Uni bosses tell protesters cross-subsidies ‘not the real issue’

Uni bosses have admitted to disgruntled arts students that cross-subsidies do occur, but insist that this isn’t a “real issue”.

In an email sent to protest organiser George Robb, Professor Judith Squires said: “Cross-subsidies do occur within any university, as befits a complex organisation seeking to deliver effectively against its core mission.

“This is not the real issue. The really important issue is to ensure that the university delivers on its commitment to provide an education of the highest quality.”

She wants you to know she has your back

This echoes comments made by George Robb earlier this week to The Tab, that he “could probably scratch off” a demand on his manifesto for every student to know how every penny of their tuition fee is spent.

George Robb in his more innocent, pre-protest leading days

Squires’ email also attempts to address other concerns of the protesting arts and social sciences students, such as the poor staff:student ratio and the fact many students have to spend hundreds of pounds on books for their course.

She writes: “New staff are to be appointed to support student growth: eg. 8 permanent academic posts in History and English.

A copy of the email will be sent to all affected students later this week. For now, the only bits available to the public are the extracts shared by Epigram writer George Robb online, one on the protest’s Facebook page and another exclusively with The Tab.

These extracts can be found in full below.

“Cross-subsidies do occur within any university, as befits a complex organisation seeking to deliver effectively against its core mission. This, as Epigram also notes, is not the real issue.

The really important issue is to ensure that the University delivers on its commitment to provide an education of the highest quality that is research-led and focused on the needs and expectations of all of our students.

We understand that the level of student satisfaction is not what it should be in some parts of the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences and Law.

We are fully committed to addressing this, and are working tirelessly to improve levels of satisfaction across the whole University, as outlined above.”

…

“The ‘manifesto’ recently posted online articulates many of the general concerns that we have heard via our course reps, UBU Sabbatical Officers and in student survey feedback.

“We have actions in place to address the issues raised.

“• New staff are to be appointed to support student growth: eg. 8 permanent academic posts in History and English and 7 in Economics, Finance and Management for a September 2015 start.

“• The library budget is now ring-fenced and directly indexed to student numbers. This will allow for the purchase of additional high-demand print core-texts and e-book titles, to be spent in consultation with students in book-rich subjects order to best meet their needs. 

“• Should the industrial action resume in January, any net monies saved from salary deductions will be reinvested in student-facing activities. We will consult with UBU Sabbatical Officers and other student representatives on which activities would be most appropriate for such investment. 

“• Plans are being developed to create a HUMs Commons to provide a state-of-the-art facility for students in the School of Humanities. 

“• Lecture Capture is currently being rolled out across the University. This follows a successful pilot in SSL which was positively received by students. The new system, called Mediasite, is already in use by Early Adopters. 

“• The University already has a strong Hidden Costs Policy, which has been in use for two years. We have reached a positive solution in all cases where students have raised an issue about its application.

“Earlier this year Student Experience Committee, which is chaired by the Pro Vice-Chancellor Education, agreed to consider revisions to further clarify the ‘No Hidden Costs’ policy, to be introduced later academic year following consultation with students and staff.”