As has happened at a number of universities in the UK, the Executive Dean of the School of Social Sciences at the University of Northampton has decided to phase out the teaching of philosophy and close the department here. This is planned to take effect from next year with no new intake of students for philosophy from 2012/13. A letter writing campaign has started.
Below is a template letter that can be emailed to the Vice Chancellor of the University at [email protected]
Dear Professor Petford,
I am writing to express my concern about the recent decision by the Executive Dean of Social Sciences to phase out the teaching of philosophy and close the department at the University of Northampton. This decision seems unreasonable both financially and academically.
As a category D subject (according to the classification system of the UK government’s recent white paper on competition in higher education) philosophy has low running costs for the university, currently employing only 2.3 members of staff. These costs are more than funded by the student fees it earns as it attracts good numbers of students. In addition to the existing students this year’s first year intake will be 13 single honours and 11 joint honours students. These numbers compare well with those of departments of similar size both within the University of Northampton and against other universities and would be greater were they not limited by the current caps on student intakes.
Moreover, there is evidence that these good numbers will continue with numbers of applications and offers increasing year-on-year from 2010/11 to 2011/12 (the two years in which a single honours programme has been offered and for which final intakes have been determined by the caps rather than the interest from prospective students) in contrast with many other subjects in the university, and the government white paper suggests that category D subjects such as philosophy will be least at risk from competition from the private sector in the near future. So there are good financial reasons to continue to teach philosophy at Northampton.
Similarly, the department justifies itself academically, achieving excellent results and providing students with a very good overall experience of being at university. In 2010/11 80% of completing students in philosophy achieved ‘good’ degrees (level 2:1 and above) which again compares well with philosophy departments of similar size in other universities and with similar sized subjects at Northampton. It is anticipated that this will be maintained or improve as a greater proportion of students are single honours who will spend more time dedicated to studying philosophy and receive a more complete and thorough philosophical education, and end of year exam results and progression rates support this optimism. In addition, philosophy is integrated with a number of other subjects in the university. The department offers modules that are relevant to, and popular with students taking courses in politics, law, sociology, business, etc, as well as modules that are popular generally as electives, such as the modules in moral theory and in philosophy of religion. This contribution to the broader educational experience would be lost if philosophy were to close.
In addition to these financial and academic considerations there are important reasons related to the ethos and standing of the university not to close the department. Philosophy is among the traditional, core subjects of higher education and we believe that any university worth of the status should offer it for study. As well as the training that philosophy provides for a broad range of careers, something frequently acknowledged by employers in fields such as journalism, business marketing, analysis and consultancy, civil service, education, etc, it reflects the fact that attending university is about more than merely gaining vocational training. Students recognise this and it is likely to be an even more important consideration for them when they are potentially paying more to attend university from 2012/13 with the introduction of higher tuition fees.
So, there are good ideological, academic, and financial reasons to continue to teach philosophy at the University of Northampton. I urge you to reconsider and reverse the decision to close the department there and to do so as soon as possible so that it can be properly advertised in the UCAS entry system for 2012/13.
Yours sincerely,
Name:
Position/ Affiliation:
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