NUS is a truly student-led organisation with our governing bodies – boards and committees – chaired by or inclusive of students from member students’ unions, to make sure that our work as a movement reflects student needs and concerns. 

Our governing bodies exist to make sure the NUS family is always working as effectively and efficiently as it can, with the resources it has available. They provide reassurances to members (students’ unions) and the students they represent, that NUS and NUS Charity are financially stable and delivering on their annual and 3-year plans.

Governing Boards

The governing bodies of NUS are

• NUS UK, a company limited by guarantee which delivers voice and influence activities
• NUS Charity, a charitable company limited by guarantee which delivers SU support as well as shared services.
• NUS Charity has a trading subsidiary (NUS Services) which it owns majority shares in, delivering income generating activities including trading support.

Ultimately each of these bodies is accountble to their members, Students' Unions and to students through this membership. Students' Unions are the company law members of both NUS UK and NUS Charity. NUS UK is also a company law member of NUS Charity.

Boards

Each of these governing bodies has a board drawn from NUS Officers, students, Students' Union staff and externals. They meet in joint sessions to oversee the work of the organisations as well as to provide oversight on performance, risk management and finances.

 

Board Membership

NUS UK Board Members

• The seven NUS officers elected by conferences
• Four Member Directors – these are elected directors drawn from the membership (two of whom are students)
• Four external (lay) directors who have been appointed by the previous board

NUS Charity Board Members

Membership of the board is drawn primarily from NUS UK with additional directors to provide independence in line with Charity Commission guidance on charities linked to other organisations.

• The four NUS UK member directors
• An additional four directors from NUS UK, selected from the officers and lay directors and chosen by the NUS UK board
• Four additional ‘Independent’ directors who are not a member of any other NUS board

NUS Services Board Members

• All members of the NUS Charity Board
• Up to two additional directors

Subcommittees

There are two permanently established board subcommittees with delegate authority to scrutinise and make decisions in core areas of the business: these are the Finance and HR subcommittees. Membership is drawn from the boards with additional non-board members also sitting on the committees to bring in additional expertise in these areas.. They are governed by terms of reference set by the boards.

In addition the boards have the ability to setup further subcommittees to oversee certain areas of activity should they so choose.

You can find out about the subcommittees on their pages:

• Finance Committee
• HR Committee

Other Bodies

There are two other companies which form part of the NUS group. These are NUS Holdings and NUS Media. Both of these have NUS Services as sole member.

NUS Services holds shares in OneVoice Digital Limited (through NUS Media currently) and Student Discounts and Partnerships limited - though these do not sit within the NUS group. These shareholding interests and partnerships are the formal governance channel for our TOTUM and ISIC work.