UCU Commons

Newsletter #29! Feat: - Our Equality conf social - LGBTQ+ ctte trans inclusion webinar - Congress changes survey (FILL IT IN!) - Education: It's Ours toolkits - Social class in HE webinar - Australian HE enquiry - Jo Johnson talks rubbish - DMU subcos #UCU #UKHE ucucommons.org/ucu-commons-...

Latest #UCU brief on governance is brilliantly clear and lays out what's urgently needed to address the severe lack of accountability in universities. Read and pass on, including to your political representatives! #EducationItsOurs educationitsours.org.uk/home/ucu-bri...

How did Serbians and Brazilians pull off those triumphs? Though hard graft and organising. There is no other way, just like in the HE crisis. There are no shortcuts. @ucu.org.uk #UCU #UKHE shows.acast.com/noshortcuts

BREAKING: University of Sunderland staff have declared a formal industrial dispute over plans for sweeping cuts. Management wants to slash £40m from its budget, putting jobs and students’ education at risk. Staff are ready to fight back. www.ucu.org.uk/article/1467...

💛💜 Today is Intersex Awareness Day. Most of us grew up learning that everyone is born either male or female, but human biology is a little more complicated than that, and that biological sex isn't always as straightforward as the boxes we're asked to tick.

There are no shortcuts to building a stronger union. As UCU vice president Mark Pendleton explains, real change takes sustained organising, both locally and across the UK. In episode 2 of No Shortcuts, we discuss how we build the collective strength needed to fight back and win.

HE in the media today

Our cutting edge, award winning, forward-thinking course on how to make the future education more inclusive, sustainable, accessible & fairer has, somewhat ironically, been closed. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2665449...

This fortnight's newsletter from us! So much happening at the moment. #UCU #UKHE

Another cracking newsletter ("Jo Johnson talks rubbish" is the succinct version of my comments about his latest nonsense 🤣)

"Shifting increasing numbers of staff to teaching-only contracts or reducing research time for staff who are not supported by specific grants risks weakening the relationship between knowledge creation and knowledge transmission" 💯 #UCU #UKHE www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications...

Time to get a grip, before a genuinely world-leading higher education slips from our grasp.

3/3 Bringing together evidence and voices from across the sector, the programme will examine funding, regulation and governance, and develop ambitious, evidence-led ideas for sustainable reform.

2/3 Higher Ground asks: what are our highest ambitions for our university sector to deliver, for institutions, students and the public good, and what questions should we revisit to make that possible?

1/3 Higher education in the UK is at a critical juncture. Universities make a substantial contribution to society and the economy, but the system faces mounting pressures, and too many difficult questions remain unresolved. Today we launch a new policy programme, to tackle that shorturl.at/079yt

This article completely exposes the cruel and shortsighted cuts that are being made to creative courses at Edinburgh University and elsewhere. UCU are fighting for every working class student to have the right to create and inspire. Make a stand. news.stv.tv/east-central...

Geographers, I'm especially looking at you!

‼️UCU members who work in climate change: there are lots of vacancies on UCU's Climate & Ecological Emergency Committee! 2 and 1-year terms available for HE & FE. Low commitment and great way of getting more involved in UCU. Any questions ask me! #UKHE #UCU www.ucu.org.uk/climateEmerg...

As usual, excellent work! bsky.app/profile/ucuc...

Newsletter #28! Feat: - @uonucu.bsky.social rally - Our paper to this week's HEC on the Sullivan Review - Education: It's Ours launch - UCU response to Burnham speech - Oil heir made Sustainability Prof at Newcastle - THE/Orbán links - TurnItI/AI scandal #UCU #UKHE ucucommons.org/ucu-commons-...

The demographic cliff is such a problematic term. It’s actually only - a 13-15% decline in college student populations over a fifteen year period (to 2041) — so less than 1% a year. It excuses a lot of administrative poor decisions. www.npr.org/2025/01/08/n...

Cracker of a newsletter from us this week! If you don't already, why not subscribe? #UKHE #UCU

Featuring our @uonucu.bsky.social rally from last week ❤️ we stand together

Newsletter #28! Feat: - @uonucu.bsky.social rally - Our paper to this week's HEC on the Sullivan Review - Education: It's Ours launch - UCU response to Burnham speech - Oil heir made Sustainability Prof at Newcastle - THE/Orbán links - TurnItI/AI scandal #UCU #UKHE ucucommons.org/ucu-commons-...

'Sussex has moved away from Turnitin, UEA has indicated that it will, and in private conversations I’ve had with SU colleagues, other universities are signalling that a Southampton-style exit is on the cards.'

Today is Andy Burnham’s first party conference speech as PM. We’ve taken your messages from the mass lobby on tour to Labour conference in Liverpool, with our friends at @transactualuk.bsky.social and @scottishtrans.bsky.social We aren’t going anywhere.

“Hope and vibes are not enough.” UCU general secretary Jo Grady on why hope must be backed by serious investment. Our members are losing jobs, losing colleagues and seeing courses close. Post-16 education needs more than promises. It needs investment.

Today, staff @ University of #Edinburgh are striking to protest recently announced cuts - incl. the forced closure of >90 courses. Principal Prof Sir Peter Mathieson accused the union of "weaponising" students. I find this enraging, so: a short (quite personal) thread. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Our members at the University of Nottingham begin strike action tomorrow over devastating job and course cuts. They will walk out tomorrow and Thursday, before beginning sustained strike action from 5 October. Share, like and comment to show your solidarity with our members.

the first UCU Brief on the failing HE funding model, authored by UCU VP @markpendleton.bsky.social, is out! This is exactly the sort of evidence and analysis we need to get in front of MPs and policymakers #UCU #UKHE educationitsours.org.uk/ucu-briefs/

Solidarity with staff at the Legal 500. A profitable company providing services to an even more profitable legal sector should be giving far better treatment to its researchers and other staff, without whom its main product (the Legal 500 guides to lawyers and firms) wouldn’t exist

Newsletter #27! Feat: - Maddie Moore NEC election - New equality standing committee nom process - Trans inclusion webinar - Climate committee annual meeting - 'Thinner universities' - BA/Science Minister saga - Open letter for LGBTQ+ activists in Türkiye #UCU #UKHE ucucommons.org/ucu-commons-...

Newsletter #27! Feat: - Maddie Moore NEC election - New equality standing committee nom process - Trans inclusion webinar - Climate committee annual meeting - 'Thinner universities' - BA/Science Minister saga - Open letter for LGBTQ+ activists in Türkiye #UCU #UKHE ucucommons.org/ucu-commons-...

Absolutely delighted by this 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

In our latest branch solidarity update video, UCU vice president Mark Pendleton hears about the latest at @exeterucu.bsky.social ehere members are organising and fighting back against job cuts, high workload and poor management

Dyfrig Jones UCU President talking about the #EducationItsOurs campaign in our new podcast - No Shortcuts 🎙️

The first episode of UCU's podcast has dropped! Featuring our very own @markpendleton.bsky.social ! Links to listen are in the original post.

Oh I am so pleased! She is one of the most lovely people I have met!