Despite a leaked discussion document suggesting a new law faculty could be on the cards, St Andrews University officials have insisted there are no immediate plans to expand or to increase student numbers.
The assurance comes after heated exchanges at a meeting of the town’s community council.
Niall Scott, the university’s communications director, spoke out as it emerged that the prestigious establishment had been exploring the possibility of establishing a Law School, Materials Institute, Data Science Institute and Cyber-Security Institute.
The leaked discussion paper “Strategy for the first decade of our seventh century” contained the confidential list of suggested initiatives, which had been put forward by university principal Professor Louise Richardson.
It emerged that the proposals were discussed at a St Andrews University Court “away day” in October. However, when St Andrews community councillors questioned what the university’s ambitions might mean for the physical expansion of the university and the potential impact on demand for student accommodation in the town, Mr Scott emphasised that there were no definitive expansion plans.
He also said that many of the confidential discussion points from October had already been superceded.
He told the community council: ”I’d love to be able to sit here and tell you the shape of the university in five or 10 years’ time, but I don’t think there’s a university in the country that could do that because of the nature of what universities are.
“We don’t know if this time next year we’ll have a Westminster Government or be looking forward to a government in Holyrood.
“Money comes along in different shapes and forms. You can get a large gift and conditions that go with it that it must be spent. What are you going to do with it. Refuse it?
“So there is absolutely no way I can sit here at the community council and give hard and fast plans about expansion. We have no plans for expansion.
“What we do have is plans to respond to changes in funding and likely changes in demographics. But if you are suggesting are we suddenly going to grow to 20,000? No we’re not. But I can’t tell you that we won’t grow incrementally or we won’t decrease in size. I can’t control these things, neither can any university.”
Mr Scott said that expansion was something the university constantly reviews because size is so closely related to the ability of the university to function at an optimum level and to command funding from research councils.
But he added:”We are absolutely not planning to increase the number of students. We do not have any plans to introduce a law faculty. It’s something we’ve certainly looked at and will revisit, but as we sit here at present there are no plans to increase the number of students.”
Mr Scott said the recent study by St Andrews University’s Centre for Housing Research was an indication of how seriously the university took its social and economic impact on the town.
The study, published in December, concluded that while the success and growth of the 600-year-old university has brought prosperity and employment to Fife, existing pressures on local housing have been increased by an influx of students and staff.
Mr Scott said the current head count of students at St Andrews was 7800 and not 9500 as quoted by St Andrews community councillor Penny Uprichard. He said it would be “absolutely false” to suggest otherwise.
But community councillor Ian Goudie added:”We need absolute confidence in where the university is going before we can take a view on whether there is enough student accommodation in the town.”