and debt, towards a model of entitlement for students and contributions from graduates in order to pay it forward and to ensure the next generation can also benefit from public education provision 4. To support a system of contributions to higher education determined by the real earnings after graduation, not variable sticker prices 5. To campaign against the sell off of the student loan book into private hands 6. To campaign to ensure the terms and conditions of existing student loans are enshrined and protected in primary legislation

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Amendment 1.1
Submitted by: Charles Barry

Add on end of Resolves 4: ", and which includes an employer contribution." Amendment 1.2
Submitted by: Tom Flynn Add amendment: Conference believes 10: Any alternative funding system should ensure that all students in education have the financial support to succeed. Conference resolves 7: To campaign for substantial increases in the financial support available to those in study.

Motion 2: A New EMA

Proposed by: Seconded by: Conference believes 1. That the EMA in England was abolished by the Coalition Government in the 2010 spending review, despite widespread opposition and clear evidence of its impact on participation, retention, and attainment 2. That the decision was based on a flawed reading of one research report, and which the author said was the wrong conclusion to take from his work 3. That the EMA in England was replaced by the discretionary 16-19 Bursary Fund, with a total budget of 180m, only a third the size of the EMA budget 4. That duty on local authorities to ensure adequate transport in order for those aged 16-19 to access FE is routinely ignored 5. That research by Barnardos has found that the 16-19 Bursary Fund is inadequate to meet the needs of learners and has created a postcode lottery of support around the country 6. That the EMA has been retained in the three devolved nations, though with each making different policy changes over time 7. That the participation age will rise to 18 by 2015 which will mean a need for more support, not less Conference further believes 1. That an entitlement-based scheme for learners in FE is the fairest means of distributing resources 2. That the EMA system previously in place was imperfect and did not adequately take into account the needs of learners with larger families, or changing circumstances 3. That the 30 maximum rate of EMA was never increased over its lifetime and as it lost value it blunted the effectiveness of EMA 4. That simply restoring EMA without reform would be to miss an important opportunity to address its flaws 5. That any new scheme should retain a small discretionary fund for hardship and unexpected costs, as was the case prior to 2010 Conference resolves 1. To campaign for an EMA replacement that restores an entitlement to learners but addresses the flaws in the original scheme 2. To ensure that any proposed scheme remains as simple as possible to understand and administer Joe Vinson and Colum McGuire Toni Pearce, Raechel Mattey, Dom Anderson, Finn McGoldrick, Stephanie Lloyd, Rhiannon Hedge, Rachel Wenstone, Hannah Paterson, Rebecca Hall, Amy Smith, Hugh Murdoch

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3. To make the case through our campaign that a new EMA is not simply an incentive scheme but a necessary means of support for learners in FE 4. To empower FE unions to make the case on a local level 5. To consider how the scope of a new EMA can be extended to learners older than 19

Motion 3: A New Deal for Work: Students and Workers Unite

Proposed by: Seconded by: Toni Pearce and Dom Anderson Rachel Wenstone, Hannah Paterson, Amy Smith, Finn McGoldrick, Joe Vinson, Rhiannon Hedge, Hugh Murdoch

Conference believes: 1. NUS research has shown that when asked what their greatest fear about the future is, more than half of students cite pathways to work or employment 2. Many students are also workers, and NUS Pound in Your Pocket research showed more than two thirds are employed during term time or holidays 3. Our work on employment must focus on ensuring good sustainable jobs for the next generation and pathways to work which are non-exploitative and fairly paid

4. A New Deal for Work is an essential component of a New Deal for the Next Generation 5. The campaigning partnership NUS has signed with the TUC affirms our movements shared belief guaranteed employment and quality jobs; and where workers enjoy strong collective and individual rights at work The NUS-TUC partnerships sets out a path to greater collaboration between the student and trade union movements, developing activists and campaigning together rather than apart

6.

Conference resolves: 1. To support the NUS Commission on the Future of Work 2. To support the forging of a New Deal on the Future of Work 3. To support a TUC national demonstration focused on pathways to work and fair and sustainable jobs and ahead of the 2015 general election

Motion 4: From 1994 to 2034: the next generation of the student movement
Proposed by: Seconded by: Raechel Mattey Toni Pearce, Rachel Wenstone, Joe Vinson, Dom Anderson, Rebecca Hall, Beth Button, Colum McGuire, Rhiannon Hedge, Stephanie Lloyd, Finn McGoldrick, Hannah Paterson, Amy Smith, Fergal McFerran, Jessica Goldstone, Hugh Murdoch

Conference believes: 1. The 1994 Education Act and the 2006 Charities Act together establish the principle of independent, well-governed and representative students unions.

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2. As the further and higher education sectors have evolved students unions have as well; they are diverse in mission, scope and levels of resource. 3. Students unions are increasingly interwoven into the fabric of national education regulation: across the UK we have a presumption of student participation in governance, frameworks for learner and student voice, management of complaints and appeals and student engagement. 4. Twenty years on from the Education Act it is timely to reaffirm the right of every student to organise and seek representation through an independent students union, and to reflect on how students unions might evolve in the next twenty years. Conference resolves 1. To consult widely within the student movement and with the further and higher education sectors on the development of a White Paper setting out proposals to ensure students unions are recognised in law, continue to be well-governed and are sufficiently resourced to carry out their mission of amplifying the student voice, helping students be powerful and improving students lives. 2. To consider the diverse purposes and activities of students unions and how these might be more fully developed and supported in a complex and changing educational environment with multiple external pressures. 3. To explore the legal and regulatory frameworks for students unions and lobby to strengthen these. 4. To use the current legal and regulatory frameworks available to us and any future legislation we may achieve to take steps to establish independent collective student representative bodies where they currently do not exist.

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Motions to NEC
Motion 1: Solidarity with Egyptian activists and students
Proposed by: Seconded by: Amy Gilligan James McAsh, Edmund Schluessel

NEC Believes:
1. There is a far-reaching assault on human rights currently underway in Egypt, three years after the uprising which toppled Mubarak. According to Amnesty International the Egyptian military and security forces have killed around 1,400 people and detained thousands since July 2013. 2. Students in Egypt are among those facing repression by the military and security forces. University campuses have been repeatedly invaded by riot police, who have shot dead students in an attempt to crush ongoing protests against the military regime. Over 500 students have been arrested since July 2013, and many have received harsh jail terms, some as long as 17 years. Academics have also been targeted: large numbers of alleged supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have been sacked or arrested.

NEC Resolves:
1. To call for a. immediate and unconditional release of those imprisoned for exercising rights to freedom of expression and of assembly; b. independent investigation into state violence and criminality, including assaults on those exercising any of the rights and freedoms above; c. an immediate end to trials of civilians in military and State Security courts 2. To work with MENA Solidarity Network and the campus trade unions (UCU, Unison and Unite) to establish a broad-based solidarity initiative to defend Egyptians under threat from the military regime by a. circulating solidarity appeals and information about the campaign to our members and encouraging them to participate in solidarity action b. writing to the Egyptian authorities condemning the military repression c. writing to the UK government calling for the immediate suspension of all financial, military or other support to the Egyptian authorities which may be used to violate the rights of Egyptian citizens. In particular, we demand immediate cessation of all sales and transfers to the Egyptian government of weapons, ammunition, vehicles, cyber-surveillance technology and other materials for use against those who exercise their right to protest.

Motion 2: Protest in Birmingham

Proposed by: Seconded by: Toni Pearce Hugh Murdoch, Rhiannon Hedge, Hannah Paterson, Colum McGuire, Stephanie Lloyd, Finn McGoldrick

NEC Believes:
1. Students who wish to take non-violent protest action on their campus have a right to do so. 2. Those universities banning protest on campus and seeking to criminalise non-violent protestors are abusing their position of authority over protesting students.

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3. It is totally unacceptable for a university to suspend a student for being arrested for non-violent protest. 4. Bail conditions, like those given to the arrested Defend Education protestors in Birmingham on Wednesday 29 January, are draconian and designed to frighten students away from activism. 5. The behaviour of a number of different police forces towards activists in the last 6 months has been unacceptable from the use of kettling, strip search, refusing medical care, withholding food and water, not allowing access to toilets and taking arrestees to police stations far away from their point of their arrest and hiding police numbers is immoral and indefensible. 6. The use of the above tactics has a detrimental effect on the mental health of activists; weather they are being implemented by the police or fellow activists.

NEC Further Believes:

1. The last NEC discussed and passed policy on the nuances of relationships that students' unions have in relation to the police and 'Cops off Campus' 2. Cops Off Campus is a legitimate policy aim, but it takes compromise from students on that campus not to take part in activity that requires a police presence. 3. Choosing to occupy a structurally unsafe building, or kettling a sabbatical officer, police community support officer or student gives the police legitimate cause to come onto campus.

NEC Resolves:
1. Write to the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner demanding an investigation into police tactics and behaviour at the University of Birmingham 2. Issue a request for UUK to tell Vice-Chancellors to stop criminalising non-violent protest on campus 3. For NUS to promote the activists mental health toolkit to the membership and sure nationally we are taking these guides into account when we are orgainsing our own action. (http://www.nusconnect.org.uk/news/article/studentmentalhealth/Activist-Mental-Health-

Guides-download-now/)

Amendment 2.1
Proposed by: Seconded by: James McAsh Gordon Maloney, Rosie Huzzard

NEC Believes:
1. On 29th January 2014 over 150 students participated in a national demonstration in Birmingham for free education, for a democratic university and against a staff pay cut. 2. The body of the protest was contained by West Midlands police and university security at around 4pm 3. The students were held in the rain without food, water or access to toilets for over 4 hours. 4. This appears to closely resemble kettling although West Midlands Police deny that kettling took place. 5. Students were only released if they agreed to give their details to police. When this tactic and tactics similar to this have been used before, they have been found to be illegal. 6. All students who did not give their details were arrested 7. The arrestees were held for up to 30 hours. 8. Arrestees were strip searched and had phones, notebooks, and tablet computers confiscated 9. When released, bail conditions imposed included banning students from entering any UK university campus, meeting in groups of more than 10, and sleeping anywhere but their registered address. 10. All arrestees at the University of Birmingham have been suspended until September and banned from campus by the University Management. 11. That the University of Birmingham has been condemned in the past by Amnesty International for their attempts to stifle protest.

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NEC further believes:

1. That there is good reason to question the legality of the polices behaviour with regard to their containment of the protestors and their forcing the protestors to give details under threat of arrest. 2. That access to water, food and toilets are human rights which should not be restricted 3. The university of Birmingham has actively used police to stifle legitimate protest 4. That the tactics used by the university of Birmingham and West Midland police were highly intimidating. 5. The use of suspensions by the university of Birmingham to stifle protest is an attack on democracy and the right to protest, and sets a dangerous precedent for other universities 6. The university has therefore suspended students for not giving their details to police. 7. That NUS and students unions have a responsibility to defend their students and the right to protest on campus.

NEC Resolves:
1. To mandate the Vice President Society and Citizenship to write a statement, expressing the contents of this motion, on behalf of NUS to be published on the NUS website. 2. To mandate the President to write to the University of Birmingham management demanding the reinstatement of the students suspended in relation to this protest 3. To support to the on-going campaign at Birmingham University for the living wage

Motion 3 - Emergency motion: UCU marking boycott

Submitted by: Gordon Maloney Seconded by: Sky Yarlett, Robert Foster, Kelley Temple, James McAsh, Rosie Huzzard, Tom Flynn

NEC believes:
1. The ongoing UK-wide pay dispute in HE, in which staff in universities are fighting against a real-terms pay cut of up to 13%. 2. That UCU have announced a marking boycott starting from the 28th of April 3. That this action may mean students are unable to graduate or progress.

NEC further believes:

1. That universities and the HE sector have the money to pay staff fairly. 2. That the belligerence demonstrated by university managements and UCEA in the dispute so far show the need for staff to take action beyond traditional one-day strikes. 3. That students being unable to graduate or progress is a disgrace but that the blame for this lies squarely and exclusively with the management of institutions, not with the staff unions. 4. That management will attempt to drive a wedge between students and staff in order to break the strike. 5. That support from students can play a decisive role in winning this dispute for staff and ensuring that nobody is prevented from graduating or progressing. 6. That the long-term impact to students of staff losing this dispute will be far greater than the short-term impact of this action.

NEC resolves:
1. To reaffirm our support for university staff in this dispute. 2. To communicate this support to UCU, EIS, Unison and Unite, as well as to UCEA. 3. To communicate this support and our firm believe that UCEA and university management are to blame to our members. 4. To support students and students associations who wish to compl ain about the impact this will have on them and their members to do so to UCEA and university management.