LUSU Education FTO calls out Lancaster Uni’s Curriculum Transformation Programme approach

Lancaster University Students’ Union’s current Education Officer has criticised Lancaster University for its approach to the Curriculum Transformation Programme (CTP).

In an open letter to the university’s Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education) Wendy Robinson, Harrison Stewart called the university’s level of student involvement in the programme “extremely poor” and “radically disproportionate to the scale of CTP”.

The Curriculum Transformation Programme is scheduled for 2026/27 and will change the way that postgraduate and undergraduate degrees will be taught at the university, including removing low-credit modules by introducing a minimum credit for all modules in all degrees.

When the programme was announced, Wendy Robinson said that student input had been “integral” to the decision making process of the programme.

Harrison’s letter was sent at 9am this morning (Thursday 20th March 2025) and said that the consultation with students has been “momentary, transactional, and undertaken far too late for any feedback to have a material impact on proposals.”

An extract from Harrison Stewart’s open letter to Wendy Robinson

He further argued that the university does not have “a culture of meaningful engagement and inclusion of students as a valued and important internal stakeholder.”

“In this regard,” he added, “the institution is failing to future-proof change and is falling drastically behind sector norms.”

The university has said that student involvement in CTP has come from surveys, stalls, workshops, student reps, the Students’ Union, and paid student roles.

Harrison said that efforts to involve students have been “almost solely in the appointment of ‘CTP Champions.’”

He claimed that these students had been given “trivial” tasks, including writing blog posts.

An extract from Harrison Stewart’s letter to Wendy Robinson

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He added: “At a departmental level, the approach to student consultation has been massively disparate, with many academics unaware and afraid as to what they can say to students due to poor communication institution wide.

“Departments are not mandated to consult students when designing new programmes. As we rely solely on the goodwill of a few academics that recognise the importance of our voice, this disparate experience is set to continue. Further, with the university’s reluctance to allow students to form part of the approvals process for new programmes, these programmes are likely to be waved through regardless of the above.”

Harrison has held the role of Education Officer since July 2024, after holding the role of Vice President (Union Development) in the 2023/2024 academic year. He will conclude his role on the Students’ Union ahead of July 2025, when the newly elected Niamh McAuley will take over the role.

At the end of his letter, he shared two requests for the university to take action to rectify his concerns.

The first is that “all departments must be required to have consulted students to a meaningful and substantial extent in the design stage if their new programmes are to be improved.”

His second request is that “students must be allowed to form an integral part of the approvals panel for each programme.”

Harrison Stewart’s requests for the university’s approach to the CTP programme

In a statement provided to The Lancaster Tab on Thursday 20th March 2025, Lancaster University said: “Teaching and learning at the university, which received the highest Gold rating in the 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), is currently under review to ensure the university’s curriculum continues to align with the future needs of students and employers and to enhance the learning experience and employability of future students in a rapidly changing global context. Changes will be in place for taught subjects in 2026-27.

“We have engaged with students in a variety of ways, including surveys, workshops and open fora as well as through student representatives, paid student roles and the Students’ Union, which is the elected body representing students. Both the CTP team and departments will continue to engage with students over the coming months as we implement our plans.”

You can find out more about the Curriculum Transformation Programme here.

Featured image via @lusueducation on Instagram