Update from George: Durham SU adopts core position on Value for Money
Wednesday 03-07-2019 - 13:49
With students paying so much for their University experience, it’s incredibly important that the quality of this experience is as high as possible, and that costs are transparent and affordable for all students. The cost of being a Durham student is significant, with Durham SU’s research into the cost of attendance estimating that the Durham student experience costs £20,737.00 per year, including tuition fees. We do not believe that Durham University currently offers good value for money. That’s why I recently asked what ‘Value for Money’ means to you as a Durham student.
Using your feedback, I wrote an SU Core position on Value for Money (VfM), setting out what the term means for students. I’m delighted that SU Assembly has now voted to endorse this position. The position makes clear our belief that students should receive value for money from the University for the various fees they pay, and that students should be considered key partners in the development of work on VfM. For students, value for money means transparency about costs and how money is spent, quality of provision, and affordability of the Durham experience. It means ensuring that cost doesn’t become a tool in creating a Durham that is increasingly exclusionary. VfM must be delivered to all students, regardless of socioeconomic status, background, protected characteristics, home or international status, or course of study.
Moving forward, we will be lobbying the University, through the recently established Value for Money Committee, to implement an approach to VfM that puts students and their interests at its heart, based on the principles set out in our student definition of VfM. A major challenge will be to persuade the University to centre its VfM work on the student experience, utilising the student voice in demonstrating value. We will also continue to ask for recognition of the true cost of the Durham student experience and the financial support needed to close the student funding gap we identified in our research, allowing everyone to access a quality and affordable Durham education.
