Media release: 8 October 2012
Students' Association Congress concludes in Wellington
Moving more collectively to maximise support for struggling student associations in the polytechnic sector has been a focus of the NZ Union of Students' Associations (NZUSA) held over the last three days in Wellington, and concluding this afternoon (Monday 8 October 2012).
The NZUSA Congress is combined with the NZUSA AGM and has brought together 13 student associations from around the country to set new resolutions and directions for the national body, including active facilitation of contract negotiations between student associations and their respective tertiary education institutions.
Workshops at the event focused on:
• Research into
the value of the student voice to the quality of tertiary
education
• Challenging the modelling of the Student
Loans Scheme
• Inquiries at Parliament
• Institutional arrangements for governance
• Diversity and equity in tertiary education
• New services being offered by NZUSA
A strong
concern has been expressed that the Tertiary Education
Commission has failed to engage with student associations
throughout 2012, and that recent approaches to the Minister
of Tertiary Education - specifically raising concerns about
changes to posgraduate student eligibility for allowances -
have gone unanswered.
The NZUSA President for 2013 will continue to be Pete Hodkinson, formerly a student president at Unitec in Auckland.
The new board will be meeting through till the end of day.