Students and staff have sent out a clear “hands off” message over the fate of Abertay University.
Amid speculation it might be forced to merge with Dundee University, the union representing academic staff said it would oppose any such move and it was a message backed by the students’ association.
The possibility of a tie-up with its city neighbour has been raised in the wake of a call by the Scottish Funding Council for Abertay to suspend its search for a new principal.
SFC chief executive Mark Batho said he hoped the university would consider the potential future shape of the post-16 education landscape in Tayside.
The Scottish Government has announced it will seek powers to force through mergers of universities and colleges if it believes these would make financial and educational sense (link) and, as one of the smallest universities, Abertay is being seen as a potential target.
But Dr Andy Samuel, president of the Abertay branch of academics’ union the UCU, described the concept as “a non-starter”.
He believes a merger would be fraught with difficulties and could end up costing more money than it saved.
“We are two different institutions with two different cultures and serving two different student populations. That would make any merger very difficult,” he said.
Abertay was already working with local colleges to streamline the “student journey” in accordance with the government’s post-16 policies and that process was dependent upon the university remaining an independent institution. This work would be harmed by a merger, Dr Samuel argued.
William Mohieddeen, president of Abertay University Students’ Association, said universities had a responsibility to ensure fair access and promote wider participation in higher education areas in which he believed Abertay had excelled in recent years.
At a time when rising fees were making universities more exclusive, it was important that the university retained its independence.
Although both Abertay and Dundee universities have insisted they have not been in talks about a merger, it has emerged that their heads and the head of Dundee College have been discussing how they might collaborate.
The meetings were held earlier this year, well before the SFC urged Abertay to hold off on appointing a successor to long-serving principal Professor Bernard King.Dundee principal Prof Pete Downes, Abertay acting principal Professor Nicholas Terry and Dundee College principal Christina Potter met to talk about the future in discussions described by Professor Downes as centering on “opportunities for closer collaboration for mutual benefit”.