Post by westender on Feb 9, 2011 17:47:44 GMT -1
I ain't got the words to express how dispiriting the front of today's Herald is.
The greed and fiscal imcompetence of governments, coupled with the unrestricted and usupervised rise of the internet in education - leading directly to the disappearance of deep learning - is going to result in the ruination of universities, and certainly of the quality and provision of education in the arts & humanities.
The quality of an arts degree, even from the Russell Group unis, is already devalued beyond measure.
... then today I get an email from within Glasgow's Dept of Adult and Continuing Education - as far as I'm concerned, this dept is an unsung jewel in Glasgow's crown - who have long remained underappreciated by the management of the uni, who are totally misunderstood by the management of the university, who have kept their situation very quiet, but who by the looks of things are facing closure alltogether. Thanks to "cuts". Brought about by governmental fiscal incompetence. If DACE closes, this will be an absolute disaster for Glasgow University.
"
Ain't got the words to express my dismay at this prospect.
The greed and fiscal imcompetence of governments, coupled with the unrestricted and usupervised rise of the internet in education - leading directly to the disappearance of deep learning - is going to result in the ruination of universities, and certainly of the quality and provision of education in the arts & humanities.
The quality of an arts degree, even from the Russell Group unis, is already devalued beyond measure.
... then today I get an email from within Glasgow's Dept of Adult and Continuing Education - as far as I'm concerned, this dept is an unsung jewel in Glasgow's crown - who have long remained underappreciated by the management of the uni, who are totally misunderstood by the management of the university, who have kept their situation very quiet, but who by the looks of things are facing closure alltogether. Thanks to "cuts". Brought about by governmental fiscal incompetence. If DACE closes, this will be an absolute disaster for Glasgow University.
"
Adult Education in the University of Glasgow under threat?
At a meeting on February the 16th, the Senior Management Group of the university will ask Court, the University’s decision-making body, to investigate whether adult education should continue to have a place in the University. As staff responsible for delivering the University’s extensive adult education programme (under the banner of DACE, the former Department of Adult and Continuing Education), we see this proposal as a real threat to the continuing existence of the programme.
We believe that:
• The Senior Management Group is making decisions based on a lack of information. It may be the view of some that adult education is being dismissed as no more than ‘leisure classes’.
• It has always been part of the University’s mission to engage with the community around Glasgow. To stop supporting adult education would be to ‘dis’-engage from the community.
• The adult education programme currently engages around 5000 students in a wide range of courses. It is one of the best ways in which the University gives something back to the local community which supports it. How can a University contemplate terminating such a worthy programme of lifelong learning and see this as a positive step forward?
If you feel that the adult education programme has been of any benefit to you we would ask you to:
1. Write to the Principal of the University and the Head of the College of Social Sciences asking them to withdraw any investigation or ‘consultation’ into the continuing relevance of adult education. It needs to arrive by the 15th of February. See contact details below.
2. In your letter, briefly explain how adult education has benefited you.
We hope you feel that the provision of a varied and high-quality programme of adult education should be self-evidently supported by a University and that you will be moved to defend its continuing existence in the University of Glasgow. Thank you very much.
Written by university staff working on the adult education open programme.
________________________
The Principal, Professor Anton Muscatelli, R453 Level 4, Principal's Office, Main Building, Glasgow G12 8QQ
principal@glasgow.ac.uk
Professor Anne Anderson, Head of the College of Social Sciences, Florentine House, Glasgow G12 8QF
Anne.Anderson@glasgow.ac.uk
Please send a copy to us, C/O
Ms Claire Wylie, 11 Eldon St, St Andrew’s Building, Glasgow G3 6NH
Claire.Wylie@glasgow.ac.uk
[/b]At a meeting on February the 16th, the Senior Management Group of the university will ask Court, the University’s decision-making body, to investigate whether adult education should continue to have a place in the University. As staff responsible for delivering the University’s extensive adult education programme (under the banner of DACE, the former Department of Adult and Continuing Education), we see this proposal as a real threat to the continuing existence of the programme.
We believe that:
• The Senior Management Group is making decisions based on a lack of information. It may be the view of some that adult education is being dismissed as no more than ‘leisure classes’.
• It has always been part of the University’s mission to engage with the community around Glasgow. To stop supporting adult education would be to ‘dis’-engage from the community.
• The adult education programme currently engages around 5000 students in a wide range of courses. It is one of the best ways in which the University gives something back to the local community which supports it. How can a University contemplate terminating such a worthy programme of lifelong learning and see this as a positive step forward?
If you feel that the adult education programme has been of any benefit to you we would ask you to:
1. Write to the Principal of the University and the Head of the College of Social Sciences asking them to withdraw any investigation or ‘consultation’ into the continuing relevance of adult education. It needs to arrive by the 15th of February. See contact details below.
2. In your letter, briefly explain how adult education has benefited you.
We hope you feel that the provision of a varied and high-quality programme of adult education should be self-evidently supported by a University and that you will be moved to defend its continuing existence in the University of Glasgow. Thank you very much.
Written by university staff working on the adult education open programme.
________________________
The Principal, Professor Anton Muscatelli, R453 Level 4, Principal's Office, Main Building, Glasgow G12 8QQ
principal@glasgow.ac.uk
Professor Anne Anderson, Head of the College of Social Sciences, Florentine House, Glasgow G12 8QF
Anne.Anderson@glasgow.ac.uk
Please send a copy to us, C/O
Ms Claire Wylie, 11 Eldon St, St Andrew’s Building, Glasgow G3 6NH
Claire.Wylie@glasgow.ac.uk
Ain't got the words to express my dismay at this prospect.
