Students created students’ unions to harness local collective power, and a national union to build national collective power. We win for students by working together.

By being part of NUS UK, you and your officers will be able to:

• Make change happen on the issue’s students care about and want to be different in education and our wider society
• Shape, influence, take part in, support and hold to account our national and nation specific campaigns
• Elect, work with and hold to account the Full-time officer (FTO) executive team
• Attend, participate and vote in NUS conferences and events.

Being a member of NUS is all about collectivism.  The more of us fighting the challenges, the more of an impact we can have! 

Big wins

In recent years, with students’ unions and students working together we had some BIG WINS for students: 

• A 3.1% increase to maintenance loans in England - putting more than £400 extra in students' pockets
• A 43% increase to the apprentice minimum wage across the UK in just two years
• £115m in extra university student hardship funding to help students in England with the cost-of-living crisis
• Saved the Graduate Route Visa, which allows international students to stay in the UK for two years after graduation
• Gave away 20,000 FREE voter IDs to students to help them voter at the 2024 General Election
• Commitments to votes at 16 and improvements to renters' rights from Labour at the General Election
• 50 SUs came together to lobby 74 MPs at Parliament on student housing on National Lobby Day in 2024
• Ended us of NDAs against victims of sexual violence at universities
• £800m back in students' pockets over the course of the pandemic via rent wins and student support funds
• U-turns on A-Level and BTEC grades and widespread no-detriment policies during Covid

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland:

• £2,400 increase to student support package in Scotland
• Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) increased by a third in Wales and more students given access through increase in income thresholds
• 20% increase to student maintenance loans in Northern Ireland
• Student Mental Health Strategy wins in NI & Wales 
• £3.21m to extend funding for mental health counsellors in education in Scotland
• Access to Erasmus for NI students and Taith scheme in Wales

We make noise on student issues

• 100,000 people supported our campaigns in 2023-24
• 3 million people saw our social media posts
• 800,000 people were engaged by our campaigns
• 1 million people visited our website
• 6,000 emails sent to politicians by supporters and 500+ MPs reached
• £15m worth of media coverage

The power of our movement 

For 100 years the student movement has led the way on social change and fighting for a better education. We can only do this when we stand together. NUS is your national union, representing 4 million students across the UK.

Unions are built on the values of collectivism and solidarity. Together we achieve national change. We are stronger working together than acting as one student or one student’s union.

Without your Students Union, whilst students can still show their support for NUS campaigns they will miss out on higher level campaigning. For example, our Open Letter to the Chancellor in response to the budget signed by over 155 elected student officers. Your voice will be missing in our decision-making spaces where our campaign priorities decided and officer team is elected. You will miss out on conferences, campaign training and organising spaces. Our campaigns are stronger when you are a part of it.

The past few years have shown us exactly why a strong, united, and unstoppable student movement is so important. Students are losing huge sums of money in rent, tuition fees, and rising unemployment. Our movement has consistently stepped up to support students and defend their rights. In recent years we have seen students under attack, struggling through a pandemic, a student mental health crisis, and a continued lack of support from the government. Now the cost-of-living crisis is pushing students to the brink. That's why we are campaigning for a cost of living support package.

The need to work together to defend students and the world we are a part of has never been more urgent.

Help us win! (Resources)