by Zyna Khwaja, Ana Kolesnyk & Megan Shand.
Following the cancellation of a scheduled staff town hall meeting, university academics organised an impromptu community discussion about University of Aberdeen money-saving plans.
Staff members decided to organise the unofficial discussion after university bosses informed staff that the scheduled town hall meeting would be rescheduled pending a critical decision by University Court on student-staff ratios.
This meant that staff were not able to question senior management following Court’s recent vote to replace the 12 schools with four faculties, and ahead of a further vote on minimum student-staff ratios.
50 participants ventured to King’s College last Wednesday to attend the community discussion in person, while about 115 more people tuned in online via Microsoft Teams.
At the discussion, staff members voiced concerns regarding job cuts. A persistent criticism shared by participants was the reluctance of the Senior Management Team (SMT) to provide data and figures, withholding the exact number of staff or courses they intend to cut.
University and College Union (UCU) Aberdeen co-chair Dan Cutts shared that the staff union is “not being meaningfully engaged” in cuts plans.
“We see no cost-benefit analysis with any of the proposals being put forward by ACS. It is hard for us to understand the rationale,” he pointed out. “While we see that change is necessary, I see no justification for the changes [SMT] are proposing.”
While it has been reported that proposals put 200 jobs at risk, Cutts claimed that senior management refuse to disclose the exact number of staff members at risk of being forced out. The staff union leader said, “I have seen the number, but I cannot share it with you. But they should be transparent and share it.”
This sentiment seemed to be shared by multiple staff members, with tension rising in the room as concerns mounted one after another.
A lecturer said, “a majority of us committed ourselves to this job by moving to live in Aberdeen. It is a dependence that we have.
“The university is not only failing us, but also our families,” he added, prompting loud applause.
Staff members also voiced alarm about contracts allegedly being quietly rewritten in the Business School to teach at University of Aberdeen outposts in India and China.
Criticisms have been lodged against the university for its handling of pay, with current proposed salary increases at 1.8% for 2026/2027, falling short of inflation rates.
This sits in contrast with salaries enjoyed by senior management, most of whom, as unions point out, neither teach nor conduct research. Seven out of eight of Aberdeen University bosses earn between £150,000 and £300,000 per year, with a total salary bill of £1.6 million.
At the meeting, a participant raised that they believed senior managers are not focused enough on raising revenue from sources other than tuition fees.
Later, a staff member shed tears while speaking about the university’s neglect of staff concerns. Speaking with The Gaudie about the importance of discussion, the lecturer’s eyes filled with tears after repeating that “staff can’t just be numbers on a spreadsheet.”
Beyond staff opinion, students also made their voices heard.
An international student who shared that they will pay a total of £100,000 to the university, challenged SMT to “change how much funding they give themselves”.
They called university plans to cut courses “an ongoing campaign to dehumanise education”, to which speakers expressed verbal agreement and participants applauded. They clarified that by cutting away humanities staff, SMT dehumanise the institution as a whole.
Student President Christina Schmid presented feedback from approximately 230 students on the Adapting for Continued Success programme. She had previously given the presentation to University Court members at an official dinner.
In the presentation, Schmid said students had noticed low morale among their lecturers and tutors, which impacted their learning. Students also said they appreciate lecturers for their approachability and willingness to help students despite the present stress.
The Students’ Union leader disclosed students’ uncertainty about course continuity for students given current instability at the university. Students are deeply worried about higher staff-student ratios (SSRs), she said, sharing that students wish for more contact with their lecturers. “And with higher SSRs” she pointed out, “how is that supposed to happen?”
Schmid added that the cost of living crisis and uncertainty drive demand for student support, and students want higher accessibility to counselling and support services.
UCU leader Dan Cutts added, “I think it is only fair for students to know what is happening. It will be affecting them as much as it will be affecting us.”
