On Friday 22 January the Vice Chancellor wrote to all staff. You can read the full email below:
The future of education – and particularly education funding – is back on the Parliamentary agenda this week.
The Government has made a raft of announcements about post-18 education reforms for England, including a Skills for Jobs White Paper, a consultation on post-qualification admissions and a report on the review of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). On the latter, the Universities Minister Michelle Donelan has taken a subject-level TEF off the table for now and it is welcome to note the Government’s intention to streamline the administrative burden in the future. This is also the week that the Augar review has returned to the conversation, ahead of the Spending Review in the spring. We still do not have any firm decisions but the Government has now published an ‘interim conclusion’ of its review of post-18 education, of which Augar forms a major part. This will have significant implications for us: additional teaching funds from the government will move away from creative humanities disciplines and towards the Government’s “priority subjects”, largely in STEM. A full response to the Augar Review is promised at the next Comprehensive Spending Review but, ominously for Sussex, there is a hint that students will not get loans to study on Foundation Programmes. Sussex has one of the largest Foundation Programmes in the UK because we know that it is an outstanding vehicle for social mobility. We continue to make the case strongly for continued investment in education – it is vital that funding for universities does not fall – and you can read Universities UK’s response to this week’s announcements on their website
Through Universities UK, we are continuing to make representations about the scope and scale of the financial impacts of the pandemic upon universities and students. Universities have absorbed the vast majority of these substantial costs, which has been possible only because of astute financial management in recent years, including the generation of surpluses. We’ve taken significant measures to reduce our expenditure since the start of the pandemic and continue to do so. But as we prepare to move into the second year under Covid-19, it is increasingly clear that a national response is also needed. This includes issues around accommodation, student support and mental health and the growing call for fee reductions. In particular, UUK has joined with Jisc, Guild HE and UCISA to write to the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson MP, calling for urgency in tackling the digital divide in higher education and collective action to support the 1.8 million students who are now learning remotely as a result of the pandemic.
We have also received welcome news this week that we have been given the go-ahead to roll out regular mass testing for our University community. This extension of the lateral flow testing operation we have been running since November means that we will be able to offer twice-weekly testing for students and staff who need it. These can be booked online now. This will run initially until 15 February but we are expecting further guidance from the Government in the coming weeks about the broader return of students to campus and the role that mass testing will play in that.
I know that the very uncertainty as to how the second half of the term will be taught is difficult for many people and we will share our teaching plans for the rest of this term as soon as possible. We hope to receive guidance from the Government this week and we will take this into account in making our judgements as to whether to return to in-person teaching in most subjects, but our first priority will be our assessment of whether it is safe for staff and for students to return.
All of this, as you know, is playing out against the backdrop of the UK’s exit from the EU. While true that we have more immediate challenges, many of the changes brought about by Brexit could be longer lasting, so they warrant attention. If you are interested in the detail of how the University is managing this transition, please do book onto our webinar, which is taking place next Monday (25 January) at 3pm. The following day, on Tuesday, there is a webinar on our approach to Semester 2.
Before moving on to a few other things that are coming up, I want to clarify a point about the guidance we have issued around home-schooling and staff with caring responsibilities. Some have suggested that the fact we are not making use of the Government’s furlough scheme means that staff are somehow less supported. This is not the case. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is a blunt instrument – you are either working or you are not. Our approach gives colleagues and managers far more flexibility to design solutions that work for each individual circumstance. This can include reduced hours and we have given managers the authority to make those decisions. All we are saying is that the University, not the Government, would cover the costs of that. If anybody needs any further guidance, please contact your line manager or HR business partner.
We welcome any feedback that helps us to improve your experience of working at Sussex, so please do continue to engage with the issues that matter to you. Every member of staff will have one such opportunity next week, when we launch our 2021 staff survey. You will receive this directly into your inbox next Monday from a third-party provider called People Insights.
I met this week with the Students’ Union new postgraduate taught officer, Matthew Moors. We had long, and very constructive, discussion but Matthew went out of his way to say how much students he has spoken to appreciate the ways in which academic staff have adapted their teaching and demonstrated care for students. I also received a message from an undergraduate who similarly just wanted to draw my attention to three of her named tutors. Working from home, with often difficult wifi, in spaces that aren’t always designed for teaching and office-based activities, and – for many people – with the added joy of home-schooling children isn’t easy. But your efforts are hugely valued, not just by our students but by all of your colleagues, not least me. Thank you.
Finally, I just want to remind you of the many resources available to you to look after your wellbeing, which is important at all times but particularly acute right now. Please do look at and bookmark our web page about this. I’d specifically draw your attention to the free classes currently being offered by Sussexsport – these are continuing next week so do check them out if you are interested.
Best wishes,
Adam