On 4th March Kingston UCU were told by senior management that undergraduate courses in Politics, International Relations and Human Rights would be closed to new students entries in the next academic year due to low recruitment.
There has been no consultation with staff in the Politics department about these course suspensions.
We believe this is a short-sighted, underhand and unjust act of self-harm by the university, which threatens staff jobs, students’ futures, and Kingston’s reputation. We fear this may be only the start of management using Covid-19 as an excuse for damaging cuts.
Kingston students have launched a petition to save their department. Please sign and share it: https://www.change.org/p/students-save-ku-politics-department
KU UCU have written to senior management requesting these suspensions are halted until there has been proper consultation with staff and union representatives. We have challenged the rationale for suspending undergraduate recruitment, and proposed alternative solutions to improving staff-student ratios.
We will arrange a meeting on this issue soon – keep an eye on your inboxes.
Three professional associations in Politics and IR have expressed their dismay at this decision and condemned it as short-sighted and counter-productive. Read the joint statement from the Political Studies Association, the British International Studies Association, and the University Association for Contemporary European Studies here: https://www.psa.ac.uk/psa/news/psa-bisa-and-uaces-joint-statement-risks-study-politics-and-international-relations
Emergency branch meeting 12.30pm Friday 26th March to discuss this and plan fightback: https://kingston.web.ucu.org.uk/event/emergency-branch-meeting-politics-department-under-threat/