A Study Of The University Students' Unions In Australia

The student union is the carrier of the culture and tradition in the university. In addition to the traditional classroom, it is another important platform for students'growth. The development of Australian university students is more mature, having many distinctive features. With a high degree of autonomy, the union is a self management organization, emphasizing on the students'self education, self management and self service. Students union's work fully embodies the student-centered consciousness, launching an effort to service for the students'study and growth.. The union is complete in management mechanism and constitution to fix the everyday work, making the union's operating mechanism more reasonable and orderly. The union respects the students' multicultural needs and values, providing equal services and development opportunities for each student. This paper makes a comprehensive and systematic study of the Australian students'organizations. Based on the research of the student affairs in Australia, this study focuses the development background of Australian university student organizations. The study focuses on the present situation of the Australian university student union, including the types, management pattern, functions, and funding resources. And then we explore the main features of the Australian students union. Lastly, comparing with the university student union in China and learning the experience of Australia, we make some practical recommendations for our universities to build student organizations'work patterns with Chinese features.This thesis includes four parts:Part One analyzes the student union development background from the political, economic, cultural and student affairs concept in the European and American universities.In accordance with the organizational elements, Part Two systematically analyzes the present status of Australian university student union from the he types, management pattern, functions, and funding resources. Firstly, the students'organizations were divided into two types:general student unions and special student unions. Secondly, the Australian university student union membership, the council system were introduced, analyzing from the respects of organizational structure and institution. Thirdly, the functions of the students organizations were introduced, especially for the service function. Finally, the Australian university student organization funding resources were introduced.By surface to see beyond the logical order of nature, Part Three makes a further study of the Australian university students union, deeply analyzing the features of the student union:the bylaws of the union are mature and perfect; the organization and management patterns are reasonable and orderly; the students organizations adhere to the student-oriented service concept, blending education in the services; the student organizations have a high degree of autonomy; the student organizations respect the students'multicultural needs and values.With a comparative perspective, Part Four compares the similarities and differences between the Australia student organizations and China, on the basis of this, this paper makes some advises on the construction of the students union in China.