There are over 500,000 postgraduate students in the UK, around 20 per cent of all students in higher education. It does not take a great deal of effort to see that postgraduate students are not engaged with students’ unions to the same extent as undergraduate students. Postgraduates do not vote in union elections in large numbers, they do not stand for election as officers, or habitually visit union premises. NUS has produced this guide to help you as students' unions better engage postgraduate students in your union.
This guide contains advice, information and case studies to help unions reflect on current postgraduate engagement activities and how these can be improved. It can help to enhance a particular area of your work such as research, representation or activities. You can use it to spark one-off ideas or to overhaul your engagement strategies entirely.
The guide includes:
- A postgraduate engagement audit tool
- Information on the postgraduate student population
- Information on improving postgraduate representation
- A guide to campaigning on postgraduate issues
- A guide to improving communication with postgraduates