These guidelines have been drafted and agreed by the National Union of Students and the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship with the advice of the Equality Challenge Unit.

They are intended to assist affiliated Students’ Unions and student Christian Unions to manage their relationship in accordance with the law, University Regulations, Union regulations and in line with democratic principles of liberty, equality and respect for diversity.

It is hoped they will help unions and societies in the future to avoid the types of conflict reported during 2006.

The Equality Challenge Unit is in the process of developing more general guidance for Students’ Unions and faith based student societies. This more general guidance will be in place for the start of the academic year 2007-2008.

Context

Students’ Unions are generally exempt educational charities which derive their charitable status from their parent institution - they exist to further the educational purposes of the institution. As such they are subject to regulation by their University or College under the 1994 Education Act and must act in accordance with Charity Law.

In addition all FEIs and HEIs are duty bound to establish codes and procedures to promote equality and diversity and protect students from discrimination and harassment. Students and the activities of any Students’ Union, including its societies, will  normally be expected to conform to these codes, and students’ unions will normally develop policies and codes of their own that may offer further rights or protections to students.

All such codes should seek effectively, properly and lawfully to promote the freedom to speak, organise, debate and air views, and the freedom from harm, harassment, and unlawful discrimination.

Where, for whatever reason, either a Students’ Union or Christian Union consider that they are unable to facilitate the affiliation of the Christian Union to the Students’ Union, both sides are encouraged to make effective and timely use of the internal processes and procedures of the Students’ Union and or the HEI or FEI to resolve the issues between them.

Guidelines

1. Students should be free and encouraged to establish faith based societies, recognised by their Students’ Union, with the object of practising and promoting any religion as part of their educational and social experience and development at the college or university.
2. The religion in question may be identified in the aims and objects of the constitution of the society by reference to a set of doctrines or to the belief and practice of any lawful religious group or body, or by any other suitable means.
3. In principle, students' union societies have the right to adopt the name that in their view best expresses their own identity. However if any member of the Union considers that the name is deliberately misleading, the member should be encouraged to raise the issue first with the society concerned in order to attempt to resolve the issue informally. Should it not prove possible for the matter to be resolved informally, then the matter should be resolved through the Union's normal democratic processes for changes to the constitutions of affiliated societies. Students’ Unions should never discriminate between one religious view or another in the provision of facilities and services to societies; they should therefore always seek to resolve any disputes about names according to neutral criteria.
4. The obligation on Students’ Unions not to discriminate on the grounds of religion, and any obligation on a Students’ Union not to have a direct central religious affiliation, does not prevent the recognition of faith based societies.
5. Student societies should be democratically student run. Faith based student societies may affiliate to external bodies whose objects are compatible with their own, but such affiliation must (a) be capable of being withdrawn at any time, and (b) not compromise the autonomy of the student society.
6. It is assumed that students joining a society support the aims and objects outlined in its constitution. Students should thus be informed of the aims, objects and any rights or responsibilities arising from the society’s constitution when joining a society. Any member must be free to leave the society at any time.
7. Societies may have both open and members-only meetings but should be encouraged to promote open meetings wherever possible.
8. The leadership (executive committee) of a faith based society may be restricted to members of the society. The right to change the objects and the right to elect leaders may be likewise restricted.
9. A Students' Union will normally require the appointment of leaders or the committee of every society to be subject to a democratic process in which all members of the society can stand for positions and are enfranchised to vote. This requirement may also be applied to faith based societies.
10. The 1994 Act requires that the procedure for recognition of societies and the allocation of resources or privileges by the Students’ Union such as access to publicity, premises and financial support should be fair, set down in writing and freely accessible to all students.
11. Any allegations of discrimination or harassment made by or against the society or its leaders must be dealt with via the appropriate University or Union harassment or equal opportunities procedure for the protection of all parties.
12. Where either a Students’ Union or Christian Union consider that they are unable to facilitate affiliation of the CU to the SU for any reason, provided that all of the above guidelines have been followed, the two bodies are encouraged to make a joint approach to the HEI or FEI to secure facilities such as access to publicity, premises and financial support.

May 2007