What is a student?

[monxton]

Does anyone have experience of what CTC deems to be a full-time student in higher education? I am the (valid!) holder of a NUS Student Card which states on the back "the holder of this ISIC card is a full-time student", though my studying is actually at 50% of full-time. I do not have a job. I would just go for it, but am troubled by the warning:

CTC Student Membership is an annual membership for individuals in full-time higher education.

Please note your membership including third party insurance and legal aid cover will not be valid if you are found to be otherwise at the time of joining and any subsequent renewals.

I would hate for them to start arguing just when I needed them.

TBH, although this would save about £10 off our current joint membership, that's not the main motivation. I am fed up of umpteen years of having to ask the National Office specially for them to send me my own membership card after every renewal. Sometimes it doesn't get done, so I have to ask them again. The one they send to my spouse is useless to me, because we have different surnames. It's not impossible to print a letter with two or more of those floppy membership cards on it (ex: we get them from the RSPB automatically), and I find it mildy insulting that the CTC can't be bothered to treat me as an equal member.

[millimole]

I used to have this dilemma (though not with CTC) when I was an OU student - full ISIC card, but not full-time student. I think CTC is among many organisations that haven't caught up with modern methods of study, including modern apprenticeships, distance learning etc,etc.

[Vorpal]

I don't think it's a problem, but you can always call the national office and ask. Chances are, they will give you the student membership rate.

[thirdcrank]

I think that the first requirement with something like this is to be clear what you want and then concentrate on that. This was introduced as a query about student membership but then it became a problem with the names on membership cards.

Anybody taking out insurance is best reading the small print carefully before signing up, rather than leaving it till there's a claim because that's when the insurer will be checking. Also, insurance is about peace of mind, so it's no good if it's making you worry. The CTC is only an agent here and anything said over the phone may be meaningless in the event of a big claim. I'd suggest that the main evidence here is how a course is described by the provider, not the time engaged on lectures etc. (Twenty five years ago, I did a part-time course which involved attendance at fours hours lectures a week over two years, while the full-time version was six hours weekly over one year.) So, if the prospectus says "full-time" get a copy and keep it.

I would have thought that there were now so many couples with different surnames that any national organisation would take it in its stride. (Had this bit been prominent in the thread title, I fancy it would have provoked a lot more reaction.) Getting a person's name right is important, particularly when they are paying to join your organisation. Not being able to do so is pretty poor. Repeated occurrence of a problem suggests it's not a one-off slip. Using the formal complaints procedure is the way to get something like this properly looked at.

[Vorpal]

I can understand the irritation about not having a card in you own name, but I doubt that a card issued in your spouse's name is useless to you. I've used stuff in Mr. V's name. I just explain, if asked, that we are married but don't have the same surname.

I never experienced this problem with the CTC because our memberships were in my name. So Mr. V had a card with my surname on it If that isn't a satisfactory solution for you, Thirdcrank is correct that the best way to get it addressed properly is through the complaints procedure.

[monxton]

Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned the name issue. I >do< find it irritating, and no it is definitely not a one-off slip. It is a limitation, and their solution is to print off an extra membership card on request, which they are generally obliging about, although some years I have to ask more than once before it turns up. As for going through a great complaint thing to get equal membership cards, I'd rather they put more effort into stopping women cyclists from being crushed to death by lorries. It just lowers my opinion of the organisation that they don't don't see a problem with their anachronistic process.

[gaz]

Perhaps they do see a problem ...

... but would rather spend the money it would take to solve it on efforts to stop cyclists (regardless of sex) from being crushed to death by lorries.