APPENDIX 42
Memorandum from Helen Ayers, Biochemistry
Student, Brunel University
I am currently a student in the last year of
a four year BSc (Hons) Medical Biochemistry degree at Brunel University.
I am submitting this letter as evidence for your enquiry into
the strategic science provision in English universities.
My course was originally run in the department
of Biological Sciences and the HEFCE's formulae has led to being
merged with Nursing and Social Care departments to become the
School of Health Sciences and Social Care. The eventual aim of
the new school is to teach similar modules (eg physiology) to
students across the school. This worries bioscience students as
the approach required for the subject content will be very different
from that of students studying nursing. As bioscience students
are a minority in the new school there is already the opinion
that the teaching needs of courses with more students (eg nursing)
will be put before those of bioscience students in modules with
shared content.
Brunel University is currently in the process
of making 60 staff redundancies based on the volume of research
undertaken, frequency of publication and revenue generated. The
university recently released a list and sent out letters on the
voluntary redundancies and only three out of approximately 20
bioscience lectures have not been asked to volunteer for redundancy.
If enough lectures fail to volunteer for redundancy, there are
going to be compulsory redundancies. It is obvious that this will
have a significant influence over the bioscience teaching ability
of the school. In its defence the University says that the 60
lecturers made redundant will be replaced by 90 research active
staff. However, the University holds the opinion that this will
not have an affect on the quality of teaching, although these
new staff will have less time to teach (and prepare for teaching)
because of their research. The University also does not want to
commit to replacing staff from the same areas they will be lost
from. This will have a huge effect on bioscience if they lose
a significant proportion of staff by causing a teaching staff
shortage.
Another concern is that the teaching ability
of the replacement staff may not be as high as that of the current
teaching staff, since they are researchers not lecturers. It is
vital that the teaching received throughout science degrees reaches
a high level of quality as this is the foundation of principles
essential for the continued learning required throughout a scientific
career.
The University is also unwilling to commit to
keeping the bioscience courses running in the long term and are
only willing to say they will complete their contractual obligation
to enrolled students allowing them to complete their degree. They
also have stopped bioscience students extending their course by
a year by blocking the integration of industrial placements into
all the Bioscience courses, but no other courses across the university.
This will have a direct effect on the ability of bioscience students
to perform once they reach the workplace as they will require
a higher level of training.
If the Bioscience courses at Brunel were to
close I do not believe it would have much effect on the regional
capacity as there are many other universities offering similar
courses in central London, however there are few universities
offering these courses on the outskirts of London and this may
deter potential science students. Unfortunately I do not have
any suggestions on how to maintain the science provision in English
universities but it is obvious something needs to be done before
too many departments close down as Universities are unlikely to
invest in setting up new science departments due to the high set
up and running costs, which may not provide a quick return or
increase revenue.
January 2005
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