The University of Nottingham’s governing council has approved the final business case for its Future Nottingham 2 (FN2) restructuring, which replaces its faculties with three colleges, closes courses the university judges not financially sustainable and, according to Times Higher Education, cuts 560 jobs.
In a statement to students published on 8 October, the university said University Council approved the FN2 Final Business Case on Thursday 1 October. Faculties will be replaced by three colleges: Health; Humanities and Social Sciences; and Science and Engineering. New leadership structures begin in January 2027 and the transition to the college structure begins in August 2027. The changes will be rolled out over three years, and the university says nothing will change immediately.
What the business case changes
The university’s statement sets out three further areas of change. Traditional personal tutoring for taught students will be replaced by a model called Tutoring for Student Success. Some taught courses will be discontinued because they are not financially sustainable or do not reflect student demand, and Master of Research (MRes) provision will be consolidated from more than 73 programmes to ten. Academic workload across teaching, research and PhD supervision will be allocated in a way the university describes as more transparent and equitable.
The statement does not name the courses that will close. Times Higher Education reported on 5 October that Nottingham will close its music and modern languages departments and will no longer offer language degrees. A new language centre will allow most students to take a language module within their degree, and music-related research will continue in the School of Computer Science with up to four new full-time roles focused on music, technology and innovation, THE reported. THE also noted concern that no university in the East Midlands would then offer language degrees. The university says students already on courses that are closing to new entrants will be supported through to the end of their studies.
Jobs, consultation and strikes
According to THE, 560 posts will go, down from the 608 first proposed, and a small number of new roles will be created. The final business case was shared with staff on 5 October after a consultation lasting just over two months. THE reported that the university said around a third of the alternative proposals made during consultation had been taken up in full or in part, and that it will offer voluntary redundancy, a voluntary reduction in hours scheme and redeployment, with the aim of keeping compulsory redundancies to a minimum.
The University and College Union branch at Nottingham began strike action on 30 September, with action planned until 11 December, The Tab reported. Staff also held a marking boycott over the summer. The university has not published in its statement the savings the FN2 business case is expected to deliver, the number of compulsory redundancies, or the number of courses closing.
What it means
TED analysis:
- Structure: Replacing faculties with three colleges puts budgets and academic leadership into fewer, larger units. Suppliers of student records, timetabling, workload and HR systems should expect reconfiguration work timed to the January 2027 and August 2027 milestones.
- Portfolio: Cutting MRes provision from more than 73 programmes to ten, and closing whole departments on cost and demand grounds, shows a large research university now testing each subject against recruitment and margin. Boards elsewhere facing deficits are likely to run the same test.
- Regional provision: If the East Midlands loses its only remaining language degrees, regional bodies, schools and employers that rely on language graduates will have to look further afield, and other universities may see an opening.
- Industrial relations: With strikes planned to run until 11 December, the first term of the new plan will be disrupted. The final number of compulsory redundancies, not yet disclosed, is likely to shape how long the dispute lasts.
