[SLEWG – P08]
Introduction
This paper has been drafted by NUS Scotland to promote open discussion between members of the RoSCo Staffing, Learners and Learning Environments
(SLALE) working group. It is aimed at aiding the working group to identify student representation issues in Scotland’s colleges.
In this paper we invite members of the SLALE working group to discuss the requirement of colleges to support students’ associations and to recommend steps to ensure adequate student representation.
Background
NUS Scotland represents the interests of over 500,000 students in colleges and universities across Scotland. We believe student representation is key to ensuring an involved and engaged student body and a college that meets the needs of its learners.
Traditionally, student representation in universities has seen greater investment and development than in colleges. All universities in Scotland have a student representative stru cture and virtually all students’ associations have sabbatical student Presidents and support staff. However, in contrast, the college sector has only a handful of sabbatical Presidents and fewer still have adequate staffing or facilities.
NUS Scotland has campaigned for many years to improve student representation in colleges. We believe it is important that student representation in colleges is developed to ensure it meets the needs of its students. Simply transferring the model used in universities would most likely not suit many colleges or students.
However, valuable lessons can be gained from the university sector, as there is such a wealth of good practice available.
The HMIE framework has student input as one of its key strands. Under this strand, colleges should be able to demonstrate that they are listening to students and taking action as a result of what they say. Many colleges in Scotland have made good efforts to consult their students but NUS Scotland believes there is still a great distance to be travelled to ensure students are able to participate at all levels of college discussions.

Issues around student representation in colleges
The Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council has made studentcentredness a focus of its strategy. A strong and wellrun students’ association is essential in enabling the college to achieve this. A students’ association provides information and advice for the students and is able to offer informed and valuable feedback to the college. Without formal student representation, NUS Scotland believes a college will struggle to become student-centred.
The higher student turnover in colleges can be an issue, particularly when attempting to ensure continuity in a student representative structure. NUS
Scotland believes the most effective model to resolve this problem is to provide a staff member specifically for the students’ association. This ensures there is continuity year to year and protects the investment each student officer puts in to the students’ association.
Many students’ associations in colleges struggle to make ends meet. The funding they receive from their institution sometimes does not allow for the simplest campaign or student newsletter. This lack of resourcing severely limits the effectivene ss of the students’ association and a student officer’s ability to represent the students. Of the students’ associations that have greater investment, there can be little doubt that the college benefits from greater student participation. College students ’ associations that are well resourced provide many examples of benefiting both students and the college as a whole, such as by:
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promoting a joined-up representation structure that encompasses class representatives;
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serving on national Scottish Executive and Scottish Funding Council committees;
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running campaigns on health-related issues;
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linking in with local communities;
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running clubs and societies; and
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taking part in national student and education-related training and conferences.
It is clear that students believe that their experience while at college is as valuable as the learning they are there to do. In the recent Scottish Executive
Higher and Further Education Students’ Income, Expenditure and Debt in
Scotland 04-05 Survey , 80% of college students believed they would benefit socially from attending college. However, the report also highlighted that welfare is an issue. One in Five students had seriously considered dropping out and the main causes of this were financial or family/domestic issues.
One of the main functions of a students’ association can be to provide welfare advice to students. Where this is available, it is a generally a greatly used service

that complements the institutions’ own support services, as students are often more comfortable approaching fellow students with a problem.
NUS Scotland often hears from college management that they expect an active students’ association to have a negative impact on college business by making criticisms rather than contributing to change in a positive way. Of the colleges that have given their students’ associations the resources to operate effectively, there are many examples of their benefiting the college. For instance, Kilmarnock
College Students’ Association played an integral part in the creation of an
Employability Centre, while Gordon Brown MP recently became Honorary
President at Jennie Lee Students’ Association at Adam Smith College, both of which reflect positively on the colleges.
Questions for discussion
NUS Scotland’s Charter of Minimum Rights for Students’ Associations is attached to this paper. It identifies ways in which colleges can support students associations to ensure they develop effectively. As mentioned previously in this paper, only a small number of students’ associations have these resources available. Based on the Charter and the issues raised in this paper, we would encourage discussion and feedback on the following:
 What can be done to ensure students’ associations in every college are given adequate resources? H ow can college Principal’s play a part in promoting student representation across the sector?
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What support and information would assist colleges in establishing good representative structures and how could this be provided?
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The Scottish Funding Council aims to promote a student-centred focus. How can colleges achieve this and what needs to be done to achieve this?
Summary
Ministerial Direction to the Scottish Funding Council and quality standards mean that student participation should be a key focus of colleges over the coming years.
NUS Scotland believes that the Review of Scotland’s Colleges should give a clear message to the sector that student representation is necessary and must be taken forward. We believe that adequate representation structures require adequate resourcing from each college.
In order to achieve a sector that is able to identify and respond to it’s learners needs, NUS Scotland requests that the SLALE working group recommends that

the Minister outlines the responsibilities of Scot land’s colleges in supporting and resourcing student participation.
The working group is invited to:
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Discuss the issues raised in this paper
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Make recommendations based on discussions