This report was contributed to CDBU by Vision for Roehampton, a grassroots campaign organized by members of the UCU Roehampton branch. It is the third in our series titled ‘Manifestos for Change’, in which we are seeking forward-thinking responses to the present Covid-19 crisis, and the crisis of marketisation more generally.
If you have created a similar proposal for your institution, and would like it to be included in this series, please email cdbupress@gmail.com.
Vision for Roehampton: Our principles
We are determined to actively counter the vision for the future of the University of Roehampton that is emerging from the measures announced by management in the middle of the COVID19 pandemic, including proposals to cut pay for academics and professional staff, and a severance scheme.
While we acknowledge that the current crisis severely affects the Higher Education sector, we believe that attacking the livelihoods of staff members, with the drastic changes proposed by management and happening at a dizzying pace, will damage the sustainability and quality of our teaching and of the students’ learning experience.
We believe that a different approach to the current global crisis is possible and desirable, and we are keen to develop an affirmative, radical and collective vision for the future of Roehampton.
We demand that management does not turn this crisis into a disaster, and use it instead as an opportunity to tackle structural inequalities that have characterized the sector of Higher Education for a long time.
This website documents the actions we are developing to actively construct a radical alternative model for a fairer, more democratic and sustainable university. We strive for a long-term sustainable future for education which is open to all. We aim to strengthen solidarity between staff and students, which corporate led management of universities has consistently tried to break over the last decade in the UK.
Our campaign works to advance principles of equality and anti-racism, and stands in solidarity with casualised workers, aiming to tackle exploitative practices and outsourcing for the lowest paid among the workers contributing to Higher Education.
We aim to connect our campaign for fair working conditions with struggles across the sector, including not only academics, but also cleaners, administrative and professional staff, who are likewise threatened by increasingly exploitative practices as a result of marketisation.
We are calling for a future emancipated from the burdens of debt and the culture of fear that has haunted our universities for too long.
To download and read the report, please click here.