We were dismayed to find out last week that a restructure in the school of Arts and Humanities will involve staffing cuts.  Unfortunately we found out at the same time as the rest of the student body - via social media and emails with affected staff, and this lack of clarity caused a delay in our ability to determine how best to support students.  In discussions with senior University staff, it is clear that while the proposed changes will reduce academic options within the school for future cohorts of students, there is no plan to cut courses or modules for current students in the school.  We know that this is an emotive topic, and we care deeply about our University staff – we need and value enthused, motivated and well supported staff so that as students we can all enjoy the best possible learning experience.  We are also acutely aware that the broader landscape in Higher Education right now is toxic, with multiple attacks on the University sector from government and certain sections of the media.  Courses of study that do not produce ‘graduate outcomes’ that are perceived to be of high value are regularly described as ‘mickey mouse’ or low quality courses, resulting in lower applications for such courses and subsequently less funding for institutions.  We know that arts and humanities subjects are critical to society and it is so disappointing when institutions, including ours – feel the need to reduce the offer due to such low recruitment numbers.

We know this is a sensitive time and our priority is on ensuring current students are protected from these cuts, establishing where there may be future impacts i.e. students who may be losing a supervisor or who may find themselves in very small groups on some modules.  At the present time, the staff are still in consultation with the University so it’s not clear how many staff will take redundancy and what impact this will have.  We will update as soon as we know more.  In the meantime, our current actions are:

• We are pushing for a comprehensive communication plan for students.  We know there is much confusion and anxiety around these cuts and it is vital the School/ University communicate the changes quickly and clearly.
• We will be supporting students who wish to campaign/ petition the University, and ask that any students who are worried about the impact of these cuts to get in touch to share their concerns: representation@hud.ac.uk
• We are insisting that the University provide us with regular briefings and updates so that we can ensure we have up to date information

Should any of the plans change or discussions evolve, we will revisit our position and consider other options.  In the meantime, we are always happy to hear from you so do get in touch with any comments or concerns,

Many thanks

Nat and Millie