Exeter rethinks 'flawed' job plan

Exeter University's senate was expected this week to announce its proposed changes to a restructuring plan which could lead to over 100 job losses.

Members of the senate who met last week to consider the plan, drawn up by the university's academic policy committee, condemned it as "fundamentally flawed".

They concluded that there had not been proper research or consultation leading to the committee's plan to rationalise 32 departments and 20 centres into 16 schools.

Many senate members felt the proposals, which would involve axing around 117 posts along with the creation of about 40 new ones, were unlikely to achieve their objective of boosting the university's standing as a centre of research excellence.

A staff consultation paper had said the changes were needed following "substantial underperformance" in the 1996 research assessment exercise and to adjust to a Pounds 2.4 million cut imposed by the Teacher Training Agency as part of its national scheme to even out teaching costs.

Neil Brooks, former Association of University Teachers president at Exeter, said senate members "felt the proposals were ill-founded in that they were based on secret task force reports. Many department heads either did not know about it or were not consulted on it.

"Many of them felt there was no overall strategy to the proposals that was likely to meet the stated aims of improving the university's RAE performance."

Objections were also raised at the university's ruling council meeting, following the senate's debate on the plans.

Union leaders said they were hoping the senate's proposed changes would involve setting new budget targets for departments, rather than a timetable for shedding jobs.

Mr Brooks said: "Clearly the university is in some financial difficulty, but many staff feel we should be investing more in the people we have, rather than disinvesting."

A university spokesman said the senate's deliberations were part of the normal consultation process for the plans.