Vice Chancellor Koen Lamberts has responded to the petition regarding staff numbers in the English department.
He said that the chair of the Planning Committee, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Provost, will “undertake a special review of staffing levels in the Department”, following concerns raised by the petition, and the Head of the English Department, David Attwell.
The petition claimed that English students were suffering from a high student to staff ratio. It said this was out of line with most other departments at the University, and was down to an increase in student numbers over time not met by an increase in staff.
This review will look at the change in student numbers since 2012-13 compared to changes in staffing levels and will identify”comparative data drawn from other top universities.”
It will also determine projections for student levels over the period 2016-20 to ensure the department is not left understaffed in the future.
However, no promises have been made, with Lamberts saying: “I have asked the DVC & Provost to liaise with colleagues in the Department and student representatives and to make recommendations on future staffing levels to me as soon as possible.”
Any recommendations will be subject to “formal consideration” by the Planning Committee later this term before any action is taken.