This answer may contain information which is out of date. If you would like your question to have a fresh look send it to SUSU
Whats going on with the NUS?
THE STUDENTS' UNION AND THE NUS - WHAT'S GOING ON?
Over the last few days I have received a few e-mails about the NUS so I thought I ought to clarify the situation a little. To start with let me explain the difference between the NUS and SUSU. SUSU is the Southampton University Students’ Union; it is a part of Southampton University and run by our students. It’s purpose is to help the students here to get the most out of their time at University and deal with any problems that arise on a local level. The NUS is a national organisation representing all affiliated organisations within Further and Higher education, they campaign for issues of a national nature e.g. maintenance grants for sixth formers etc…
So are we affiliated to the NUS?
To set the scene, last summer the AGM voted not to renew our affiliation to the National Union of Students. By law there has to be a positive vote each year to remain affiliated; this means that unless a vote is taken we are unable to affiliate. The issue was raised since each year SUSU has to pay £76,000 to affiliate to the NUS, and those students who voted felt that this was not good value for money. The feeling was that the £76,000 would be much better spent on Clubs, Societies, the Athletic Union, Advice, Information, Publications, Student Community Action… After this decision was taken the last president wrote to the NUS and handed in notice of our intention not to re-affiliate; under the rules of the NUS once this has been done the Students’ Union remains a member until 1st January. For this reason as of 1st January 2003 SUSU will not remain affiliated to the NUS.
So if we are affiliated until 1st January why aren’t you selling NUS Cards?
The issue of NUS cards was a decision made entirely independently of our decision not to affiliate to NUS. Even if we were affiliated to NUS we would not currently be selling the cards. The decision was taken as this year the NUS decided to alter the way that student discounts are given. They are starting to move away from offering discounts at point of sale to a system where you can only redeem your discount on the NUS website. The Council of the Students’ Union took the view that this wasn’t in the best interests of our students as incorporated within this system was the ability for the NUS and all their partners to trace your purchacing habits and obtain personal data; for this reason we are not selling the cards this year.
So what about our discounts?
At the very beginning of the summer our marketing department worked incredibly hard to visit every shop in Portswood and in town. Their aim was to discover which shops, if any, that offer discounts to NUS cardholders would not offer the same discount to Southampton University students without the card. As far as I’m aware there were no stores that used to offer discounts that won’t offer the same discount with the Southampton ID card. We did have a few problems with HMV and Topshop but these should be resolved within a few days. Both have said that they WILL now offer discounts without an NUS card. If you discover any problems please let me know. Also if you still want national student ID then I would recommend buying an ISIC card, which is internationally recognised, and lasts for 15 months if purchased in October. There is an online list of some of the shops that offers discounts.
Tim Rowlandson
Students’ Union President
Last updated: 26th November 2004
SUSU home
SUSU home
Gallery
Wessex Scene
Room Bookings
The Box Office
