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VSU is Not Far Away
10 June 2006
Thousands of students at USC and hundreds of thousands across
the country will soon decide personally whether they want to pay
fees for membership of Student Guilds, or Unions. Previously the
great majority of students were obliged to pay fees, unless they
were conscientious objectors, but from second semester the element
of compulsion has been removed because of controversial Federal
legislation enacted last year.
Voluntary student unionism (VSU) has been a hot topic for a few
years, this time around, and after several previous attempts by the
Coalition to remove compulsory payment, this time they have
succeeded. Compulsion on this issue is seen as incompatible with
Coalition ideology.
Universities throughout the country will be impacted in
different ways, although exactly how VSU will work out remains
uncertain.
Where this kind of initiative has been introduced elsewhere, 10
per cent or less of the student population voluntarily pay Union
fees. If this scenario emerged as the nation-wide pattern, there
will be major adjustments for universities and guilds to make. Some
universities have relied heavily on guild funds for building
infrastructure and support services.
At USC we have had a working party examining the services
provided by the Guild, and we have already moved to appoint staff
of the University that previously would have been funded by Guild
fees. A clear plan is now in place to ensure that students are
disadvantaged as little as possible by the changes. We will
continue to monitor those services to ensure they meet students'
needs.
The Guild at USC has had a chequered record and its annual
$500,000 or so in fees, and how they were used, was often the
subject of debate, both amongst students themselves and at the
University Council level. The Guild will now, with a much reduced
resource base, have to reconfigure its constitution and decide
whether it represents those who choose to join as members, or all
students.
We had hopes that the USC Guild might contribute financially to
a new sports stadium, which has been a priority for many students
and on which we are in the final design stage. A Guild contribution
will no longer be possible so we will apply to the Federal
Government's 'Transition Fund' which has been established to help
regional universities, in particular, to provide mainly sporting
facilities for students.
VSU will undoubtedly provoke major changes and the increasing
costs have already had to be taken on by the University.
It will be an interesting period to see how VSU will reshape the
University environment for students, but USC will certainly want to
support and engage students as a vital part of university life.
Professor Paul Thomas is Vice-Chancellor of University of
the Sunshine Coast