Students’ Association

Coming to College isn’t just about gaining a qualification, furthering your education and gearing up for employment; it’s also about experiencing the new, fun and exciting lifestyle that comes with being a student!

When you choose to study at North East Scotland College (and if you are over the age of 16) you will automatically become a member of the Students’ Association, unless you choose to opt out. You can decide your level of involvement – some students are very heavily involved in the SA, whereas others choose not to be. It’s entirely your choice.

Throughout the year we organise a timetable of events and awareness raising activities. Helping to support these events or getting involved with the Association gives you the chance to learn new skills, gain work experience and boost your CV all whilst spending time with enthusiastic, like-minded people and forming lifelong friendships!

Advice

When it comes to help and support, we will help you in every way we can. If you need advice or information on anything that affects your life as a student, feel free to come to us – if we can’t assist you then it’s our responsibility to find someone who can!

All conversations with the Student Officers of the NESCol Students’ Association are confidential, so if you feel at all uncomfortable talking to a member of staff, then please feel free to come and see us and we can support you in taking any issues forward.

Pop into one of our campus offices or get in touch with us at nescolsa@nescol.ac.uk

National Union of Students

We look to get involved in campaigns which support student issues and work closely with the National Union of Students (NUS) and NUS Scotland in particular. NUS are a confederation of 600 students’ unions and associations, representing the interests of more than seven million students across the UK. As an organisation they champion students’ issues to shape the future of education by promoting, defending and extending student rights. NUS not only develop research and lobby nationally on students’ rights but they keep associations informed on developments, offer training to support association staff and hold national conferences where unions and associations can petition on behalf of the student body.

TOTUM Discount cards and NUS Apprentice cards

NUS in partnership with TOTUM promote a Student Card which is now known as a TOTUM card / TOTUM App which can be purchased by any full-time, part-time or distance learning student.

This provides access to a massive savings in over 200 shops, leisure activities and restaurants.

Find out more about TOTUM cards

Get Involved

Getting involved in the Students’ Association is a fantastic way to meet new people, boost your CV and have a say in your educational and overall student experience at North East Scotland College.

If you do want to get involved, there are lots of ways you can do it.

Elections

The NESCol Students’ Association is run for students by students! This means we are led by the work of elected Sabbatical Officers, our Regional President and Depute President.

You can find out more about what they do by reading the job descriptions for the Regional President Role and Depute President Roles.

Voting takes place each year. In the 2022 elections Nicole Matthews was selected as President, with Carrie Beaton chosen for the Depute President role. The new officers took on their duties in July.

Class Representatives

Every class in the College has Class Reps. They are normally elected within the first few weeks of a class starting. Class Reps represent students by talking to their peers about all aspects of life on their course. They then attend meetings with key staff and provide them with feedback and also attend monthly themed meetings with the Association. Students are asked to suggest improvements or talk about what is working well and topics covered might include things like:

Ideas from the class on how to improve life in the classroom
Use of technology in class rooms
Resources and facilities in College
Comments on how courses are taught and content of courses
…and much, much more!

Officer posts

Our Presidents are elected in March each year and take up their posts on 1 July before the beginning of the new academic session. To support our Presidents we have a team of Officers who form our Executive. These are voluntary, part-time roles.

For 2022/23 the elected representatives are Nicole Matthews (President) and Carrie Beaton (Depute President). You can get in touch via the contact details at the foot of this page.

Executive Officers help make major decisions alongside the Presidents in the Students’ Association when it comes to shaping the direction, aims and ambitions of the Association. There are a number of positions that become available during elections, where you can become involved in areas that are of specific interest to you, such as:

Communications
Equality and Diversity
Environment
Health and Well Being
Activities and Events

Executive Officers may help to organise events/campaigns to raise awareness of different issues. They can also represent students and various student issues via their membership on key College committees. Executive Officer posts will be advertised around September each year and posts will start in October. If you are interested we ask you to complete an Expression of Interest form.

Volunteering

You don’t have to be a Class Rep or an elected Officer to help with the Students’ Association. Volunteers are encouraged to come along on a regular basis to help out and support Officers at different one-off events, fundraising days, campaigns and initiatives. As an Association we are keen to benefit from the many different skills you are developing at College, as well as your motivation and enthusiasm! Please let us know if you feel you can help out or keep an eye on Blackboard, My NESCol and our social media channels for any opportunities that we might have – we’d be happy to have you on board.

Events and Activities

During the College year, the Students’ Association runs a range of events promoting Health and Welfare, Equality and Diversity and general social events – because you all deserve some fun!

We publish an events calendar each year so that you know what is on offer. Your first introduction to these will be through our Freshers’ activities in September. Freshers is an event to welcome you to campus, where you will find information on student support, health and wellbeing, catering on campus, volunteering and local entertainment/leisure facilities, and often student offers and discounts from local shops and businesses. We really hope that you can join us for this key event in the Student Association calendar.

The Students’ Association are always on the lookout for promotions and benefits for students, and these will generally be promoted on our social media channels, My NESCol (our student intranet) or at our events and activities.

Clubs and Societies

As an Association it is important to us that students have a positive social experience at College and so we can support you in setting up and running a club or group on campus that reflects your interests. These groups are run by students for students and we have previously had Gaming Clubs, Music Clubs and a Socialist Society running on campus. If you are interested in getting a group together then get in touch with us and we will let you know how to go about it and support you in getting it up and running.

Food insecurity

The Breakfast Club and The Pantry are two Students’ Association initiatives designed to combat food insecurity among students.

The Breakfast Club

The Students’ Association runs a Breakfast Club for students at our Aberdeen Altens, Aberdeen City and Fraserburgh campuses between 8:30am and 9:30am, Monday to Friday. Students can enjoy a free hot breakfast of porridge, tea and toast.

The Pantry

The Student Pantry is our foodbank at each campus. Students can come and collect non-perishable foods, toiletries, laundry and household items. It is open throughout the day and deliveries are received weekly to ensure this service is always available.

End of Year Meeting

We have Annual Meetings where we report to our members on our activities for the year and our work on your behalf. We encourage all members to attend this meeting so that we can hear more about what you want from us.

Partnership Agreement

North East Scotland College and the Students’ Association agree to work in partnership to achieve shared priorities outlined in the Partnership Agreement.

Both parties will work collaboratively to ensure that all students can get involved in actively shaping and influencing their College experiences.

If you would like to provide us with your feedback on how we can improve our partnership working, please email nescolsa@nescol.ac.uk.

Contact the Students' Association

You will find the Aberdeen Altens Campus Students’ Association Office in the Library in M Block.

You will find the Aberdeen City Campus Students’ Association Office on the Lower Ground Floor of the Tower Block, just along from the Loch Street entrance to the building.

You will find the Fraserburgh Campus Students’ Association Office upstairs in the atrium area, to the left of the coffee bar.

If you have any questions about the Students’ Association or would like some more information about becoming part of the team, please don’t hesitate to get in touch — we’d love to hear from you. The Students’ Association are here to help, face-to-face, via email or social media.