‘Real danger a Welsh university could collapse next year’

Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter

There is a real danger a university in Wales could collapse next year, a trade union warned.

Dan Beard, who chairs Unison Cymru’s higher education forum, told the Senedd’s education committee: “Without change, we will see universities collapsing or contracting significantly.”

Giving evidence to an inquiry on higher education, which was prompted by cuts at institutions across Wales, Unison called for urgent intervention from ministers. “Nearly all universities are making cuts to some degree or another,” Mr Beard told the inquiry.

Unison described the Welsh Government’s February announcement of £18.5m for universities as “nowhere near enough”, with Cardiff alone facing a £30m shortfall.

“Without a strategy and funding, Welsh universities will continue to contract, shedding staff and closing unprofitable courses,” the union said in its written evidence.

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‘Ambushed’

Unison expressed frustration with the Welsh Government “waiting to see” how UK ministers respond, cautioning: “The gravity of the situation means we can’t afford to wait.”

The trade union said higher education institutions face a dire financial situation, with hundreds of redundancies proposed which could be devastating for Wales. “There is a real danger a university in Wales could collapse next year,” Unison warned.

Gareth Lloyd, Wales official at the University and College Union (UCU), said the union’s members felt ambushed by Cardiff University’s announcement of job cuts.

Pinning a breakdown in trust at the university’s door, he told the committee: “The Cardiff UCU branch responded as they felt appropriate based on their membership.”

Mr Lloyd said: “On every level, discussion has to take place early on – you do not go to the press, make announcements and put people’s jobs at risk.”

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‘Dysfunction’

Suggesting the university played games, he said: “What I don’t want to see happen is people coming up with the worst-case scenario and always planning on giving us something better.”

He raised the upsetting impact of the cuts on students as well as UCU members, warning: “If we’re not careful, this could have a real detrimental effect on students who don’t want to go there and that really, really worries me.”

Describing the financial model as unsustainable, the former teacher said: “By cutting courses, you don’t improve your finances… it’s a very short-term thought.”

Mr Lloyd, a school governor, called for better links with primaries and secondaries as well as free transport on open days to Welsh universities, saying: “There are lots of solutions we can talk about but if we’re not in the room, we can’t.”

Jamie Insole, policy officer at the UCU, warned of “dysfunction across the board”, with Cardiff University’s senate unanimously voting down plans “yet they sail through council”.

‘Aghast’

Mr Insole told the committee collegiate governance – which still exists at institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge and Queen's University Belfast – has been hollowed out.

He said: “We’ve seen a turn to corporate governance largely in response to a smouldering financial crisis and… that has given rise to very questionable decisions.”

Mr Insole highlighted a pattern of principals and vice-chancellors claiming to work in partnership with unions when it is clearly not the case. “Social partnership has a clear definition and, unfortunately, Cardiff isn’t there at the moment,” he said.

During the meeting on June 25, Mr Beard added: “Privately, there were lots of senior leaders in other universities aghast about how Cardiff University went about it…. In the other seven institutions across Wales, they said that’s the wrong way to do it.”

Lynne Hackett, lead officer for higher education at Unison Cymru, warned the announcement has created a tremendous amount of anxiety and stress for professional support staff.

‘Untrue’

Witnesses laughed in incredulity when asked about Wendy Larner, the vice-chancellor of Cardiff University, describing staff stress as personal rather than professional.

Mr Lloyd responded: “It’s just not true, is it?… I’m not a doctor so I wouldn’t feel qualified, I wouldn’t be brave enough to tell a generic statement on what causes stress for individuals.”

Ms Hackett added: “I think it’s offensive to say that anyone’s stress is personal because your work is part of your life, isn’t it? I think she should rethink those remarks.”

In its written evidence, UCU Cymru said higher education has suffered systemic failure and neglect which risks bringing institutions to their knees.

The trade union told the committee: “Nowhere else in the Welsh public or not-for-profit sector, do we find a combination of job losses through voluntary severance, pay freezes and the very real risk of compulsory redundancy.”