STAFF at Glyndwr University have overwhelmingly voted in favour of industrial action in a dispute over job losses.
84% of members of the University and College University (UCU), who took part, voted in favour of industrial action. The ballot was well supported by staff, with 57% of those eligible to vote, voting.
The senior management of the Wrexham-based university has proposed a restructure which would cut up to 60 posts.
UCU regional official, Margaret Phelan, said: ‘Staffing costs are not the problem here and axing experienced, senior staff is not the solution. These job losses would do untold damage for current and future Glyndwr students.
‘That’s why we have seen such strong support for industrial action. We will be announcing plans in the next few days.’
The UCU has called for the resignations of the vice-chancellor and the Chair of Board of Governors at Glyndwr University. The union has unearthed new details of the financial mess at Glyndwr, which it says is why these two figures have lost credibility and should no longer be allowed to run the university. The union has highlighted:
• The vice-chancellor enjoyed an 8% pay increase between 2012 and 2013 despite the university being in a position where its recovery plan is being closely monitored by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW). Staff at the university got a below-inflation 1% rise in the same year.
• A voluntary severance scheme saw 77 members of university staff leave between August 2013 and February 2014 but 77 new staff joined over the same period.
• The university has bought a football ground but is due to make a loss on it – income is forecast to be £655,000 while costs are anticipated at £972,000, resulting in a loss of £317,000 before depreciation.
• Income for the year that ended 31 July 2013 was some £4.5m down on the preceding year.
• The university drew up a recovery plan in December 2013 based on cutting staff numbers and increasing students but its predicted surplus for 2014/15 is still only £145,000, leaving it vulnerable to slipping into a further deficit.
The university got into financial difficulties in the academic year of 2012/13 when student numbers dropped.
In a bid to get back on track, it set a fee plan that offered courses at low fee levels. Fees have since been increased for some courses but some are still provided below their cost.
The union argues new rules for scrutiny of universities need to be enshrined in law, highlighting how Scotland has gone down this road in the wake of a large-scale review of university governance.
In a letter to the Welsh Minister for Education and Skills, Huw Lewis, the union laid bare details of the financial mess at Glyndwr, and called for the resignation of the vice-chancellor and the Chair of the Board of Governors.
UCU regional official, Margaret Phelan, said: ‘After unearthing more details of Glyndwr’s finances, we have no confidence that the current management will be able to put the university on a secure footing for a successful future.
”That is why we have called for the resignation of the vice-chancellor and the Chair of the Board of Governors. Glyndwr University has sunk further and further into a financial hole and its proposed recovery plan is nothing more than a knee-jerk, quick-fix plan that would see the loss of many experienced staff.
‘We have called on the Welsh education minister to change the rules on how universities are run to ensure much better scrutiny of the decisions taken at top-level. This is desperately needed to stop other institutions in Wales going down the same road as Glyndwr.
Meanwhile, sixth form colleges, which at present outperform other state schools in A-level results, are being hardest hit by government cuts, putting the current high standards at risk, new research has shown.
Budgets have been ‘pared to the bone’, subjects dropped and staff axed, according to a funding impact study carried out by the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association.
Sixth form colleges in England face ‘deeper cuts to their budgets than any other group of institutions’, it says.
Research by the consultancy London Economics for the SFCA says sixth form college students achieve higher average A-level grades than students in non-selective maintained school or academy sixth forms.
The ‘funding impact study’ says that some of the sixth form colleges will have lost a third of their funding by the end of this Parliament, due to three major funding cuts since 2011, and warns that they are now in ‘a parlous financial state’.
It argues that sixth form colleges are already worse off because they have to pay VAT, while academy and school sixth forms have it reimbursed by the government.
‘The sector is now at tipping point,’ the report concludes.
‘As an extremely lean group of institutions, most sixth form colleges are already pared to the bone, and have very little scope to make further cuts or eke out further efficiencies.
‘A further reduction in funding would prove calamitous for many institutions; some would inevitably close, while others would only be able to provide an impoverished educational experience to students.’
The authors questioned 87 colleges.
• Over two-thirds have had to drop courses this year as a result of budget cuts – 15% more than last year;
• Over a third have dropped sought-after modern language courses;
• More than a fifth have lost courses in science, technology, engineering and maths;
• Almost all (95%) say they have had to reduce staffing levels;
• More than two-thirds are teaching students in larger classes;
• Almost three-quarters say they have had to reduce or remove extra-curricular activities such as sport, music and field trips.
Dr Gavan Conlon from London Economics said on Tuesday: ‘Our research shows that students in sixth form colleges get better exam results, and are more likely to progress to university, than their peers in academy or school sixth forms.
‘This is a remarkable achievement given the funding inequalities faced by the sector, and the number of students enrolled in Sixth Form Colleges from disadvantaged backgrounds.’
James Kewin, deputy chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association, said sixth form colleges ‘have reached the point where they cannot absorb any further cuts to their funding and a cash injection is required to ensure students continue to receive a high quality education.
‘We urge the government to introduce a VAT rebate for sixth form colleges to bring them in line with academy and school sixth forms.
‘This would provide the average sixth form college with an additional £335,000 per year to invest in the front-line education of students.’
Dr Mary Bousted, ATL general secretary said yesterday: ‘The government constantly talks about wanting to improve education, and yet it seems to be set on destroying sixth form colleges even though they achieve some of the best exam results in the country.
‘It has chosen to only protect education funding for young people up to the age of 16, which has penalised sixth form colleges since they solely educate the over 16s.
‘This policy is also absurd since all young people now have to stay in education or training until they are 17.
‘And sixth form colleges are being hit by a double-whammy because the funding cuts come on top of the requirement for them to pay VAT, even though schools are exempt, and they do not have the option to reallocate their budgets between age groups in the way that schools can.
‘The funding cuts have forced many sixth form colleges to cut courses and staff numbers.
‘It is particularly worrying to hear from the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association that more than a fifth of colleges have cut STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths.
‘This ought to worry the government since only last month Elizabeth Truss complained that too few students were taking A-levels in maths and sciences.
‘It is high time the government treated all young people the same, no matter where they are studying.’
Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, called the figures ‘another damning indictment of the government’s education policy … threatening the education of the 158,000 students taught in sixth form colleges’.
