University of South Australia Students Association
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The University of South Australia ("UniSA") Students' Association is the peak student representative body in the UniSA. Spread across its four metropolitan campuses is the Centre for Regional Engagement, encompassing Whyalla and Mount Gambier campuses.
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[edit] History
From 1 January 1991 the University of South Australia became a reality as a result of a merger between the Institute of Technology and significant elements of the South Australian College of Advanced Education. This merger necessitated the formation of a single student association that represented the needs of the then six campuses of the newly formed university. The New University Merger Discussion Group was the beginning of the UniSA Students Association. The inaugural year of the UniSA Students Association was 1994, with the Confederated Student Union, a combination of the South Australian Institute of Technology Union and the Council of South Australian College Student Organisations managing the intervening years.
[edit] Structure
The Students’ Association is a democratic organisation run by students that is responsive to student needs. The overarching policies of the Association are set by the Students’ Association Council, which comprises students elected by and from the student population. The composition of Council and its powers and responsibilities are set out in the Students’ Association’s Constitution.
The Association provides opportunities for students to become involved in the decision-making process at the central level and their local campus level through branch committees. The Association has established a number of standing committees that deal with specific areas of student concern. These standing committees include the Education Standing Committee, the Equity and Welfare Standing Committee, and the Services Standing Committee. There are also a number of departments and standing committees that have been established to facilitate student input from designated groups of students. These standing committees provide specific representation for women, postgraduates, international students, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and queer students.
[edit] Staff
As a large organisation spread across five campuses, the Association employs over 100 permanent, temporary, and casual staff, supporting over 80 student representatives. Representation and service delivery provided by the Association is coordinated by the central office and assisted by a range of purpose-specific departments and branch offices on each campus.
[edit] Student Services
The Association is recognised by the University as the preferred provider of student amenities. The University collects the Student Amenities Fee (SAF) on the Association’s behalf. The Association also receives income from its commercial operations including shops, bars, cafés and cafeterias. As a non-profit organisation all income received is returned to the student members via the provision of services that encompass the full gamut of student needs.
| Student unions of Australia | |
|---|---|
| National: National Union of Students of Australia | |
| Universities: ANU | Adelaide | Ballarat | Bendigo | Canberra | Charles Darwin | Curtin | Edith Cowan | Flinders | Griffith | James Cook | La Trobe | Macquarie | Melbourne | Monash (Caulfield campus) | Monash (Clayton campus) | Murdoch | New England | New South Wales | Newcastle | Queensland | QUT | RMIT | South Australia | Southern Cross (Coffs Harbour campus) | Southern Cross (Lismore campus) | Southern Queensland | Sunshine Coast | Swinburne | Sydney | Tasmania (Hobart campus) | Tasmania (Launceston campus) | UTS | Victoria | Western Australia | Western Sydney | Wollongong | |
| Current Factions: Australian Liberal Students Federation | Grassroots Left | Independents | National Labor Students | National Liaison Committee | Socialist Alternative | Student Unity | |
| Former Factions: Australian Labor Students | Left Alliance | Love and Rage | National Broad Left | National Organisation of Labor Students | Non-Aligned Left | Small + Regionals | |
