Friday, 6 February 2009
Friday, 23 January 2009
London Met Dire Crisis Demo, January 28th, 4.00-6.00 pm, Tower Building, Holloway Road. MEET UP!
For more information, please see message from Lulu, underneath.
Thursday, 22 January 2009
IT IS NOW OR NEVER.
London's biggest university- London Metropolitan University- is in the grips of a MASSIVE FINANCIAL CRISIS threatening the entire future of the university.
The Government recently found that London Met had been returning inaccurate figures to them regarding the number of students enrolled. This was incredibly serious as London Met receives money per student- since the government with wrongly told that the university had more students than it did, it received way too much money. The government found out and has asked that not only the money for the last three years be repaid, but has also cut the university's budget by £15 million a year.
This is incredibly serious- a noose around the university's neck, if you will.
It was announced two weeks ago that the university's current plan to gain some of the money needed to repay the government is to axe the jobs of an unbelievably huge number of teaching staff. In doing this, the cure will in effect exacerbate the disease. By losing up to 40% (in some departments such as The Cass Dpt. of Art, Media and Design) of teaching staff we will not be able to continue receiving the standard of education we have been. The University cannot survive these cuts.
Many of you have already taken an active role in become student reps, coming to our meetings and informing more people of the situation.We now have politicians involved- we have written to George Galloway MP (many of the buildings lie within his constituency), David Lammy MP and Phil Willis MP. The NUS have been very active in our campaign and so have the relevant Trade Unions for the university's teachers and staff.We are currently informing the press and media of the situation.
WE NEED YOU to attend this demo and make your voice heard. You CAN play an active part in the future of your university. On Wednesday the 28th of January, the Board of Governors will be meeting to discuss the future of the university at the Tower Building, Holloway Road. Several relevant members of the teaching staff have implied that the meeting should have a demo in front of it and are keen to join the students. This is a case of STUDENTS and STAFF uniting to steer the university away from demise and towards a brighter future, which is currently looking increasingly bleaker and bleaker.It is time for you to step up to the mark and say NO, we do NOT WANT TO LOSE OUR TEACHERS. We do NOT WANT TO LOSE OUR UNIVERSITY.
We expect to see you at 4pm, outside the Tower Building of London Metropolitan University, making your voice heard, sending your message to the governors. There will be banners and signs- please bring your own- along the lines of "DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS", "BRIAN ROPER- THE £276K MAN", "SAVE THE MET!", "SACK ROPER!", "LONDON'S BIGGEST UNI GOING UNDER!" etc.
BRIAN ROPER
Brian Roper is the Vice Chancellor of the University- the main man. He is the most highly-paid Vice Chancellor in the country, making £276k a year (before bonuses). If he wants to axe our staff, let him be the first. One of our main agendas will be to call for the immediate resignation of the Vice Chancellor. He has put a rope around our necks and by trying to remove it he is merely tightening it.
Many members of staff will be protesting alongside us. Do not fail your teachers, and do not fail yourselves- BE AT THE DEMO AND MAKE YOURSELF HEARD.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Protest Signs:
Any long piece of scrap wood or a bamboo stick will do, get TWO same-size pieces (per sign) of large, sturdy card (A2 probably best size) and paint a SHORT and CLEAR slogan/phrase on BOTH pieces of card. Staple the pieces of card together at the corners so that the phrases are effectively on both sides, then slide the wood/stick between them. Finally, staple the sign at the top and bottom to the wood/stick.
It will also help to wear tshirts with slogans, or anything memorable and eye-catching.
SPREAD THE WORD!
London's biggest university- London Metropolitan University- is in the grips of a MASSIVE FINANCIAL CRISIS threatening the entire future of the university.
The Government recently found that London Met had been returning inaccurate figures to them regarding the number of students enrolled. This was incredibly serious as London Met receives money per student- since the government with wrongly told that the university had more students than it did, it received way too much money. The government found out and has asked that not only the money for the last three years be repaid, but has also cut the university's budget by £15 million a year.
This is incredibly serious- a noose around the university's neck, if you will.
It was announced two weeks ago that the university's current plan to gain some of the money needed to repay the government is to axe the jobs of an unbelievably huge number of teaching staff. In doing this, the cure will in effect exacerbate the disease. By losing up to 40% (in some departments such as The Cass Dpt. of Art, Media and Design) of teaching staff we will not be able to continue receiving the standard of education we have been. The University cannot survive these cuts.
Many of you have already taken an active role in become student reps, coming to our meetings and informing more people of the situation.We now have politicians involved- we have written to George Galloway MP (many of the buildings lie within his constituency), David Lammy MP and Phil Willis MP. The NUS have been very active in our campaign and so have the relevant Trade Unions for the university's teachers and staff.We are currently informing the press and media of the situation.
WE NEED YOU to attend this demo and make your voice heard. You CAN play an active part in the future of your university. On Wednesday the 28th of January, the Board of Governors will be meeting to discuss the future of the university at the Tower Building, Holloway Road. Several relevant members of the teaching staff have implied that the meeting should have a demo in front of it and are keen to join the students. This is a case of STUDENTS and STAFF uniting to steer the university away from demise and towards a brighter future, which is currently looking increasingly bleaker and bleaker.It is time for you to step up to the mark and say NO, we do NOT WANT TO LOSE OUR TEACHERS. We do NOT WANT TO LOSE OUR UNIVERSITY.
We expect to see you at 4pm, outside the Tower Building of London Metropolitan University, making your voice heard, sending your message to the governors. There will be banners and signs- please bring your own- along the lines of "DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS", "BRIAN ROPER- THE £276K MAN", "SAVE THE MET!", "SACK ROPER!", "LONDON'S BIGGEST UNI GOING UNDER!" etc.
BRIAN ROPER
Brian Roper is the Vice Chancellor of the University- the main man. He is the most highly-paid Vice Chancellor in the country, making £276k a year (before bonuses). If he wants to axe our staff, let him be the first. One of our main agendas will be to call for the immediate resignation of the Vice Chancellor. He has put a rope around our necks and by trying to remove it he is merely tightening it.
Many members of staff will be protesting alongside us. Do not fail your teachers, and do not fail yourselves- BE AT THE DEMO AND MAKE YOURSELF HEARD.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Protest Signs:
Any long piece of scrap wood or a bamboo stick will do, get TWO same-size pieces (per sign) of large, sturdy card (A2 probably best size) and paint a SHORT and CLEAR slogan/phrase on BOTH pieces of card. Staple the pieces of card together at the corners so that the phrases are effectively on both sides, then slide the wood/stick between them. Finally, staple the sign at the top and bottom to the wood/stick.
It will also help to wear tshirts with slogans, or anything memorable and eye-catching.
SPREAD THE WORD!
The Crisis at London Metropolitan University in the Times: "Hefce's clawback hits battered London Met
15 January 2009
By Rebecca Attwood
Funding council's move means redundancies are now inevitable, says v-c. Rebecca Attwood reports
The financial woes facing London Metropolitan University are intensifying as the funding council confirms plans to claw back the full amount of money the university has been overpaid since 2005.
In a message sent to all staff last week, Brian Roper, the university's vice-chancellor, warned that the undisclosed sum - which comes on top of a £15 million reduction in the university's grant for this year - was likely to be "very substantial" and meant that large-scale compulsory redundancies would now be "a very real requirement".
The overpayments, which the Higher Education Funding Council for England said arose from problems with the university's data on student dropouts, were revealed by Times Higher Education last July.
At the time, Hefce said it planned to reduce the university's teaching grant by £15 million in 2008-09 and was considering clawing back other funding for the three previous years.
The article continues
In a following article, Melanie Newman writes about a potential industrial action over "moves to discipline a senior union officer. Newman reports that:
"Amanda Sackur, chair of the University and College Union co-ordinating committee at London Met, has had disciplinary procedures taken out against her after she left the university to take part in union activities in Nottingham.
Managers are understood to have accepted that Dr Sackur spent more than nine hours on academic work on the day in question, but contend that her absence from London Met's premises between 9am and 5pm was unauthorised.
The UCU said the matter raised questions about lecturers' terms and conditions, as there had never been an explicit requirement that they stay on university premises. It said it represented an attack on the union ahead of job cuts."
And further on:
"Barry Jones, UCU assistant general secretary, warned members on the same day that the action "may be an attempt to soften the union" in advance of Mr Roper's plan for large numbers of compulsory redundancies at the university."
You can find both articles here
By Rebecca Attwood
Funding council's move means redundancies are now inevitable, says v-c. Rebecca Attwood reports
The financial woes facing London Metropolitan University are intensifying as the funding council confirms plans to claw back the full amount of money the university has been overpaid since 2005.
In a message sent to all staff last week, Brian Roper, the university's vice-chancellor, warned that the undisclosed sum - which comes on top of a £15 million reduction in the university's grant for this year - was likely to be "very substantial" and meant that large-scale compulsory redundancies would now be "a very real requirement".
The overpayments, which the Higher Education Funding Council for England said arose from problems with the university's data on student dropouts, were revealed by Times Higher Education last July.
At the time, Hefce said it planned to reduce the university's teaching grant by £15 million in 2008-09 and was considering clawing back other funding for the three previous years.
The article continues
In a following article, Melanie Newman writes about a potential industrial action over "moves to discipline a senior union officer. Newman reports that:
"Amanda Sackur, chair of the University and College Union co-ordinating committee at London Met, has had disciplinary procedures taken out against her after she left the university to take part in union activities in Nottingham.
Managers are understood to have accepted that Dr Sackur spent more than nine hours on academic work on the day in question, but contend that her absence from London Met's premises between 9am and 5pm was unauthorised.
The UCU said the matter raised questions about lecturers' terms and conditions, as there had never been an explicit requirement that they stay on university premises. It said it represented an attack on the union ahead of job cuts."
And further on:
"Barry Jones, UCU assistant general secretary, warned members on the same day that the action "may be an attempt to soften the union" in advance of Mr Roper's plan for large numbers of compulsory redundancies at the university."
You can find both articles here
Friday, 9 January 2009
A 'Happy' New Year to all members of staff from Vice Chancellor Brian Roper:
"8th January 2009
Letter to All Staff
Dear Colleagues,
Further to my letters of 30th June 2008 and 1st October 2008, in which I
outlined the potential impact of HEFCE's audit of our student data
returns, I now write to advise you of the current position in respect of
the University's most recent discussions with HEFCE.
Just prior to the Christmas closure period, HEFCE notified me that it
was minded to recover in full the overpayment of recurrent funding it
gave the University between 2005 and 2008. The exact amount will not be
known until February 2009, but HEFCE have indicated that it is likely to
be a very substantial amount and will be a one-off cost. The timescale
for recovering this has yet to be determined, but HEFCE have indicated
that they would wish to recover the full amount in stages over a phased
period of time in order to make this manageable for the University.
HEFCE has given the University additional time to provide any further
information that might mitigate the level of holdback. This amount is
in addition to the annually recurring £15m loss in grant that the
University faces from 2008/9 onwards.
HEFCE has however indicated that it is prepared to consider making a
financial investment in the University through the Funding Council's
Strategic Development Fund process. Its officers have stipulated that
the HEFCE Board will need to be satisfied that the University can
permanently reduce its operating costs in order to stabilise its
position before growth. The University has already provided HEFCE with
the University's new Strategic Plan, which was approved by the
University's Board of Governors on November 19th 2008. In the
circumstances, some aspects of the new Strategic Plan may take longer to
be realised or in some instances may not be pursued.
In order to assist the University in identifying viable ways of
permanently reducing overheads, we are setting up a Programme Office to
identify and lead on projects that will deliver substantial and lasting
savings. In due course, there may be opportunities for internal
secondments to work in this office for fixed periods of time.
It is clear that a significant reduction in the number of staff employed
is going to be necessary and an early meeting with the University's
recognised trades unions is planned to discuss this. These discussions
will include the introduction of a fourth voluntary redundancy scheme on
the same terms as the previous schemes. These schemes have had generous
redundancy payments but, due to the high cost, I must advise you that
the unions will be consulted on suspending the current terms at the end
of this fourth voluntary round. It is likely that the University will
only be able to afford paying statutory terms for all compulsory
redundancies that arise thereafter. These will be significantly less
than the current University terms.
I have alerted you to the possible need for large-scale compulsory
redundancies in my earlier correspondence and I very much regret that
this is now no longer a possibility but a very real requirement. Senior
colleagues and I will now be looking at ways to operate the University
on a reduced staff base and we undertake to consult with unions and
staff. We will also be examining ways of reducing non-staffing overheads.
I recognise that this will be a very difficult year for all staff but I
hope that you will continue to maintain the high work standards which
have contributed greatly to our students' successes."
Yours faithfully,
Brian Roper
Vice Chancellor & Chief Executive
Letter to All Staff
Dear Colleagues,
Further to my letters of 30th June 2008 and 1st October 2008, in which I
outlined the potential impact of HEFCE's audit of our student data
returns, I now write to advise you of the current position in respect of
the University's most recent discussions with HEFCE.
Just prior to the Christmas closure period, HEFCE notified me that it
was minded to recover in full the overpayment of recurrent funding it
gave the University between 2005 and 2008. The exact amount will not be
known until February 2009, but HEFCE have indicated that it is likely to
be a very substantial amount and will be a one-off cost. The timescale
for recovering this has yet to be determined, but HEFCE have indicated
that they would wish to recover the full amount in stages over a phased
period of time in order to make this manageable for the University.
HEFCE has given the University additional time to provide any further
information that might mitigate the level of holdback. This amount is
in addition to the annually recurring £15m loss in grant that the
University faces from 2008/9 onwards.
HEFCE has however indicated that it is prepared to consider making a
financial investment in the University through the Funding Council's
Strategic Development Fund process. Its officers have stipulated that
the HEFCE Board will need to be satisfied that the University can
permanently reduce its operating costs in order to stabilise its
position before growth. The University has already provided HEFCE with
the University's new Strategic Plan, which was approved by the
University's Board of Governors on November 19th 2008. In the
circumstances, some aspects of the new Strategic Plan may take longer to
be realised or in some instances may not be pursued.
In order to assist the University in identifying viable ways of
permanently reducing overheads, we are setting up a Programme Office to
identify and lead on projects that will deliver substantial and lasting
savings. In due course, there may be opportunities for internal
secondments to work in this office for fixed periods of time.
It is clear that a significant reduction in the number of staff employed
is going to be necessary and an early meeting with the University's
recognised trades unions is planned to discuss this. These discussions
will include the introduction of a fourth voluntary redundancy scheme on
the same terms as the previous schemes. These schemes have had generous
redundancy payments but, due to the high cost, I must advise you that
the unions will be consulted on suspending the current terms at the end
of this fourth voluntary round. It is likely that the University will
only be able to afford paying statutory terms for all compulsory
redundancies that arise thereafter. These will be significantly less
than the current University terms.
I have alerted you to the possible need for large-scale compulsory
redundancies in my earlier correspondence and I very much regret that
this is now no longer a possibility but a very real requirement. Senior
colleagues and I will now be looking at ways to operate the University
on a reduced staff base and we undertake to consult with unions and
staff. We will also be examining ways of reducing non-staffing overheads.
I recognise that this will be a very difficult year for all staff but I
hope that you will continue to maintain the high work standards which
have contributed greatly to our students' successes."
Yours faithfully,
Brian Roper
Vice Chancellor & Chief Executive
Thursday, 11 December 2008
The administration at London Met and its breach of code of conduct
It is the 11th of December and the students have as yet to get proper information in regards to what sort of measures the administration has done so far and to what sort of strategies they will put into force by the next term.
The students has done everything right. They have tried to gather as much information about the Cass crisis as possible. They have held meetings, they have appointed student representatives and they have written letters to the Head of the Department. In their letters, (that also has been posted on this blog) the students have asked the administration for specific information for just how the administration are responding to the crisis.
So far, the administration hasn't properly responded to any of the students questions.
As an institution that receives public funding, the administration is responsible to disclose any information that affect students and teachers alike. To fail to disclose crucial information that has a serious impact on the quality of teaching at the Cass, represents a serious break of conduct.
The administration has already made drastic cuts in this Semester and the visiting tutors who have been affected by these cuts, has only (and as usual) been told so casually without meeting any formal standards of procedure.
This is also a break of proper conduct and has become a norm for how this administration operates in general.
The students has so far and without any luck tried to follow 'correct procedures' whilst the administration has so far completely failed to show that these 'correct' procedures leads to any fruitful communication or discussion.
My question is then as follows;
What should then the students do when their attempt to do everything formally correct fails?
The students has done everything right. They have tried to gather as much information about the Cass crisis as possible. They have held meetings, they have appointed student representatives and they have written letters to the Head of the Department. In their letters, (that also has been posted on this blog) the students have asked the administration for specific information for just how the administration are responding to the crisis.
So far, the administration hasn't properly responded to any of the students questions.
As an institution that receives public funding, the administration is responsible to disclose any information that affect students and teachers alike. To fail to disclose crucial information that has a serious impact on the quality of teaching at the Cass, represents a serious break of conduct.
The administration has already made drastic cuts in this Semester and the visiting tutors who have been affected by these cuts, has only (and as usual) been told so casually without meeting any formal standards of procedure.
This is also a break of proper conduct and has become a norm for how this administration operates in general.
The students has so far and without any luck tried to follow 'correct procedures' whilst the administration has so far completely failed to show that these 'correct' procedures leads to any fruitful communication or discussion.
My question is then as follows;
What should then the students do when their attempt to do everything formally correct fails?
Friday, 5 December 2008
Reply to the students from Head of Department..and a comment to Professor Brian Falconbridge
Dear Caro,
Thank you for your email and the hard copies.
Having been in art schools and university visual arts departments since 1968, firstly as a student and then as a visiting tutor before taking on more established positions within academic management, I am well aware of the contribution made by visiting tutors.
I encourage you to make your concerns known through the Student Forum - which has been brought forward by the Chair.
With best wishes,
Prof. Brian Falconbridge
Dear Brian Falconbridge:
In your letter you mention your 'experience with art schools and university visual arts departments since 1968 as a way of showing that you have a knowledge and an 'awareness of the contribution made by visiting tutors.'
We all know what enormous symbolic power the year of 1968 has and how it has become an ideal for awareness of the fight against governmental and institutional suppression of social democratic rights.
You dare mention 1968 but you do not dare to mention the ongoing crisis at Sir John Cass where, due to serious mistakes at administration level, the students and their visiting tutors have become a victim of.
The news of cuts in the region of 50% in teaching hours for hourly paid staff has by right alarmed both students as well as the visiting tutors.
Some of these cuts have already been done, but drastically more cuts will be undertaken by the second term at the beginning of next year. Further cuts for the year 2009/10 are also under consideration.
Hourly paid staff represents 50% of the total staff at Sir John Cass. That means that half of the entire employment stock at the Cass may be affected by the cuts.
If the Department cut the teaching hours for visiting lecturers across the board, this will seriously alter the quality of the teaching at Sir John Cass as well as ruining an already damaged reputation of the Cass as a whole.
The students have asked you some very simple questions in regards to these massive cuts. In their letter to you, they show deep concern for their teachers and for the teaching resources , questions that you as Head of Department so far have refused to answer.
One of the serious issues here, is the fact that the administration is punishing their students by cutting their teaching resources for a serious mistake committed on their own level. For this reason, both students and teachers demands some proper answers from the administration.
In critical circumstances like these, the students need to be assured that they nor their teaching resources will be affected and that the proposals for these cuts are being reconsidered.
This is after all serious mistakes committed on an administrative level and a proper assessment of how these mistakes were allowed to happen in the first place needs to be audited by en external body.
As a Head of Department of Sir John Cass, it would be to enormous help for the students, if you stepped forward and properly informed them about how you try to deal with this urgent issue.
You have already made drastic cuts for a lot of visiting tutors in the current Semester, but as we have understood, these cuts will be dwarfed by the cuts you are planning to undertake in teaching hours for visiting tutors for the upcoming term at the beginning of next year.
Remember, there is very little time left and please understand the importance of assuring the students that these proposals are being reconsidered as a matter of urgency.
Thank you for your email and the hard copies.
Having been in art schools and university visual arts departments since 1968, firstly as a student and then as a visiting tutor before taking on more established positions within academic management, I am well aware of the contribution made by visiting tutors.
I encourage you to make your concerns known through the Student Forum - which has been brought forward by the Chair.
With best wishes,
Prof. Brian Falconbridge
Dear Brian Falconbridge:
In your letter you mention your 'experience with art schools and university visual arts departments since 1968 as a way of showing that you have a knowledge and an 'awareness of the contribution made by visiting tutors.'
We all know what enormous symbolic power the year of 1968 has and how it has become an ideal for awareness of the fight against governmental and institutional suppression of social democratic rights.
You dare mention 1968 but you do not dare to mention the ongoing crisis at Sir John Cass where, due to serious mistakes at administration level, the students and their visiting tutors have become a victim of.
The news of cuts in the region of 50% in teaching hours for hourly paid staff has by right alarmed both students as well as the visiting tutors.
Some of these cuts have already been done, but drastically more cuts will be undertaken by the second term at the beginning of next year. Further cuts for the year 2009/10 are also under consideration.
Hourly paid staff represents 50% of the total staff at Sir John Cass. That means that half of the entire employment stock at the Cass may be affected by the cuts.
If the Department cut the teaching hours for visiting lecturers across the board, this will seriously alter the quality of the teaching at Sir John Cass as well as ruining an already damaged reputation of the Cass as a whole.
The students have asked you some very simple questions in regards to these massive cuts. In their letter to you, they show deep concern for their teachers and for the teaching resources , questions that you as Head of Department so far have refused to answer.
One of the serious issues here, is the fact that the administration is punishing their students by cutting their teaching resources for a serious mistake committed on their own level. For this reason, both students and teachers demands some proper answers from the administration.
In critical circumstances like these, the students need to be assured that they nor their teaching resources will be affected and that the proposals for these cuts are being reconsidered.
This is after all serious mistakes committed on an administrative level and a proper assessment of how these mistakes were allowed to happen in the first place needs to be audited by en external body.
As a Head of Department of Sir John Cass, it would be to enormous help for the students, if you stepped forward and properly informed them about how you try to deal with this urgent issue.
You have already made drastic cuts for a lot of visiting tutors in the current Semester, but as we have understood, these cuts will be dwarfed by the cuts you are planning to undertake in teaching hours for visiting tutors for the upcoming term at the beginning of next year.
Remember, there is very little time left and please understand the importance of assuring the students that these proposals are being reconsidered as a matter of urgency.
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Saturday, 29 November 2008
THE NEXT MEETING...
...as I'm sure you all already know, will be held on THURSDAY 4th DECEMBER at 5.30pm in room 401, floor 4, Central House- NOT the same place as last time. I've already emailed the details to a lot of you, and the new leaflets are coming out on Monday at 11 - 11.30am. Would anyone like to help me distribute them between Central House & Commercial Road?
...as I'm sure you all already know, will be held on THURSDAY 4th DECEMBER at 5.30pm in room 401, floor 4, Central House- NOT the same place as last time. I've already emailed the details to a lot of you, and the new leaflets are coming out on Monday at 11 - 11.30am. Would anyone like to help me distribute them between Central House & Commercial Road?
Friday, 28 November 2008
Here is the original letter we sent to the Vice Chancellor:
Dear Professor Roper,
We are writing on behalf of students in all the year groups in the Sir John Cass School of Art, Media and Design who wish to express deep concern at the news of cuts of 50% in the teaching hours of hourly-paid staff in the current financial year, and further cuts of 25% in 2009/10. We believe that in the Fine Art department, for example, hourly paid staff represent 50% of all staff (in absolute numbers) and, we estimate, about 40% of all teaching time.
We believe that going ahead with these cuts will result in great damage being inflicted on the reputation of this highly respected college and on the wider university, let alone on our own degree studies.
You may be aware of the proud tradition in art schools of employing working artists as part-time or visiting tutors and lecturers. London’s Royal College of Art, the Royal Academy, Goldsmith’s, The Slade School of Fine Art at UCL, all of the University of the Arts Colleges, The Ruskin School of Drawing, Oxford University and the top regional art schools all follow this model. (The great Music Colleges -RCM, RAM, Trinity, Guildhall - have a similar practice for the same reasons.)
Unlike many academic courses, the Arts require practical, interactive teaching and do not suit the less expensive Lecture Theatre format. To reduce such specialised provision so drastically would undermine the John Cass as a proper Art School: a poor reward for a department with such good recruitment and retention records.
We believe such deep cuts in our traditional Arts teaching is likely to push the John Cass into the bottom division, sending out a message of third-rate provision. Recruitment of students - including the first-generation university intakes so near to your heart, as well as the more lucrative non-EU applicants –will be endangered, and thereby the University’s future income. This will reflect dismally on London Metropolitan University at a sensitive moment in its history, and could be a disaster for the Cass. Sacrificing future income, and JCAMD’s local and national reputation, dignity and pride, for an immediate quick-fix will not only jeopardise the education of its existing students, it also does not stack up as a sensible business proposition.
The Art School relies on its hourly-paid staff to deliver the educational proposition that made the JCAMD the first choice of many of its students.
We believe it is imperative that those who have made these proposals should reconsider them as a matter of urgency.
The students are meeting again to discuss these matters on Monday December 1st. We very much hope that you will be able to let us know before then that the University has listened to our concerns and taken action accordingly.
Yours sincerely
Caro Millington
Lulu Nunn
Stephanie Herbert
Dear Professor Roper,
We are writing on behalf of students in all the year groups in the Sir John Cass School of Art, Media and Design who wish to express deep concern at the news of cuts of 50% in the teaching hours of hourly-paid staff in the current financial year, and further cuts of 25% in 2009/10. We believe that in the Fine Art department, for example, hourly paid staff represent 50% of all staff (in absolute numbers) and, we estimate, about 40% of all teaching time.
We believe that going ahead with these cuts will result in great damage being inflicted on the reputation of this highly respected college and on the wider university, let alone on our own degree studies.
You may be aware of the proud tradition in art schools of employing working artists as part-time or visiting tutors and lecturers. London’s Royal College of Art, the Royal Academy, Goldsmith’s, The Slade School of Fine Art at UCL, all of the University of the Arts Colleges, The Ruskin School of Drawing, Oxford University and the top regional art schools all follow this model. (The great Music Colleges -RCM, RAM, Trinity, Guildhall - have a similar practice for the same reasons.)
Unlike many academic courses, the Arts require practical, interactive teaching and do not suit the less expensive Lecture Theatre format. To reduce such specialised provision so drastically would undermine the John Cass as a proper Art School: a poor reward for a department with such good recruitment and retention records.
We believe such deep cuts in our traditional Arts teaching is likely to push the John Cass into the bottom division, sending out a message of third-rate provision. Recruitment of students - including the first-generation university intakes so near to your heart, as well as the more lucrative non-EU applicants –will be endangered, and thereby the University’s future income. This will reflect dismally on London Metropolitan University at a sensitive moment in its history, and could be a disaster for the Cass. Sacrificing future income, and JCAMD’s local and national reputation, dignity and pride, for an immediate quick-fix will not only jeopardise the education of its existing students, it also does not stack up as a sensible business proposition.
The Art School relies on its hourly-paid staff to deliver the educational proposition that made the JCAMD the first choice of many of its students.
We believe it is imperative that those who have made these proposals should reconsider them as a matter of urgency.
The students are meeting again to discuss these matters on Monday December 1st. We very much hope that you will be able to let us know before then that the University has listened to our concerns and taken action accordingly.
Yours sincerely
Caro Millington
Lulu Nunn
Stephanie Herbert
Thursday, 27 November 2008
I have just received an e-mail from the Vice Chancellor, Brian Roper, in response to the e-mail Caro and I sent to him, and written on the behalf of all students at The Cass:
"Thank you for your email, and your letter which I received today.
The Sir John Cass Department of Art, Media & Design has a long tradition of employing visiting tutors (HPLs) and understands and appreciates their role and contribution within the University - and across the sector - in the disciplines to which you refer. Within the resources available to him, and the expertise deemed appropriate to contribute to the well-being of the academic provision and the student learning experience, the Head of Department, Professor Falconbridge, is striving to maintain the successful momentum of the Department and to ensure that students are taught by a suitable range of full-time, pro-rata and visiting staff.
Yours sincerely, Brian Roper
Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, London Metropolitan University"
---
What do you all think of this then?
"Thank you for your email, and your letter which I received today.
The Sir John Cass Department of Art, Media & Design has a long tradition of employing visiting tutors (HPLs) and understands and appreciates their role and contribution within the University - and across the sector - in the disciplines to which you refer. Within the resources available to him, and the expertise deemed appropriate to contribute to the well-being of the academic provision and the student learning experience, the Head of Department, Professor Falconbridge, is striving to maintain the successful momentum of the Department and to ensure that students are taught by a suitable range of full-time, pro-rata and visiting staff.
Yours sincerely, Brian Roper
Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, London Metropolitan University"
---
What do you all think of this then?
Hello everyone,
This blog is for all students and staff of The Cass to be able to share facts and opinions regarding the current financial crisis at London Metropolitan University, and how it affects us in particular.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you may post as an anonymous comment, or if you wish to remain anonymous but make yourself known to only me, you can e-mail me your comment and I will post it myself. You can e-mail me at louise_nunn@hotmail.co.uk.
If you wish to be added to this blog as an author so that you may write posts, please either leave a comment with your e-mail address, or send it to me.
Thankyou,
Lulu
This blog is for all students and staff of The Cass to be able to share facts and opinions regarding the current financial crisis at London Metropolitan University, and how it affects us in particular.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you may post as an anonymous comment, or if you wish to remain anonymous but make yourself known to only me, you can e-mail me your comment and I will post it myself. You can e-mail me at louise_nunn@hotmail.co.uk.
If you wish to be added to this blog as an author so that you may write posts, please either leave a comment with your e-mail address, or send it to me.
Thankyou,
Lulu
London Metropolitan University and Wikipedia.
As a part of concealing London Metropolitan University's troubled record of industrial relations since the merger (or the take-over) of London Guildhall University by University of North London in 2002, any attempt of criticism towards the University has been deleted from its Wikipedia-profile.
The edit-war on the Wikipedia was so bad for a while that Wikipedia at some point threatened to freeze the ability to alter the changes to London Met's profile. If you read the presentation of London Met just as it appears today, the 27th of November 2008, it reads just like an advert:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Metropolitan_University
The edit-war on the Wikipedia was so bad for a while that Wikipedia at some point threatened to freeze the ability to alter the changes to London Met's profile. If you read the presentation of London Met just as it appears today, the 27th of November 2008, it reads just like an advert:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Metropolitan_University
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