POINTS OF VIEW Prof. Susan Lea
Vice-Dean (Education )
What exactly is happening and why? As Vice Dean of Education at the IoP, I would like to clarify why the proposals to restructure the School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, and Institute of Psychiatry are necessary: King’s College London, like many other universities, is facing difficult choices. Over recent years, the external higher education environment has changed significantly bringing new challenges. Every day it is becoming harder to maintain and build the level of excellence we aspire to now we are in the top league of universities. Undertaking the level and quality of research which is fundamental to our continued success is more and more expensive. The changes to student funding have largely been cancelled out by the reduction in teaching grants, and capital grants have all but disappeared. It is clear that we cannot expect any change in the external funding environment that will address these issues for us, at least in the foreseeable future. These factors coupled with our ambition to offer the best education to the best students and to continue delivering the highest quality research mean the pressures to improve performance, to be as efficient as possible, and to invest in the best faculty and support will continue to grow. Doing nothing is not an option, as a failure to invest will result in a decline in standards and ultimately mean a poorer experience for our students. Who is being affected by the redundancies/who is likely to go? The proposals are subject to consultation with staff and trade unions until early July. The timeline aims to provide certainty to staff and students as quickly as possible. Staff who already make a significant contribution to education - including teaching, pastoral care, and administration – and/or research, have been informed this week that they will not form part of the process. We will know more once the consultation period has concluded. How will this affect students at the IoP? We have no interest in making changes that will impact negatively on the standard of student education at the IoP or in the other two Schools. We have looked carefully at the range of expertise required to deliver our programmes and how our academic staff in the IoP, School of Medicine, and School of Biomedical Sciences currently spend their time. Staff who already make a significant contribution to education are not included in the proposed changes. We have more than enough spare capacity to deliver high quality teaching even with the estimated reduction in academic staff. What is the college doing to try to lessen the effects of the redundancies on student experience? I am working with colleagues across the Health Schools and within the IoP, as well as with the IoP student forum, to minimise the potential impact of restructuring on education and the student experience through contingency planning. If the proposals resulted in potential changes to supervisory or personal tutor arrangements – and it is too early to say at this stage - we would engage with students on an individual basis to discuss the support mechanisms we would put in place to prepare for any change. What can students do if they have questions or concerns? I have met with student reps and the IoP Student Forum and am keen to continue to engage with the wider study body at the IoP. Students can address any concerns to me, the Heads of Graduate Studies (Research – Professor Jon Cooper; Taught – Dr Jenny Yiend) or their Head of Department. The College will take all student representations into consideration before any final decisions are made.
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The Looking Glass