Update on the National Student Situation - 1 August 2024

Last week, the presidents of all university student associations convened to discuss the formation of a new national student body to represent university students in Aotearoa. This action has been taken due to NZUSA’s inability to represent students in this space at the current time. Consequently, a group has been established to fulfill this role, comprising members from all university student associations and partner national student representative equity groups.

In light of this development, as of August 1st, 2024, VUWSA has officially withdrawn from NZUSA, effective immediately. This decision was informed by several factors, primarily the significant financial risks and liabilities associated with our continued membership.

VUWSA - Te Aka Tauira Launches Petition for Winter Energy Payment Extension to Tertiary Students

**Thursday, 11th July 2024, Wellington** — At 10 am today, VUWSA - Te Aka Tauira launched a petition urging the Government to extend the Winter Energy Payment to include tertiary students.

"Energy companies are announcing record profits while students are ending up in the hospital with respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia," said VUWSA’s Equity Officer Josh Robinson. "This experience is often seen as a rite of passage for students, but in 2024, it is untenable."

The Winter Energy Payment is crucial for those struggling with the cost of living to keep their homes warm and dry across Aotearoa. Yet, tertiary students remain ineligible for this support, despite living in some of the poorest conditions in Aotearoa, in the coldest and dampest accommodations, and on highly strained incomes. Access to the Winter Energy Payment would help end the need for students to choose between a warm home and food.

“No one should have to choose between staying warm and having food,” said VUWSA President Marcail Parkinson. “It’s completely unacceptable that in 2024 we still see students frequently end up in the hospital with preventable respiratory illnesses due to the quality of their accommodation. We know that students live in some of the worst accommodations in Aotearoa and have highly strained incomes as well as large student loans. I applaud the incredible achievements of the Winter Energy Payment so far in helping those who cannot afford to keep their homes warm. However, I urge the government to fix the student-sized hole in this support net as soon as possible if they truly want a healthy and engaged population of learners.”

Students shared their personal stories about how receiving the Winter Energy Payment would impact their lives. One student expressed, "I wouldn’t wake up shivering in my bed each morning." Another highlighted a common dilemma, saying, "I wouldn't have to choose between heating and food." The stark reality was underscored by a student who shared, "I wouldn't get hypothermia... again."

The Winter Energy Payment, introduced in 2017 by the then Labour Government, has been available to all beneficiary groups except students. This petition aims to rectify this oversight and ensure that students are not left out in the cold.

The launch of this petition coincided with VUWSA’s highly successful annual Winter Clothing Drive, an initiative coordinated with VUW Student Finance. The Clothing Drive provides donated winter clothing from staff to all students free of charge. This initiative, started in 2023, aims to alleviate student hardship during winter and provide students with clothing and bedding to keep themselves warm and healthy.

Te Aka Tauira - Victoria University Students Association is calling for the Winter Energy Payment to be extended to include tertiary students to help end student poverty, you can sign the petition on the Parliament website.

Petition to Guarantee Students Universal Access to Lecture Recordings

VUWSA, the Students’ Assembly, Student Academic Committee and the National Disabled Students Association are asking Te Herenga Waka to guarantee in university policy from Tri One 2023 onwards: Universal access to lecture recordings - all lectures should be recorded, available online for the entire course, to all its students.  We will have an open letter on the VUWSA website soon with more details.

As students, we know that universal access to lecture recordings enables an accessible, future-focused education for all tauira. The University has a responsibility under the Pastoral Care Code to meet the needs of diverse learners. Barring students’ access to lecture recordings undermines their agency to choose how they engage with their education, forcing engagement in-person.   

As our University moves into a post-Pandemic era without a dual delivery mandate, universal access to lecture recordings is not guaranteed. We’ve seen movement at faculty, school and individual course levels that diminishes access to recordings. Hardship thresholds to access recordings, delaying upload of recordings, recordings being available for a limited amount of time are examples.

We know that the University is concerned about dwindling live lecture attendance and participation as an engagement issue. But barriers to accessing recordings will only disproportionately disadvantage the academic success of our marginalised students. Students who can regularly show up to their lectures in-person, over attending to employment or other commitments, tend to be the ones who are privileged enough to do so.

The University needs to acknowledge and respect that modern students aren’t just students anymore. We have multifaceted identities, experiences and obligations that mean we can’t attend every single live lecture. Many students would not be able to enrol, nor complete their degrees without lecture recordings.

In 2022, looking into a post-Pandemic era of learning and teaching, the University must move beyond this binary, fearful assumption of the availability of recordings equating a lack of in-person lecture attendance. In 2019, VUWSA’s Check the Rec campaign demonstrated that over 97% of THW-VUW students felt recordings made university studies more accessible and manageable. Students pay significant fees to study at Te Herenga Waka because they deserve inclusive, modern and high-quality learning and teaching practice which includes a variety of learning options, and cannot exclude lecture recordings. 

Universal access to lecture recordings is a cornerstone of accessible education. 

Sign our petition now, and share it with your mates.