Students at the University of East London are courses. The university authorities are trying to cut costs to reduce an overspend in the School of Architecture and Visual Arts. Socialist Resistance spoke to students about their campaign. "We haven't even been told the details of how they will merge our courses or what the new course will be, but it definitely means cutting courses and I'm not very happy. I'm in my first year and I signed up for Graphic Design.
The degree they are proposing to change it into is a complete mystery. For employers, they won't see BA in Graphic Design on my CV, but a broad degree.
I'm going to the meetings to find out what's going on and what we can do to stop it. I've heard other courses will be affected as well, like Social Sciences.
They want to transfer the entire School of Art into a brand new building on the Docklands Campus, but it's not big enough for all students, and we understand across the whole of the school there will be a 60 percent reduction in space.
We're art students and we need space."
(Kris, first year Graphic Design) "This is about putting finance over academic standards: they come hand in hand. They want to get as many people as they can here into the uni, and have fewer teachers. But as a whole they are trying to make education more elite, to exclude people by raising costs.
(Andrew, first year Graphic Design)) "This merger will affect all students, but in particular, the first years and the new generation of students going into education. Things are going badly downhill, and we're paying more money for less facilities and less teachers. ,
After we leave, the job prospects are dismal, and we have to pay off our student debts for years to come. Most students I know have to work.
The Labour government have set the agenda, they spend money on war, but the key is education. The uni's now have to find other ways to get money.
UEL was built with private money, and the shops and restaurants here are private too. continuing their campaign against the merger of Education is a business without students at the heart of it.
We've spoken to management repeatedly and nothing they have said can provide us with a good reason for changing our course.
Where exactly is our money going? -there's no facilities and no permanent teachers."
(Tamir 2nd year Graphic Design) "Graphic Design students have a lot to lose because I know the package they're offering. The new course was put together in a few months, and the management have no idea about what they are doing.
They're running the university like a business, and they have big financial difficulties. The majority of students now pay fees, but the money won't go on teaching because they have already said there will be a reduction in teaching hours on the new course.
Graphic Design students depend on teaching. I study graphic Fine Art, and it is very different from Graphic Design.
The Graphic Fine art course is undertaught, so they are trying to merge them in order to get teachers to work across both disciplines
I'd like to know how much involvement the teachers have had in designing the new course. If the course is as good as the management keep telling us it is, then why won't they give us any details? We've asked again and again, but they won't tell us."
(Lala, Ist year Graphic Fine Art)
Students at the University of East
London prepare for a meeting wit the vice-Chancellor on the NUS Day of Action against top-up fees. The vice-Chancellor confirmed that controversial course mergers were being proposed in order to save money. The students are continuing their campaign of opposition.