UWE: Disappearing by Degrees

south west | miscellaneous | news report Saturday June 13, 2009 10:24 by Bristol Observer

UWE in chaos as language degrees secretly removed.

The lucky ones get a welcome

UWE: Disappearing by Degrees?

As if to celebrate the victories of the BNP and UKIP the University of the West of England has decided to withdraw all its language degrees, leaving applicants, existing students and lecturers in a state of disarray.

Sources at the University have suggested that the decision to remove degree-level language provision was taken without consultation. Lecturers and unions say that the decision was taken on the basis of a secret report and that the data on which the decision was based is misleading.

The University sent letters to applicants, students and lecturers to inform them of the decision only after course had been withdrawn from the university admissions system, leaving applicants who had accepted places on its languages courses stranded.

Students and language staff report that many applicants attended a recent open day only to find that the courses they were preparing to begin have disappeared. A note sent out by a the student campaign group Save UWE Languages says “Students wishing to study languages at UWE have been attending recent open days only to find out that they can no longer chose this route of study and that they must reconsider their options”

Existing language students are concerned that their degrees will wither away while they are still studying. One student said, “I came here from London because it was the only university that offered the course I wanted. I am gutted by this decision. I pay my fees and don’t expect the University to scale down the course I have paid for while I am still studying it”.

Sources from the lecturers’ union say the move contradicts higher education policy as expressed in a recent report of the British Academy, Language Matters. The report explains that diminishing language provision damages the UK’s international competitiveness.

This problem has been recognised by lecturers from the Department of Languages at UWE too. Sources from the department said they have received letters of support from around the world, including France, Germany and Spain.

Though no redundancies have been announced, unions fear it is only a matter of time before they are.

The Universities and Colleges Union has announced that it has in dispute over this issue, calling on the Vice Chancellor to reverse the decision and enter into proper consultation. However, some sources suggest industrial action is inevitable and that there is a strong possibility of legal action.

Language students have already begun a series of online protests, including a petition, letters to the head of the Faculty of Languages, to the Vice Chancellor, and are writing to MPs and MEPs for support. A representative of Save UWE Languages said “it is absolutely disgraceful that this is happening and we will continue to fight it for as long as it takes.

The Vice Chancellor of the University has suggested the decision has been made on the basis of student figures and because of financial constraints.

Save UWE Languages has responded by suggesting that the student figures used for the decision were intentionally misleading and any suggestion of financial constraint is falsified by the fact that the University has earmarked £40 million for the development of a nearby property. A representative from Save UWE Languages says, “it is shameful that the University is spending all this money on property at the cost of our education”.