Leeds University Union is the first students’ union in the UK to be awarded an ‘Excellent’ status by the National Union of Students (NUS) as part of its Quality Students' Unions accreditation scheme.
Sir Alan Langlands, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said: “This award is testament to years of hard work by the Union to ensure students at Leeds are inspired and empowered to make the most of their time at university.
“We have a strong relationship with the Union and are proud of our partnership, where students are involved and engaged in decision-making at all levels, ensuring that opportunity remains at the heart of their education.”
The NUS Quality Students' Unions assessment commented on the passion the students at Leeds felt for their university and their union, noting how students felt “their” union was at the heart of their experience as a student.”
The charity’s governance, relationships, partnerships, democracy and student services were a few of the key factors that ensured Leeds University Union stood out as ‘Excellent’ within the sector.
“The staff and volunteers at Leeds University Union are extremely ambitious, and I am so happy that their energy, drive and commitment has been recognised in this way. To be the first SU awarded the excellent status is an endorsement of their hard work and the great student leadership which we have year after year at Leeds University Union,” said Aidan Grills, Chief Executive of Leeds University Union.
Toke Dahler, Union Affairs Officer, said: “Being awarded an excellent status by NUS further strengthens my confidence that we are doing the right thing for students. Ensuring students love their time at Leeds is what we pride ourselves on and to hear others assess our work so highly makes me extremely proud.”
The Union offers over 300 clubs and societies for their members to join and encourages students to campaign on important issues such as the rise in tuition fees and the change to voter registration boundaries.
The NUS remarked that it is ‘abundantly clear the Leeds University Union is very focused on providing the very best service it can to members.’
Richard Brooks, NUS vice president: “It’s fantastic that Leeds University Union have achieved an 'Excellent’ status in the NUS Quality SUs assessment – it is a wonderful achievement.
“We hope that Leeds’ achievement will inspire others to follow suit and gain an award and that Quality Students’ Unions will continue to be an excellent tool to assist students’ unions’ development.”
The NUS ‘Excellent' status adds to a number of recent accreditations for LUU, including being one of only two students' unions in the country to achieve over 90% in their NSS (National Student Survey) student satisfaction score, and being named top for their not-for-profit bar operations and their commitment to lowering their impact on the environment.
Further information
Leeds University Union’s 2014-15 impact report can be found at www.luu.org.uk/impact
A Leeds University Union statement is available here.