Politics at Surrey University is first rate, both in terms of research produced by outstanding academics and its teaching reputation. I cannot fathom for a moment what the logic behind this decision is. I myself have participated in events organized by Surrey University and been hugely impressed with the quality of participants, activities and outcomes. One of my PHD students participated in a summer school on Europeanization methodologies last year and benefited enormously from the vibrant atmosphere facilitated by committed scholars. This is an excellent department and anything international colleagues can do to save it should be done.
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Owen Davis
11 years ago
Given the strong performance of the department in recent years, the decision to merge it with other faculties and reduce its size seems very short sighted and misguided. This decision will likely be detrimental to the department's effectiveness, both for students and for staff, and will likely be detrimental to the other departments that it will be merging with also. I strongly hope the university decides to change its mind on this deicision
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Benedict Docherty
11 years ago
good luck!
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Jonathan Knapman
11 years ago
Featured
The Politics department gives an exceptional degree of support that, from what I understand, simply isn't achieved elsewhere. Reducing the department to 5-6 teaching staff will ruin its outstanding reputation, undo the hardwork of its staff, and harm its past, present and future graduates.
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Alistair
11 years ago
Absolutely shocking. I've been a student in this department for the last 4 years. Theyv'e been nothing but supportive of me, particualrly as I had a rough start in school and sixth form. Where do we go from here?
Surrey is a research university. The research done by the Politics Department at Surrey is far below the international and world-leading research that is required by the university. Restructuring Politics is not only important; it is necessary.
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Marie Breen Smyth
11 years ago
This petition was set up by existing and past students who are worried that the damage done by restructuring politics, the effective ending of politics as an academic area at Surrey, ie, no longer submitting to the REF in a Politics UoA, will damage the value of their degrees for which they have paid £9000 per year. I don't think that future recruitment to Surrey Politics is foremost in their minds, Justin.
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Pete Dorey
11 years ago
Too many universities now appear to be obsessed about research and pressuring their academic staff to obtain research grants (often the main criteria for appointment or promotion), to the exclusion of students and teaching.
This is largely due to the excessive influence which the Research Excellence Framewortk (REF) now has over Higher Education, and which too many university 'business managers' are in thrall to; the REF is treated like some kind of anciet God to which all must be sacrificed.
Of course research is important - but more than teaching and giving students a good education?
Too many university managers no longer seem to view universities as educational institutions, but as corporate businesses and research factories instead.
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Matthew Finch
11 years ago
Halving the staff will sure help out with that...
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Jonathan Knapman
11 years ago
I don't know a great deal regarding the quality of the department's research, however I do know that halving its staff and slashing its funding certainly won't make things any better. In reality, its only consequence will be to erase the exceptional levels of student satisfaction amongst Politics students who, thanks to the excellent teaching, support, and guidance on the part of the lecturers, are amongst the most satisfied in the entire University.
If the University is so focused on research to the point where it is willing to throw all of that away, then it has lost sight of why so many people choose to study here in the first place.
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Matt Davis
11 years ago
The University of Surrey as a whole is far below the international and world-leading universities. You cannot use our department as an excuse. Considering the size of our faculty, our department holds its own. Do you even know the relevance of our academics to their current fields of work?
The University of Surrey is getting 'up itself', we are not a red brick, we were a polytechnic and nothing will change that. Prestige is build over decades, Oxbridge sits where it is now because of the history and the famous postgrads it has produced, that is what attracts the higher profile academics. Oh, and they have a thriving Politics department.
Our department produces some of the highest employment rates for postgrads, for some reason i feel that is more important than the research they produce. But by the looks of it the Uni of Surrey doesn't think this level of commitment to students (the people who fund the uni) is acceptable. The uni needs to reassess its priorities.
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Marie Breen-Smyth
11 years ago
I share the concern for future student recruitment and the value of Politics degrees at Surrey. However, this petition merely responds to the proposal to no longer submit work at Surrey to a Politics Unit of Assessment at Surrey which effectively means the end of a viable academic unit of Politics at Surrey. So the problem in my view and that of our students is not the petition which is a response to these plans, but rather the plans themselves. Our politics students at Surrey have demonstrated that they understand what the problem is, that they understand the dynamics of power and personal agency and have taken appropriate democratic action to appropriately challenge a proposal which many of them feel undermine their best interests. They act on their own behalf, they have demonstrated enormous amounts of political sophistication, energy and skill. I could not be prouder of any small contribution I have made to their education.
Politics at Surrey University is first rate, both in terms of research produced by outstanding academics and its teaching reputation. I cannot fathom for a moment what the logic behind this decision is. I myself have participated in events organized by Surrey University and been hugely impressed with the quality of participants, activities and outcomes. One of my PHD students participated in a summer school on Europeanization methodologies last year and benefited enormously from the vibrant atmosphere facilitated by committed scholars. This is an excellent department and anything international colleagues can do to save it should be done.
Given the strong performance of the department in recent years, the decision to merge it with other faculties and reduce its size seems very short sighted and misguided. This decision will likely be detrimental to the department's effectiveness, both for students and for staff, and will likely be detrimental to the other departments that it will be merging with also. I strongly hope the university decides to change its mind on this deicision
good luck!
The Politics department gives an exceptional degree of support that, from what I understand, simply isn't achieved elsewhere. Reducing the department to 5-6 teaching staff will ruin its outstanding reputation, undo the hardwork of its staff, and harm its past, present and future graduates.
Absolutely shocking. I've been a student in this department for the last 4 years. Theyv'e been nothing but supportive of me, particualrly as I had a rough start in school and sixth form. Where do we go from here?
[email protected]
Surrey is a research university. The research done by the Politics Department at Surrey is far below the international and world-leading research that is required by the university. Restructuring Politics is not only important; it is necessary.
This petition was set up by existing and past students who are worried that the damage done by restructuring politics, the effective ending of politics as an academic area at Surrey, ie, no longer submitting to the REF in a Politics UoA, will damage the value of their degrees for which they have paid £9000 per year. I don't think that future recruitment to Surrey Politics is foremost in their minds, Justin.
Too many universities now appear to be obsessed about research and pressuring their academic staff to obtain research grants (often the main criteria for appointment or promotion), to the exclusion of students and teaching. This is largely due to the excessive influence which the Research Excellence Framewortk (REF) now has over Higher Education, and which too many university 'business managers' are in thrall to; the REF is treated like some kind of anciet God to which all must be sacrificed. Of course research is important - but more than teaching and giving students a good education? Too many university managers no longer seem to view universities as educational institutions, but as corporate businesses and research factories instead.
Halving the staff will sure help out with that...
I don't know a great deal regarding the quality of the department's research, however I do know that halving its staff and slashing its funding certainly won't make things any better. In reality, its only consequence will be to erase the exceptional levels of student satisfaction amongst Politics students who, thanks to the excellent teaching, support, and guidance on the part of the lecturers, are amongst the most satisfied in the entire University. If the University is so focused on research to the point where it is willing to throw all of that away, then it has lost sight of why so many people choose to study here in the first place.
The University of Surrey as a whole is far below the international and world-leading universities. You cannot use our department as an excuse. Considering the size of our faculty, our department holds its own. Do you even know the relevance of our academics to their current fields of work? The University of Surrey is getting 'up itself', we are not a red brick, we were a polytechnic and nothing will change that. Prestige is build over decades, Oxbridge sits where it is now because of the history and the famous postgrads it has produced, that is what attracts the higher profile academics. Oh, and they have a thriving Politics department. Our department produces some of the highest employment rates for postgrads, for some reason i feel that is more important than the research they produce. But by the looks of it the Uni of Surrey doesn't think this level of commitment to students (the people who fund the uni) is acceptable. The uni needs to reassess its priorities.
I share the concern for future student recruitment and the value of Politics degrees at Surrey. However, this petition merely responds to the proposal to no longer submit work at Surrey to a Politics Unit of Assessment at Surrey which effectively means the end of a viable academic unit of Politics at Surrey. So the problem in my view and that of our students is not the petition which is a response to these plans, but rather the plans themselves. Our politics students at Surrey have demonstrated that they understand what the problem is, that they understand the dynamics of power and personal agency and have taken appropriate democratic action to appropriately challenge a proposal which many of them feel undermine their best interests. They act on their own behalf, they have demonstrated enormous amounts of political sophistication, energy and skill. I could not be prouder of any small contribution I have made to their education.