The relationship between USI and the British-based National Union of Students is "regarded by many as a model for relations on this island", the report says.

The review quotes one interviewee as saying they had "no doubt that the USI/NUS agreement saved the campuses of Northern Ireland from bloody sectarian violence".

The independent review group says it is "vital at this time" that the USI/ NUS agreement is maintained and that ways of strengthening it should also be considered.

The NUS is described as being "very worried about the perceived crisis within USI" and "fearful that if USI continued to weaken, that the Northern Ireland region could be split on sectarian lines". There was also "some apprehension about the ability of USI officers to recognise cultural differences in the North".

However, the report acknowledges that "there are real concerns too among some colleges in the Republic" about the tie with the North "particularly about the issue of payment into USI and representation rights". Northern colleges are represented on USI decision-making bodies, but do not pay affiliation fees to Dublin.

The report says USI/NUS is credited as having "led the way in developing forms of representation in Northern Ireland which are cognisant of wider east-west relations".

USI/NUS could "work to ensure that cross-community, cross border and east-west bodies deliver in terms of higher education and training" in the aftermath of the Belfast Agreement.