The following motion was carried at the branch extraordinary general meeting 25 February 2025 so is agreed collective policy (unless a more recent motion has superseded it). The text here is subject to approval of the minutes of that meeting and the approved minutes will be the correct version.

This branch notes:

There is a developing crisis in higher education funding largely due to a drop in the number of international students.

There are cuts and threats to jobs at a number of universities and ballots for industrial action with strikes planned in the next couple of months.

There is a lack of a joined approach by UCU nationally treating each dispute in isolation and not linking action on the ground to national campaigning on HE funding.

This branch believes:

The funding model in higher education is broken and needs a radical overhaul.

Increasing student fees is not the answer; fees should be scrapped and there should be a return to government funding of higher education as a social good.

We need a national campaign against redundancies in higher education and for a sustainable funding model that doesn’t bankrupt students.

This branch resolves to call on the UCU leadership to:

contact the National Union of Students with the aim of organising a national demonstration for the full funding of higher education and the scrapping of tuition fees in England;

classify all disputes in universities in the current period involving cuts and compulsory redundancies as disputes of national significance;

organise a conference against cuts and redundancies in higher education with the branches currently fighting cuts and redundancies, inviting delegates from all HE branches to raise solidarity and form a national campaign.

(231 words) Proposed by Simon Hewitt, seconded by Tasia Scrutton. Moved by Simon Hewitt, seconded by Jenny Rivas Perez. The motion was carried.

This page was last updated on 28 February 2025