The sections are campaigning bodies, able to focus on the particular needs of their students.
Each of the section conferences enable participants to elect a new committee and vote on policy decisions for the coming year. London will play host to the mature and part-time students’ conference, whilst the international and postgraduate students’ conferences will take place at Yarnfield Park in Staffordshire.
Of particular concern to the gathering of postgraduate students this year is the suspension of research council stipends following the economic downturn. Stipends assist postgraduate research students with the day-to-day costs of living, and the freeze in funding coupled with inflation is leading to serious hardship for some students.
Students at the conference will also be discussing the financial barriers to access caused by the high application fees which some institutions charge, and the additional strain of undisclosed course costs once students enrol. Proposed motions include establishing a campaign calling for fairness and transparency in the treatment of postgraduate students by institutions, and further investigation into the hidden costs of postgraduate courses.
Students at the mature and part-time conference will be considering ways to combat the high drop-out rate of mature students relative to younger students. They will address the specific barriers to a university education which mature students encounter relating to financial problems and the balance of work, study and family life.
To tackle these difficulties, the conference hopes to use the results of detailed research into mature students’ experiences to develop briefings and guidance for universities. The aim is to produce a toolkit to help students’ unions campaign on educational and welfare issues affecting mature students.
An ongoing government commitment to reduce the number of international students in the UK will be the focus of the international students’ conference. Many students planning to attend are worried about the impact of changing visa conditions on international students and their right to live, work and study in the UK.
Conference members will vote on motions to declare their opposition to current government policy, and to campaign against the minimum salary of £20,000 post-graduation, which will soon be required of international students in exchange for their right to continue working and residing in the UK.