Otago University Students' Association (OUSA) president Logan Edgar has called on the Government to keep student representation on university councils.
The call comes after Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce initiated a review of university councils that could see them reformed along the same lines as polytechnics were two years ago.
The reforms to polytechnic councils ended mandatory student membership and reduced the number sitting on councils to eight from about 18.
A spokesman for Mr Joyce did not rule out getting rid of mandatory student membership on university councils, but said it was too early to say what changes would be made.
"Structural change to university councils is possible but the minister is first waiting for officials to report back on the governance review," he said.
He said Mr Joyce wanted to see strong university councils that were able to take advantage of opportunities to strengthen the sector.
"Universities have turnovers of hundreds of millions of dollars and it is important to have people on the councils with the necessary skill set and experience," he said.
The changes made to polytechnic councils had been successful in strengthening academic and financial performance, he said.
The review was one of several initiatives the minister had under way in an attempt to strengthen universities, including assessing whether they were making enough of the opportunities available in international education and looking into performance-linked funding.
Mr Edgar called on Mr Joyce not to remove mandatory student representation.
"If Steve's issues are costs and improving academic performance, then which group of people is more focused on this than students?
"Students want to keep costs down to keep fees down.
"Students want the best education. We have the greatest interest in ensuring excellent teaching and excellent research to inform teaching," he said.
Otago Polytechnic Students' Association spokesman Mark Baxter said the changes made to polytechnic councils had left the student association "out of the loop" of the decision-making process.
The changes - through no fault of the polytechnic - had resulted in less diversity on its council and were about shifting institutions to a business model.
He believed it was likely the Minister would reform university councils in the same way.
The University of Otago declined to comment on the review.