The University Court met on 29 April to consider proposals linked to the University’s ongoing ‘Adapting for Continued Success’ (ACS) programme. In the weeks leading up to Court, staff were repeatedly told that major structural changes and Staff Student Ratios (SSRs) were moving ahead at pace, with the clear implication that staff cuts were inevitable.

What happened at Court tells a different story.

Despite repeated claims from Senior Management that faculty proposals would not need Senate approval, this has now changed. Thanks to the work of elected Senate members and your UCU reps, proposals must now go through Senate scrutiny. That matters. It is a significant shift away from attempts to rush through structural change by bypassing our internal academic governance processes.

It is also significant that SSRs were not agreed at the April Court meeting as management had previously indicated. AUCU were told that the implementation of SSRs od 20:1 STEM and 25:1 SHAPE could lead to savings of c. £10m, with up to 200 jobs reportedly at risk as the University seeks savings.

That process has now slowed.

This delay is important not simply because it buys time, but because it demonstrates that Court is engaging in broader discussions about how the University’s financial challenges should be addressed, rather than simply rubber-stamping cuts to staff. It shows that pressure works.

Let us be clear: UCU does not oppose change, review, or long-term planning for the future of the University. Staff understand the financial pressures facing Higher Education. What we oppose is the idea that job losses should automatically be treated as the default solution, or that changes of this scale should happen without meaningful consultation with staff and trade unions.

None of the movement we have seen over recent weeks has happened by accident.

It happened because staff organised collectively.

It happened because colleagues were willing to stand on picket lines, have difficult conversations with peers, and demonstrate publicly that they care deeply about the future of the University. On the morning of Court, more than 120 staff gathered outside the library from 8am onwards to make that message impossible to ignore.

That visible collective pressure has changed the conversation.

Following Court, UCU negotiators again contacted Senior Management to reiterate that our offer remains on the table: we are prepared to withdraw strike action in exchange for meaningful protections for staff. Should discussions reopen, members will of course be fully consulted before any decisions are made.

But while progress has been made, this is not the moment for complacency.

Senior management have consistently argued that staff cuts are necessary to address the University deficit. That narrative has not disappeared. What has changed is that staff, through collective action, have begun to successfully challenge it.

For colleagues who are not yet union members, recent weeks have shown something important: collective action is not symbolic. It changes outcomes. It slows harmful processes, creates space for scrutiny, strengthens staff voices, and forces transparency into decisions that might otherwise happen behind closed doors.

The progress made so far has only happened because people stood together.

And that is exactly why we must continue to do so.