YORK UNIVERSITY Students’ Union (YUSU) Trustee Reports reveal that YUSU is the third least funded Students’ Union in the Russell Group.
The report states that “the block grant provided to us is the third lowest of all Russell Group institutions on both a per capita and net total basis.”
Kallum Taylor, YUSU President, tells Vision: “The entire YUSU Trustee Board agree that if we’re not better supported financially, we won’t be able to pursue the extra provisions our members demand.”
“One clear case is with our welfare provision. Case work has shot up over the last year or two, but we’ve been unable to expand in order to meet that.
“If the University actually started to recognise us as a selling point, they’d see and reap the benefits of a properly funded Union. We have so many student-led activities and events going here, more per head than any other SU in the UK.”
He adds, “One staff member in this area, for 17,000 students, in a Russell Group University that wants to be going places, is a disgrace.”
However, David Duncan, Registrar and Secretary for the university, disagrees with YUSU and comments:
“The comparison with other Russell Group universities doesn’t take into account the fact that York has a separate (and separately funded) association to represent graduate students (GSA), or that funding is provided to committees at college level.”
“Also, YUSU does not pay rent on its main offices, whereas many student unions in other universities do.”
On the nature of YUSU’s commercial acumen, David Duncan states: “It [YUSU] has also built up substantial reserves, which run to several hundred thousand pounds, which it carries over from one year to the next. Overall, therefore, all the evidence is that YUSU is well funded and well supported.”
Changes may also be made to the way colleges are funded under the new College Student Association model. The university told Vision: “we would not rush into changes without full consultation with all parties – especially to structures which have endured for the last 50 years”.
As always, pretty poor form from David Duncan to publicly discuss YUSU’s Finances as a way of diverting from the issue that they’re chronically underfunded.
The number of students at York has risen by 50% over the last 5/6 years, whereas the block grant has remained constant.
Put YUSU up against say, Leeds or Sheffield, which have double the number of students but around 15x the level of block grant…
Three questions:
– does the Graduate Students’ Union get the same per head as YUSU
– why are all students automatically members of YUSU if they aren’t supposed to be supported by them
– what if graduate students would rather be a proper part of YUSU – can they take their funding out of GSA and give it to YUSU?
That’s constant in cash terms. YUSU’s budget is falling in real terms while student numbers are rising.
YUSU’s cash reserves are a fraction of annual expenditure. If there was an unforeseen overspend and YUSU /didn’t/ have those cash reserves to fall back on, University management would condemn the Trustee Board’s financial recklessness. Can’t have it both ways.