Students fight 'insane' cull of university courses

Students Lily-Rose Marsden, Charlie Blair and Max Hegarty are among those who oppose the courses being closed

Students and staff are trying to save the University of Nottingham's music and modern languages courses after their suspension was announced.

The university is proposing to close these courses and numerous others as part of cost-saving measures, and will not be admitting any new students in the meantime.

Former alumni including composer Sam Watts - who created the theme music for The Traitors - are among those opposing the university's proposals.

In a statement, the university said it needed to "make tough decisions based on changes in student demand, the cost of delivering courses, and competition from other institutions offering similar courses".

Film and TV composer Sam Watts said the University of Nottingham's music department had "set me up in my career"

Staff who run the courses intend to lobby the university's governing body, while students from the music and languages departments have launched petitions.

Lonán Ó Briain, who is head of the Department of Music, said staff were shocked when they found out what was happening on Wednesday.

"We didn't know what the meeting was about, and so we went along without any indication that this was going to happen," he said.

"I think everyone in the department was very shocked, particularly for our students; we're all very worried about their wellbeing."

He said staff were also worried about their community partnerships across the East Midlands region.

"The music department is connected with all sorts of arts institutions, this is really going to impact the region," he said.

"We're embedded in the local community, working with schools, music hubs, community groups and venues."

Lonán Ó Briain said the proposed closure of the courses would affect the region's community

Some students said they only found out what was happening via a BBC Instagram post on Thursday morning.

This was because they were not emailed by the university until Thursday afternoon.

"I think it's disgusting that we have been told this information through news outlets, rather than the actual university," said Lily-Rose Marsden, who is studying German and Spanish.

Although Ms Marsden will be able to complete her course, she is concerned for future students who will not have the option of studying modern foreign languages (MFL).

"When I thought about it and reflected I thought 'This is insane', they're not offering MFL'," she said.

"The subject is already going extinct in schools because the government has made it not compulsory."

Charlie Blair, who is studying German and Russian, has started a petition against modern languages courses being removed.

She is part of a group of students representing the languages societies at the university, who are working together to take action.

"It's really not fair on the lecturers, they're the ones who I feel most for," she said.

"Everybody is so passionate about their course and then to just be cut off like that, saying you're not important, we don't value you, I think it's really wrong."

The University of Nottingham said it needed to make "tough decisions"

Universities across the UK have been struggling with their finances, and the University of Nottingham said it had been "seriously affected by a fall in revenues and rising costs".

It said its courses had been assessed on criteria including "market share, tariff, projected current and future demand from students and employers, and revenue".

The proposals for their long-term futures of the courses will go to the university's council, which is its governing body, on 25 November.

"We cannot pre-empt the decision of the council, but of course we cannot continue to recruit on to these courses in the interim," said a spokesperson.

"A societal shift has significantly affected student demand for music and modern languages degrees over recent years, with the downward trend in recruitment reflecting changing demographics and educational and career preferences.

"In order to ensure that our institution is sustainable for current and future generations, we need to make tough decisions based on changes in student demand, the cost of delivering courses, and competition from other institutions offering similar courses."

Max Hegarty is concerned for students who will not have the option of doing language modules in future

Other courses being suspended include theology and religious studies, social work, architecture design and build, animal nutrition, plant biology, mathematical physics, agriculture, and two of the university's nursing courses.

Max Hegarty, who is studying aerospace engineering, said the proposals also affect students on other courses.

He has taken modules in German, and said this enabled him to do an internship in Germany.

"So much of our European engineering is based in Germany," he said.

"While a lot of people are willing to learn English, not returning that effort to them is not great for that collaboration, for that international co-operation that we need.

"Cutting funding for modern languages courses serves only to paralyse our growth as a country."

The university's music department has been encouraging people to write to local MPs

A petition started by some of the music students has been signed by more than 3,500 people so far.

The music department has also been encouraging people to write to local MPs.

Film and TV composer Sam Watts said his music degree had set him on the path to composing music for The Traitors, Planet Earth, and Doctor Who: Tales of the Tardis.

"The University of Nottingham music department set me up in my career," he said.

"The arts and art education are vital, and the University of Nottingham music department excel at not only imparting knowledge, but creating community.

"So, the idea of removing arts programmes and closing the department seems to be incredibly short-sighted."

'Linguistic desert'

Prof Cecilia Goria, director of the Language Centre at the university, said she was "profoundly dismayed" by the announcement.

"The closure leaves the East Midlands as a linguistic desert, devoid of language degree opportunities following the University of Leicester's recent closure of their Modern Languages department and Nottingham Trent University's earlier withdrawal," she said.

"An entire generation of aspiring linguists, translators, and cultural mediators will find themselves geographically excluded from higher education in their chosen field."

Affected staff intend to lobby the university's governing body

Paul Smith, associate professor in French history and politics, said he and others will be lobbying the university's council between now and the meeting on 25 November.

"However council votes, a business case will then have to be made by the university for what it then plans to do," he said.

"We will also hope to present some sort of counter-proposal at the same time."

He said that closing modern languages would not save the university from its financial troubles.

"The university will claim that modern languages brings in very little research income," he said.

"We can function on pencils and dictionaries, we don't need expensive kit."