Students say NO to INTO! part of the 'GOLDSMITHS NOT FOR PROFIT' campaign.
Senior management in college have hinted at plans to sell off land and give a 30 year contract to INTO, a 3 year old construction company that promises to bring 500 international students to Goldsmiths each year. These students will be provided with lower teaching standards than those of current Language Department, staff will be less qualified and paid less, yet INTO guarantees 100% of students a place at a UK University?! Essentially this is farming international students into our college on the basis of teaching them poorly and them paying astronomical fees for such poor quality INTO (not Goldsmiths!) Education. Education is not merely another 'market' as much as the current government and senior Goldsmiths management may have accepted it as.
During the first 3 weeks of Winter term the Students' Union and Goldsmiths UCU & Unison branches conducted a referendum asking students/staff how they felt a venture with INTO would effect the reputation of the college? See here for results:
Staff votes: 279 (30%)
91% of staff though a joint venture would adversely effect the colleges academic reputation. 94% said it would adversely effect the colleges reputation as an employer.
Not one staff member said it would positively effect Goldsmiths.
Student Vote: 475 (just under 8%)
96% said a joint venture would harm the colleges academic reputation and 90% said it would adversely effect the college reputation as an employer.
Only 4 students said it would positively effect Goldsmiths. The overwhelming concensus is a powerful message of opposition to INTO.
This is the response from college regarding the referendum:
Increases in salaries and pension costs and known reductions in HEFCE funding for ELQs mean that we must adapt our strategies if we are to be able to make the investment necessary for Goldsmiths to succeed. And we're now facing the probability of real reductions in public funding for universities in the coming years. What is clear to me - and to SMT and Council - is that a business-as-usual approach will not suffice to handle these challenges. It will be essential to work in new ways. Increasing recruitment of overseas students is the single most important element in Goldsmiths new financial strategy. Our discussions with INTO are taking place because we know that the scale of change which we must make in relation to international student recruitment is immense. Although it is always my hope to carry the College with me on important matters, and I'm pleased to have been able to do so since my arrival, I recognise that change on the scale necessary may not be universally popular. Nevertheless, the course of action which we take as a Senior Management Team will be determined only by what we regard as the right plan for Goldsmiths. For SMT and for Council, what is right for Goldsmiths will obviously embrace many issues that are about finances, academic quality and the College's brand and reputation. We have yet to determine our approach in relation to a longer-term partnership with INTO, but when we do - and in line with the above - it will be based only on our consideration of the College's interest.
Address: Dixon Road, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW - Tel: 0208 692 1406 - Fax: 0208 694 9789 - Email: su@gold.ac.uk
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