VSM vs CSM, USU, WTF?
EACH YEAR, ABOUT $100 IS TACKED ONTO YOUR UNITEC FEES AND YOU AUTOMATICALLY BECOME A MEMBER OF THE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION AT UNITEC - THE USU. YOU MAY NOT EVEN NOTICE THIS EXTRA LINE ON YOUR INVOICE, IT PROBABLY JUST ADDS ONTO YOUR STUDENT LOAN, BUT IS THIS FAIR? AND WHAT ARE YOU GETTING FOR THIS YEARLY FEE? STACEY KNOTT AND JOSEPH HARPER INVESTIGATE WHY YOU HAVE TO PAY THIS FEE, AND WHAT THE ALTERNATIVES ARE IF YOU DON’T WANT TO
WHAT IT IS Compulsory Student Membership (CSM), which the USU employ, means that you automatically join the student association when you enrol to study. If you are fulltime, $103 was charged to your fees this year which funds the USU services like this magazine, parties, sausage sizzles, sports teams, clubs, advocacy and education services. Voluntary Student Membership (VSM) means you have the choice to join or not. Under VSM, fees are only paid by those who want to and so the limited money usually means the association has to be totally accountable and financially transparent. BACKGROUND When National was last in power, it made big changes as to how student associations operate. Up until 1998, all student unions in New Zealand universities and polytechnics were compulsory to join; start a course, and you are a member of the institutions’ student union. But, in 1998 National introduced and passed the Voluntary Students’ Association Membership Bill which forced all existing compulsory associations to hold a legally binding referendum – students could vote as to whether they would be forced to keep paying the membership fees. The USU, your student association was made voluntary for eight years because of this. Within that time, it held three referendums to try and get membership back to compulsory. When it was voluntary between 1999-2004 membership varied between 300 and 1200 per year, in 2005 was about 3500 members, and 2006 had 5500 students. In 2007 CSM was voted back in, since then the USU has had about 16,000 students a year. However, if students do not want to be part of the USU they can object, but their fee will go to a charity of their choice, or they can apply for exemption from the USU membership fee on the grounds of hardship and remain members. Under VSM, students did not have to pay a fee, because Unitec contracted the USU to provide various services. Since then, the fee has increased, it was $35 in 2007, $99 in 2008 and this year it is $103. Now, National is back in power and has ACT whispering desires into its ears, which is problematic for student associations, because it is possible that there is going to be another referendum to go back to the Voluntary Students Association Membership Act. FOR VSM ACT MP and Associate Minister of Education, Heather Roy is strongly opposed to compulsory student membership. She says students must be given a choice if they want to be in the USU or not. In 2006, she had a private members’ Bill in the ballot box, called the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill which aimed to “uphold students’ right to freedom of association, by ensuring that no student is compelled to join a students’ association.” Roy says the fact that it is compulsory for Unitec students to join the USU breaches Section 17 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, which guarantees the right to freedom of association. She says her Bill did not seek to damage or limit student associations, but to guarantee the rights of students to freedom of association, and if it was accepted, it would have resulted in student associations being truly representative of the students who voluntarily join them. Roy notes that in the workplace no one is forced to join a union, and asks why students are forced to pay a fee for something they may not want to participate in. She is “very concerned” about the way student associations spend their money “by a few, for a few when this money is meant to be used to benefit a large number of students.” Given students are usually broke and struggling, she says they should be given a choice as to what they do with the $103 the USU tack onto their student fees, something that is even more poignant in today’s economic climate. “Students have never been well off. They have always had to borrow money to undertake their training and they should be in a position to determine, in a discretionally sense, where that money is being spent. If you enrol in a course you clearly have to pay fees for that course but you get something for it, the student fee is being paid by tens of thousands of students around the country and many of them are seeing absolutely no value or getting nothing for handing that fee over.” If students were given the choice to join a student association, there would be better value for money, she says. She says student’s fees are being spent of “frivolous things” that not all students can utilize. “Most tertiary institutions subsidise quite heavily the sports and cultural clubs and many don’t participate in them at all and yet they are forced to make a contribution towards those.” If people see a value for something then they are usually prepared to pay for it if it’s important to students, as opposed to spending that money in some other way.” The argument that VSM would erode student associations, and so student culture on campus is irrelevant, Roy says. “I don’t think you can say Auckland University (which is VSM) has any less of a culture surrounding it than any other university or tertiary provider, in many ways I think the cultural aspect is largely academic.” Roy is planning on talking to National Party Education Minister Anne Tolley in the near future about her concerns with CSM. FOR CSM USU student president Greg Powell thinks CSM is the better option for all. “The more students’ involved in the USU the more influence they have with Unitec. Before CSM they had next to no positions on academic committees or authority. Students had very little influence on how Unitec spent their fees with no representation on (the) Unitec Finance Committee and I guess we have to say things have changed,” he says. He refutes Roy’s argument that CSM is anti-human rights; he says it was the student’s choice to go CSM. He says if the USU went back to VSM, there will be no guarantees whether students would be properly engaged with over restructures and changes to Unitec. “They would have less access to Unitec committees or information and would more or less be in the dark.” He believes there will be no way to communicate to students on mass about services and ideas, something that is important to the USU, and is a way for it to improve on its services. Powell also states that if the USU was turned voluntary, its income would fall which would reduce its services. He recalls when in 2006, under VSM 35 people turned up to orientation whereas there were 8,000 earlier this year at Sounds in the Sun. Also under VSM he says there was no sport, family days or academic representation and only a 12-page monthly version of In Unison. Under VSM, Powell predicts the association would either die or get into a compromising position with a funding agreement with Unitec. “If that remains their only funding source then it becomes difficult to defend the independence and credibility of a students’ association.” Being under the thumb of an institution by going voluntary would mean no influence on fee setting, he adds. “One of the ironies with the Auckland Uni is that students thought by voting for voluntary membership they were getting out of paying fees when really they were giving away the only way they had to control them. The student services fee at Auckland shot up to well over $300 per student and students have no say over what level fees are set or where the money is spent because the organisation that controls the money is not controlled by students.” As Powell mentioned, the Auckland University Student Association (AUSA) operates under VSM. In Unison spoke with AUSA student president Darcy Peacock about the difficulties of voluntary membership. “AUSA has been severely limited by VSM in terms of the levels of support and funding available to promote student events on campus. It is difficult to remain reactive to student issues or administer student property and student clubs without sufficient funding. Student affairs should be driven by the students’ association, not the university. AUSA is limited by internal policy in its approach to VSM/CSM referenda, but there is always concern with the effects of VSM on our campus,” he says. Though CSM may seem to be a form of forced unionism; Peacock notes that in reality, the choice to implement a CSM policy can only be made by students. “Auckland University students lost narrowly to VSM, introduced by less than 100 votes. (Because of this) AUSA has been financially limited for 10 years and unable to create substantive new services.” STUDENT OPINION In Unison prowled Unitec’s Mount Albert and Waitakere campuses asking students about the CSM versus VSM issue, and also to try and gauge student opinion on the state and performance of the USU. Only about half of the students surveyed felt well represented by the USU, and many say they didn’t utilise a lot of the services offered by the USU. Despite this, 15 of the 25 surveyed say they would still join if a voluntary membership system was put into place. Of the 25 Unitec students interviewed, only five were aware of the membership fee they paid automatically in order to become a member of the USU. On top of this, of the five who were aware of the fee, only two students knew the amount they paid to be a member. In contrast, all but five students surveyed thought that the CSM system was fair. First year graphic design student Tim Toddle was one of many of the opinion that CSM is convenient and the best system for Unitec and the USU, “It’s kinda gotta be that way. I mean, otherwise there wouldn’t be enough people to pay for all the stuff that happens.” Product design student, Christina Martin, echoed his sentiment, in spite of the fact that she doesn’t utilise many of the services offered by the USU. “I haven’t had to (use the services). But it’s really good to know they’re there if I do.” She also felt the compulsory scheme made the decision easier for students, “I think it’s easier because it’s like I don’t even pay that money. It just goes onto the student loan. And what’s another hundred dollars in the greater scheme of things? Maybe if I had to just hand over the cash, I’d think more about what I’m getting out of it.” The USU and Unitec have just undertaken a student satisfaction survey, to gauge how they are doing overall. In Unison will report these findings when they are made available. With National back in the driving seat, a referendum could be possible in the future, if this is so, you will be asked to vote whether you want the USU to be compulsory or voluntary. If you’re unhappy with the way it is being run now, the decision is yours to do something about it; you can petition for voluntary or run for the exec yourself. You can tell the exec what you want them to change, or write a letter to In Unison. You are the majority shareholders in the USU, it’s your bed to make and yours to lie in - you will be most affected by any change.