Eras‘mess’ as French strikes continue

Ongoing university strikes in France could result in Erasmus students not sitting exams and going back to the UK with insufficient course credits. Since the 4th of February, thousands of students and university staff throughout France have been on indefinite strike. They are demonstrating against higher education reforms proposed in November last year, which they believe amount to the “marketisation of academia.” The ongoing action is not only unprecedented in length, but also unusual because of the involvement of over half of all university lecturers and researchers – a group who haven’t declared a national strike for more than 30 years. Read more

Uproar as linguistics axed

One of the highest-ranking degree programmes at Sussex will close to new applicants at the end of the current academic year.The University announced last term, without any prior consultation with staff or students, that there will be no new students accepted on to Linguistics courses from October 2009. Read more

The Chancellor at No. 42

The new University Chancellor was announced last week as Sanjeev Bhaskar OBE. A writer and actor, Bhaskar is famed for his roles in TV comedy Goodness Gracious Me and his leading role in comedy chat-show The Kumars at No. 42. Read more

Controversial professor ‘banned from Sussex’ dies

‘War criminals on the lecture circuit!’ ran the headline on the student newspaper when Professor Samuel P. Huntington came to speak at Sussex in 1973. The controversial academic, who was was hounded off campus by 500 protesting students, has died aged 81. Read more

World AIDs day ceremony in Library square

A ceremony was held to commemorate World AIDS Day in Library Square last Monday culminating in the switching on of the Christmas tree lights.

Throughout the day there was a donation-based cake sale as well as the opportunity to sign the “Push for the pool” petition, which demands access to essential HIV treatment for all by 2010. Read more

Scientific subject intake improving

National intake for science, maths and modern language degrees is on the increase after several years of worrying decline.

According to a report from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), released on 21 October, although it is early days in the funding programme the signs are that the recent £350 million investment into less popular subjects is having a significant effect on uptake. Read more

VC no-show for BBC Interview

The Vice-Chancellor Michael Farthing failed to appear at a BBC radio debate about the changing face of the University of Sussex last week.
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Success for Sussex

The University of Sussex has shown big improvement in two recent polls.

In the National Student Survey (NSS), published on 11 September, the score for overall satisfaction rose from 78% in 2007 to 86% this year. The NSS questions final-year undergraduates on a number of academic criteria including teaching, learning resources and academic support. Read more

‘Studentification’ threatens local communities

The government announced plans last week to reduce the adverse effects of densely-populated student areas in university towns.

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