Modules cancelled amid ‘panicked’ response to staff cuts and strikes

Optional modules are being cancelled at the last minute at some UK universities as institutions feel the full effect of summer job cuts and ongoing strike action. 

Unions had anticipated a chaotic start to the autumn term after universities looked to rush through job cuts in the summer break, and numerous branches of the University and College Union (UCU) have embarked on lengthy strike action, including at the universities of Nottingham, Edinburgh and Goldsmiths, University of London. 

At least two universities have had to cancel course modules at short notice, with students being offered alternatives outside their disciplines, after the staff cuts and strikes left advertised modules understaffed. 

At the University of Wolverhampton, staff told Times Higher Education that recently announced redundancies have resulted in managers dropping modules without going through traditional regulatory procedures and without consulting students. Some modules are being run by hourly-paid external staff, who do not necessarily specialise in the topic.

A spokesperson for Wolverhampton’s UCU branch said that the loss of staff through voluntary severance at the start of the year meant that “the pressure on remaining colleagues is becoming intolerable”.

Members had reported that “management have failed to consider students’ contractual rights and needs during this process, meaning now that [even though] teaching has started for the year, not all modules are fully staffed [and] managers are apparently altering course programmes without going through the required consultation and regulatory steps and hiring hourly-paid staff to teach at the same time as existing jobs are still being cut”. 

They added that “students deserve better, and management should recognise that good educational outcomes require sufficient expert staff in secure jobs”. 

One staff member, who did not wish to be named, said that returning students are “anxious about the viability of their course”, unsure about the staff brought in to fill in on certain modules and “disoriented by the sudden disappearance of the teachers they’d formed a strong bond with”. 

“Students are telling us that they only get told things if they push – there’s been no advance notice, and management communications to them don’t inform them about their legal/contractual rights to the modules listed in the course guides. Some undergraduates and postgraduates are transferring to other universities – an own goal for an institution which desperately needs all the fees it can get.”

A University spokesperson said it had updated its curriculum  “in order to provide students the best possible experience”.

“University procedures have been followed fully, and changes are within any contractual obligations. We do invite visiting lecturers to support specialist modules, in line with sector practice. Students can also be offered optional modules to broaden their studies, in line with their interests and ambitions.

“Ensuring students have access to outstanding learning experiences remains our fundamental priority,” they said.

Joe Newman, the UCU branch president at Goldsmiths, described the beginning of the term as “chaotic and panicked” amid last-minute module changes and closures.

Goldsmiths UCU declared indefinite strike action earlier this summer and is now entering its 17th week of strike action. The university has told staff it is pushing ahead with its planned restructure, after the union rejected an offer put forward by management in September.

Newman said: “We’re seeing last-minute emails to students, saying, ‘this can’t run because of staff availability’, ‘you’re going to have to take this instead’, or ‘you could have to choose between these options’.”

Newman said he discovered that his own optional module in the music department had been dropped only after being informed by a student who attended the branch’s picket line. 

“This chaos at the start of term for Goldsmiths and the way in which modules are being hurriedly rescheduled or cancelled or taught by people who have no expertise in [the subject] reveals something about the way institutions perceive students and the offer of the institution, which is becoming ever more generic, and can be taught by anyone.”

Goldsmiths is undergoing its third restructure in five years, and Newman said that constant course changes mean “I feel a bit like I’ve got whiplash from having to reunderstand what I’m meant to be teaching each year”.

“So many students are frustrated and confused…We’ve had three rounds of redundancy and restructuring in five years. It is going to put us in a death spiral if they can’t see that doing the same thing again is going to get a different result.”

A spokesperson from Goldsmiths, University of London said: “As with the start of each academic year, it is normal for universities to occasionally amend modules to support academic delivery. Such changes occur for a range of academic and operational reasons and are a routine part of university planning.

“In managing the impact of UCU industrial action on learning and teaching, we have proactively taken steps to minimise disruption and ensure Goldsmiths students receive a world-leading education and an excellent university experience from their very first week. We are communicating with all affected students who are impacted to ensure they are fully supported.

“We recognise that industrial action can create uncertainty for students and we remain committed to constructive discussions with the union to find a shared and sustainable way forward. This includes ongoing talks through [conciliation service] Acas.”

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com