Another day, another news story on the catastrophic choices behind Future Nottingham. How many signs do we need that we're careening in the wrong direction? #StopTheCuts #SaveHE www.timeshighereducation.com/news/staff-f...

Yeah, why can a Faculty Vice-Principal introduce these arbitrary criteria “tainted by sex” in the first place? #UKHE governance needs an overhaul, and QMUL in particular. Here’s to a more equal, less arbitrary 2026, right, @qmul.bsky.social? Archived link: web.archive.org/web/20251230...

IME this is standard. I’ve seen mediocre male academics secure promotions denied to overqualified female colleagues. I myself was made redundant bc they offered my role to a male lecturer of English for academic purposes (writing composition) w/no PhD or experience teaching Eng lit&creative writing.

Anyway, hope you have restful holidays, social media team @qmul.bsky.social, and all the best for 2026! Sorry for tagging you guys constantly in our managers' shenanigans -- we know you lot are actually lovely 😘

Hey! #UKHE! Promotion decisions being made in email threads outside of the formal promotion panels, is that, you know, normal? (cc @ucu.org.uk) Archived article: web.archive.org/web/20251230...

Yeah, why can a Faculty Vice-Principal introduce these arbitrary criteria “tainted by sex” in the first place? #UKHE governance needs an overhaul, and QMUL in particular. Here’s to a more equal, less arbitrary 2026, right, @qmul.bsky.social? Archived link: web.archive.org/web/20251230...

"The Most Inclusive of Its Kind." We’ll try that anew in 2026, shall we, @qmul.bsky.social? Here, have the archived link so you’re spared the comments 🤢 web.archive.org/web/20251230... #UKHE

'Leary’s study, to be published in the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management, is the first to examine the relationship between nurse staffing levels and death rates over time.' Meanwhile, how many universities are closing or shrinking their nursing programmes in the funding crisis?

Dear journalists, we know the novelty has worn off, but you don’t want the next novelty of this #UKHE crisis leading to the collapse of towns. Ask politicians serious questions, AND KEEP ASKING. Their bland deflections are unacceptble.

@qmul.bsky.social I know I’ve previously said I’m grateful for all the times the college has done something egregiously nasty and made me glad I decided to leave, but it’s been a few years now. You can stop, I’ll be fine.

From the Financial Accounts, we pay the Principal £192.31 per hour (and that is without London Weighting, so actually more). Was his little hour-long trip around campus to tear down posters a good investment of the university's limited resources?

The Principal has been walking around tearing down Palestine posters and has been instructing managers & security to do so when he can't go on his little tour of campus himself. This is chilling and discriminatory and must be challenged. Full motion: qmucu.org/2025/12/17/c... 🇵🇸

'In additional comments in the report, committee member and independent senator David Pocock said he had become concerned about universities’ growing “reliance on consultants” and the associated costs.' Sounding familiar yet? 3/3

'The report said the inquiry had heard “from a substantial cohort of academic staff and students outlining their experience that centralised decision-making, driven by commercial priorities, has had a detrimental effect on academic influence within universities”.' 2/3

'All states and territories in Australia should review the legislation underpinning universities “to ensure the primacy of public research and education”, a Senate committee has said.' Very relevant to UK. 1/3

@ucu.org.uk @ducu.bsky.social @sheffielducu.bsky.social @ducuuo.bsky.social @umucu.bsky.social @qmucu.bsky.social @uswucu.bsky.social @northeastbylines.co.uk @chroniclelive.co.uk

Used to say to journalists that Westminster politicians would care once Oxford or Cambridge were affected by the collapse of the sector. But somehow still not. Complete dereliction of duty.

UUK doesn’t even understand how the Twelve Days of Christmas work. And yet we let them run the sector…

Because @qmucu.bsky.social asked nicely and it seems their uni has published their 2024/25 statement already, here is their document: www.finance.qmul.ac.uk/media/financ...

Am in the process of updating this nonsense (github.com/mtwest2718/u...) regarding #UKHE financial measures. Have to deal with GitHub blah blah, but if any @ucu.org.uk branch wants to see KFI figures from 2016/17 through 2023/24, just give me a wave.

Dear journalists, we know the novelty has worn off, but you don’t want the next novelty of this #UKHE crisis leading to the collapse of towns. Ask politicians serious questions, AND KEEP ASKING. Their bland deflections are unacceptble.

What a way to say “thank you for all the work you did getting this trying term to a good end”: risk of redundancy letters to go into the Christmas break. Wishing triplet ghost visits upon Essex management. And sending much solidarity to all @ucuessex.bsky.social

This @universityofessex.bsky.social, by the way: www.ft.com/content/2cdd.... The university that had been established to transform the region & society, swiftly dropping the programmes for widening participation the moment finances are tight. They were in the middle in 2024, what happened?

Funny that. Funny that. Because, guess what, the FIRST thing the Principal did when he came in in 2017 was to drastically shrink student bursaries. Our students had to occupy the octagon for weeks on end to get him to reason -- excellent webpage still up. Almost as if he'll take any excuse?

This is pulling the ladder up after them - it is SO vital and I came through a route that did precisely this for me. I then went on to a fully funding nurse training that gave me and my daughter enough to live off... Talk about removing ladders from poverty.

Charmed by a university's social media actually amplifying the contribution of one of theirs to this (excellent!) piece. Here people have been told off for talking to the FT...

Assistant professor Joshua Brown comments on UK universities’ growing reliance on unregulated agencies—now responsible for two-thirds of overseas student recruitment. Read more: https://www.ft.com/content/3f496166-4292-46af-b690-114a4d2b3fd0

Two Mill investigations have been followed up by the national press this week. Thanks to @theguardian.com for crediting our reporting on both without needing to be prompted. It’s because of our paying members that we can do impactful journalism like this, which holds local authorities to account.

It feels so so strange, and people are so quiet about this.

Apropos of nothing: it is astonishingly clear how badly the marketisation of UK universities has failed. The architects of the fee system have enabled a system where half of institutions are no longer financially viable www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-provider...

Expensive silence though, as that Freedom of Information request last Autumn showed: uk-highereducation.neocities.org

Because the most powerful and effective collective action in UK academia is that which unites the Vice Chancellors (UUK, Russel group). No public in-fighting. Clear messages. Silent when necessary. #inspirational

Well done to @qmucu.bsky.social for speaking truth about the implosion of the UK HE sector. Too many people are in denial. There are no jobs for us newbies and now they're coming for those fortunate enough to be established. Read this list of the ongoing cut and closures qmucu.org/qmul-transfo...

Always happy to welcome more friends into club-of-demanding-an-end-to-this-mess, but why does every VC see the light only *after* they retired and set aside all power & responsibility? What is it in those VC bodies like UUK an UCEA that prevents them from acknowledging reality?

Alt text didn't save there. Image 1 is a photo of our earners over 100k a year between 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, image 2 is a photo comparing our VC's earnings which show her total emoluments increasing to £309k a year despite DMU plummeting in league tables.

Funny how this works isnt it? www.dmu.ac.uk/documents/ab...

Just a reminder to managers that #CeasefireNOW remains a ucu policy and that, yet again, taking down posters about it is taking down union materials. @qmul.bsky.social, get your (middle & senior) managers under control, they're not exactly acting within the law.

Just a reminder to managers that #CeasefireNOW remains a ucu policy and that, yet again, taking down posters about it is taking down union materials. @qmul.bsky.social, get your (middle & senior) managers under control, they're not exactly acting within the law.

it's gutting to see access and widening participation initiatives being binned across the university sector. ELCE here at Bristol, Essex Pathways here. nothing pushes my personal, visceral buttons like the idea of denying academic study to someone whose life it could change

Fucking hell, bad enough closing the Southend campus, forcing students in South Essex to make the choice of going to Colchester (which is a slog and a half) or hoping UEL has an equivalent course they aren't cutting. But cutting essential programs Pathways feels like spite.

This is heartbreaking. We know how important foundation year programmes are for students - in the wake of COVID19 they're even more important. Not everyone gets to uni in the traditional way. Not everyone has the privilege of an education which offers or supports traditional pathways.

Awful, awful news. Full solidarity with UCU Essex in their fight to get this plan abandoned.

Private Eye notes mounting problems for University of Oxford "The way this case has been managed is appalling" -- a phrase repeated in UK Universities time & time again Notice the abuser is using Carter-Ruck ... who is paying? Time & again, Oxbridge use fancy lawyers ... with public money

Solidarity with our colleagues at Coventry! Their fight is our fight as we all push back against the collective and individual attacks on higher education. Please sign and share! #StopTheCuts #SaveHE speakout.web.ucu.org.uk/vote-of-no-c...

This is a key point for ALL students in the South East region - local transport networks are so poor that it's often quicker, easier, but NOT CHEAPER to get to central London. We need Universities in the SE that are not in London.

As this FOI saga (the Information Commissioner's Office had to intervene yet again, because @qmul.bsky.social seems rather keen on talking with ICO?) shows: Grade 7 and 8 are ballooning in the Principal's Office and Estates & Facilities www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/prof...

the one good thing is that they clearly underestimated that people would notice and care. our students at southend can’t just pick up their lives and jobs and move to colchester and it’s too far and expensive to commute on public transport. people will simply have to abandon their studies.

they’re coming for everyone but hitting the parts with the most positive social impact hardest: campus in Southend that was part of regeneration plans which trains nurses & social workers our foundation programme which does incredible work none of the rest of us *can* do

It somehow is always the widening participation programmes that are the ones that get cut first, that get deemed dispensable. Shame on @universityofessex.bsky.social. Transforming society for the better is #UKHE 's role, Essex's in particular. Have you forgotten what you were established for?

It's starting to sound like the @universityofessex.bsky.social VC is keen on getting that Scrooge-of- #UKHE crown this year? Shutting down all paths of possibility for those who have the least? (sidenote: her previous post was on the @qmul.bsky.social Senior Executive Team...)