The President of Union Affairs and President of Education, presented the Student Members Report to University Court, updating them on the recent activity of the Students’ Association. Below is a summary of what was presented.

1. Representation 

1.1 Education:  

Elections: The Class and Postgraduate Representative elections were conducted smoothly and transparently, attracting 727 total candidates. An impressive 15% of the student body voted in the election cycle- almost unheard of across the UK for this election cycle. The President of Education and Academic Representation Coordinator then led the training of all newly elected academic representatives to prepare them for their roles.

National Review of Awarding Arrangements: On August 28th, Students’ Association representatives met with the review team for the National Review of Awarding arrangements. The representatives shared their perspectives on learning, teaching, the student voice and student support. The President of Education further contributed through her membership to the steering group which provided strategic oversight to the review. The Students’ Association organised diverse student involvement and hosted dedicated briefing sessions to support students involved. 

European Students’ Union: The President of Education’s application to the European Students’ Union’s (ESU) Quality Assurance Student Expert Pool has been accepted. The President of Education will contribute to the ESU’s policymaking process, act as a representative of the United Kingdom to the group, collaborate on projects, and participate in Quality Assurance reviews.  

Turnitin: Turnitin, the University of St Andrews’ well established plagiarism detection software, was prepared to launch an update to its End User License Agreement (EULA) on July 14th, 2026. This update introduced new terms regarding the processing of student submissions to train AI tools. Turnitin’s proposal amassed a staggering amount of negative attention from students who demanded the university end its contract with Turnitin. Coursework, assessment, and examinations submitted to Turnitin represent thousands of hours of effort, original thought, and creativity- students rightly believe they should retain control over how this work is used. The President of Education is grateful to the Proctor for acting on student feedback.

To channel local activism to a national scale, the President of Education brought together over 100 sabbatical officers from across the UK with an open letter addressed to Turnitin and education leaders across the country.  

1.2 Union Affairs  

Future Framework: Through their participation on the Future Framework Staff and Student Reference Group, the President of Union Affairs contributed to discussions around the Pillar 1A Report. They also attended the Future Student event in Stirling, alongside the President of Education and the Chief Executive of the Students’ Association. Through participation in this event, the team contributed to conversations around the changing needs of the HE sector, and how the student demographic is going to change over the next 20 years.  

Classism Survey: Following the widespread media coverage of classism within St Andrews, the President of Union Affairs partnered with the Students for Independence Society to run a week-long survey investigating how prevalent the incidences of classism are in St Andrews, and the utility of university of reporting structures. A more in-depth report is being prepared by the Students’ Association, but the headlines depict that out of the 450 respondents, 88% of students have witnessed classism at the University and 70% of students have personally experienced classism. The survey also found that the spaces with the highest incidence reporting were Public Spaces, Halls of Residence and Academic Spaces. 

Endowment Investment Forum: The introductory meeting of the Endowment Investment Forum was held in the Students’ Association on the 8th of October. This meeting brought together four student representatives from different student groups (Investment Society, BAME Students’ Network, Environment Network, and Student for Justice in Palestine), who were then briefed on the current status of university endowments by the ITAG Chair and Chief Finance Officer.  The first forum will be held on the 26th of November in the Students’ Association.  

Accommodation: The President of Union Affairs was interviewed by BBC Scotland regarding the status of accommodation within St Andrews. Throughout their interview, they stressed the need for more affordable, rentable housing, as well as highlighting how the current housing-market places all power in the hands of local landlords through limited accountability and high demand. They also met with the Senior Students from nearly all halls of residence alongside the Accommodation Officer on the 24th of September. This meeting was a productive step forward in building the relationship between hall committees and the Students’ Association.

Union Affairs Restructure: The restructure of the Union Affairs remit has involved four representative officers coming within Union Affairs, they are the: Widening Access and Participation Officer, Accommodation Officer, Environment Officer, and the Community Relations Officer. This has meant that there is greater co-ordination across these individual officer remits, as well as more defined focus for the President of Union Affairs.  

1.3 Postgraduates 

Postgraduate Network: The President of Education’s proposal to found a Students’ Association Network for postgraduate students has been passed by all Executives- before it is officially scrutinised at the All-Student Forum in November. The Network will foster a community for postgraduate students and facilitate meaningful dialogue between the Students’ Association and University on matters pertaining to PG students. The Network will ensure postgraduate representation on the Union Affairs, Student Opportunities and Wellbeing Executives- to emulate the established postgraduate representation already experienced in the Education Executive and Athletic Union Executive. 

Postgraduate Representative Away Day: On July 31st, the PGT President, PGR President and President of Education hosted an away day for all Postgraduate Representatives. Activities and discussions focused on the PG Rep experience, PGR transcripts, student-led questionnaires, and the PGT dissertation experience.  

1.4 Student Opportunities 

Student Opportunities Restructure: The President of Student Opportunities has completed a restructure of their role to support student extracurricular and development opportunities. A combined Activities Team oversees student volunteering, the Charities Campaign, and societies. 

A new Employability Team was also created with the mandate to work alongside the University to coordinate and better communicate services and events relating to employability with the student body. Employability Roundtables will work to bring professional services and student representatives into closer collaboration. 

Society Affiliation: Under the new semesterly affiliation programme, applications for society affiliation closed on Sunday 27th September with a record high of 50 requests. Should they all complete affiliation, the Union will be home to more than 200 societies by November- up from approximately 130 last year. 

Notable activities: The Charities Campaign and St Andrews Voluntary Service teamed up to deliver a fayre focusing on volunteering opportunities within the local community. The Women in Politics Society recently held a National Conference at which our own Chancellor was an invited speaker, St Andrews Muslim Students’ Association (STAMSA) has recently been named the Best Islamic Society in Scotland, and our Pool Society has just finished running a donation drive for our Campus Larder. 

1.5 Wellbeing and Community 

Wellbeing and Community review: Following student feedback, student officers within the Wellbeing and Community remit will be working alongside the President of Wellbeing and Community on a consultation. The consultation aims to address financial sustainability, improve volunteer support and role clarity, and improve the presence of student officers and their networks across the University.  

Palestine Solidarity Working Group: The President of Wellbeing and Community has established a Palestine Solidarity Working Group within the Students’ Association. Membership includes representatives from the BAME Students’ Network, St Andrews Muslim Students’ Association, Amnesty International, the Middle Eastern and North African Society, Students for Justice in Palestine and Steadfast.

Reclaim our Streets: On Monday 5th October, the President Team attended the Reclaim Our Streets demonstration organised by St Andrews’s Women Against the Far Right, St Andrews Against Gender Based Violence, GotConsent, Feminist Society, and EmpowHER. The demonstration stood in solidarity with Jane Doe and all survivors of gender-based violence and called upon the University of St Andrews to better support survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. In solidarity with the demonstration, the President Team and Representation Officers postponed the All-Student Forum intended for October 5th to Monday 26th October. 

1.6 Athletic Union 

Varsity: The men’s rugby team played to a sold-out stadium of 7,500 seats. Saints Rugby achieved an impressive win of 21-12 over the University of Edinburgh side. Returning after seven years, the women’s varsity marked a new chapter for Saints Rugby. The event was attended by over 700 spectators and was a brilliant showcase of women's rugby.

Show Racism the Red Card: On Friday the 16th October, all student athletes were requested to wear red in support of the ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ initiative.

Membership Pricing: Resulting from student feedback, there has been a membership restructure at Saint Sport with a phased introduction. The new structure ensures that students pay the correct price for the services they have access to, whilst maintaining the sustainability of smaller clubs. 

Athletic Union Executive: The Athletic Union President is currently recruiting for the AU Executive Committee. The Executive will serve as an advisory committee to inform the strategic direction of Saint Sport. Successful applicants will represent affiliated sports clubs, support good governance, help communicate student sport across the University, and champion student wellbeing. 

1. Commercial Services and Spaces  

The Red Gown: On Friday 4th September, our new pub officially opened. Red Gown is the result of a new partnership between the Students' Association and JD Wetherspoon, the first of its type in Scotland.  While benefiting from Wetherspoon's proven and successful operating model, The Red Gown will continue to be owned and operated by the Students' Association. The venue continues to play an important role as one of the largest student employers in the town.

Freshers' Week: The Students’ Association once again organised a comprehensive calendar for students during Fresher’s Week. For the first time, the Freshers' Fayre was split across two days to increase the number of available stalls whilst retaining the accessibly of the event. Evening events included Welcome to the Bubble, Sinners, an academic family finding event and a live Jazz evening with the student run society ‘Jazzworks’. All events received significant praise for their impact on student belonging and were highly attended. For the first time, the Students’ Association participated in the Access Award, offering free Freshers Passes to students who need them most. Claimed by 78 students, the Freshers Passes enabled these students to attend events without financial pressure.