Petition against job cuts at Lancaster University

Lancaster University's vice-chancellor recently announced that he would be cutting staff in the department. The local branch reacted with fury to the unilateral announcement, withdrawing from all discussions with the university and pledging not to return until the vice-chancellor agrees to begin meaningful negotiations over the future of the department.

'This will mean a drastic cutback in the university's adult education provision in the North West and leave thousands of part-time students unable to complete their studies,' says local association secretary Rory Daly.

'For a university with Lancaster's long-standing and honourable regional commitment to adult education it's a public relations disaster'.

The threat to Lancaster's department is yet another example of the damage being done to continuing education across the UK with the announcement of the cut in government funding for Equivalent or Lower Qualifications (ELQs). Lancaster's department provides continuing education courses to the whole region and its loss would cause irreparable damage to the regional community and set back the government's stated objective of widening participation in higher education.

You can sign Lancaster's petition here