[citation needed] The operations of the NUS-USI are overseen by its president, officers and board.

[3][4][5] Following the model of Scottish Universities, a Students' Representative Council (SRC) was formally established at Queen's College Belfast in 1897.

[citation needed] Students' unions also took on a more campaigning role, and Northern Irish student activists such as Michael Farrell, Eamonn McCann and Bernadette Devlin (now McAliskey) led campaigns for "civil rights" in Northern Ireland.

[citation needed] NUS-USI was involved in the Student Housing Association Co-op (SHAC) which was founded by Ray Cashell in 1977.

[6] Together with local students' unions, NUS-USI now provides a range of services, including campaigns on education, welfare and citizenship, as well as infrastructure and support for the individual students' unions.