Member benefits

Serving the full range of our members’ needs requires us to work across a wide variety of activities and issues.

Core benefits and services

Key services and benefits of UUK membership include:

Research, analysis and advice to inform policy positions, advocacy work and campaigns.
Input to major consultations and reviews which shape higher education policy.
Access to guidelines, toolkits, good practice and benchmarking material.

Advocacy and influencing to promote sector interests.
High profile campaigns to promote higher education.
Representing and promoting UK universities in Europe and internationally (through UUKi).

Access to networks and contacts across government and beyond.
Lobbying on behalf of the sector in parliament to influence debates and legislation relevant to higher education.
Influencing the media on a range of issues, often as the first port of call for journalists.
Influencing and campaigning through social media, including via UUK’s Twitter account of 100,000 followers.

A regular members-only newsletter from the chief executive.
Regularly convening members – both online and in-person – to discuss current or developing policy issues, new opportunities and challenges.
Three Members’ Meeting a year and an Annual Conference addressing strategic issues across the UK.
High quality and timely information and advice, including legal, technical and best practice guidance.
Engagement with UUK task groups and policy leads which lead initiatives and advise on UUK policy development.
A forum representing the interests of specialist institutions in membership of UUK.
Opportunities for new vice-chancellors to engage with the challenges of being new in post and to network.
Opportunities for mid-term vice-chancellors (3-5 years in post) to consider strategic challenges in the context of political and policy developments.

Engaging with sector agencies to support members’ interests, including appointing members to sector agency boards.

Engagement with sector-wide negotiations that deliver efficiencies and savings including pensions reform, accounting standards, copyright, student accommodation, and rating revaluations.
Brokering international partnerships and scholarship programmes.
Strong links with sector networks including the funding and research councils, the Committee of University Chairs, and the National Union of Students.

Hosting conferences, roundtables and seminars on topics of interest to the sector, including the annual International Higher Education Forum.