Students' union

"Student Body" redirects here. For the 1994 film, see Getting In.

A students' union, student government, free student union, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizational activities, representation and academic support of the membership.

In the United States, student union many times only refers to a physical building owned by the university with the purpose to provide services for students without a governing body also referred to as a student activity center. Outside the United States, student union and students' union refer to a representative body.

Purpose

Depending on the country: the purpose, assembly, method and implementation of the group might vary. Universally the purpose of students' union or student government is to represent fellow students in some fashion.

In some cases students' unions are run by students, independent of the educational facility. The purpose of these organizations is to represent students both within the institution and externally, including on local and national issues. Students' unions are also responsible for providing a variety of services to students. Depending on the organization's makeup students can get involved in the union by becoming active in a committee, by attending councils and general meetings, or by becoming an elected officer.

Some students' unions are politicized bodies, and often serve as a training ground for aspiring politicians. The combination of the youthful enthusiasm of the various members, a general lack of serious consequences for decisions, and a student media that is itself often partisan, inexperienced, and under no financial pressure to slant coverage to please a broad readership encourages very vigorous campaigning, debate, and political gamesmanship . Students' unions generally have similar aims irrespective of the extent of politicization, usually focusing on providing students with facilities, support, and services.

Some students' unions often officially recognize and allocate an annual budget to other organizations on campus. In some institutions, postgraduate students are within the general students' unions, whereas in others they have their own Postgraduate Representative Body. In some cases, graduate students lack formal representation in student government.

A Students' Union building at Oklahoma State University, which doubles as a student activity center.

Variations depending on country

As mentioned before universally the purpose of students' union or student government is to represent fellow students. Many times student's unions usually focusing on providing students with facilities, support, and services. Simple variations on just the name include the name differences between the United States (student government) and other countries (student's union). Depending on the country there are different methods of representation compulsory education to Higher education or tertiary.

Asia & Oceania

Australia

Main article: Student unionism in Australia

In Australia, all universities have one or more student organizations. As of July 2006, membership and union fees are voluntary by law.

Australian student unions typically provide such services as eateries, small retail outlets (e.g., news agencies), student media (e.g., campus newspapers), advocacy, and support for a variety of social, arts, political, recreational, special interest and sporting clubs and societies. Most also operate specialized support services for female, LGBT, international and indigenous students. Many have expressed concerns over the introduction of voluntary student unionism (VSU).

The National Union of Students of Australia represents most student unions at a national level.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan Students Union (ASU) was established by students from Baku on 15 September 2008. ASU is an organization which was established on basis of international experience and it was the first student organization which united students irrespective of gender, race, creed, nationality.

During its action period ASU has formed stable structure, presented new suggestions about student policy to appropriate bodies, made close relations with international and regional student organizations, prepared new action plan according to the universities-students-companies' relations in Azerbaijan.

ASU considered international relations very important. For the first time ASU’s delegates were participants of the First Asia IAESTE Forum in Shanghai during 12–15 November 2009. After that forum ASU established close relations with IAESTE which is one of the biggest student exchange organizations. As a result of relations on 21 January 2010 ASU was accepted a member of IAESTE. Our union gained right to represent Azerbaijan students in IAESTE. That membership was the union's first success on international level. During 20–27 January Azerbaijan Students Union was accepted as associative member of IAESTE in 64th Annual Conference in Thailand. Also Azerbaijan Students Union is a full member of European Students' Union.

China

In China, the student body is usually referred to as 学生会 (pinyin: Xuéshēng Hùi; literally: "student union") or 学生联合会 (pinyin: Xuéshēng Liánhé Hùi; literally: "student association"). A student association of a particular university, usually plays the role as the organizer of student activities such like holding a party, organizing some interesting matches and so on. The membership in different universities has different functions. Some universities may give the membership a task of recording the students' attendance and the complex grades. Student associations of Chinese universities are mostly under the leadership of Communist Youth League of China, which to a large extent limit its function as an organization purely belonging to students themselves.

Hong Kong

All universities in Hong Kong have students' unions. Most of these students' unions are members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students. Many secondary schools also have students' unions or the equivalent.

India

India has developed a complex tradition of student politics dating from the era of Congress Party domination. Student unions are organised both within universities, like the Student Council of IISc and across universities, but affiliated with political parties, as in the case of ABVP, NSUI, SFI,etc. The latter compete in elections to control posts in the former. Examples of activist unions include the Delhi University Students Union. Recently few school administrations had also started including the student government system as co-curricular activities in one form or another.

Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, National Students Union of India, Students Federation of India, All India Students' Association & All India Democratic Students Organisation are major Students' Organisations in India.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, every university, college and higher education school has a student union. The student body in high school, which is called Organisasi Siswa Intra Sekolah (Student Organization Inside School), abbreviated OSIS, is the official student organization formed by the government. A general election to choose the leader is usually held every year. OSIS organizes the school's extracurricular activities such as music shows and art gallery (pentas seni/pensi).

Japan

In Japan, the student body is called 学生自治会 (gakusei-jichi-kai). In Japanese, the word 学生自治会 (gakusei-jichi-kai) means students' self-government-organizations. The student body in Japan promotes extracurricular activities. Usually, a cultural association, 文化会 (bunka-kai), and a sports association, 体育会 (taiiku-kai), are included within a student body as autonomous organizations. A student belongs to one or more students' organizations, and he or she does extracurricular activities through these students' organizations. However, the extracurricular activities of universities and colleges have been declining since the 1990s.

Malaysia

Malaysia has 20 public institutions of higher learning. Each of them has one Student Representative Council (Malay: Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar or MPP) which is the ultimate legislative body among the students. The MPP holds the highest administrative authority in the Student Union of each university. A general election is held every year, usually in September, to elect representatives to the Student Representative Council. The percentage of voter turn-outs are usually high (70% to 95%) largely due to enforcements from the universities' governance which at the same time acts as the Election Committee. The students are represented by two side which is pro-aspiration and pro-students.

Every year, the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education would set meetings and arrange programmes with all MPP. Nevertheless, each MPP has their own autonomous right to govern their own membership. The size of the MPP differs from each university, from as little as 12 person to as many as 50 person. (note: There are no sabbatical officers in the Malaysian Students' Union system. All members of MPP are part-time officers)

New Zealand

Students associations have a strong history in New Zealand of involvement in political causes, notably the Halt All Racist Tours campaign during the 1981 Springbok Tour. All universities, and most polytechnics and colleges of education have a students association. Since the economic reforms of the 1990s and the introduction of user pays in tertiary education, students associations and the national body have shifted their focus to challenging inequities in the student loan scheme and high levels of student debt. Part-time work alongside the introduction of internal assessment and the change of semester structure has been attributed to the declining involvement in extracurricular activities and a shift in focus of the student movement from mass protest to lobbying.

Previous to 1998 membership of Students' Associations (pep) was compulsory at all public Tertiary Education providers (universities, polytechnics and colleges of education). In 1997 the centre-right National party proposed the Voluntary Student Membership amendment to the Education act which would have made membership of Students' Associations voluntary at all Tertiary Education Providers.

However the National Party relied on support from the centrist New Zealand First party to pass legislation. The New Zealand First party preferred that Tertiary Students themselves choose whether their provider should be voluntary or compulsory and pushed through a compromise to the amendment that allowed for a Compulsory Vs Voluntary referendum to be held at every public Tertiary Education Provider. The amendment also allowed for subsequent referendums which could not be held until at least two years had passed since the previous referendum and only if a petition was signed by 10% of the student populace.

The first wave of referendums were held in 1999, in which several Polytechnics and two Universities (the University of Waikato and the University of Auckland) elected to become voluntary. In 2002 a second referendum was held at the University of Waikato and students choose to return to compulsory student membership. Similar referendums at Auckland University in 2001, 2003 and 2005 have all elected to retain voluntary student membership.

Most of New Zealand Tertiary students' associations are confederated under the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations.

Philippines

The Philippines has a complex student union. The usual names used are "student government", "student council", "student body" The Student Government Program of the elementary and secondary schools is handled by the Department of Education while the student councils in state universities and colleges is under the Commission on Higher Education. As well, Every public and private elementary and secondary schools under the Department of Education (DepED) has its own student governments. At the Tertiary Level, also known as higher education or "university" every private and state college and universities in the Philippines has its own student councils. In a university, there is a university student council and every college has its college student council. If a university has external campus(es), the external campuses has its own student council. The student councils within the university (main campus and external campuses) has the student regent, which would represent studentry of the whole university. One example of that is of the West Visayas State University and Central Philippine University.

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, each state university has several Students' unions with formal links to respective faculties. However most of these have political affiliations and function as proxies of these political factions. Many union take an active political role within the university and in the country as a whole. This frequently lead to much clashes between rival students' unions or the authorities.

Africa

File:University of Pretoria Student Council.jpg

The University of Pretoria's first student council in 1909

In South Africa student representative councils are the executive and plenary body of student governance and charters and provides most of the funding for other student groups, and represents students' interests when dealing with the administration. In several instances representatives of these bodies are members of the university's Senate.

In 2012 the first student union, after 42 years of suppression, was founded . Students from Al Mimona Ebem Alharth school public school in Tripoli-Libya successfully established the union and promoted for other schools around the country to do the same . The founder Alaa Amed received local media attention for this achievement .

While higher education and student activism might vary depending on the country the National Association of Nigerian Students' (NANS) is an organization with well over 50 university union across the nation.

Tunisia has a lot of students unions, we can see Organization of RCD students (Of the party Democratic Constitutional Rally but It was dissolved in 2011 after the Tunisian revolution), but the largest two poles for students in the country are Union générale des étudiants de Tunisie (UGET) since 1952 and Union générale tunisienne des étudiants (UGTE) since 1985.

Europe

While each student's union varies by countries the European Students' Union is an umbrella organization of 45 national unions of students from 36 European countries.

Denmark

In Denmark the higher education system comprises two parallel sectors: universities and university colleges of applied sciences (e.g. nursing and engineering schools or teachers' colleges). Universities are characterised by scientific research and the highest education based thereon. University colleges of applied sciences are oriented towards working life and base their operations on the high vocational skill requirements set by it. These vocational institutions offer 3-4 year 'professional bachelor degrees'. Besides that there are a number of art schools. Universities belong under the Ministry of Science, University Colleges belong under the Ministry of Education, and the Art Schools belong under the Ministry of Culture. There are 12 universities at the moment, but in 2006 there is a major merger process going on to make fewer, bigger institutions. The student unions at universities (and some of the art schools' student unions) are generally members of the National Union of Students in Denmark which represents these students on the national level.

Every university has a student union (In Danish, Studenterråd). Membership is not mandatory. The student unions are funded by the university and the Ministry of Science on the basis of the percentage of votes received every year at the university election. The student union is autonomous, its internal life organized by its by-laws. The student unions are responsible for all representation of the students and elect the student members of different administrative organs. They usually coordinate and finance the activities of smaller, more specialized student organizations. For the financing of their activities, some student unions exact a membership fee and/or engage in different businesses.

In the Ministry of Culture institutions there are also local student organisations. In the Ministry of Education institutions, The student activities are very much related to a student division of the Labor Union in the different areas. For instance, the teachers' students are organised in the national labor union for teachers and so forth.

The Upper-Secondary schools (In Danish, Gymnasier), It is in Denmark a law that there has to be a studentscouncill at the Upper-Secondary schools. The studentscouncils are organized in the following organisations:

Finland

Main article: Student unionism in Finland

In Finland the higher education system comprises two parallel sectors: universities and universities of applied sciences (polytechnics). Universities are characterized by scientific research and the highest education based thereon. Universities of applied sciences are oriented towards working life and base their operations on the high vocational skill requirements set by it.

France

The central organization of the French higher education system means that local university bodies have restricted decision-making power. As a consequence, student unions are generally established at national level with local sections in most universities. The largest national student unions have a strong political identity and their actions are generally restricted to the defense of their vision of higher education rather than being focused on the particular interests of the membership of a single university. Union membership is regarded as an essentially political decision, without any particular advantage for students. The strength of unions is often measured by their effectiveness in national protests rather than by membership figures. The most important student union in France is the left-leaning National Union of Students of France (UNEF).

There are also class-struggle student unions such as the Solidaires Étudiant-e-s (formed in January 2013 through the fusion of the former organizations SUD Étudiant and Féderation syndicale étudiante (FSE)) which refuse to cooperate with the universities' direction and work to organize students.

In the Grandes écoles, the premium league in the French higher education system, students are generally members of the official Student Office (Bureau des étudiants or Bureau des élèves) in charge of the organization of social activities and sports events. The constitutions of these societies, which work in close partnership with the school administration, usually prevent union members from running for executive positions in order to keep the school independent from political groups liable to harm the school's prestige.

Germany

In Germany the actual form of student representation depends strongly on the federal state. In most states there is a General Students' Committee (AStA) at every university. It is the executive organ of the parliaments and councils of all faculties.

Greece

In Greece every university department has its corresponding Student Union (in Greek: Σύλλογος Φοιτητών) and all students belonging to the department have the right to register as members. The main objective of a student union is to solve students' problems that can either be related to academic life or have a general political and social nature. Furthermore, Student Unions organize and support numerous activities such as political debates, demonstrations, university occupations, educational lectures, cultural and artistic events, conferences and so on.

The structure of a Student Union is rather simple and comprises two bodies: The General Students' Assembly (Greece) and the Board of Directors. The General Assembly consists of all student-members of the Union. It takes place on a regular basis and is the only decision-making body. During the General Assembly, many topics of student interest are discussed and the decisions are taken after open vote. The Board of Directors makes sure that the decisions of the General Assembly will be materialized. Moreover, the members of the Board of Directors, among which is the Union's President, participate in various university administrative bodies as representatives of all students in the Union.

Every year in early spring the Student Elections take place nationwide, during which students vote for their representatives. All Student Unions in Greece are members of the "National Student Union of Greece" (ΕΦΕΕ - Εθνική Φοιτητική Ένωση Ελλάδας).

Ireland

Queen's University Belfast Students' Union Building

Most of Ireland's universities and colleges have students' unions which were established to represent the students in the context of internal college issues and on wider student related issues and also a means of solidarity with other movements globally. An ongoing campaign of virtually every students' union in Ireland is to prevent the reintroduction of tuition fees which were abolished in 1995. Most, but not all, of the students' unions are affiliated with the Union of Students in Ireland. Notably, two of the seven university students' unions are not members. The students' unions are operated in accordance with the rules set down in their constitution which invariable enumerates a strong democratic and inclusive procedure for the governance on the union. Some Students' Unions run retail businesses in the interests of its students and run referendums, such as on whether or not to support same-sex marriage or abortion.

All Universities and Institutes of Technologies in the Republic of Ireland have Students' Unions.

National Union of Students-Union of Students in Ireland (NUS-USI), the student movement in Northern Ireland was formed in 1972 by bilateral agreement between the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom (NUS) and the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), to address the particular problems of representing students in Northern Ireland.

Netherlands

There are several students' unions in The Netherlands which act as labor unions for students. The largest ones are VSSD in Delft and ASVA Studentenunie in Amsterdam. These students' unions are all members of LSVb, the national students' union. There's also a similar organization called ISO (Interstedelijk Studenten Overleg), which consists of several formal participation organizations, as well as ASVA Studentenunie and VSSD. Both ISO and LSVb are members of European Students' Union.

There is also a students' union at Twente University. It was founded in 1999, succeeding the 'Raad voor de Campusvoorzieningen' and the 'Campuscollege'. This students' union is largely funded by the university and responsible for most activities not related to education, such as sports and culture. It is also an umbrella organization for close to 100 student organizations at the university. The board is not elected: any student can apply for a one-year term. Selection is performed by a subcommittee of the 'Raad van Toezicht'. The board consists of six members, all full-time.

Lastly, the Netherlands has an (unofficial) student union for its students that study abroad: Netherlands Worldwide Students or simply NEWS.

The Netherlands is also home to a unique case of student representation in which a local political party completely run by student gained seats during local town hall elections: STIP.

Norway

In Norway, every university is instructed and required by law to have a Student Union elected by the pupils/students at the school. The goal for every Student Union is to improve their school environment through encouraging social, cultural and other extracurricular events that is happening in the local community. The student unions in Norway is governed by a Board of Directors which is elected directly from the Student Council.

Portugal

In Portugal, every university, polytechnic institute and any other higher education schools has their own students' unions. Union organizations are generally aimed to organize and promote extracurricular activities such as sports and culture events, parties, and academic festivities. At the same time, they also act as "labour unions for students" promoting and defending the student's points of view and rights, and dealing with the teaching institutions and the State's education agencies policies. The oldest union of Portugal is the Associação Académica de Coimbra (founded in 1887) which belongs to the students of the University of Coimbra. The biggest students' union is Associação dos Estudantes do Instituto Superior Técnico (AEIST).

Sweden

Main article: Swedish National Union of Students

See also: Nations at Swedish universities and Stockholm Federation of Student Unions

At Swedish universities, students' unions are responsible for representing the students in evaluation of the education and decision-making within the universities. Not Swedish universities are affiliated with the Swedish National Union of Students. The union normally holds about one-third of the votes within every decision making body and thus holds a great deal of power.

The unions are usually governed by a general assembly of elected representatives. Students' unions generally provide counselling services to its members and publishes their own magazines or newspapers. Large universities often have several students' unions, where the smaller students' unions only provide basic services. Larger students' unions often own and run their own facilities at the university such as shops, restaurants and night clubs.

United Kingdom

Main article: Student unionism in the United Kingdom

See also: National Union of Students (United Kingdom)

Glasgow University Union was the last students' union in the UK to begin admitting women.

The United Kingdom has a long history of student unionism at a local and national level. The oldest students' union in Britain is St Andrews, founded in 1864, and the oldest in England is believed to be the Liverpool Guild of Students, formed in 1892. Most bodies are termed unions, however there exist a number of guilds and students' associations. Students' associations is a popular term in Scotland, as historically there were separate men's and women's unions focused on societies and entertainment with representation to the university carried out by separate Students' Representative Councils. Most students' unions in the UK are affiliated to the National Union of Students, although there exist other national representative bodies, such the National Postgraduate Committee, the Coalition of Higher Education Students in Scotland and the Aldwych Group, the association of students' unions of members of the Russell Group.

National Union of Students-Union of Students in Ireland (NUS-USI), the student movement in Northern Ireland was formed in 1972 by bilateral agreement between the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom (NUS) and the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), to address the particular problems of representing students in Northern Ireland.

North and South America

Canada

In Canada, membership in a college or university students' union is mandatory across Canada under various provincial statutes. Included in Canadian students' tuition fees is anywhere from an additional $10–$500 fee to pay for the services of the union. The money raised from dues is often used to support a staff and office. Student elections usually happen around March as the membership elect their unions' executives. Student voter turnout for student elections is low for all institutions. The current largest undergraduate student union in Canada is the York Federation of Students, at the York University, with around 49,000 members.

Most students' unions are charged by their membership to protect their best interests at the university, municipal, provincial and federal government levels. Many students' unions in Canada are members of one of the national student organizations, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) or the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). Those that belong to the CFS at the national level also belong to the CFS at the provincial level. Those that do not belong to the CFS may belong to a provincial student organization like the New Brunswick Student Alliance, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), the College Student Alliance, StudentsNS (formerly known as ANSSA), the Alliance of British Columbia Students, the Council of Alberta University Students, or the Alberta Students Executive Council. In Quebec, the provincial student organizations are the Quebec Federation of University Students (Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec or FEUQ) for university students, college students are represented by the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec or FECQ, while the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante or ASSE is a more radical organisation that includes students from both levels of education.

Different provinces have different rules governing student unions. In British Columbia under Section 27.1 of the University Act, student unions may only raise or rescind mandatory student union fees through a democratic referendum of the membership. Once fees are passed through this mechanism, the Board of Governors of the respective institutions are then required to remit those fees to the student union, and may only interfere in the internal affairs of the student union if it fails to complete annual audits of its finances, giving these student unions strong autonomy over their institutions. In Ontario, the autonomy of student unions is set by standards outlined by each institution, giving University administrators a broader scope of powers over the finances of student unions.

Mexico

In Mexico, students unions are mostly predominant in universities. Mexican universities have an elected student committee each year, but the faculties or schools within the universities have also their own union. This practice is also extended to other levels of education, such as high and junior high school, but to a lesser extent. An example of this is the Sociedad de Alumnos de HPA Mexico.

Jesuit student groups played an important role in Mexico's history, particularly in opposing the imposition of socialist education in Mexico in the 1930s. Leaders from the Unión Nacional de Estudiantes Católicos (UNEC) had long-term importance in Mexico's political history, since a number of them helped form the conservative National Action Party (Mexico).

United States

Main article: Student governments in the United States

In the United States, these groups are often known as student government, associated students, student senate, or less commonly a student's union. In the U.S., the phrase "student union" often refers to a "student activity center" (also known as a "student center" or "student commons"), a building with dining halls, game rooms, lounges, student offices, and other spaces for student activities. At institutions with large graduate, medical school, and individual "college" populations, there are often student governments that serve those specific constituencies.

Black Student Union The first Black Student union was conceived in the early 60s by Jimmy Garret and Jerry Varnado at San Francisco State University. This union was created in order to aid and benefit this group of people in that it brought these minorities together and allowed them to surround themselves with a positive and uplifting environment during hostile times. In testament to this, the students were able to flourish in college.

However, since then, times have changed and the union is a reflection of the changes. Recently, the Black student union has begun to include non-minority races. In doing so, the goal of this union has changed, from solidarity to inclusion and expressing Black culture and values to everyone, not just those who share in the heritage.

Brazil

The Brazilian students union is also called the Brazilian Student Association. It was formed in 1991 in order to provide the Brazilian students with representation that was fair and even within the LSU campus. The union has also set a side goal of promoting their Brazilian culture, since they are a Portuguese-speaking Latin American country.

The Brazilian Society

This society has existed since 2003 and now has 190 members, where only one third are Brazilian. The other two thirds are people who are just interested in Brazilian politics, famous parties and culture. This is one of the societies that students may join if they so wish. The society has social events and it hosts lectures. They also have a Brazilian discussion group on a weekly basis in order to discuss current events.

See also

• Student activism
• Student voice