Dear Senator,

We write to you to express our concerns over the proposed changes to Sussex and the resulting cuts. Senate was denied the opportunity to vote on the proposed changes at a previous meeting and has not had the chance to fully scrutinise the proposals and counter-proposals put forward by different departments. Specific concerns are as follows:

1. The lack of adequate Equality Impact Assessments. Despite asking to view the equality implications of these proposals since December, USSU has only been given access to the assessments for student and academic services last week. Moreover, the University’s own Equality and Diversity Committee have not seen them. We are concerned about the fact that members of equality target groups have not been involved in the impact assessments and that there is no presented data on them whatsoever.

2. The loss of Student Advisors will place extra pressure on academic staff, who will take on more responsibilities on top of teaching and research. USSU is concerned that the cuts to the various support services will negatively affect retention rates and support for vulnerable students. The proposals for the Student Life Centre have been shown to be very weak in the face of close scrutiny.

Student Advisors see a disproportionate number of international students compared to the overall student population, and with the University also aiming to increase international student numbers, we urge Senate to take the time to thoroughly review these proposals.

3. The loss of the crèche and nursery facilities at the University will have an impact beyond just the staff and students who currently use it. The possible closure of workplace childcare will affect Sussex’s ability to attract academics and students who also have caring responsibilities.

4. The increases in staff: student ratio and the loss of programs will greatly affect Sussex’s ability to attract students, as well as placing an increased workload on those members of staff who are not made redundant.

There has not been enough time, or enough available data, to fully analyse the potential damage these proposals may cause to the reputation of Sussex and the experience of students and staff. Before these proposals can be accepted or rejected, they must be properly assessed to see how they affect students. The counter-Proposals submitted so far have shown that the Proposals often use bad data and rely on poor arguments.

We call on you as a Senator to voice your concern with the current Proposals. We would also like you to call for a fairer, more transparent review. This review should be as well-researched and thoughtfully considered as the counter-proposals we have seen put forward from separate departments.

We wish you all the best and will lend you our full support in Senate and over the coming months. With warm regards,

Ciaran Whitehead
Josh Jones
Tom Wills
Michael Holder
Anna Cornish
Scott Sheridan

University of Sussex Students’ Union