Politicians urge OfS to review London South Bank restructure

Politicians have appealed to the Office for Students to intervene over “significant changes to the employment arrangements” at London South Bank University. 

The institution has been criticised over its plans to move many of its existing academics into a new “teaching and scholarship” roles, with the rest being kept in a “teaching and research” position. 

Staff have claimed this will create a “two-tier workforce”, which will see most employed by a subsidiary firm, losing access to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

The university has insisted the changes are needed because of the “evolving needs” of students and will allow it to protect academic roles while securing the financial sustainability of the institution.

But the co-chairs of the University and College Union (UCU) Parliamentary Group, Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, and Christine Blower, a member of the House of Lords, have called on the English regulator to review the plans, warning the restructure could have ramifications for the rest of the sector. 

The letter to the regulator comes after staff unanimously backed a motion of no confidence in vice-chancellor Paul Kett, after UCU said management “refused to return to the negotiating table”, despite previous strike action.

Acknowledging “the considerable financial and operational pressures currently facing universities”, Maskell and Blower write: “We are concerned that the scale and nature of the proposals currently under consideration at LSBU raise questions that extend beyond the immediate industrial dispute and engage matters that fall within the Office for Students’ regulatory responsibilities.”

They added that “proposals of this scale” have the potential to negatively affect staff retention, morale, institutional capacity and “the quality and continuity of the educational experience offered to students”.

Given the watchdog’s responsibility to protect students, they believe that it is “vital” that any significant organisational change be “carefully assessed” by the OfS to judge its potential impact on students and standards. 

“We are also mindful that approaches pursued by individual providers can establish potentially harmful precedents across the sector,” they write.

“As universities continue to face financial pressures, such developments raise wider questions about how regulatory oversight can support institutional sustainability while ensuring that the conditions necessary for high-quality teaching, research and student support are maintained.”

The pair said that the UCU Parliamentary Group would “welcome the opportunity” to meet with the OfS to better understand how it “intends to respond to the challenges posed by significant workforce restructuring across the higher education sector”.

The politicians have also submitted an early-day motion “expressing solidarity with UCU members who have already taken strike action in defence of their jobs, pay and working conditions”, calling on the government to work with the sector to halt redundancies across the sector, as well as the growing use of subsidiary firms. 

Tara Dean, provost at London South Bank, said in a statement that “standing still is not an option”.

She said, like many universities across the sector, it is responding to “significant financial pressures and to the evolving needs and expectations of our students, employers and communities”.

“The reorganisation of our academic workforce follows a comprehensive consultation with colleagues, during which we carefully considered feedback and amended our proposals. The new specialist Teaching and Scholarship roles will enable us to strengthen the student experience by increasing professional and technical teaching capacity and ensuring students benefit from high-quality contact time and support.

“At the same time, our Teaching and Research academics will continue to deliver excellent teaching while focusing research effort on areas where it can have the greatest impact for the communities and industries we serve. Through these changes, we are seeking to protect as many academic roles as possible while ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the University and safeguarding the quality of education for our students.”

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com