University of Nottingham to suspend MFL and Music for new students.

[HPFA]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly9zwqvn53o

Also some undefined changes to nursing courses.

I was about to start this thread. This is very bad news.

Tho tbf Notts is struggling for students without any doubt. But it's a lovely campus and a great city. A sad day.

I came on to start this thread too! It is awful news. My DS is studying MFL at Swansea (rejecting his Nottingham offer) so I hope they won’t follow suit.

That is really sad. We know a few Nottingham music graduates. It's a really good course.

The list of suspended subject areas is rather longer than the media summaries suggest:

https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/currentstudents/news/shaping-a-future-university-of-nottingham

Teacher friend of mine has an A level student who had an offer there - it’s now been removed.

I've been moaning across several threads about DD and her friends at UoN not getting any Turing funding for their MFL YA (I promise I'll shut up eventually). A 4 year degree with a self-funded year abroad is not going to be attractive to a lot of students.

And, yes, the campus is beautiful and Nottm is a great city for students.

I think it is relevant not moaning @IlovedLadybirdbooks. People won’t sign up for courses with no funding and real parental concerns about affording it and a lack of clear information.
Nottingham has been in clearing last couple of years with decent courses with pretty low B/C grades. It really did come across as a desperate grab for numbers trading on name - parents my age would put Nottingham in the decent solid category and likely to encourage a call in clearing.

I think fewer people should be going to university, and less of the nonsense courses some ex-polys do.

This is not the way to do this though.

Good grief, if even Russell Group unis are suspending their language courses, what hope is there? Tbf, we went on an open day for physics recently, and though the physics department was good, the rest of the day wasn't well organised. We went to the languages for all stand, and they weren't very optimistic. I did my PGCE in MFL there and loved it. What a sad day.

MFL and Music are hardly nonsense courses. Music has been part of the Oxford tripos for centuries.

Worrying times. Mfl courses tend to have small numbers so guess don’t make a profit, you can’t pack lecture theatres full.

Not sure what the issue with nursing is, applications for nursing programmes are falling so maybe they are just being realistic but normally universities are desperately competing trying to fill the places. I wonder if they’re cutting smaller courses such as nursing apprenticeships or return to practice courses. Saying that health care courses are expensive to run and universities say they tend to make a loss on them…maybe they’ve had enough of enforced low tuition fees 🤷‍♀️

edited, just seen it’s child and mental health…so yes, they’ll have smaller numbers as more limited on placement areas….so the universities will lose money on every student they train. Why should they continue to do that when struggling for money? If every university does this then what happens when suddenly nobody is training child or mental health nurses. Other smaller health care courses could be next, radiography, SALT, midwifery.

MathematIcal Physics MSci is also on the “suspended” list.

It hasn’t helped that nurses completing courses couldn’t get jobs because hospital trusts had been recruiting in India. Absolutely diabolical!

Not surprised, but sad all the same.

I very much appreciate languages for educations sake, how much degrees in MFL can offer, in fact my own DC is excellent at MFL. But given the way we are heading with AI and translation you don’t need Mystic Meg to know there will be other Unis which will follow. Sadly.

Hence why it has become easier each year to get an offer to to top Unis to study MFL, because the competition is reducing.

Students are becoming more savvy and realising that their degree needs to lead to good job prospects. MFL is risky.

I’m surprised about the masters architecture course, Nottingham has a good reputation for architecture. It’ll be the death knell for the part 1 undergrad architecture degree as well….applications will drop because people won’t be keen to go somewhere where they can’t continue if they wish, the reputation suffers, lecturers see the writing on the wall and leave.

even for those who are already there who have been told their courses will finish will potentially have issues as staff go before the courses finish.

I did MFL 20 years ago. Even then Nottingham was my insurance at bcc whereas I needed a combination of As for all of my other offers.

It is also sad if funding is being pulled for MFL year abroad’s- I had money chucked at me from Erasmus for mine alongside subsidised accommodation for one of my countries. I wouldn’t have done it without the funding.

This is so sad, for Modern Langauges (I studied a foreign language) and for Nottingham (where I am from).

I studied an unusual language 30 years ago and had a year abroad and the life skills it taught me were invaluable, and I know when I was doing the graduate milk rounds it helped me stand out. It really is sad to see MFL dying out. There are only about 4 French A Level students at my daughter's 6th Form. Sadly the globalisation of the world mean everyone speaks English and a learning a foreign language is seen as unnecessary today.

Such a shame for Nottingham, the last 2 years it has been wonderful to see the city thriving again with students, as it has been a city on the decline but I love the energy the students bring.

However it was clear to many when the UofN bought the old HMRC campus for millions money that the expenditure was excessive and not sustainable.

Sending best wishes to students and staff impacted.

dd had an offer for next year for MFL, now rescinded. Wasn't her top choice but still, a sad day for the staff and students at Nottingham.

Will she be given the opportunity to put in another ucas option if it was one of her five choices?

I agree - this is so sad. I’m an MFL graduate from eons ago and one of my languages led me by chance to a legal career and being able to work in that language has been very useful.

It’s also very limited to suggest that AI translation removes the need for MFL graduates. Leaving aside that AI translation is very flawed, there are all kinds of situations where the ability to speak a foreign language can be very useful. In addition, MFL degrees teach a lot more than just language and the experience of a year abroad is truly invaluable.

As I understand it, only 1 specific MArch is being removed - others are still running. Looks like, as with the nursing, they’re pruning undersubscribed variants while keeping the main courses.

You’re right, I’d thought the “design and build “ was to do with the department but it is a separate course. The standard march is still running, the other has had their page removed on the website.

Anyone can add another option before the Jan deadline, even if you’ve already sent your application in. So yes is the answer.

Where is your DD planning for her YA? I did mine (many years ago) to a country that was not eligible for any kind of funding (including no Erasmus) and even though we were all jealous of the ones with Erasmus funding, it did work out ok. We were able to get visas that permitted X number of hours work per week onto top of studying, and between the student loan and the part time work, we all managed. I was in a very very expensive city and I just about broke even by working as a TA in a school outside of my studying time. Others in cheaper cities manage to end up coming out of the year with money to spare. It felt dire at the start but it came good.

Is that right, even if all five choices have been used (including the cancelled course)? Does the cancellation of the course free up a slot, or just leave it as an unsuccessful application?