Dear Student,
I am writing to provide you with an update on the Adapting for Continued Success programme (ACS).
As a reminder, this programme is focused on how we organise and run the University so that so that we can deliver our Aberdeen 2040 strategy, provide excellent education and high-quality research and respond to the challenges we face, including financial pressures and the rapidly changing world around us.
At its heart, ACS is about designing a new operating model that offers the best possible services and support for you, our students, and responds directly to your concerns about how things work and what we can do better while responding to the financial challenges.
The latest main update on the development of this programme is that:
In late February, the University’s governing body, Court, gave approval for the ACS programme to move onto its next phase. This includes:
- Undertaking an academic portfolio review, including setting minimum student number targets for Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes, to ensure that the University’s portfolio makes best use of our available resources and creates an environment of collaboration for students.
- As part of the portfolio review the University will immediately stop recruitment Postgraduate programmes that have consistently recruited fewer than six students.
- Developing proposals for a future educational resourcing model that assumes a Student: Staff Ratio (SSR) of 20:1 (approx. 20 students to 1 academic member of staff) for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) subjects and 25:1 (approx. 25 students to 1 academic member of staff) for SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities, Arts for People & the Economy) subjects.
- Develop proposals for a move to a four-faculty model (i.e., move from having 12 academic schools to 4 faculties). Each faculty would be made up of Schools, Departments and Institutes (as appropriate) under the leadership of an Executive Dean.
It is important to note and stress that no final decisions have been made about the points above at this time. These decisions will be made when the University’s Court meets in late April.
It is also important to note that none of the changes that may be made as part of this process will have an impact on the academic programmes that students are currently enrolled on. Current students will be able to complete their courses and programmes.
Plans are also progressing for a proposed redesign of Professional Services to deliver more integrated service delivery leading to an enhanced student experience. The University’s Professional Services will of course continue to provide a range of support for students, with the aim of making continuous improvements to that support, under this new model.
Your insights and feedback remain critical to the success of the ACS programme. There will be further opportunities to provide input and find out more about the programme, and what it’ll mean for the student community, over coming weeks and months.
Thank you for your feedback to date.
Best wishes,
Professor Jo-Anne Murray
Vice-Principal (Education)