by Fred Byrne & Innes Paton.
Less popular courses could be axed, and staff teaching such courses could be forced to leave.
University Court approved proposals to cut courses and programmes with lower student numbers and to stop recruitment to smaller postgraduate programmes.
The announcement comes under senior management plans to save or generate £12 million at University of Aberdeen over the next two years.
Approved plans include:
- A minimum of 10 students on all undergraduate or postgraduate programmes.
- A minimum of 20 students for each staff member in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) courses.
- A minimum of 25 students for each staff member in SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy) courses.
- To immediately stop recruitment to postgraduate taught programmes that have consistently recruited fewer than six students.
- Moving from a 12 school structure to four faculties.
- Centralising the administration teams for all schools.
It is understood that a significant number of courses and programmes do not meet the minimum student threshold, and may face cuts.
This will likely spark fear amongst academics given that Principal Edwards has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies, which encouraged UCU (University and College Union) Aberdeen to announce numerous strike dates for March.
Senior management presented the proposals to Court – the institution’s governing body – who gave the plans their stamp of approval on Wednesday.
Under the university’s so-called ‘Adapting for Continued Success’ programme, senior management aim to break-even from a £4.3 million current deficit by 2028.
Cuts under this plan will be finalised by University Court on April 29th once senior management have “worked through the impact and benefits of each element.” Ahead of that, staff may raise questions about the proposals in Town Hall meetings on March 11th March and April 22nd.
Dan Cutts, UCU Aberdeen chair, calls the proposals ‘‘extremely shocking and extremely stressful for staff,” adding, “it’s a continuation of a crisis that just won’t end” where 443 staff have left in the last two years.
He says it seems that university officials are “putting the building blocks in place for the inevitability of compulsory redundancies.”
Mr Cutts is optimistic that the minds of decision makers could change, saying: ”We are 100% committed to pushing back on anything that will lead to compulsory redundancies.”
University of Aberdeen declined to share how many courses or programmes could be affected by approved proposals. A spokesperson told us:
“The University is exploring a range of measures to help tackle its deficit, make it more resilient and create capacity for investment and growth. We’re consulting with staff and campus trade unions ahead of any decisions being taken by our University Court in April.”
Despite numerous and persistent requests, The Gaudie has been unable to schedule an interview with new Principal Professor Pete Edwards since his appointment in November.