University of Exeter cuts an ‘existential threat to humanities’

The University of Exeter has become the latest Russell Group university to announce major job cuts, insisting it “must” take action to reduce financial pressures.

Around 150 academic roles are set to go at the south west institution which said it was targeting areas that are “no longer sustainable” or have seen changes in student demand.

The cuts are expected to fall heavily on humanities courses, adding to concerns over the future of the subjects such as history and English amid the latest round of jobs cuts.

A university spokesperson said that it “hopes to achieve these changes through voluntary measures”, and it will “continue working closely with our community and trade unions to avoid compulsory redundancies wherever possible”.

The University and College Union (UCU) branch said that 500 staff have been informed they are at risk of redundancy. It added that humanities courses have been “disproportionately” targeted, making up 85 per cent of all staff put at risk. 

The branch told Times Higher Education that the university is looking to cut 115 full-time equivalent roles from the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, 20 from the School of Health and Life Sciences, and 18 from the Faculty of Environment, Science and Economics. 

The proposals will mean that Exeter’s history, English, modern languages and politics courses could see up to 25 per cent of their staff cut, it said.

Calling the proposed cuts a “stunning failure of leadership”, UCU added that they represented “a reckless attack on an institution that is critical to the West Country’s regional economy”.

“These cuts represent an existential threat to humanities and social sciences disciplines at Exeter: if they go ahead, student experience will suffer enormously, and both teaching programmes and research culture will be damaged beyond repair.

“The rationale for this disproportionate targeting of the very disciplines to which Exeter largely owes its membership of the Russell Group has not been clearly explained to us.”

The branch said it will ballot for industrial action as well as initiate a vote of no confidence in the university vice-chancellor, Lisa Roberts, “at the earliest opportunity”. 

An Exeter spokesperson defended the decision, saying that “while Exeter remains in a strong position, rising costs, the real-terms decline in tuition fee income, underfunded research, and a sustained drop in international student demand mean we must take action now”. 

They added: “These changes are intended to secure the university’s long-term sustainability, protect our teaching and research excellence, and ensure our activities remain aligned with future priorities.”

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com