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Budget for Bursaries, the NUS Scotland campaign that won an additional £15m in bursary funding for college students, has been awarded Campaign of the Year at the 2011 Scottish Charity Awards.

The campaign involved 32,000 emails from college students contacting their MSPs to contest cuts to bursaries. It succeeded in reversing a proposed £1.7m real terms cut and securing an additional £15m in bursary funding and £8m worth of additional college places.

NUS Scotland and its members were amongst five award-winners at the Scottish Charity Awards, run by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO). The Awards are now in their fifth year, and celebrate the unsung heroes across Scotland’s 45,000 voluntary organisations.

Liam Burns, President of NUS Scotland, said:

“In a year that has been dominated by higher education issues, students in further education showed that politicians ignore college students at their peril.

"To win £15m college bursaries, and £8m for college places, was a fantastic result for students across Scotland. We are particularly honoured to have won the Campaign of the Year given we were up against so many other worthy organisations.

"Hopefully, in the coming months, this campaign will be looked back upon as the first step towards securing guaranteed and essential funding for college students."

website: http://www.nus.org.uk/en/News/News/Budget-for-Bursaries-wins-Campaign-of-the-Year/