UCU welcomes greater scrutiny of Scottish universities

UCU Scotland has worked with the government and MSPs to ensure the bill was revised to increase involvement of staff of universities' governing bodies and to remove the government's power to intervene on what courses universities should run.

The bill also includes elements that will help encourage students from the most marginalised backgrounds to apply to university. Universities will have to draw up agreements with the Scottish Funding Council to demonstrate their commitment to diversifying the social make-up of their campuses.

UCU Scotland President, Dave Anderson, said: 'It is vitally important that our universities remain free from government interference and will be properly scrutinised. We are pleased that the revised bill now ensures both these things will happen.

'The Cabinet Secretary's endorsement of our call for staff and student involvement in University governance is particularly welcome, and we look forward to seeing this included when the Governance Code is finally published. It is essential that staff are involved in developing the agreements on how universities will encourage applications and support more students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure widening access becomes a reality.'

*further detail on the Bill, can be found at the Scottish Parliament