Humanities Size and Shape – an overview
The Faculty of Humanities has played a pivotal role in the financial sustainability of the University over the last decade. However, in recent years it has become clear that for the Faculty to increase its financial sustainability we need to:
- invest in planned growth and delivery of new innovative programmes;
- ensure planned growth is in line with our strategy for quality in teaching, learning, research and social responsibility;
- ensure achieving high quality student intake remains a focus;
- undertake a review, and refresh of existing programmes where key data denotes under performance;
- increase the diversity of our student cohort, decrease reliance on single market;
- recruit both academic and PS staff to support increase in student numbers and enable good staff and student experience;
- review our Estates footprint and services to ensure we have the right spaces to improve student and staff experience;
- ensure our solutions are sustainable, processes are streamlined, documented with clear roles and responsibilities assigned.
Financial modelling was undertaken to inform School student number planning, to assess the right size and shape for the Faculty. Following on from the preliminary work undertaken by the Humanities Size and Shape Taskforce the Size and Shape project, sponsored by the then Vice-President and Dean Professor Keith Brown, commenced in October 2021, with membership and representation from across all Schools and Faculty Office, both Academic and Professional Services. The project transitioned from a strategic project to become business as usual at the end of January 2024
The Humanities Size and Shape Project is made up of four workstreams:
- Student numbers: to oversee the development and delivery of a five-year plan but recruit an additional 2,000 to 2,500 students by introducing 25 new programmes;
- Student Marketing & Recruitment: to deliver a refreshed Faculty student recruitment programme focusing on international student diversification;
- Resources & Operations: to ensure all resources, PS and academic, are in place to support increase in student numbers;
- Finance: delivery of a five-year financial student numbers plan and a costing tool to show how flexing of numbers impacts our contribution levels.
The Humanities Size and Shape project Board members are as follows:
- Professor Fiona Devine, Dean & Vice-President (Chair & Sponsor)
- Professor Fiona Smyth, Vice-Dean for TLSE (Programme Director)
- Professor Maggie Gale, Vice-Dean for RBE
- Professor David Spendlove, Associate Dean for TLS
- Professor Ken McPhail, Head of School, AMBS
- Sarah Featherstone, Head of School Operations, AMBS
- Professor Claire Alexander, Head of School, SoSS
- Paul Rowbotham, Head of Teaching, Learning and Students, SoSS
- Kay Hodgson, Head of School Operations, SEED
- Professor Camden Reeves, Director of Teaching, Learning and Students, SALC
- Hannah Rundle, Director of Faculty Operations (Business Lead)
- Emma Rose, Head of Teaching and Learning
- Kate McNamee, Head of Communication and Marketing
- Victoria Skinner, Head of Faculty Finance
- Nichola Ellis, Head of Planning, Compliance and Governance
- Clare Hayes, Project Manager, Strategic Change Office
- Michelle Harper, Head of Operations, Faculty Estates Team