Memorandum submitted by National Union
of Students
1. NUS (National Union of Students) is a
voluntary membership organisation comprising a confederation of
local student representative organisations in colleges and universities
throughout the United Kingdom that have chosen to affiliate. We
have nearly 750 constituent members—virtually every college
and university in the country. NUS represents the interests of
around five million students in further and higher education throughout
the United Kingdom. It provides research, representation, campaign
work, training and expert advice for individual students and students'
unions.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
2. Further Education (FE) is an important
forum for citizenship education as there are over four million
students studying in FE colleges, and nearly half of all A levels
are taken within this environment rather than in schools. However,
NUS believes that, despite development projects and best practice
publications, colleges have failed to implement the citizenship
agenda within their institutions. While some colleges have an
excellent system of supporting and developing "whole college
citizenship" through students' unions, there is great inconsistency
within the sector. Some colleges have no system of student representation
at all, whilst others vary in quality.
This was recognised by both the Foster Review
into Further Education, and the recent Further Education Reform
White Paper, which both advocate increased student representation
within FE colleges. NUS has great expertise in supporting and
leading this kind of cultural change, and is ready and willing
to support the Government's objectives for learner representation.
3. The Government's recommendations on learner
representation will improve the quality and responsiveness of
FE education, but they are equally important for citizenship education.
This is because they are essential in fostering a sense of citizenship
amongst students. NUS firmly believe that the best form of citizenship
education is experiencing citizenship in action. Students can
only develop a true appreciation of the importance of citizenship
if they are part of an institution where people debate and decide
together, and where they are given the opportunity for proper
input into the decision-making process. The report of the government
advisory group on citizenship, "Citizenship for 16-19-Year-Olds
in Education and Training" (2000), describes active citizens
as people who are "willing, able and equipped to have an
influence in public life." [37]This
is exactly the type of person that student representation will
create within FE, once the required funding and training is in
place.
4. The report also identified a number of
other skills that are essential for citizenship development. Students'
unions actively develop many of these key skills. The democratic
nature of student representation promotes "an understanding
of the rights and responsibilities associated with a particular
role." [38]Through
their policy-making and campaigning functions, students' unions
allow students to "apply a framework of moral values relevant
to a particular situation." [39]Campaigns
and volunteering activities equip students with "an understanding
of, and respect for, cultural, gender, religious, ethnic and community
diversities." [40]Liberation
campaigning and the equal opportunities statement that forms part
of a students' union's constitution helps "combat prejudice
and discrimination." [41]Student
representatives generally, and student governors in particular,
learn to "assess risk and uncertainty when making a decision."
[42]Clearly,
strengthening the role of students' union and student representation
within FE colleges will have an enormous impact on improving Citizenship
Education.
5. FE is also potentially a young person's
first experience of democracy. Before they even reach the official
voting age of 18, they can get involved in students' union elections,
either as a candidate or as a voter, and in selecting other forms
of student representatives, such as class representatives. As
the White Paper's recommendations are put into practice, this
will increasingly become the case. This clearly has huge potential
for citizenship education. If a college has a vibrant and dynamic
students' union or student representation system, a student will
experience the benefit of democracy and this is crucial in embedding
a positive attitude towards political participation. This could
well encourage continued participation in the future. However,
at the moment there are many colleges who actively discourage
democratic activity amongst their students by failing to have
students' union elections, or insufficiently advertising elections
within their institution.
6. NUS also believe that lowering the voting
age to 16 would be highly beneficial for citizenship education.
Research has shown that voting behaviour is strongly affected
by the start of the process. The more you have voted in the past,
the more likely you are to vote in the future. The fact that older
people turn out to vote much more than younger people suggests
that there is a strong argument for starting the process earlier.
The Social Market Foundation has shown there is a "birth
effect" in voting, with those who have turned 18 just before
a general election being much more likely to vote than those who
have to wait another four or five years. Clearly, with citizenship
education and students' unions in place, young people could be
supported by their FE college to participate in elections. As
FE colleges have a disproportionately high number of students
from ethnic or low socio-economic background, this would undoubtedly
benefit such communities, where turnout is lowest.
7. Paragraph 3.14 of the FE White Paper
emphasises the important role of volunteering in promoting active
citizenship amongst students. Volunteering is beneficial for the
students themselves in terms of developing their sense of belonging
to and responsibility for the local community. Equally important,
however, is the overspill effect for the wider community. As students
get involved in volunteering projects that support or mentor other
young people in the community, both the student and those they
are mentoring can begin to develop a sense of active citizenship.
8. However, the Russell Commission Report
on Volunteering (2005) revealed that volunteering activity within
colleges is low and is not perceived as important. Our own survey
of FE students' unions showed that over half do not have any student
clubs or societies, and 77% did not offer volunteering opportunities
during 2005, the Year of the Volunteer. This is partly explained
by the fact that most colleges fail to give student officers their
own office space where they can provide services and offer advice
on activities, such as volunteering, to other FE students. In
addition, many colleges have failed to fulfil the legal requirement
of the 1994 Education Act to review the Students' Union Constitution
every five years. This is a missed opportunity because the institutions
who have done so have adopted the Association of Colleges/NUS
FE Student Union Constitution, which contains the position of
Student Activities Officer and the opportunity to start clubs
and societies. Student Volunteering England states that opportunities
for volunteering within FE are directly linked to the existence
of a functioning and well-funded student union infrastructure.
NUS therefore believes that the kind of "learner voice"
representation recommended by Foster and in the White Paper will
become the means to grow and nurture active volunteering amongst
FE students.
9. NUS also believes that Black and minority
ethnic students stand to gain enormously from these proposals.
The strengthening of the "learner voice" is critical
in raising achievement and participation levels among this group
of students, who are widely under-represented in democratic and
consultative forums, even in places where they should constitute
a majority. The proposals from NUS will see a focused effort to
engage Black and minority ethnic students in representative structures
through targeted support, which will include confidence-building
and skills training.
RECOMMENDATIONS
10. Statutory Requirement
In order for student representation to be taken
seriously and become fully embedded into the FE environment, there
should be a requirement for FE colleges to collect learners' views
in a consistent and systematic way. The White Paper says that
the Government will "introduce measures that put learners
and employers in the driving seat in determining what is funded
and how services are delivered." (p 7) For this to succeed,
it is vital that college corporations and their senior management
teams actively support learner representation by implementing
course representative structures, student committees and authentic
student involvement in their corporation boards. Adequate funding
is also crucial. NUS looks forward to working with the Government
to ensure that these recommendations become a reality. We believe
that allowing students to have a say in decision that impact their
education will encourage their development as active citizens.
11. A Minimum of Two Student Governors
Student governors have continually reported
to NUS that they feel more confident having another student member
in the room, and this is the only way to ensure that the "student
voice", part of the moral ownership of a college, is not
swamped by sheer numbers. The Government has accepted this argument,
and the FE White Paper states: "We expect learners to play
a key role in institutional governance, with each governing body
including at least two learner governors." (para 3.12)
12. Monitoring
We welcome proposals in the FE White Paper for
Ofsted to monitor mechanisms for learner representation in institutions.
This should include the monitoring of resources for students'
unions and councils, whether institutions are organising elections,
and appropriate training of elected representatives.
13. Training
Active and effective student governors or student
representatives do not materialise out of thin air. They need
to be trained, developed and mentored in order to reach their
full potential, with this training being provided fromthe level
of course representatives upwards. NUS Scotland runs a successful
scheme entitled SPARQS which trains class representatives, and
NUS would like to roll out this programme throughout the rest
of the UK. This was acknowledged in the FE White Paper, which
states: "Working with the Centre for Excellence in Leadership,
the Association of Colleges and the National Union of Students
we will extend the successful national scheme of support for learner
representatives." (para 3.13) NUS looks forward to implementing
this, and believes it will create an effective and empowered group
of student representatives, and also form an important part of
citizenship education.
14. Funding
In order to fulfil the role of promoting student
representation and volunteering, and thereby providing a direct
form of citizenship education, students' unions need to be adequately
funded. Within FE, students' unions are funded on average with
a mere 0.02% of the college block grant. In addition, many students'
unions receive no funding at all! NUS believe that the absolute
minimum should be 0.05% of the block grant. It doesn't sound like
much, but this minimum level of funding could transform the work
of students' unions, allowing them to run active and vibrant campaigns
and engage with their students' to a much greater degree.
15. The Right of Appeal
NUS believes that within post-16 learning, students
should be active decision-makers and equal stakeholders within
an educational institution. This should apply to appeals procedures.
Colleges should make arrangements for appeals procedures concerning
disciplinary and academic matters, and also the withholding of
Educational Maintenance Allowance. Learners should be fully involved
in drafting these procedures, and should also be part of the panel
considering the appeals.
16. Reduce the voting age to 16
Within FE, we are hoping to develop an adult
environment with active "citizens" involved in decision-making.
It would seem an anomaly to be empowering students to take an
active role in decision that affect their education, and yet deny
them the opportunity to vote on a national scale. Having the right
to vote will also make citizenship education much more pertinent
and effective.
17. Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)
NUS is amazed that many students are denied
the opportunity to take part in citizenship activities, such as
lobbies of Parliament, because of the threat of losing their EMA.
Whilst it is left to the discretion of local panels of providers
to decide what constitutes an "authorised absence",
the Department of Education and Skills produces guidance on what
can generally be included in this category. The fact that citizenship/representative
activity is not included in the list means that many local authorities
do not consider it as an authorised absence. NUS is campaigning
for this guidance to be changed, so that it includes an explicit
reference that citizenship activities can be considered as authorised
absences.
March 2006
37 Further Education Funding Council, Citizenship
for 16-19-Year-Olds in Education and Training (2000), p 3,
para 1.4. Back
38
Citizenship for 16-19-Year-Olds, p 17, para 5.12. Back
39
Citizenship for 16-19-Year-Olds, p 17, para 5.12. Back
40
Citizenship for 16-19-Year-Olds, p 17, para 5.12. Back
41
Citizenship for 16-19-Year-Olds, p 17, para 5.12. Back
42
Citizenship for 16-19-Year-Olds, p 17, para 5.12. Back
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