Cutbacks and Closures
LCC had student protests and sit-ins in November 2009, as students expressed anger over proposed course closures and staff redundancies. About 100 students tried to occupy the office of Sandra Kemp, head of the college at that time, in protest over lack of supervision for dissertations. Students later occupied a lecture theatre and private security guards tried to remove protesting students. This failed when a member of academic staff questioned their right to touch the students and police were summoned who prevailed upon the protesters to leave the building. Several students faced disciplinary action, including suspension.
The director of the university's course in public relations resigned over the proposed cutbacks, saying that there weren't enough staff. Much of the teaching was then supplied by sessional lecturers on short-term contracts, A member of the teaching staff said that sackings resulted in cancelled lectures and students left without dissertation supervisors.
In 2011 an inquiry by the Quality Assurance Agency into restructuring at the LCC, found standards were so badly affected by course closures that some students’ marks were raised to compensate. The report follows complaints by students relating to restructuring, including claims that quality had been 'severely compromised' and that those studying were not informed of the plans before enrolment. The investigation is the first of its kind and is the QAA’s revised “whistleblower” process for investigating concerns about academic standards and quality. The decision to investigate the complaints followed closure of 16 courses and 26 full-time redundancies.
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