The official student newspaper of the University of East Anglia | Established 1992 | Issue 394 | 10th May 2023
Chloe Smith MP on higher education
SU in
pg. 12-13
UEA wins 9th consecutive Derby Day
pg. 22-24
Venue: Bodies in the fashion world
pg. 16
have 'no confidence' Executive Team
The news that the Student Union have ‘no confidence’ in the Executive Team comes amid a UCU boycott that may delay graduations, and further speculation about staff redundancies. Libby Hargreaves Editor-in-Chief
An emergency motion of ‘no confidence’ in the Executive Team passed in Union Council last week, holding “the current Executive Team responsible for the financial crisis” and moving for the UEA SU Student Officer team to “be involved in the decision-making process”. This comes amidst the £30 million deficit, concerns surrounding staff redundancies and union boycott action which may delay graduations. The University and College Union (UCU) began this marking and assessment boycott on the 20th April, calling for all members from universities that are part of the pay and working conditions dispute to stop any summative marking and “associated assessment activities”, including the processing of marks. According to UCU, this boycott will “carry on until the disputes are settled, or UCU calls off the boycott, or at the end of the industrial action ballot mandate (usually six months after the...ballot closes)”. The re-ballot for pay and working conditions closed on the 31st March 2023, meaning the boycott could go on until the end of September- the start of the next academic year, and months after graduations are scheduled. The chair of the UEA UCU branch, Michael Kyriacou, explained that the boycott is a result of “a variety of factors at play”, but that “the quickest way to ensure minimal disruption to students is for the UCEA, the body in which we are in dispute with, to table a better offer that UCU members will accept”. He also expressed his sympathy for students; “No staff member wants to disrupt their student’s education”, and explained this is “difficult action for any member of staff to undertake” but that “UCU needs to get a settlement that members deserve”. He concluded that it is his “firm hope that we [UCU] will have an offer from the employers that will enable us to resolve the dispute and make sure graduation and progression goes ahead unaffected”.
Concrete was also able to get a statement from Professor Emma Sutton-Pavil, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Student Experience and Education, who explained “It’s not yet possible for us know the extent of any possible impact because staff aren’t required to inform the University of their participation until they have started the boycott, so we’re still working through a few ‘unknowns’ but we hope that most students will not be impacted. For those who are impacted, we will do all we can to put measures in place which will allow for them to progress to the next stage of study, or graduate.” One graduating student explained his position on the prospect of delayed graduations as a result of the boycott “we’re at the most flexible point in our careers, in stark contrast to the teaching staff at UEA. Any disruptions we might face due to late graduation pale in comparison to longstanding lecturers losing their positions...in the context of widespread national strikes across all sectors, and with the help of result transcripts from previous years, graduates will face far less difficulty starting their grad jobs than redundant lecturers will in maintaining their academic careers.” This approach seems to be something Professor Sutton-Pavil and the University have planned for, she explained “Schools are making plans, and looking to identify instances where, for example, courses are externally accredited or where students need to be able to show final grades to progress to further study or employment opportunities. Our priority is working through these cases to make sure that we understand what is required to mitigate any impacts. Students affected will be informed in due course.” She also clarified that regardless of whether a student will be impacted by the boycott, everyone should complete their assessments on time and “meet all deadlines that have already been set” as staff will then ensure students “receive [their] mark at the earliest possible opportunity.” She concluded her statement to Concrete with her intention to “ensure that we treat all
students as fairly as possible and uphold the academic standards of our awards.” We also spoke to SU Undergraduate Officer, Taylor Sounes, who explained she had been in conversations about mitigating the impact of the boycott and reiterated these mitigations “will likely differ per school and not every school will even be impacted, so we're working to ensure that our Academic Reps in each School are equipped to ask questions and get answers on specifics. Then if Reps in Schools aren't getting responses, we'll step in and push for answers. So I'd really encourage students to get in touch with their School or Faculty Convenor or Course Rep and ask them what the plan is in the School, or talk to Teaching Directors.” Though part of national action, the boycott comes at a tumultuous time for UEA in particular. UEA Council met on 2nd May to consider the cost-saving “proposals for Professional Services and...teams working alongside Schools and Faculties to support the University". This meeting was a feature of the latest Union Council meeting (3rd May), in which Taylor exclaimed “Yesterday I was disgusted to discover that the University believed that just having my presence there alone...was enough student input into the business case... When I raised concerns yesterday, I was given non answers.” Since the meeting, she has spoken to Concrete about her concerns with the Executive Team following the Student Union ‘no confidence’ motion. We asked her to expand on her frustration with the claimed lack of student input in University decisions; “I was the only officer in the room that made the decision and the university felt that that was enough student consultation. But we [the Student Officer team] don't think it is and it's important that all of the representatives' voices are heard”. The ‘no confidence’ vote makes the SU’s stance clear, a dramatic change from their earlier position. Taylor explained this change is a result of “students very clearly making their voices heard, together as one union”, furthering that
this frustration is “because we are in a situation where students are frustrated that both they are not finding out what's happening as well as their representatives aren't being included or heard.” When asked about how the incoming ViceChancellor fits into this picture, she explained her “hope that the new VC can change that and put students back at the focus of all decision making. We are strongly pushing current University Executives to ensure that Professor Maguire meets with both the Full Time Officers and the entire Student Officer Committee to hear all the views of students' elected representatives as soon as possible after he starts”. Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Christine Bovis-Cnossen acknowledged the vote in a recent communications email, responding “We understand this is an extremely challenging time for our community, but everything we are doing, while difficult, is to secure the long-term future sustainability of our University.” She also explained the focus of the Executive Team “will soon turn to our future vision as a university and we will be involving our whole community in that.” She directed students to a recent video message from incoming Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Maguire, in which he said he “can’t wait to get started” and that the financial position of the University is “difficult but far from impossible”. It was also clear from the video that he “will be seeking widespread agreement on a clear academic and financial strategy” which “will require everyone to come together to work in service of the University”. She also outlined the purpose of the tumultuous UEA Council meeting “the University’s governing body, reviewed the proposals and endorsed our plans to start detailed discussions with our campus trades unions. The purpose of these discussions (collective consultation) is to look at the ways in which we can reduce or mitigate the impact on staff, with the intention of reducing the number of people who might be at risk of redundancy. As you know, compulsory redundancies are our very last resort. We have already had useful
conversations with our union colleagues about how this process will work and have agreed a framework on how those discussions will take place. We hope it will be a productive collaboration to ensure the best outcome for the University.” We asked Taylor if this email was sufficient in addressing the SU’s ‘no confidence’ position, to which she replied “The note in the Acting VCs email doesn't address the reasons why the motion was put forward and passed, but I don't think we were really expecting them to. SOC will begin its job of running a campaign to talk about the frustrations and the reasons and show the university what students are feeling.” The SU have also continued their position of ‘zero redundancies’, the motion resolved “to mandate all five Full-time Officers to maintain a position of zero redundancies for the duration of the ‘Accelerated Strategic Review Programme’, and to make clear this position of zero redundancies in any decision-making process related to the Strategic Review Programme, especially committee meetings” in addition mandating them to “work with the three campus unions (UCU, Unite, and Unison) for the duration of the ‘Accelerated Strategic Review Programme’”. As part of the ASRP, the University launched the voluntary severance programme which a recent Freedom of Information request (FOI_23-096) revealed resulted in 136 staff approved to leave UEA. This amounts to just over 60% of all staff who applied for the scheme, with the majority (78) being academic staff. The University claims this measure saves “in excess of £6 million”. The overall picture as the academic year draws to a close is ever-changing, but the 'no confidence' vote marks a clear turning point for the University, SU and students alike. Concrete will keep our readers updated following the next UEA Council meeting on the 22nd May.