Issue 1467 Monday 19th May 2025
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Est. 1948 thecourieronline.co.uk
Around 38 further job losses for University staff News | page 4
What I am wearing to my Master’s graduation Fashion & Beauty | page 18
“New Order are conning their fans!” An interview with Peter Hook
Music | page 32
Newcastle University Students’ Union changes and restructure: what does it mean for students? Ruby Tiplady - Lifestyle Sub-Editor
The Courier spoke to staff at NUSU about how the restructure will impact students
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ewcastle University’s Students’ Union (NUSU) has undergone an organisational r e s t r u c t u r e after financial projections predicted a £164,000 deficit by the 2026/27 academic year. To maintain the student-centred services NUSU currently provides, charity expenses needed to be reduced elsewhere. The resolution was a reorganisation of staff positions, which includes newly-defined roles for many, including our sabbatical officers. The Courier spoke to NUSU’s CEO Lindsey Lockey, who emphasised that the restructure was planned to ensure there was minimal impact on students’ experience. Ultimately, the issue was a decline in income from commercial services (such as Luther’s and Co-op) paired with an increase in National Insurance contributions and living wage. The University provided NUSU a one-off £100,000 grant this academic year to ensure the charity could continue delivering services whilst devising a new financial plan. While some services will leave NUSU such as the NCL+ Award, nothing will end entirely, as these services will be picked up by the University. Lockey’s goal for the restructure was to secure NUSU’s finances while responding to the needs of the student body. At the centre of the restructure, student experience aimed to be prioritised and in order to do so, student voice and representation needed to be centred. Thus, while the process was led by the CEO, the NUSU trustee board oversaw the restructure. The trustee board is made up of our seven sabbatical officers, as well as two student and five external trustees. Lockey told us that this was to “maintain a student majority” while balancing “experience in relevant fields such as finance”. Having joined NUSU in her current role two years ago, Lockey has witnessed many changes to the regulations of Students’ Unions and charities on
a national level by several bodies, including the Charity Commission. Between NUSU’s scale and the everchanging climate outside the University, the old structure was no longer sustainable; change was necessary.
“The restructure will enable the SU to be more dynamic” Lockey said: the restructure will enable the SU to be more dynamic, as it is now in a “much better position to flex, adapt and respond to student feedback.” Head of Wellbeing and Advocacy George Watkins will manage the President, Wellbeing & Equality Officer, and the new Academic Officer Sabbatical role. He shared that the restructure will provide many opportunities for students in the long term. This will include allocated resources to fund the recent Student Council motion to review the representation of underrepresented students. Watkins also hopes to extend the opening hours of the Support and Advice Hub, as well as eventually bringing in new, external services into the Students’ Union building itself. There has been an effort to reduce the duplication of services that the University itself already provides, such as financial advice, which releases funds for other endeavours. Watkins believes there are “exciting opportunities” to “work with more external groups to provide a wider range of support for students”. In light of this, the Students’ Union can provide more highly specialised support that the university do not have the capacity to. This is already manifested in their partnerships with
mental and sexual health organisations, but could diversify further as finances improve as a result of the restructure. Head of Opportunities Chris Drummond will oversee your AU, Student Media, and the refreshed Opportunities Officer. He highlighted his hopes that the new “connected structure” would “enhance our student offer, enabling easier access for students to discover and engage” with our Students’ Union. Drummond aims to enhance the visibility of the opportunities for students at NUSU, broadening access and enabling engagement. The rebranding of “Activities” to “Opportunities” (and the associated marketing and communications) should “maximise exposure” that different student-led activities gain. In turn, this will raise the profile of volunteering activities like Student Media, as well as clubs and societies, so students have a full understanding of what they can get involved in through NUSU. The movement of even more external tenants to the NUSU building will also be beneficial for students, as Lockey explained that Radio Tyneside’s move-
in will “provide great opportunities for our students to become involved.”
“The increase in resources available will enable the sabbatical officers to take on projects” Lockey shared that the new staffing structure should support the sabbatical officers on a daily basis: “allowing more time for them to spend with the students who elected them.” The restructuring changed the sabbatical officer roles significantly, combining the Postgraduate and Education Officers into the new Academic Officer role and rebranding the Activities Officer to Opportunities. However, the 2024/5 Education Officer Jasmine is excited for the potential impact of these changes. She explained “the problem that NUSU were trying to solve when they created the Postgraduate Officer role before COVID has not been solved”. Since the
postgraduate community is so diverse with such a complex set of needs, Jasmine feels that “representation has been missing, even with that post”. Jasmine highlights the restructure will focus the Academic Officer in line with the 2025/26 ‘Student Representation Review’, ultimately facilitating connection between the Academic Officer and the postgraduate community. The ‘Action Priorities’ this year included Linming’s focus on support for postgraduate students with children, and ostensibly, the streamlining of the sabbatical officers may prevent projects like this from being picked up. Jasmine’s hope is that the increase in resources available will enable the sabbatical officers to take on projects and make a bigger impact, though it is ultimately “hard to predict”. Overall, the restructure was concerned with reducing costs and minimising the impact on students; while students are unlikely to see immediate effects, the reduced financial burden on NUSU will enable them to provide further support, resources, and opportunities for students, which will eventually improve daily life at Newcastle.
Image Credit: NUSU