The below Response and Counter Proposal was sent on 14th July 2020 to the Deans, John Latham (VC), University Leadership Team and Keith Bissett (Chair of the Board of Governors). UCU Coventry Response and Counter Proposal to Faculties Organisational Change Proposal UCU is officially registering with the Deans, John Latham (VC) and the University Leadership Team of Coventry University its objections to the Change Proposal … Continue reading UCU Coventry Response and Counter Proposal to Faculties Organisational Change Proposal

It’s finally ready! Sign our Change.org petition here! We believe the Vice Chancellor (VC) and University Leadership Team (ULT) have pursued reckless growth and restructuring which UCU has repeatedly warned against.  Why sign this petition? Unsustainable Growth: CU attempted to (unsuccessfully) increase student numbers from 27,600 (2014/15) to 80,000 as part of their 2021 Corporate Plan. Coventry student fees and loans were used to fund … Continue reading Sign Our Change.org Petition ‘No Confidence in Coventry University VC & University Leadership Team’

UCU Coventry members are currently voting on the below matter. The Case: 1. Restructuring – CU Group has repeatedly sought to restructure staff into various subsidiaries, the common theme always being to reduce terms and conditions for those transferred.  This is simply to reduce costs. However, CU Group claims that this is necessary to facilitate growth and has provided us with financial strength and security.  … Continue reading Coventry UCU: Case for Vote of ‘No Confidence’ in VC and University Leadership Team

Here are the CU Branch questions (anonymously) submitted to the VC and Chief People Officer Roadshow on 17th June 2020. Let’s see if they respond! Accommodation and City of Culture: If students do not use accommodation to full capacity will Coventry University be opening up unoccupied student accommodation to support the local homeless population?  This would be an important gesture towards the local community considering … Continue reading Questions for VC Roadshow 17th June 2020

Ten Proposals for a Green Reset in Coventry Sunday 7th June, 6:30-8pm (via Zoom) Featuring: Zarah Sultana, MP Coventry South and Taiwo Owatemi, MP Coventry North West Click Here To Get Your Ticket Individuals, families, communities and whole societies have suffered immensely at the hands of the coronavirus epidemic and will continue to do so until we can find a cure. However, the lockdown measures … Continue reading Sunday 7th June 2020 Event: Ten Proposals for a Green Reset in Coventry

The brutal murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA has once again surfaced the undercurrent of anti-blackness in policing. The shocking and traumatic video that went viral shows the cold, callous and unprovoked murder. It has sparked protest across the USA, where African Americans are demanding immediate justice for George Floyd, and more broadly against racist policing, with the support of a diversity of … Continue reading In Solidarity Statement

This week your UCU Branch Committee sent an email to the VC about concerns, with reference to the email announcement on Thursday 7th May that some Coventry University buildings were going to open on 25th May. This came as a shock to many staff and to UCU as we had not been consulted at that time. On Wednesday 13th May, we sent the below email … Continue reading Returning to work – how do you feel?

On 3rd April all staff at Coventry University received an email discussing the financial situation at the university which we are led to believe is dire. Our VC asked all staff for suggestions – so our members happily obliged. Have a read below for our members suggestions. We think they have some good ones! In-Year Cost Savings Email to the Vice-Chancellor Dear John In your … Continue reading In-Year Cost Savings? Why doesn’t the Vice-Chancellor agree to take a 25% pay cut and more suggestions from UCU Members…

Coventry UCU Members have raised numerous question about furloughing of academic and research staff. Coventry University has yet to provide any detailed information around furloughing of staff. Here is the email sent to the Head of People on 9th April 2020. We still await a response… Email to People 9th April 2020 Dear People Thank you for your response to the email sent 8th April … Continue reading To furlough or not to furlough?

Teaching staff at Coventry University were informed on 9th April that 100 modules would be moved for Semester 3 (May 2020) from the Moodle platform to a new ‘social learning platform’ called Aula. UCU Coventry has received numerous emails from members concerned with the hasty move and lack of training. Why in the midst of a pandemic has the university decided to make this move … Continue reading Aula arrives at Coventry University in the midst of a pandemic