NUS card or ISIC?

Can anyone shed some light on these two cards? Someone mentioned it, and i looked them up...NUS is a card from the Nationals student's union? and ISIC is something similar but for international students?

how are these cards different from a university ID? do you even get a university ID?? what do these cards do? do all students have them?? can you have both a NUS and an ISIC?

i'm an overseas student deciding to accept an offer to a MSc program at KCL for the fall of 2005.

thanks!!

Reply 1

JennLlama

1

phatz00

Can anyone shed some light on these two cards? Someone mentioned it, and i looked them up...NUS is a card from the Nationals student's union? and ISIC is something similar but for international students?

An NUS card is from the National Union of Students, which only exists in the UK (as far as I'm aware anyway). An ISIC card is an International Student card which is recognised in a whole lot of countries.

how are these cards different from a university ID? do you even get a university ID?? what do these cards do? do all students have them?? can you have both a NUS and an ISIC?

Some Universities give ID cards which are the same as their NUS cards (i.e. they use the NUS cards as ID cards). Some give separate ID cards and NUS cards. For example, here at Warwick, you have a University ID which has a magnetic strip and a barcode on it - it lets you into buildings and acts as a library card, for example. As our Union is affiliated to the NUS, we can also have NUS cards. The only real use of an NUS card is to prove that you are a student (which my University card does too!) and get you discounts in some shops.
ISIC cards do not seem to be particularly common in the UK (possibly because we have NUS cards!) but I have recently got one because I'm going travelling over the summer and want to prove I'm a student in other countries. The idea of it is basically the same as an NUS card (i.e. gives you student discouonts) but it is recognised in lots of different countries, not just the UK.
And in answer to your last question, I have a University card, an NUS card *and* an ISIC card, so yes!
Hope that helps a bit,
Jenn xx

Reply 2

ThePants999

14

Usually in the university city, places will accept the university card as student ID - but when you go back home, a lot of places will insist on an NUS card. A bugger for me, as my college isn't NUS affiliated. :frown:

Reply 3

DenverDiva

1

ThePants999

Usually in the university city, places will accept the university card as student ID - but when you go back home, a lot of places will insist on an NUS card. A bugger for me, as my college isn't NUS affiliated. :frown:

I never had any problems getting a student discount with my non-NUS affiliated university ID although I sometimes had to explain to the shop manager that not all unis are members of the NUS.

Reply 4

Sarky

18

DenverDiva

I never had any problems getting a student discount with my non-NUS affiliated university ID although I sometimes had to explain to the shop manager that not all unis are members of the NUS.

:dito: :dito:

Reply 5

Muse

13

DenverDiva

I never had any problems getting a student discount with my non-NUS affiliated university ID although I sometimes had to explain to the shop manager that not all unis are members of the NUS.

Good for you. For people worried about getting discount with a non-NUS card, the law specifically bans discrimination according to membership of a trade union. Some film companies, for example, have had to revise their NUS card policy and have published new statements such as "We accept NUS or ISIC cards; or at the manager's discretion a university/college card which contains a photo".

Saying that, spouting a bit of legal babble at most people seems to do the trick, especially if they're the "duty manager" and don't want to look bad when their bosses get a complaint. :biggrin:

Reply 6

ThePants999

14

Oohh - thanks toyl, I didn't know that, I've had a number of places insist that their discount is only for NUS members. Given that law had negative discrimination in mind, are you sure it extends to positive discrimination in terms of prices?

Reply 7

Muse

13

ThePants999

Oohh - thanks toyl, I didn't know that, I've had a number of places insist that their discount is only for NUS members. Given that law had negative discrimination in mind, are you sure it extends to positive discrimination in terms of prices?

It's a bit of a grey area, there's something in the education act which says that a student must not be discriminated against shoud they choose to not be a member of the union but this has been interpreted to suit both sides of the argument.

Reply 8

Muse

13

PQ

I think they're on solidish ground if they claim it's a discount for NUS card holders (which is what pizza hut and top shop do), but if they say "Student discount" in any of their promotional literature then they are obliged to offer it to ALL students even if they don't have a card.

Yeah, pizza hut specify NUS-holders (but most of the time don't check the card properly) - the legal babble only works when there's a "Student Discount" mention, which is the case 90% of the time.

Reply 9

ThePants999

14

Funny - Pizza Hut is the one place I've never had any trouble with my Oxford card :biggrin:

The ones actually in Oxford explicitly say they accept it, the ones back home just don't seem to mind.

NUS card or ISIC?

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