Dear students,
On Tuesday 20 May, I invited you all to a question-and-answer session as I wanted you to have a chance to speak to me directly about the proposed restructure at BU and your concerns about how you might be affected.
It was a pleasure to speak to everyone who came. I understand that not everyone could come on the day, so I wanted to share the discussion points with you now.
Concerns over the impact to your teaching.
Several students asked how we could maintain the same quality of teaching and student experience after the proposed reduction in staff numbers. I completely understand these concerns and I would share them if I were a student.
My academic colleagues in the faculties will carry out a thorough review of all teaching activities, right down to individual units, and identify those which will be affected by staff losses. With that level of detail, we can ensure every aspect of your learning continues to be covered by experienced members of staff.
Can we still offer an excellent student experience after the restructure?
We are an intensely student focused university and providing an excellent experience for you is our absolute priority throughout this restructuring process. The savings that we make will mean that we have the resources to continue to invest in the services and facilities that you want from us.
Could reducing staff research hours affect your teaching and supervision
The reduction in research hours for staff was also raised as a concern and it was great to see students recognise the link between high quality research and your education – research is about creating knowledge. At BU we will continue to carry out research and we are committed to developing researchers in the early stages of their career and beyond. We also have to remove disadvantages faced by women and diverse communities in progressing their careers to make BU truly a university where everyone can thrive.
But research time comes at a cost, so we have to make decisions about the work that we invest in. The allocation of research hours at BU is far higher than most universities so we are proposing reducing this for staff initially. This will free up more time for teaching and other student facing work. Where a member of staff can demonstrate that their research is making a positive impact and will help with your learning, or is linked to external funding, they will have the chance to spend more time on it.
How will redundancies and a reduction in research hours affect supervision for postgraduate researchers?
I am grateful to the PGRs who raised these concerns and can reassure them that the time staff are given in their workload plans for supervision is in addition to their research hours. We are also looking to increase the number of hours for staff who are PGR supervisors for the next academic year in response to student and staff feedback.
When any member of staff tells us they are considering or are applying for voluntary redundancy, we check if they are supervising PhD students. If we accept their application, we either put in place an arrangement for them to continue their supervision or we reallocate the supervision to another member of staff. Many students have more than a first and second supervisor.
Concerns about wellbeing of your lecturers and support staff
I also heard how much you value your academic teams and how you are worried for staff’s wellbeing, especially those who may themselves be at risk of redundancy. The wellbeing of our staff is always extremely important to us and especially throughout this consultation period on proposed changes. We have a wide range of support services available to help them and have put in place further support and resources at this time.
I was also asked some further questions about issues outside of the restructure proposal so I would like to share those with you too.
Becoming a more international university
The first question was around making BU a more international university and that is absolutely something that we plan to take forward when we launch our strategy, which we’re calling BU2035, for the next ten years. We are already in discussion with universities in China, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Egypt to explore forming education partnerships and this follows from the partnership with British University Vietnam, which began earlier this year.
Low attendance levels
Another point raised was from students concerned about low attendance levels in some lectures and seminars. We have focused on improving student attendance this year and, as a result, have seen a reduction in the number of students dropping out of their course. This is something that we will continue to monitor. I want all of you to get the outcomes that you came here for. Our courses are structured so that the teaching time you receive helps you to achieve your outcomes, and I would urge you to make every effort to attend the lectures and seminars set for you. I am aware that low attendance may be a wellbeing issue that we can help with. I know that colleagues across the university remain committed to your learning and wellbeing, and you can continue to use the support services and teams available to you.
Freedom of expression on campus
Finally, one student expressed how important they felt it was for people to feel able to voice certain political views and perspectives, and a desire to have more debate across campus. I completely agree with this, and I was a very active student when I was at university. Universities need to embrace differences in views and support freedom of opinion and of speech. This is why I supported the right to protest for those students who recently gathered on campus to express their opinions on the proposed restructure and to show how passionate they are about their studies.
Once again, I would like to thank all of you for getting involved throughout this consultation process. Delivering an excellent student experience is the driving factor behind all the changes we are proposing and we want to hear what you have to say.
I will be arranging further Q&A sessions for you soon and I look forward to speaking to you then. In the meantime, if you have any questions for me, please get in touch by emailing studentcomms@bournemouth.ac.uk.
With best wishes,
Professor Alison Honour
Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer
Bournemouth University