Ross Renton

Ross Alexander Renton (born 1 March 1979) is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician and an educationalist. He was a leading figure in student politics until July 2004. He was previously a director of Endsleigh Insurance Ltd. and chair of NUS Services Ltd.^[1]

Ross Renton's notable areas of work included the establishment of Scotland’s first online student book exchange and a member of the lobby team that brought the current Labour government to within 5 votes of defeat over the Higher Education bill in 2004.

Renton was elected Treasurer of the NUS ^[2] in 2003 and led the reforms of the financially troubled National Union of Students. This resulted in the introduction of a new system of affiliation and a restructuring of the organisation. Edinburgh University Students' Association rejoined NUS after decades of separation due in part to the new affiliation system. The reforms were seen by many as a threat to democracy and in part may have resulted in the depoliticisation of the NUS.

He is the Dean Of Students at the University Of Hertfordshire.^[3] He is also the chair of the board of governors at Watford University technical college.^[4] He also serves as a director for hatfield community free school.^[5]

On January 25, 2013, Renton was interviewed by the Welwyn and Hatfield times, in regards to a Facebook student confessions page. The page had students confessing to cheating in exams, and coursework, as well as incidents involving the police. One confession claims that at student tricked a lecturer into marking a duplicate assignment to prove students work wasn't actually read by the academics. The anonymous nature of the page meant students were protected from disciplinary action. Renton warned that the page was being monitored by the university, and the students confessing on the page, who broke university regulations, would face disciplinary procedures if their identities were revealed.^[6]

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