The National Union of Students today welcomed the announcement from Vice Chancellor Steven Schwartz that Macquarie University will incorporate volunteer work in its curriculum from 2010. “We support the principles behind this announcement. It is already the case that university students are engaged in volunteer and community development work and that should be formally recognised. However we have some concerns about how this will work in practice,” National Union of Students President, Angus McFarland said.
“The reality is that many students are unable to volunteer because of their work commitments and the necessity to work long hours to cover basic living expenses. There would need to be equity scholarships or subsidies in place to ensure that students are not unfairly disadvantaged or worse off when fulfilling volunteer work requirements,” Mr McFarland went on to say.
“Secondly, it is unclear whether or not Schwartz’s proposal will include volunteer work as a HECS component of a degree. Students should not have to pay HECS to do a volunteer program and this is completely against the spirit of volunteerism and community development. If volunteer work is to be mandated at Macquarie University, the National Union of Students will lobby to ensure that courses including the volunteer work are HECS-exempt,” Mr McFarland said.
As there is no independent student organisation at Macquarie University thanks to Voluntary Student Unionism, the National Union of Students expects to play a significant role in representing Macquarie University students’ interests in negotiating the detail of the new curriculum.
For comment contact Angus McFarland.
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Angus McFarland
National President
National Union of Students Inc
e: pres@nus.asn.au
w: www.unistudent.com.au
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