For more information, visit shapingscotlandsfuture.org, Tweet us

@nusScotland or find NUS Scotland on Facebook

Ensuring the voices of Scotland’s students are heard is NUS Scotland’s

mission. In recent years, we’ve fought successful campaigns to secure

additional funding for colleges, put in place a minimum income guarantee for

students, and to highlight the grim reality of student poverty.

This year for the first time, 16 and 17 year olds will have a vote in the

Scottish Parliamentary elections. NUS Scotland has long campaigned for this

and I am delighted young people are now enfranchised, with a say in who

runs their country. However, with cuts to public spending predicted for the

foreseeable future, it is even more important that students and young people

are engaged with local and national politics - and that NUS Scotland

continues standing up for students.

This manifesto has been shaped by our members from Students’ Associations in colleges and

universities representing over 500,000 students across Scotland.

In Autumn last year we asked our members to vote and decide our top three campaign demands for the

Scottish Parliament Elections. The need to reform the unfair Further Education (FE) support system is

unequivocally top of the list. Not only is this a key priority for our members in colleges, but their peers in

Universities also agree it’s time to introduce a right to bursary support for all students studying FE courses.

The second demand is the need to provide year-round support for Higher Education (HE) students

through improved grants and summer funding, giving these students the financial certainty they need, and

reducing the need for these students to avoid taking on more student debt, commercial loans or

unsustainable hours of paid work.

The third priority our members identified is the need for improved mental ill-health service provision

for students. That this was so high on the list underlines the immediate need for cross-party action on

student mental ill-health.

In the lead up to polling day, we’ll be working hard to ensure student priorities are front and centre of the

political debate. Students are Scotland’s future – support them to succeed.

Vonnie Sandlan, NUS Scotland President

Since the last Holyrood elections in 2011, political debate

in Scotland has empowered and engaged our young people

like never before. 16 and 17 year olds now have the

opportunity to vote, and to shape our nation’s future. In

return, Scotland’s political parties must support students

and young people to succeed.

NUS Scotland manifesto #SP16:

Fairer support for students

The support system for FE students is unfair – and this must change

The current system of FE student support is underfunded, unfair and leaves many students uncertain

about what funding – if any – they will receive. An NUS Scotland survey carried out earlier this year

found 57% of FE students stated that even before they started college they weren’t clear

how much financial support would be available to them. Of these respondents, 71% stated

that not knowing how much support would be available made their decision to undertake

their course more difficult.

The current FE student support budget is cash limited - once it is

gone it’s gone and this means it doesn’t reflect actual demand

for support. On top of this, FE bursaries are discretionary. While

students in higher education - those studying either a HNC/D at

college or a degree at university - are guaranteed support if

they apply, FE students do not have the same certainty – even if

they meet all of the eligibility criteria. The system also

discriminates against younger students, as those up to the age of 19 can be paid a weekly £30

College students on Further Education (FE) courses must

get the financial support they need. We want to see the

introduction of a right to FE support, delivered locally,

providing certainty and security for FE students before they

begin their college education.

At #SP16 NUS Scotland wants to see parties commit to:

A right to improved, locally delivered bursary support for all Further Education (FE) students.

A guarantee that FE student support will increase with inflation.

The Scottish Parliament’s new powers used to support students.

A right to improved bursary

support for all FE students

71% of FE students said funding uncertainty

made the decision to do a college course more

difficult.

education maintenance allowance (EMA) while students aged 19 and over receive between £74 and

£94 per week through their FE bursary.

NUS Scotland research conducted through Freedom

of Information requests recently found that every

responding college was paying some students aged

16-19 an EMA rather than a bursary. This means

that students in the same class at college in

Scotland are currently receiving very different rates

of support based purely on their age.

Despite the Scottish Government’s current

emphasis on widening access, without sufficient

financial support many students studying at FE level

will be

unable to

afford to study while others may feel unable to take the chance

to retrain or improve their skills– a huge waste of talent.

Scottish Funding Council (SFC) figures for 2014/15 released in

January1 showed 15% of college students failed to complete

their course – with female students 2.3% less likely to complete

their course than male students. In addition the Equality

Challenge Unit’s latest research on equality in Scotland’s colleges published in September 2015 found

the percentage of disabled students completing their course was 2.6% lower than non-disabled

students2, while black and minority ethnic (BME) students had higher rates of early withdrawal and

further withdrawal at 5.2% and 8.3% respectively. The current system leaves many students at risk of

dropping out of education altogether as they struggle to juggle personal circumstances and the need to

be in paid work with their studies - with women, BME and disabled student groups all showing

increased risk.

We want to see: A right to improved, locally delivered bursary support for all Further

Education (FE) students

Replacing the unfair discretionary support system with a right to improved, locally delivered bursary

support for all FE students – irrespective of age - will ensure students know what support they will

receive even before setting foot on campus. This also puts them on an equal footing with their higher

education counterparts. We would want to see this national entitlement continue to be delivered

locally, ensuring that FE students retain a single point of contact they can discuss their support with in

person, rather than dealing with a centralised computer system. The application process itself is

currently a complex process with a confusing array of household income thresholds and contributions

students face in making an application. It differs wildly from the process and thresholds used by the

Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS), where the system was greatly simplified in 2013. We

1http://www.sfc.ac.uk/web/FILES/Statistical_publications_SFCST012016_CollegePerformanceIndicators201415/SFCST012016_C

ollege_Performance_Indicators_2014-15.pdf 2 http://www.ecu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Scotland-colleges-equality-stats-report-2015.pdf

15% of college students failed to complete their course - with women,

BME and disabled students most at risk of

dropping out.

believe household income thresholds should be aligned with SAAS, but starting at the second lowest

household income bracket, so as not to disadvantage any student.

It’s clear that FE student support is underfunded

A December 2015 Freedom of Information request from NUS Scotland asked Scotland’s colleges how

much of their FE student support budget had been spent since the start of the academic year in

September. The figures showed that less than half-way through the academic year:

67% of colleges had already committed 100% or more of their FE bursary budget

70% of colleges had already committed 100% or more of their FE childcare budget.

The vast majority of colleges have made up the shortfall by using core college funds.

43% of colleges have topped up their bursary budget by using money from their discretionary

budget, which exists to provide immediate financial help for students in need.

29% have had to close applications or limit awards for hardship funds, as these have also been

used to top up the bursary budget.

One college stopped funding students early, before their course had ended.

Figures from SFC in January this year showed a £2.4m shortfall

in vital FE student support funds. Every year the SFC runs what

is called an ‘in-year redistribution’ where it reallocates any

available money to colleges reporting shortfalls mid-year. Every

year we see the same story unfold of colleges having to request

additional money for underfunded and overstretched student support budgets – and the SFC does not

have the funding to give every college the full amount requested.

We want to see: A guarantee that FE student support will increase with inflation.

Since 2013/14 additional funding has been provided to the FE student support budget to protect the

individual weekly rates for FE bursaries against inflation. We want to see this protection continued

under any move towards a national entitlement. On the basis of the current FE student support budget

and ONS GDP deflators, this would require a funding commitment of around an additional £2m per

year, on top of additional funding to ensure we fully meet demand in the system.

Using the Scottish Parliament’s new powers to support students

NUS Scotland consistently called for greater devolution of the welfare system and welcomed the Smith

Commission’s recommendation that the Scottish Parliament should have the devolved ability to ‘top up’

reserved benefits. The Scottish Parliament should use these powers to mitigate in cases where there is

a negative interaction between benefits and student support, particularly for further education

students.

It is clear that, for the students who require the greatest financial assistance, potential changes to

benefits - including tax credits, which many students are also eligible to receive - could have severe

consequences. Failing the full devolution of powers to mitigate these consequences, it is vitally

Recent figures show a

£2.4m shortfall in FE

student support funds

important that student support for further and

higher education students is set at a level that fully

supports all students. Given education is a

devolved area, top-up payments could be used to

counteract any negative consequences and losses.

We want to see: The Scottish Parliament’s

new powers used to support students.

The Scottish Government must use the new powers

devolved to Parliament through the Scotland Act

2014 and the current Scotland Bill to support

students. The Scottish Government

must ensure that the introduction of a right to FE support for all students interacts positively with the

benefits system, and use new powers over welfare - including top-up payments - to ensure no student

is disadvantaged.

Shaping Scotland’s Future

Higher Education (HE) students need improved support

Alongside students across the country, NUS Scotland has campaigned hard against tuition fees and as

a result there is a strong consensus in Scotland today on the

importance of keeping higher education fee-free. Free tuition is

incredibly important - but it doesn’t create fully free and fair education

on its own. While NUS Scotland was pleased when the Scottish

Government heeded our calls to improve student support for higher

education students by introducing the minimum income guarantee,

evidence shows students are continuing to struggle. An NUS Scotland

survey of students carried out last year found:

79% either strongly agreed or agreed with the statement “In general I worry about my financial

situation”

64% either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I regularly worry about not having

enough money to meet my basic living expenses”.

67% of respondents either strongly agreed or agreed with the statement “I sometimes feel

overwhelmed by my finances”

As the student debt burden increases, a growing number of

students are at risk of dropping out of education altogether

as they struggle to juggle the need to be in paid work with

their studies. We want to see an improved, year round

approach to supporting students, which provides increased

grants and a reduced reliance on debt.

Year round support for HE students, with

increased grants and reduced debt

At #SP16 NUS Scotland wants to see parties commit to:

Improvements in the HE support system provided through grants rather than loans.

The introduction of a National Hardship Fund to help students facing financial difficulty.

A commitment from the Scottish Government to work with the UK Government to explore new

ways of funding student support.

64% of students regularly worry

about not having enough money to

live on.

Shaping Scotland’s Future

59% of respondents either strongly agreed or agreed with the statement “I feel I have little control

of my financial situation”

51% of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement “I feel able to

concentrate on my studies without worrying about finances”.

At a time when Scotland continues to make progress on improving its rates of fair access to higher

education, 49% of respondents stated that they had seriously

considered leaving their course. The single largest reason

given for this was financial difficulties, highlighted by 62% of

those who had considered dropping out.

Recent rising debt statistics have also highlighted the need for increased grant support – particularly

for students from the lowest income backgrounds. Figures released in October last year by the Student

Awards Agency Scotland1 showed an increase in student debt, while grants given out through the

bursary system had fallen to just under £40m compared with £65.4m in 2005-06. The figures also

showed the number of low-income students receiving the bursary fell to 32,310, compared with 33,150

a year ago and student loans to fund living expenses have nearly doubled in two years - from £254m

in 2013 to £467m this year.

The statistics also found evidence that students

from the poorest backgrounds are reluctant to take

on debt, and this is discouraging them from

applying for the loan support they are entitled to.

While the number of students with a total

household income of up to £16,999 was 24,700, of

those only 19,665 took a student loan, meaning

around a fifth of students from the poorest

backgrounds took no student loan at all. This shows

that without an increase in grant support,

Scotland’s most vulnerable learners may not have

the support they need to take up opportunities to go to college or university – despite the current

focus on widening access.

Benefits also have an impact on support. Currently if a higher education student makes an application

for benefits, their maximum loan entitlement counts as income – even if they have chosen not to take

out their full support. Under the planned introduction of universal credit, the situation will be made

worse for many students as there will be a straight pound-for pound withdrawal of benefits against

‘income’.

1 Figures released in October 2015 by the Student Awards Agency Scotland showed an increases in average student debt - http://www.saas.gov.uk/_forms/statistics_1415.pdf

62% of students

considered dropping out

due to financial difficulties.

Shaping Scotland’s Future

In addition to this there is evidence that accessing benefits is already becoming more challenging, with

research from the Equality Challenge Unit finding the proportion of disabled HE students studying in

colleges and receiving Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) fell from 20.5% in 2012/13 to 17.2% in

2013/142. ECU data also found Scotland had the lowest proportion of disabled HE students receiving

DSA support in the UK – at just 30% compared to the national figure of 54.9%.3

What we want to see: Improvements in the HE support system provided through grants

rather than loans.

As our research clearly shows, a high percentage of students are worried about their finances, putting

them at risk of dropping out of education altogether

as they struggle to juggle the need to be in paid

work with their studies. Improvements in the HE

support system provided through grants rather than

loans will help stop students having to take on any

more debt – and help make progress on widening

access to university. To help ensure students

eligible for benefits don’t lose out when Universal

Credit is introduced, we want to see the Scottish

Government use the powers available to them to

mitigate the impact, ensuring students receive the

full amount of support they deserve - in student

support and benefits.

Higher education students need year-round support

During term time students facing financial difficulty can at least rely on their student support

payments. And if times get really tough, they can apply for institutional hardship and discretionary

funds. During the summer months they lose both of these. Many students are also required to

undertake additional coursework or resits over summer, some feel forced to take on unpaid internships

to supplement their academic work, and many others have diverse and difficult circumstances.

The results of our recent survey into student support showed

58% of students felt that it’s more difficult to support

themselves during the summer months – with 32% saying it’s

hard to find paid work. Research from the students’ association

at the University of the West of Scotland (SAUWS) has also

found that student drop-out is significantly higher during the summer months. Using FOI and focus

groups, they discovered:

In the five years analysed, around half - 49.63% - of Scotland’s students that drop out do so in the

summer. This makes the summer the most vulnerable time to be a student in higher education.

2 http://www.ecu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Scotland-colleges-equality-stats-report-2015.pdf 3 http://www.ecu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Equality-in-HE-statistical-report-2015-part-2-students.pdf

Almost 50% of student dropouts happen over

the summer months.

Shaping Scotland’s Future

Over the same five year period, the amount of students that drop out in the summer has increased.

So much so that in 2013/14 more students dropped out in the summer than the rest of year

altogether.

What we want to see: The introduction of a National Hardship Fund to help students facing

financial difficulty.

A National Hardship Fund will provide support to students with unexpected financial pressures during

the summer months. This will help prevent students dropping out of education between academic

years.

The Scottish Government must work with the UK Government

Despite education being devolved area, UK Government budget cuts will have a knock-on impact in

Scotland over the course of the next Parliament. The Institute for Fiscal studies has projected that, by

2017/18 the HEFCE teaching grant will be around £1.1bn; in total, a reduction in grant funding to

English universities of around £3bn – this will filter through to the Scottish budget in the form of

Barnett consequentials.

This will also have a knock-on impact for student support funding. As a result of higher education

policy south of the border, the Scottish Government has access to increasing levels of student loan

funding. Up until now in Scotland, this has been used to provide more loans – however in Wales, the

Welsh Government and the UK Treasury came to an agreement which allows the government to cancel

up to £1,500 of a graduate’s debt once repayment has begun4. During the next Parliament, the

Scottish Government and the UK Government should work to reach a similar agreement in Scotland,

ensuring the move has a positive impact on students and graduates.

What we want to see: A commitment from the Scottish Government to work with the UK

Government to explore new ways of funding student support.

The Scottish Government to work with the UK Government to explore alternative arrangements to

current budgeting rues whereby—even in devolved policy areas—the funding available to the Scottish

Government is dependent on policy decisions taken elsewhere, including the opportunity to introduce

debt write-off schemes, building on the positive example in Wales.

4 http://gov.wales/docs/dcells/publications/151215-review-of-higher-education-funding-and-student-finance-arrangements-in-wales-interim-report-en.pdf

Shaping Scotland’s Future

Student mental health needs must be supported

The mental wellbeing of students has a huge impact on their studies. It is vital that they have access

to the support they need to thrive in their courses and to enjoy their experiences of college and

university. In November last year, NUS UK undertook research across the UK which found a majority of

students experience poor mental health or mental illness at some point during their studies. The survey

found 78% of respondents reported experiencing mental health problems in the last year - which

included poor wellbeing and/or mental illness, diagnosed or undiagnosed.

Student life can be very stressful, with living away from home for the first time, accommodation

worries, finance concerns, academic pressure, coursework and relationship issues all contributing to

student worries. Research carried out by the NUS Scotland

Think Positive project, funded by the Scottish Government,

identified exams and assessments as the key most stressful

issue students faced, with managing time and deadlines and

considering career prospects ranked second and third.1

1 Silently Stressed, http://www.nus.org.uk/PageFiles/12238/THINK-POS-REPORT-Final.pdf

Many students experiencing mental ill-health during their

studies find it difficult to seek out or access support. We

want to see improved, coordinated mental health support

for students, ensuring that provision is linked up across

NHS board areas and institutions.

Improved support for students

experiencing mental ill-health

At #SP16 NUS Scotland wants to see parties commit to:

Specific reference to students and young people in the Scottish Government’s new Mental

Health Strategy.

National coordination of mental health provision for students moving around the country.

Greater institutional efforts to promote and support metal wellbeing.

78% of students

experienced mental health

problems in the last year

Any further important information and data to go

in here. Set in Verdana 8/10 regular.

In 2009/10, SAMH estimated the social and economic cost of mental ill-health in Scotland to be around

£10bn per year.2 But economic cost is just one factor: mental ill-health also affects a person’s life

opportunities and outcomes. Last year’s Scottish Health Survey found

that those experiencing long-term unemployment are more likely to

experience mental ill-health.3

Research from LGBT Youth Scotland in 20134 found that LGBTI young

people are more likely to be impacted by mental ill-health with 40.1%

considering themselves to have mental health issues, compared with

the overall Scottish figure of 1 in 4. Transgender respondents were the

most likely to consider themselves to have mental health issues at

66.7%, followed by bisexual women and lesbian and gay women.

In addition, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and GP consultation data suggest that

mental ill-health is more prevalent among women and those from more deprived communities.5 At a

time when widening access to higher education is so high on the public and political agenda - and

when women make up the majority of entrants to further and higher education – there is a growing

need to address mental health support for students.

What we want to see: Specific reference to students and young people in Scotland’s mental

health strategy

All of Scotland’s political parties must acknowledge the mental health challenges faced by students and

the important role education can play in overcoming these. They must commit to improving mental

health service provision for them – including a commitment to improve transitional support within

institutions between subjects and years and between NHS boards. The refresh of the Scottish Mental

Health Strategy provides a great opportunity to give specific guarantees for students and young

people, recognising the specific needs they often have. The next Scottish Government must ensure

student needs are included in the strategy.

Help for students making the transition to a new college or university

Students experience an especially unique challenge when they make the transition to a new institution.

NUS UK’s November 2015 research found:

37% of respondents starting college or university in the next year were worried about what mental

health support would be available at their new institution

40% were nervous about receiving support from their new institution.

2 What’s it worth now? https://www.samh.org.uk/media/174225/what_s_it_worth_now_summary.pdf 3 Scottish Health Survey Topic Report: Mental Health and Wellbeing, http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/01/4163 4 https://www.lgbtyouth.org.uk/files/documents/Life_in_Scotland_for_LGBT_Young_People_Health_Report.pdf 5 Mental Health in Scotland, SPICe briefing, http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefingsAndFactsheets/S4/SB_14-36.pdf

Any further important information and data to go

in here. Set in Verdana 8/10 regular.

Of the respondents who sought support:

67% - sought it from their local GP

Less than half - 49% -sought it from their institution

39% sought if from their family.

A third of students did not know where to go to get mental health support.

The survey highlights a clear need to signpost mental health services for all students – particularly new

and transitioning students. The ways in which students’ access support, and the places that they rely

on for their wellbeing, can also be impacted by the transition to a new institution. There are persistent

concerns about the transition that young people make from children’s and adolescent mental health

services (CAMHS) to adult mental health services (AMHS). The transition from CAMHS to AMHS risks a

drop of provision, as adult services have different – often higher – eligibility thresholds, which mean

that students who had previously received support may lose it.

Provision of both CAMHS and AMHS also varies across the

country – and some students who move away find that they

no longer have the mental health support they had at home.

In addition, students transferring to a new NHS board area

sometimes find they have to go to the back of the queue to

get the support they need. And they can face a long wait. Current Scottish Government treatment

targets are that 90% of young people on the waiting list for specialist Child and Adolescent Mental

Health Services should being treatment within 18 weeks of referral and 90% of adult patients referred

for Psychological Therapy based treatment should also be seen within 18 weeks of referral. During the

quarter ending December 2015, both the CAMHS and the psychological therapy targets were met by

only five of fourteen NHS boards.6 It is clear that across NHS Board Areas there are substantial

variations in performance.

What we want to see: National coordination of mental health provision

We want to see portability of mental health services, ensuring that no student finds themselves back

on a waiting list with no support should they move from one area to another for university or college.

We also want the Scottish Government to initiate better data sharing - including statistical information

– between educational institutions and the NHS to identify trends.

A national problem with local solutions: Institutional support

The response of institutions to students’ mental health needs faces a number of challenges, including

financial circumstances that have seen the reduction in available services and the limited disclosure by

students of issues they may be experiencing. These present challenges for institutions in identifying

and responding to the problem. Key findings on institutions responses to mental ill-health from the

NUS UK survey included:

6 Scotland Performs: NHSScotland

http://www.gov.scot/About/Performance/scotPerforms/partnerstories/NHSScotlandperformance

Only 49% of students

sought support from their

college or university.

Any further important information and data to go

in here. Set in Verdana 8/10 regular.

Less than half of survey respondents - 49% - who had sought mental health support said they had

sought support from college or university services.

Survey respondents were broadly satisfied with institutions’ mental health services: over half -

52%- rated support as 7, 8, 9 or 10 out of 10.

However, more than half of students - 54% - who believed they’d experienced mental health

problems did not seek support.

Research from the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) into mental health at university found that just 0.8%

of students in the UK have disclosed a mental health condition to their university - a figure far below

the reality. One explanation for this could be the

discrimination and stigma that remains around mental ill

health. However, of those students who did disclose and

receive subsequent adjustments, 78% said it had a positive

effect on their studies. Currently, there is no national

requirement for colleges and universities to provide support such as counselling, and no national

standard for the minimum levels of support institutions should provide. This means that there is a

great deal of variation in services available.

What we want to see: Greater institutional efforts to promote and support mental wellbeing

Mental health services and provision should be better coordinated at an institutional level, giving much

greater certainty and security of provision for students. We want to see the Scottish Government bring

together universities, colleges and health boards to encourage better coordination.

54% of students did not

seek support for mental

health issues.

For more information, visit shapingscotlandsfuture.org, Tweet us

@nusScotland or find NUS Scotland on Facebook

NUS Scotland President

Vonnie Sandlan

Twitter: @NUS_Vonnie

NUS Scotland Director

Linda Somerville

linda.somerville@nus-scotland.org.uk

NUS Scotland’s Shaping Scotland’s Future #SP16 site

www.shapingscotlandsfuture.org

Twitter: @nusScotland

Facebook: NUS Scotland

NUS Scotland offices

1 Papermill Wynd,

McDonald Road,

Edinburgh

EH7 4QL

NUS Scotland represents around 500,000 students in

Scotland through our member associations. We promote,

defend and extend the rights of students.

Contact us using the information below.

Contact NUS Scotland