Protests at university over languages cull

The protestors, led by UCU, will be outside the Bolland Library on the Frenchay campus at 1pm.
 
The university has announced that it has ceased recruitment to all specialist language degrees with immediate effect. The decision means that students who have already accepted unconditional offers for 2009 will no longer be able to follow their chosen course at UWE.
 
The decision was taken as a result of a Languages Review, the final report of which has been kept secret and only selected recommendations revealed to the department. Action had already been taken to implement three of the recommendations before the department and staff were informed. Recruitment will cease immediately in French, Spanish and Chinese.
 
The union points to a recent British Academy report on languages that underlines the incoherence of the UWE proposals to cut undergraduate language provision and further reduce the future pool of language teachers. UCU has warned that UWE is in danger of becoming a higher education 'black spot' with no specialist provision which will damage its credibility as a university. The union further warned that the cuts will seriously damage local schools.
 
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'The process by which these decisions have been taken and the indecent haste to implement them must be challenged. Effectively the decision was made and the academic board is now expected to rubber stamp it. This is not acceptable behaviour in any academic institution.

'Cutting language courses while UWE is receiving funding to act as the lead institution in the South West's 'Routes into Languages' project severely undermines the university's position and the message about the value and importance of languages that is being taken to hundreds of school students from Gloucester to Cornwall. UWE is absolving itself of its responsibilities to its local community and the West of England more generally.'