Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

JIM SPENCE: Here’s the basic principle Dundee University abandoned

'If those in charge at Dundee can’t offer solutions to the crisis, then the Scottish Government must.'

University of Dundee.
University of Dundee.

As Dundee University lurches from one crisis to another, it’s time for a root and branch reassessment of how our educational establishments operate.

Nothing should be off the table including possible mergers and three-year degrees, instead of the current four years.

We should look at the entire funding model too.

Closer cooperation in the education sector addressing the respective strengths and weaknesses of each institution – and building a much closer relationship between universities themselves and also local colleges of further education – is also needed.

With the principal and his vice-principal jumping ship at Dundee, the rank-and-file admin staff and lecturers must be wondering if the boat they’re on is headed for the rocks.

Now plans to merge the dental and nursing schools have been paused at an institution paralysed by a failure to provide concerned employees with reassurances for their futures.

The university is a vital component of economic and educational wellbeing in this area.

But it is in a state of disarray due to a huge funding shortfall as international student recruitment falls sharply, reducing income dramatically.

If those in charge at Dundee can’t offer solutions to the crisis, then the Scottish Government must.

‘Put local communities first’

It’s no consolation to anyone at the university but I suspect Dundee won’t be alone in its current travails in the higher education sector.

It also seems to me that instead of appointing principals who were once hired for their broad academic expertise and knowledge, the concept has shifted too much towards asking them to act as glorified CEOs.

Our universities should be focussed on assessing and delivering the educational needs of their local communities first and foremost.

But in the rush to recruit high fee-paying students from abroad, now a less sustainable model, Dundee and some other universities seem to have lost sight of that principle.

Universities’ core aims should be local.

They should aim to meet the needs of employers in the communities where the institutions are based.

Instead it looks like some universities, in their desperate attempt to chase the big fees which students from abroad have been paying, have strayed too far from their original role.

Professor Iain Gillespie
Professor Iain Gillespie. Image: Dundee University

There also needs to be much more cooperation and collaboration within the Scottish university sector and that might mean mergers are worth exploring.

At the very least we should examine all areas where for instance the likes of Dundee, Abertay, and St Andrews University could find common ground and assist each other.

St Andrews is very international in terms of the students it attracts, with only around 30 per cent of the student body being Scottish, while just over a fifth of the students at Dundee were from an international background.

That international element isn’t a bad thing; it’s good both economically and culturally.

But in a highly-competitive market, it’s going to be an increasing struggle to continue to attract foreign students against the competition from other major and better known universities elsewhere.

Conversation