Oxford Brookes University is to push on with its plans to close its music and mathematics programmes, despite opposition from academics and sector groups, and an apparent turnaround in its finances.
Vice-chancellor Alistair Fitt informed staff earlier this week that, although a consultation on the plans had received a “large volume of correspondence” related to the closures, “regretfully” the institution had decided to carry on with the process that will see the current cohort of students be the last, with the courses shutting for good in 2026.
Professor Fitt blamed the cuts on external factors including the tuition fee freeze, rising inflation and increases in staff pay and pension contributions, and also on the fact that the courses earmarked for closure were not attracting enough students “to enable them to make the necessary contribution to the university’s overall finances”.
Students held a sit-in demonstration outside the vice-chancellor’s office this week, with a petition against the changes reaching 1,360 signatures.
