Your right to opt out

All students who are studying degree programmes primarily via the University’s Lancaster Campus are automatically members of the Lancaster University Students’ Union. By law, students have a right to opt out of this membership of the Students’ Union and to not being represented by it.

If a student opts out of membership of the Students' Union by default they also opt out of membership of their Junior Common Room (JCR). This includes in the Graduate College. They do however remain members of their college.

Students who opt out have no right to participate or vote in any Students' Union elections and have no right to representation by elected student representatives. Students who opt out cannot hold student representative positions within the University which are filled by the Students' Union.

The University is responsible for ensuring that students who do opt out are not unfairly disadvantaged by their non-membership of the Students' Union or JCR. Students who have opted out of membership of the Students' Union and JCR who wish to express any views on any University matter shall in the first instance put their views in writing to the University's Deputy Chief Executive (Operations). Students who have opted out and who believe they have been unfairly discriminated against as a result should complain to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education). Contact details for members of the University's leadership team, including the positions referenced above, are available online.