Students from across the Highlands and Islands have voiced concerns about the impact of Brexit and lecturer strikes at their annual conference in Inverness.
They have also expressed concern about what they claim to be “the complicated and ineffective structures within UHI [University of the Highlands and Islands]”.
Highlands and Islands Students’ Association (HISA) president Alan Simpson said: “Students voted overwhelmingly in favour a motion stating that the level of student support you receive from UHI should be the same regardless of which college they attend.
“This sends a strong message to UHI, the colleges and the Scottish government that the status quo within UHI is simply not acceptable.”
He added that students were also looking forward to when Scottish education minister Richard Lochhead and other politicians from all the major parties attend the conference today, giving students the chance to question them on Brexit.
A UHI spokeswoman said: “The university held its first assembly in September 2018 to consider how we continue to develop as a partnership in the coming years.
“The assembly agreed to form a programme board to develop partnership-wide options for change, and address the challenges we face.
“This includes redefining our relationships so we can release the full potential of our staff and the ability of our partnership to act locally and regionally for the benefit of all our stakeholders.
“One of the important areas of work the board focuses on students. The board will be developing a plan and approach to ensure equivalent student experience across our partnership. Our student association, HISA, are fully involved with this work.”
She added: “The university and our partners are working together to determine how the strike action may affect us, to ensure any disruption is minimised and to ensure students and staff are informed about any arrangements.”
HISA represents all higher and further education students across the University of the Highlands and Islands and its 13 partners and colleges.
