National student union looks to 'reinvigorate campus life'

NZUSA Executive Director Dr Alistair Shaw said there was a strong desire to better understand the obligations of institutions and student organisations with respect to the fee. Photo / Supplied

The national student union is hosting a series of conferences on tertiary education issues with students and staff.

The first conference starts today. It features a guest speaker and other workshops will discuss ways to "reinvigorate campus life" and use student input to improve the learning experience.

On Thursday the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations (NZUSA) is hosting a one-day National Workshop on the Compulsory Student Services Fee.

The fee is a universal charge universities and polytechnics use to fund services such as health, counselling and support for students' associations.

NZUSA Executive Director Dr Alistair Shaw said there was a strong desire to better understand the obligations of institutions and student organisations with respect to the fee.

"This is in the context of a comprehensive review of the [fee] scheduled to be completed in 2015," Dr Shaw said.

After that workshop, there'll be a one-day conference on student voices in universities.

Groups including the Ministry of Education, NZQA, Ako Aotearoa (National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence) and Academic Quality Agency were participating in the conference.

Rory McCourt, the National President of NZUSA, said the conferences showed the need for a national student body focused on things that would make universities and polytechnics better for students.

"The evidence shows that giving students a say on their education increases the quality of that education," Mr McCourt said.