THE University of Aberdeen has scrapped all of its single honours language degrees.
Future students will no longer be offered the chance to study French, Gaelic, German or Spanish on their own, but instead will have to choose joint honours in order to take up a language degree.
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On Tuesday, the University Court, the governing body of the University of Aberdeen, accepted the recommendation from the senior vice-principal Professor Karl Leydecker.
Following this crucial meeting of University Court, Rhiannon Ledwell, Vice President for Education, has commented in response:
“Court’s decision is incredibly disappointing. This outcome does not make a commitment to protecting staff jobs, or our degree provisions. In fact, if the proposals go through, 50% of staff within the department are still likely to lose their jobs. Axing single Language Degrees, including Gaelic, before the end of the consultation, makes a mockery of the entire process and is a serious violation of the University’s own Gaelic Language Plan.
Extending the consultation by a month is a tokenistic gesture at best and does not allow for meaningful changes that could save both degrees and jobs. Once again, the University of Aberdeen has left students in limbo, and staff fearing for their futures and jobs over Christmas. This “solution” is cruel, unnecessary, and shows how little that the University’s cares about its students and staff.”
