Cardiff University¡¯s vice-chancellor has insisted that the ¡°hard work¡± is complete and the bulk of redundancies at the institution have now taken place, but warned further cuts to professional services staff are still to come.?

Members of the Welsh Senedd¡¯s Education Committee asked Wendy Larner on 12 June how the university has been able to ¡°backtrack¡± on redundancy plans after it?reduced staff cut targets from 400 to 220, with 151 full-time academic staff having already left voluntarily.?

The?institution?recently announced plans to save music and some of its modern foreign language courses, having already reversed a decision to?axe its nursing course.?

Larner played down the scale of Cardiff¡¯s ¡°Academic Future¡± plans which, when first announced in January, were?set to be the biggest round of redundancies by a UK university in the current wave of cuts, insisting to the committee that the plans were just ¡°proposals¡±.

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¡°We were very clear in January that it was a consultation and that there would be a genuine engagement around the proposals we put on the table. I do understand that despite our best efforts to help... our stakeholders understand how challenging the moment was for us, the scale of that announcement came as a shock.¡±

She said the university had been able to scale back its redundancy plans by accepting ¡°alternative proposals¡± from courses including chemistry and maths, which have allowed it to save jobs.

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But questions remain about the fate of some employees at the university. While academic?staff cuts will save Cardiff ?20 million a year, ¡°there is then work to do to ensure that our professional services, and indeed our estate, align with the plans we've made for our academic future,¡± Larner said.?

She?insisted the?majority of the cuts have already been made and said there will be ¡°no equivalent of the Academic Futures process for our professional staff¡±, adding that any cuts to professional services staff ¡°will be much more incremental¡±.

A Cardiff University spokesperson said future changes at the institution do not ¡°necessarily mean job losses¡±.

¡°Professional services staff will often have access to a wider range of roles to which they can apply their experience and be redeployed,¡± they said. ¡°If there are any future changes, they will be discussed with any impacted professional services staff, and our campus trade unions first.¡±

Andy Williams, a spokesperson for Cardiff¡¯s University and College Union (UCU) branch, said that it ¨C and unions across the country ¨C will need to be on a ¡°constant war footing¡± over the next couple of years. He expressed concerns that the scaling back of cuts could only be ¡°temporary¡± and that Cardiff could look to enact further job losses and?course?cuts as it evaluates the success and impact of its restructuring plan.

He said the original proposals were ¡°a political choice¡± and that decisions to cut courses like nursing might have been motivated by a wish to improve the university¡¯s league table position ¨C a desire set out in a leaked document seen by 51³Ô¹Ï, in which?the university outlined plans to ¡°return to the grades typically ¡®expected¡¯ of a Russell Group institution...and achieve small gains in domestic rankings¡±.

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¡°From management¡¯s perspective, you can kind of understand why these cuts might seem necessary from that position. But from the perspective of students, politicians and public services like the NHS, it¡¯s completely unnecessary,¡± Williams said.

The union has since reported the university¡¯s executive board to the national regulator for workplace health and safety over concerns about?¡°a severe and urgent mental health crisis¡± resulting from the management of its cuts process.?

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In March, the union undertook a mental health survey of 197 staff, 78 per cent of whom were at risk of redundancy. It found that 88 per cent of respondents said the cuts had ¡°negatively affected their health and well-being¡± and a further 88 per cent said the university had not ¡°offered adequate well-being and mental health support during this process¡±.?

Survey respondents reported feeling ¡°severe manifestations of stress¡±, anxiety and depression, including crying, lack of sleep, and even suicidal feelings.?

Natasha Asghar, Conservative Welsh assembly member and a member of the Education Committee, told THE that the ¡°uncertainty¡± caused by ¡°these prolonged deliberations and the threat of future cuts has undoubtedly affected Cardiff University¡¯s reputation globally¡±.?

¡°Given Cardiff University¡¯s role in the local economy and Welsh higher education, it is imperative that its financial management and transparency meet the highest standards. For the university to find itself in such a perilous position raises serious questions about whether more advanced warning could have been provided.¡±

The university spokesperson said the institution has been forced to make ¡°some very difficult decisions¡± and a draft action plan has been developed ¡°at pace¡± in response to UCU¡¯s report.?

¡°We are listening and are committed to working in partnership with the trade unions on actions to address specific points, to improve well-being for all members of our community and to ensure we continue to provide timely communication.¡±

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juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com