Roehampton course cuts 'at odds with national mental health priorities', experts warn
15 March 2012
UCU today warned Roehampton University that it risked doing lasting damage to its academic reputation after the university was criticised by a leading mental health body over controversial plans to axe courses and sack staff.
The university has put 15 permanent members of staff at risk of redundancy as it targets a programme of course cuts in counselling, psychotherapy, business and computing, as well threatening to cancel the employment of 36 fixed-term staff teaching in departments across the university.
The move to axe provision in counselling and psychotherapy has been slammed by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) who said the cuts were motivated by politics and were at odds with government plans to improve local mental health services.
The current round of redundancies comes just 12 months after the university tried to get rid of 51 staff and UCU today questioned the logic behind the cuts. The union pointed to the fact that many of the courses at risk were in surplus and over-subscribed for next year.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'There seems to be little logic behind these cuts, which are completely at odds with national priorities to improve mental health provision. Roehampton risks doing lasting damage to its academic reputation if it ignores the views of experts like the UCKP and pushes ahead with these plans.'
Professor Andrew Samuels, chair of the UKCP, said: 'The UKCP is sure that academic and professional politics are playing a significant part in this situation. It isn't about money, and the quality of the programmes is not in dispute. It is now widely accepted at government level that the 'talking therapies' have a major part to play in any comprehensive 21st century approach to mental health, and these mystifying proposals are moving in exactly the opposite direction.'
The move to axe provision in counselling and psychotherapy has been slammed by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) who said the cuts were motivated by politics and were at odds with government plans to improve local mental health services.
The current round of redundancies comes just 12 months after the university tried to get rid of 51 staff and UCU today questioned the logic behind the cuts. The union pointed to the fact that many of the courses at risk were in surplus and over-subscribed for next year.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'There seems to be little logic behind these cuts, which are completely at odds with national priorities to improve mental health provision. Roehampton risks doing lasting damage to its academic reputation if it ignores the views of experts like the UCKP and pushes ahead with these plans.'
Professor Andrew Samuels, chair of the UKCP, said: 'The UKCP is sure that academic and professional politics are playing a significant part in this situation. It isn't about money, and the quality of the programmes is not in dispute. It is now widely accepted at government level that the 'talking therapies' have a major part to play in any comprehensive 21st century approach to mental health, and these mystifying proposals are moving in exactly the opposite direction.'
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