There's just under 4 weeks to go until the week of action now. It's fantastic that so many students' unions have already started planning great actions for the week.

A few of you have also got in touch with some questions so here are a few answers for you, plus a checklist of things to be getting on with in preparation for the action…

For those in the Nations, your respective Presidents are cooking up how and if the Come Clean actions are helpful in your national context. Get in touch with robin.parker@nus-scotland.org.uk, luke.young@nus-wales.org.uk and Adrianne.Peltz@nus.org.uk for more details. And for general queries about the campaign campaigns@nus.org.uk.

Some frequently asked questions...

Q. Our SU elections are held during the week of the walkout - what can we do?

A. Many students’ unions whose elections fall during the week of action and are worried that the two events will compete. In fact, your elections coinciding with the week of action is a huge opportunity to both increase voter turnout, and involve more students in the Come Clean campaign. Imagine - candidates talking about real education issues and not just handing out lollipops!

To ensure that students participate in the action and still exercise their democratic rights in SU elections you can:

• 1. Decide the key issue for your institution to Come Clean on and declare 14 March an official campaigning day and strongly encourage all candidates to get out and campaign – both for themselves and Come Clean.
• 2. Encourage questions about the Come Clean campaign at candidates’ hustings
• 3. Ensure that students have the opportunity to vote in their halls of residence on 14 March and that there are plenty of ballot boxes and staff to cope with the influx of students in the students’ union
• 4. Consider extending the voting period for an extra day
• 5. Ensure all candidates are aware of the walkout and encourage them to inform voters of the importance of the action as well as the need to vote. Get them to collect petitions or explain what they would to fight hidden costs, win postgraduate financial support, secure higher bursaries in your access agreement etc.

Q. We have a good relationship with your university - we don’t want to rock the boat!

A. If you have a good relationship with your uni, then that's brilliant! But it doesn't mean that you can't still try to get a better deal for your students. Do your students really have no issues with hidden course costs? Do your postgrads get a fair deal? Will your institution be unaffected by all the backdoor reforms this government wants to push through?

The answers to all of these questions is unlikely - so it's up to you to decide on what the best tactics and tone to employ on your campus are, and who the targets of your actions should be. If your VC is already onside with all the issues (luucky you!), then stand on a joint platform with him/her and make a big deal of it; make a joint statement and send it to your MP, asking them to lobby David Willetts.

Q. Why are we doing all this?

A. The coalition government may have shelved its plans for an HE Bill, however the fight to stop the Government from selling off our education goes on. Many of the most damaging reforms the government wants to push through do not actually require legislation, and would never have been included in the bill anyway. The government is therefore still able to push ahead with its proposed reforms, and can potentially continue to do so without scrutiny or opportunity to defeat. NUS wants a public debate on the issues - out in the open rather than behind closed doors. Government and Vice-Chancellors need to come clean on student funding.

At the same time, on top of sky rocketing fees and a lack of bursaries, students are facing yet more costs; more often than not hidden costs that they weren't expecting when they signed up for their courses, and which add to their already unacceptable debts. It’s simply not good enough that students are landed with unexpected professional association joining and exam fees, that placement students have to dish out extra cash to travel to their placements, or that 'optional' field trips rule out poor students. Therefore we need institutions to also Come Clean about costs.

The week of action, walkout and parliamentary lobby will demonstrate to the Government, VCs/Principals, MPs and the general public that high fees, hidden course costs and a lack of bursaries are pricing students out of education, that postgraduate students need a better deal, and that students will not stand by and let the coalition government press ahead with its destructive plans to sell off and privatise our universities and colleges. We want institutions to come clean on course costs and the government to come clean on the future of our education system. But it is OK to prioritise any one of these issues on your campus.

Over the next week NUS will be publishing a series of fact sheets on:

• Hidden course costs (along with a comprehensive campaign toolkit which will be published on Monday)
• Fee waivers and bursaries
• Access to postgraduate funding
• Privatisation
• FE and the Nations

Countdown to the week of action & walkout…

Four weeks to go…

Contact:

• It’s vital for SUs to secure agreement from the institution that students will not be academically penalised for this action - as is their right
• Decide what activities your SU will do for the week of action and walkout (see the Come Clean campaign guide for inspiration)
• Recruit your campaign team and allocate roles within the team e.g press, publicity
• Set a budget for your campaign actions
• Start publicising the action and activities via your website, student media, posters, flyers, Student Council, clubs and societies, lecture shouts, etc
• Your activists: invite them to a briefing on the campaign and try to get them to commit to at least an hour a week to build for the action
• Course reps, clubs and societies, Student Council members: invite them to a briefing too, suggest ways they can get involved (see ‘Some ideas…’ section in this guide)
• Local UCU and other trade union reps: to inform them of the action and enlist their support. Invite them to join in your activities, speak in debates/ at rallies etc during the week of action and/or walkout day
• Heads of department: let them know what’s going on, they may well be supportive too