Advocacy

(æd və kə si)

Our Vision

We envision a university community where students are empowered to negotiate academic and administrative issues, supported by independent and expert advice. We aim to empower students with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate the university’s policies and procedures.

Our Purpose

We help address the inherent power imbalance between students and the University by providing expert, independent advice to students on their rights and obligations in the context of their education. We also use this casework to inform and support the work of elected student representatives in identifying and addressing systemic problems to manifest meaningful change.

So what do you do then?

Usually, you will get along just fine with the University, but every now and then things may not go according to plan. There are quite a few rules that regulate your time as a student, and they can be insanely confusing. If you have a problem with the uni, or the uni has a problem with you, you may want to get advice. That’s where we come in.

The Advocacy Service at UMSU operates using an empowerment or strength based approach, where we seek to resource and equip students to deal with their matter themselves via the provision of policy and strategic advice as well as general feedback.

Before you seek our advice, we encourage you to use the various resources we offer on these pages to see if these address your concerns in the first instance. These resources and templates should help you make a meaningful start on whatever issue you need a bit of help with. We know they won't work for everyone, and things can get complicated. So if you're unsure if you're on the right track, need to clarify something that you can't find online, or are just plain stuck, reach out and let us know and we can point you in the right direction.

Graduate, undergraduate, domestic, and international students are welcome to use this free and confidential advocacy service.

Please select from the issues below to find our extensive self-help resources.