Opening the doors: What has changed?

More detail on what's changed is available here

Following National Conference in 2008, NUS went back to our constituent members and students across the UK to find out the changes that you wanted to make to the original proposals. They have been amended in a number of ways.

Additional checks and balances have been put in place for the Board. Primarily, the National Executive Council would have the power to remove Board members. It has also been clarified that the Board cannot over-rule on Constitutional or policy issues, only on matters of finance and legality.

The Senate, as initially proposed, has been replaced by a National Executive Council. Members had expressed concerns that the powers of the Senate were too weak. The National Executive Council has significantly beefed up powers to carry out policy and particularly to hold other parts of NUS to account.

Following an express wish to allow members more say and increase democracy, a new national ballot would be introduced, allowing members the opportunity to take key decisions between Conferences.

Cross-campus ballots would be retained as the default method for electing delegates to National Conference in order to ensure that NUS remains as democratic as possible.

Policy Zones are retained as a key method of involving more students and producing better policy, but instead of submitting consensual reports for approval to Conference, they will now produce sets of recommendations. As a further safeguard, students’ unions can still submit policy motions as before if they feel that an important issue has been left out.