Senate, the highest academic governing body within the institution, has voted to stop the consultation process on its modern language programmes at the University of Aberdeen.
Senate, the highest academic governing body within the institution, has voted to stop the consultation process on its modern language programmes at the University of Aberdeen. The body, made up of a powerful mix of senior management, academic staff, and elected student officers, voted in a landslide victory to recommend that the consultation process on the School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture (LLMVC) be halted with immediate effect.
The first motion – which passed with a majority 87 in support 3 against – confirmed Senate’s authority in the matter with a second motion calling for the consultation to be paused to allow for meaningful talks to resume passing swiftly afterwards with a 78 to 15 majority.
Students’ Union Vice President for Education Rhiannon Ledwell said:
“This decisive vote shows the undeniable support to stop the consultation, save staff jobs and preserve language degrees among its academic staff and students, not just within the language school, but throughout the university as a whole.
“The motion will be escalated to University Court on Tuesday – who now have a duty to do the right thing and uphold the will of students and staff and stop the consultation on modern languages, allowing time for meaningful discussions to take place.
“To let this rushed, knee-jerk consultation continue over the holiday period would be cruel and entirely unnecessary, and subjecting our hardworking languages staff to this uncertainty right before Christmas is unfathomable. Court must uphold the will of Senate and ensure the consultation is not allowed to continue unchecked, and that the university comes back to the table and consults both staff and students in a meaningful way before any more irreparable damage is done.”
The Students’ Union in partnership with University and College Union (UCU) will be holding a rally to petition Court to uphold the vote and stop the consultation on Monday 11th December at 6pm on campus at New King’s.
Visit www.ausa.org.uk for more information on how to get involved.