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Higher education

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Original poster

Exeter cuts

59 replies

Itchylegs · 24/06/2026 15:37

Anyone panicking about large cuts to Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Exeter. Seems like the crisis in HE is getting bigger and bigger. It feels like such a crummy time to go to university.

OP posts:
Ceramiq · 26/06/2026 18:28

Myskyscolour · 26/06/2026 17:34

Could the decline of MFL also partially be due to the fact that many british students now come from multilingual families and are already fluent in 2+ languages, they then get a degree in a non-MFL topic.
Who do you think will have a better outcome when it’s time to find a job? The bilingual student who in addition has a non-MFL degree or the student with a MFL degree?

The type of student often found at London universities who is fluent in 2 or 3 languages beyond English and studied another more marketable discipline than MFL is obviously going to be a much stronger candidate on the labour market, all other things being equal.

Htcunya · 26/06/2026 19:17

That type of student is rare in much of the country and probably has very little effect on overall numbers taking MFL.

SheilaFentiman · 26/06/2026 19:23

Teaching staff for physics aren’t in great supply either! So that’s no argument

Your argument was that state schools didn’t bother to teach MFL or Classics because they were difficult. If you didn’t mean more difficult than other subjects, I’m not sure what you did mean.

Wadsworthy · 26/06/2026 21:17

Itchylegs · 25/06/2026 23:00

Universities are not businesses: they are charities.

And god this attitude makes me sick.

Show quote history

Indeed.

The simple simple fact is that the home undergraduate tuition fee does not cover the cost of an undergraduate in any discipline. As it is, arts & humanities students' fees subsidise a lot of STEM undergrads such as medicine & engineering students. International student fees subsidise all Home students' fees. And academic staff unpaid overtime - the 50 to 60 hour weeks which are normal in the sector - subsidise the whole shebang.

It's not about "too many" students - we still have comparatively low rates of 18-24 year olds in further & higher education in comparison to similar countries. It's about the cap on student fees and lack of any constructive government policy, other than malicious neglect.

Wadsworthy · 26/06/2026 21:19

MeetMeOnTheCorner · 26/06/2026 08:32

@Itchylegs Chsrities? Since when? My attitude is cut your coat according to your cloth. People working for not for profit organisations always think everyone else will bail them out! Many are so lucky to have teen their interests to a high level and still be working in that field. Like everyone else, if it’s in recession, it means employment changes. Universities are not special cases and most have a shed load of debt! They most certainly are not charities - and most of them have volunteers who get paid £0. I hope you are not teaching business or economics. God help us indeed.

Tell me you nothing about UK universities without actually telling me ...

Wadsworthy · 26/06/2026 21:26

RandomMess · 26/06/2026 12:38

Something folk don’t realise is that universities HAVE to do research which doesn’t break even and usually costs a lot of money. Fee income is supposed to fund the research.

If they don’t partake in research they can no longer claim university status.

And that research feeds into all areas of public and private life in this country, in so many ways.

MeetMeOnTheCorner · 26/06/2026 21:29

@Wadsworthy You are so clever! Did you think of that all on your own? I’ll say this - every single organisation can change or be forced to change. The status quo doesn’t have to stay. I’d keep watching and see what happens because there’s redundancies coming everywhere. It’s the students who lose the most of course.

RandomMess · 26/06/2026 23:03

@Wadsworthyexactly, the country needs the research but no buggar wants to fund it 🫠

MeetMeOnTheCorner · Yesterday 07:42

@RandomMess It needs some research but some is dispensable and more about personal enjoyment.

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