Test of Democracy @testofdemocracy-blog - Tumblr Blog

A linguist, a geographer, a librarian and a retired diplomat: an anonymous response to a recent Cambrian News article.

Another league table, another fall

According to the Times Higher World ranking Aberystwyth is now in the 351-400 bracket of World Ranking for Universities.

In 2011 Aberystwyth was in the 276-300 placings.

In 2012 the placing remained the same at 276-300

In 2013 this slipped to 301-350

In 2014 the ranking is in the 351-400

On the bright side, the Senior management cannot steer the University any lower as this appears to be the lowest bracket available.

'An employment tribunal judgement has found that two FDA members were unfairly dismissed from their jobs at the National Library of Wales.'

Aberystwyth University employees will be interested in the legal judgement passed in the unfair dismissal case of two National Library of Wales employees (Elwyn Williams and Rocet/ Arwel Jones) - it involves current head of NLW Aled Jones, until recently pro VC at Aberystwyth university. Aled Jones, while still in post at the university, was a chief protagonist in the disastrous and unfair treatment of Arts Centre director Alan Hewson & colleague; and the story from the NLW trial sounds sadly familiar.

On considering the suspension and demotion of the two NLW employees, the Judge found that 'there was "no basis for a charge of gross misconduct", and that "the failure had not been one of misconduct but capability", brought about by the Library's failure to provide training.'

Also 'the judge found respondents from the National Library of Wales gave "misleading answers" and remained "opaque and disengaged".'

It is worth noting that it was the NLW's Union FDA that fought for the two employees affected - we understand that central UCU has a very poor record for protecting its members here (despite very committed personnel locally).

You can read the full story of NLW and the judgement from this link:

http://www.fda.org.uk/Media/Employment-tribunal-judgement-finds-no-basis-for-charge-of-gross-misconduct-against-FDA-members.aspx

Did you know?

New anonymous post: 'Just to make sure people are clear on the reason behind this Tumblr, anyone who has been speaking out against some of the things going on in the university over the PAST FEW YEARS has been given leave without pay, or let go, or other such things. For having an opinion on the decline we have all seen happening.

In short, speak out against our glorious leaders and suffer.

Yeah, that sure sounds like a place I want to give thousands and thousands of pounds to.'

An open letter from a retired member of staff

An Open Letter to the Aberystwyth University Chancellor

Dear Sir Emyr

Isn’t it about time you owned up to the fact that you’ve sold the University a pup as its Vice-Chancellor? You must surely by now have realised the enormous damage Prof Macmahon has done to the University’s reputation during the 3 years since her appointment.

She has presided over a disastrous decline in the University’s reputation, destroyed staff confidence and undermined town and gown relations, while surrounding herself with a bunch of self-serving Yes men and women on the executive who seek to blame others for their own shortcomings.

She has shown herself to be largely delusional in her attempts to claim everything is the fault of under-investment by her predecessors. During their time of course, Aberystwyth was consistently top in Wales for student satisfaction and in the Top 10 of UK universities.

Her latest line of defence is that, despite plummeting league table ratings, we are still punching above our weight in research. In doing so, she calmly ignores that our research performance is dependent upon investment in plant and people made by those very predecessors. We await with some trepidation the REF outcome later this session, based as it will be on a period dominated by the disruption she has presided over.

In abolishing Faculites and Deans and replacing them with Institutes and their Directors, she has seriously weakened our teaching quality and learning and teaching strategies. The common consensus is that the current structures leave much to be desired as newly promoted staff, both academic and support, struggle to get to grips with issues which were second nature to Deans and their support staff. Ingrained processes and procedures have been undermined or simply forgotten in the current environment, leaving the University very exposed in any QAA review.

She doesn’t like Aberystwyth and let’s be honest, we don’t like her. Perhaps her problem is that she has always had an eye on her next job, at the expense of doing a good one here. In doing so, she has surely made herself unemployable by anyone else who can easily see the damage she’s caused here.

She has little credibility amongst other Welsh VCs and let’s be honest, virtually every thing she has attempted to do has backfired. That must be why some of the PVCs relish her discomfiture, knowing full well the benefits accruing to them, at least in the short term, if she finally throws in the towel. She is simply not fit for purpose.

She and her team have instigated various witch hunts around the University against honourable staff and wasted significant sums of money for little effect in the process.

The effect on staff morale has been devastating, despite her claim that she is ‘incentivising performance’.

There are of course times when I look on the bright side. We are assured that her salary, joint highest in Wales, is performance-related, so just think what we’d have to pay her if she was doing a decent job!

Come on, Sir Emyr, own up to your mistake and let Aberystwyth University start a recovery which is impossible under the current incumbent.

A Retired member of Staff.

Saddened by this news

I have studied at four different UK universities including Bristol and Exeter finishing my doctorate at the latter. My undergrad experience at Aberystwyth between 2000-2003 was the best of all my University experiences, so I am deeply saddened to hear of this situation. It is time for a change, SMTP do what you have to do and make way for a new regime.

Former staff member - a lament

Firstly I don't understand the gripe of the post 'Brevity', is he/she just complaining that the uni left the University of Wales to become Aberystwyth University? Hardly a terrible betrayal given the then reputation of the University of Wales.

The post 'An academic' describes things very well and accurately. The problem is it sounds so melodramatic that outsiders (and some insiders), who are decent people themselves, still can't comprehend the depths and depravity to which some people will sink to maintain their power base and their fat salaries.

I am a former staff member and would be more than happy to complete a survey of why I left. I have yet to meet any former member of staff who regrets leaving, even when their living standards have been severely reduced. It is notable how much happier and healthier they all look.

These escapees tell how their hard-earned professional expertise was ignored, their suggestions and advice dismissed by the exec and the incompetent managers they have put in place, and yet when things went wrong, it was these same professional people who were called on to try and put things right, and it was their competence questioned. This is a form of bullying, and others have experienced far worse.

Many people's jobs have been downgraded but, as so many people are pushed out, most of those who are left are expected to do more and more for the same or less money. At the same time they see 'yes people' who toady up to the management being promoted into positions beyond their capabilities and being paid very handsomely for doing very little bar talk big at meetings, spy on their fellow workers and shirk taking any actual responsibility. Evidently a 'can-do attitude' is now all that is required to get on at Aber, with no requirement for being able to do.

Eventually it becomes impossible to work like this, it destroys the strongest person's confidence and is enormously stressful. Statements from HR etc about 'caring for the wellbeing of our staff' are far beyond a joke, if you were to approach HR for help most people believe that your name would immediately be reported and put on the exec hit list.

It is becoming obvious now that the VC and her henchpeople are not going to go. They are so distanced from reality in their self-congratulatory ivory tower that they see no reason to be ashamed or apologise. They now blame all Aberystwyth's problems on the previous management and are happily running the university in enormous debt without any strategy as to how the debt or even its interest can ever be repaid.

They fail to acknowledge recent improvements initiated by the previous management, (including the initiation of the Penglais Farm student village project, the Interpol building, the IBERS buildings, the refurb of Penbryn, the Carwyn James building to name but a few) while boasting about how they are going to be spending £100million. But not apparently on things that actually need doing, like stabilising the Hugh Owen Building, the Plaza and Llandinam Tower for a start. They could re-appoint some of the many excellent grounds and maintenance people they got rid of, and ask them to care again for the once well-tended, now neglected and overgrown campus. They could also instigate much needed minor repairs, one example: the hole in the roof of 1 Laura Place, a listed building, still unfixed since the January 2014 storms.

Aberystwyth was unlikely ever to be in the top tier of UK universities, but it was comfortably in the top third, and held a niche position as a uni in a beautiful safe setting that provided a decent education and a very happy experience for most students and staff. It made a huge contribution to the local community and there was a great sense of pride to be connected to Aber. Why then are the current exec and Council systematically destroying all of this when they could have so easily been building upon it?

You have only to look at Bangor Uni's current position to see that Aber too could have maintained its excellent league table places and level of recruitment, its decline was not inevitable even in the current economic climate. The blame has to be entirely laid at the current VC's, the current executive's, and the Council's complete mismanagement. It is just so desperately sad and unnecessary.

University Exec must go

Aberystwyth is a fantastic university for students to come and study. However, the University senior management team are completely inept - especially the VC, PVC Rebecca Davies, and head of HR. It is no longer a joke. Aberystwyth needs a strong, high quality and independent University. These people are just in it for the money.

I support the call for April to resign, but we should not forget that she inherited the mess she finds herself in because of her incompetent and egotistical predecessor, who destroyed the university institution I was once proud to call my Alma Mater, prioritising risk free income over educational values. I am occasionally tempted to feel sorry for her position, but sadly this betrayal of traditions and fraudulent academic posturing continues, broadened as the present management appeals to former students:

Laughable, as there can be no graduands of AberystwythUniversity prior to 2007/08?! Yet it continues to launch appeals to old students who graduated from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth last century.

Confirmation that I have been dispossessed of my beloved university is evidence by the fact that to conmplete a DSc. application, I must submit the relevant Aberystwyth degree certificates at the same time. Proudly, all mine say UNIVESITAS CAMBRENSIS, so do not qualify. There is no hint that the earlier qualifications obtained while a student in Aberystwyth would be recognised

Perhaps this terrible and dishonest way that Aberystwyth University is highjacking the academic reputation of the once proud COLEGE BY THE SEA, should be made more widely known to former graduands.

An academic

AU pensions for lowest paid staff

Aberystwyth University recently changed its AUPAS pension scheme for the lowest-paid staff (grades 1-5). As a result those staff will have an average of a third or a quarter less pension when they retire. The university passed this through (in a board made up of higher-paid staff who aren’t affected) despite protests, objections, and those affected not agreeing to the change or giving their permission for it. The university claimed there wasn’t enough money to continue (something disputed by the unions).

No money? And yet…

The university continues to give payrises and benefits to its higher-paid staff – the same staff who make the decisions on whether they should get a payrise or not (though this is kept quiet and covered over by the university – try and find the details on their web pages!). This is plainly corrupt.

Let’s take a high-profile example – the Vice Chancellor. Already on a massive salary, more than the PM or the US president, a salary seen as obscene by most staff at the university; she got another boost (almost 10%!) at the same time as the university saying there wasn’t enough money for the retirement futures of the lower-paid staff. This is hypocrisy (and not the first example of it!).

Why did she get an increase? “Performance-related”, i.e. the university must be doing exceptionally well for her to “deserve” that. Yet… Ever since she took up post the university has been tumbling down the rankings. “Performance-related pay” is an unfair scam (it only ever goes to senior staff), but even if you agreed with it all the evidence points to the fact that her performance has been disastrous so this is money greasing hands under false pretences.

Some evidence (there is loads more out there):

Lots listed here and here and here.

Dropping from the Good University Guide (Sept 2014)

Bottom of the Green League table

Fear

The web is full of criticism of the current regime e.g. Test of Democracy and here andhere (though note that many have been shut down by the university e.g. this Twitter user was sacked; the first petition mentioned here, which was hosted on Change.org).

AU is currently a controlling, spin-spouting dictatorship, where suspensions are rife (and here), which is basically bullying, with complainers being sacked. For these reasons most staff are terrified of being heard to be negative about the university, even though they hate the way it is being run and what it now stands for. I am not kidding – it’s a regular thing to hear of people “keeping their head down”, and warning others about speaking up. We all know the university has policies forbidding speaking out publicly (e.g. to the press), or not informing it of complaints through the “official” procedure (which really exists so that they can be hushed up, and if they go public later the university knows who to persecute); that those in disfavour are spied on, email gone through with a fine-tooth comb, evidence gathered, then taken into a private interview room, threatened with legal action over whatever they said, then sacked, after being told to sign a non-disclosure agreement so that they get a bit more severance pay and the university won’t prosecute them. This is why there is such resounding silence inverse to the anger and fear.

There is a rumour that the university even persuaded the local press to stop being critical, threatening to remove advertising revenue if they didn’t pull back. Whether true or not it is indicative of the perceived culture of fear and spin and dishonesty that most university staff believe are indicative of the current university management.

Also

It’s not hard to see that there isn’t actually a shortage of money. The university sends staff around the world by plane just to sign a bit of paper – the jet-set elite.

Income equality

This is part of a general and unethical trend across many sectors. Income inequality keeps shooting up: “FTSE 100 CEOs now earn 120x more than average worker. In 2000 it was 47x more. Top bosses’ pay soars 20% while staff feel the squeeze: this is consequence, even purpose, of #austerity politics” http://t.co/LW7ZPysPF6

Widespread

Morale within the university is at an all-time low. If you contacted all the academics and support staff with a survey about their attitudes to the university and why they felt so angry and negative it would be revealing. Unfortunately the university administration would not allow this (they have even implemented procedures forbidding staff from speaking to the press – any contacts are meant to go through the university press office, which is “properly briefed”, i.e. gives the official spin on any issue, which is a world away from what staff on the ground feel). Likewise a survey of all staff who had left the university, asking why they left (disgust, in some cases), what issues really concerned them, would also be a major revelation, but would again be blocked by the university administration.

Guardians and Spinners

The University has produced a reply to the Guardian 2015 fall – though well hidden:

http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/news/archive/2014/06/title-150973-en.html

Unfortunately, the statements made are something of a misrepresentation of the Guardian's declared methodology at:

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jun/03/methodology-of-the-guardian-university-guide-2015

1) AU states that “The Guardian University League Table places much of its emphasis on student satisfaction”.

In fact, NSS counts in total for just 25% – less, say, than the combined effects of SSR (15%) and expenditure per student (15%), or of career prospects (15%) and entry grades (15%).

2) It is asserted (AU) that “These results [NSS 2013] were influenced by many years of underinvestment in learning, teaching and accommodation facilities”.

In fact, by 2013 there had already been a serious fall in the University's position in the league tables. Between 2011 and 2013, the University's “Student Experience” position fell in the Times from 8th to 47th; in the Guardian itself, AU fell from 50th to 88th; in the Complete University Guide, from 49th to 70th.

It is hard to believe that this did not influence student reponses in 2013 (rightly or wrongly, students perceive the University's reputational decline as directly detrimental to them and to their qualifications from AU, so their satisfaction falls with the league table position: see comments on the online petition, now with over 1,000 signatures, at https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/april-mcmahon-we-request-that-you-resign-from-your-position-as-vice-chancellor-of-aberystwyth-university-with-immediate-effect#share).

All the spin cannot hide the spiralling downwards.

Funny Old World - Blind Leading The Blind

The Guardian is running a sponsored Q&A:

University leaders: how can they inspire and motivate staff?

Sponsored Q&A: join our online discussion 4 April on providing visionary leadership during a time of financial constraint

Who is one of the headline acts... our esteemed Vice Chancellor.

http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/mar/31/university-leadership-inspire-motivate

It's a funny old world... you have to laugh.

Since her arrival in 2011, April McMahon and her senior team have presided over a dramatic fall in grace for Aberystwyth University. The University's...

Sign and share!

Why is this petition important to you?

Comments below have been pasted from the petition that was closed - to ensure that everyone's concerns will remain publicly available. The petition: to call for the resignation of April McMahon. The new petition can be found here: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/april-mcmahon-we-request-that-you-resign-from-your-position-as-vice-chancellor-of-aberystwyth-university-with-immediate-effect

She is the Professor Umbridge of Aberystwyth University. She seems intent on failing her staff and students and only has concern for number one. If it's not in her best interest - it's not happening. The university would be far better off without her and the dictatorship she's carved for herself.

Staff and students across the university have been treated appallingly. McMahon appears to suffer from a psychopathic lack of empathy and an astonishing lack of financial acumen.

When I came to Aberystwyth, it was feted as having the highest student satisfaction in the UK as well as the status of a top 50 university. In less then two years, I have seen it plummet to 70th place, with its high student satisfaction and international research rating scores melt away. And for what? for the Vice Chancellor, earning more then the Prime Minister, to tell staff that a 1% pay rise is unreasonable, but find no fault in awarding herself a 9% rise? I'm not willing to pay £9000 per year for April MacMahon to run my university as her personal fiefdom. I believe that, in the interests of the University, she should resign, and I politely request that she does.

Those of us who are long term residents of Ceredigion have seen the harm caused to Aberystwyth University and particularly the Arts Centre by this woman and her team of barbarous management. It is long past time she and they went elsewhere, the only real difficulty being that they, like so many whose lives they have ruined, are probably not going to be able to get jobs anywhere else. We hear she has already been rejected by several other universities.

I don't join a university ranked 28th for geography and 1st for student satisfaction just for it to plummet abysmally.

Pantycelyn.... (enough said)

Am adra

April McMahon is unjustly enriched through her office as Vice Chancellor. Not only has no improvement been made to any of the University's facility in Llanbadarn, staff have had to suffer more than 4% pay cuts in real terms while she gets 6% pay rise. IN order to remedy this inequity, she either needs to resign or donate half of her last pay to the University staff or do both.

Staff have had to endure re-structuring, job cuts, pay cuts, grade cuts and now cutting staff pensions is being proposed. To add insult to injury, it was made mandatory that all staff attended dignity and respect seminars.... Somebody has a sense of humour!

This is now about the university's survival. The present management has tarnished its reputation and is now throwing money at ventures like a campus on Mauritius, whilst student numbers and revenues are in free fall. Mauritius won't benefit the students who are paying their fees here. Meanwhile, the institution has lost sight of what and who it is here for. The VC should serve the university, not the other way round.

So the University can prosper again under new and empathetic leadership

Rules like a dictator. Ddim yn cymryd sylw o anghenion y myfyrwyr.

Wholly incompetent VC, being rewarded annually to the tune of £228,000. Time to go, April.

I have only been affected negatively by the actions of this Vice Chancellor.

I've heard of staff being escorted from the university premises and being forbidden to speak to anyone, staff being dismissed "because their job is redundant" then finding it being readvertised, appealing their dismissal and being told when re-applying for the job that their appeal may have an effect on how they do in their physical examination and being forced to sign a disclaimer stating they wouldn't tell anyone (oops, guess you missed one), money being wasted last year to find non-existent corrupt members of staff, and some of the best lecturers in my department have either not had their contracts renewed and no reason given (one published huge amounts of research too) or having to fight for their jobs after having suffered a completely unfair dismissal that did not follow the appropriate procedures. The standards of this university have fallen since I started my course, and I feel that this may start to devalue the degree I'm working so hard to earn. Aberystwyth, both the university and the town, would be as glad to be shot of her as (I am informed by an Edinburgh student) Edinburgh was 2 years ago. We have no need of a egotistical, sociopathic bully here, how on earth she was hired in the first place is a complete mystery.

The fact that Aberystwyth is dropping so rapidly in the league tables should be a wake-up call for her, however, she continues to make bad decisions.

I know that many of the University staff would sign this petition but they're very much afraid of reprisals. Is this the sort of atmosphere that should exist at a university?

I am here next year and it would be nice for things to improve.

She's messing with too many different areas in the university, and the university and town are suffering from the damage done.

We got rid of our own dictator here, understand where you're coming from.

No manager should accept such pay increases while academic and research staff are increasingly underpaid. Such hypocrisy should never be allowed in practice, especially as Aberystwyth is continuously falling in the ranking tables.

Aberystwyth University desperately needs a Vice Chancellor that values and supports staff and students. Currently, staff feel undermined and demoralised and are constantly looking over their shoulders, afraid of what's coming next. They've seen their pay cut 13% over the last 6 years and have been offered an insulting 1% this year - we're told that's all the university can afford, yet April McMahon receives a 9% increase - for presiding over a disaster. Something doesn't add up, and it's not just the arithmetic. People need to be valued, to be encouraged, to have their pride in the institution restored and, above all, to feel positive and happy that they're a worthwhile and integral part of a seat of learning that's thriving and going places.

Because I think the University is being badly managed. This has a detrimental effect on the University and the town of Aberystwyth

I have followed the uni on and off since she started. I remember one news item where they said they didn't recognise the picture being presented! Probably because they are totally removed from staff and students and community. Surely the senior team are at fault here also for allowing such foul leadership. Aber no longer puts its staff and students first and they are doing this knowingly now in the interest of profits- education is not a business and not a capitalist one at that.

Because of her attempts to close Pantycelyn

This person has no interest in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion or Wales. She should not be VC of such an historic university with such importance for Wales. It is known that she is job-hunting. Let's hope someone else some place else wants her.

Whilst staff are threatened with the loss of their jobs, the university is re-organised in a way nobody wants and run in a business-like manner, and quality plummets and the reputation is tarnished, McMahon by far out-earns the Prime Minister and gets a £1,000 second-hand coffee machine for her mansion. Her undemocratic rule should come to an end sooner rather than later. I love Aberystwyth, but developments since my graduation frighten me.

I think she has caused irreparable damage to staff morale and caused bitterness, backbiting and infighting.

Changes need to happen at the university.

I have never understood the rationale behind elevating career academics into senior positions of administrative responsibility ... what qualifications do they possess for such a job? McMahon and her fellow VCs were accurately described by Aditya Chakrabortty in the Guardian of 3 March as 'the new breed of fat cat', who 'stopped teaching or researching decades ago and now bob about from campus to campus: cutting here, screwing things up there before moving on to the next debacle.' He also suggests that university governance councils should have more student and staff members, and that HE bosses should be in post for a maximum number of years - before returning to academic work. That way, he says, 'you might get people who actually care about their staff, students and institutions - rather than lining their own pockets.' This woman has done irreparable damage to a fine institution, and should return to academic work (and obscurity)

post haste ... if anyone will have her ... her departure can't come too soon.

April McMahon's tenure has been riven by her consistently poor judgement. Her aggressive management style and hectoring tone in the matter of disputes, has alienated staff, students and the community of Aberystwyth. The Arts Centre was left reeling in the wake of her predatory attitude toward it and its staff, though there have been triumphs despite that, most significantly in the reinstatement of Auriel Martin, newly equipped with enough technical qualifications to be running health and safety on a North Sea oil rig. Now there's a woman we can all admire.

I hear Professor McMahon has been looking for employment elsewhere, though frankly with her track record in Aberystwyth I can't imagine anyone would want her.

The university was in the top 50 when I applied in 2012, which was part of the reason I applied. If it hadn't been for the amazing people I have met during my two years here I'd probably have transferred for my third year.

I was shocked to learn McMahon's salary compared to that of the rest of the staff. Her job is no more important than that of the lecturers and other staff who keep this school going. The campus in Mauritus is also a stunning waste of funds. If an institution cannot pay its staff, why would it set up a campus on a tropical island? Also, I'm concerned as an international student. I pay more to be here and have invested everything I have to attend this university. When I applied in 2012, Aber was reasonably high on the league tables and I have been appalled by its decline. I moved to the UK for its high standard of education, and seeing the reputation of my university falter is troubling. I had previously noticed that the negative changes taking place at Aberystwyth began when April McMahon began her role as vice chancellor. Her leadership has clearly damaged this school, and I politely request that she step down and allow someone more capable to take her position.

I have many friends who study or have studied at Aberystwyth, and I myself grew up here and wish to study at the university.

This University is run by an elitist dictator and something needs to be changed. However someone competent needs to replace her.

As a former student I am worried that April's management of the University is not only poor, but is also seriously threatening the reputation of the university. The new Mauritius campus is a cash cow and could further hinder the universities reputation, whereas, the situation under which McMahon got her position is under serious scrutiny.

Pantycelyn

More adverse affects such as reputation of the university

The University was amazing when I went and my last year sucked because of her rules that had to be placed

I benefitted greatly from the time I spent in Aberystwyth, gaining a degree from what was at the time a respected university, as well as some fantastic experiences and memories. Sadly, with April McMahon as VC, I no longer feel able to recommend Aberystwyth University to prospective students. The sooner she goes, the better.

I believe in equality and will ALWAYS fight for it.

It is not only Aberystwyth University that is betraying both staff and students. There are, as we all know, others. April McMahon must find it so hard to live with herself, on £252,000 a year; whilst student and staff needs are being neglected, but allegedly the harassment skills of management are being polished up daily.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/outrage-universities-wales-pay-staff-6937493

Why is this person still in this has proven herself to be incompetent.

Fair treatment of the staff, even I've heard bad things about the subject

My university

Because the Vice-Chancellor, taking from her salary, is anathema to the working people and indifferent to their plight

Aber was the making of me as a person and gave me the opportunity to become successful. I am committed to Aber giving all the students and staff the same opportunity that I had and it is obvious from the developments in recent times that this is not the case. I give charitable donations to Aber every month so that there is benefit to the institution. I do not want it misused or misappropriated by money oriented and misguided executives. Aber is an educational establishment that relies on its reputation as being good for education and not good for business. Give us back our education and forget the profit.

To end a damaging and unfair regime at Aberystwyth University

The running of the university has not been handled very well. I would like to see the university have the reputation it deserves

I would like to see some good governance of Aberystwyth University

I am appalled at the unimpeded bullying taking place from the very top of the current regime at Aberystwyth University. Staff members who dare to raise grievance issues are threatened with disciplinary procedures and those who do not tow the line loose their jobs.

In my view this is an outrageous way to manage an Institute of Higher Learning meant to set an example to young people.

Universities ought to be places that encourage inspiring and liberal free thinking, neither the staff nor the students can flourish in an atmosphere of fear and oppression.

New leadership is a matter of urgency.

Someone so power mad deserves to go and play back in the sand box, alone.

Aberystwyth University is a unique entity in terms of its beautiful location, facilities, academic program and amazing arts program. As a visiting artist from western Canada I was very impressed by the excellent quality of the arts programming as well as the community involvement with the University. Unheard of in many larger centers. This is due mainly to the high quality of the staff involved. To deny resources, and proper financial compensation which does not even come close to inflation rates, while giving oneself a 9% payraise show distain for their efforts. Staff of this quality is hard to find and retain, and once gone, ratings slide, as has been shown. Proper leadership is critical, and perhaps a change is due to someone more understanding of the value of quality instruction.

When I first came to Aberystwyth in 2007, the University was in the ascendancy with its best days still to come. Now, it is in freefall in terms of reputation and performance in university rankings and it shames me to identify as an alumnus of the University. It has reached the point where I am more proud to identify as a student at Manchester University despite being there for a shorter time than I was at Aberystwyth.

She is an appalling bully and quite unsuited to the task of leading an academic institution

As an occasional visitor to the university's Arts Centre, I have been appalled to hear of the manipulative behaviour of April McMahon. I am at a loss to understand why she has not been removed before if allegations of her extensive staff bullying are true.

I used to be an employee at Aberystwyth Arts Centre and knew Alan Hewson and Auriel Martin. I was shocked and saddened by the way they were treated. It will have a detrimental effect on the Arts Centre and therefore the university.

As proud Aber alumni, I am saddened at the rate this institution has gone downhill. My partner is studying there at the moment, and the university is sadly, nowhere near the same standard it was in my time there (2000-2004). Something has to change.

I feel the quality of my degree has changed from when I decided to come to Aberystwyth and now that I am graduating. The University has fallen in quality to an unacceptable level under April McMahon's watch.

University needs to held accountable - not just April.

Hate dictatorship why change something when it isn't broke?

I have watched the demise of Aberystwyth University since the current Vice Chancellor took over in 2011. The tremendous good will between the university and the town has totally eroded and the trust/goodwill within the university is so low that the description `climate of fear` is appropriate. People have been suspended, dismissed, bullied and threatened under the VC`s regime and it has to stop before Aberystwyth University sinks completely.

It's just another "cream off the money and bully the lower paid" - fat cats in academia.

Was a time this Uni's alumni & alumnae would have known the singular form of the word. I rest my case.

I live here. She's ruining my town.

Something has to be done about this dreadful situation.

I welcome this petition because for example in the case of the Arts Centre no-one has been made accountable for the debacle

Dictatorship must be challenged, open and fair processes maintained.

To save AU from this zealot of a wrecking ball.

Aber was once a great university, but has fallen from grace.

I want Aberystwyth University to do well.

Am adra

Aberystwyth University and the money bought in by the students who study there are integral to the economy of my hometown. The problems which have arisen under McMahon's leadership will not only continue to damage the University, but the town as a whole.

The decline of Aberystwyth University's reputation is saddening and deeply worrying for staff, students and our town. The appalling treatment of honourable members of staff requires a public apology.

LONG LIVE ABERYSTWYTH'S PRECIOUS CULTURE!!

As an alumni I am shocked by her conduct.

Current student at the university and not pleased with the declining standards

Don't subscribe to bullies in the workplace.....or anywhere else. Bullying is based on fear and insecurities!

The reputation and status of Aberystwyth University is at stake - the damage inflicted by the present management must be reversed before it is too late.

Because I feel she gets paid too much for what she does leaving other staff on low wages and I don't feel her role at the university has been significant or she has achieved much.

The inability or unwillingness to listen to the people one is supposed to be leading is the mark of a bad leader.

Aber Alumni - Graduated 2013

The standard of Aber uni is appalling.

My Son is at this uni & anything that will effect his education is worrying.

Since starting at the university in 2012 things have only gone downhill- demonstrated both by our rankings and by student satisfaction. Clearly something isn't being done right and needs to change.

April McMahon has severely damaged my University Education.

Does she really know what she's doing?!

April McMahon played a significant role in the University's attempt to close Pantycelyn Halls of Residence. Closing Pantycelyn would destroy the welsh student community here. Additionally, she's a manipulative, cruel, dictating witch who doesn't deserve to work at such a pleasant university. Away with her.

#achubwydpantycelyn

The Arts Centre, and general treatment of Staff and Students. Bye bye April.

Eisiau'r dyfodol gorau i Prifysgol Aberystwyth. I want the best future for Aberystwyth University.

She's harming the Welsh community, and doesn't understand what our Welsh traditions and expectations are!

I have been deeply affected by her disregard for students and staff's well being. This needs to change.

I'm a student in Aberystwyth and only want the best for the university!

Events of recent months seem rather like bullying to me, & that is not acceptable. Auriel has done a most sterling job at the Arts Centre for many years, & she has been treated abominably.

Pantycelyn is the home of the Welsh speakers of the university and April is ready to shut it down.

In the States we're calling people like your Vice Chancellor #badmin -- they all need to go! Students, faculty, staff -- rise up and take back what they have stolen -- your money, your education, and your future

There has been a notable drop in satisfaction, and enthusiasm in the way the university is being run. It is being felt by staff and students alike.

The University's iconic status and reputation has been seriously undermined by your management.

Because since I came to this uni 3 years ago it only got worse and worse. It's a joke!

As an alumnus of Aber, I completely agree that McMahon is ruining Aber. She needs to go and she needs to go now.

There does not seem to be a proper system of checks and balances in place. Bad administrators seem to have the power to be destructive and incompetent with impunity.

The controversy caused by her has affected the reputation of both the university and the town and affected the lives of some very well liked people. This does not sit well in my book.

For everything you have done to the arts centre and the amazing people who work there, and for everything you continue to do to the university.

This woman has caused a lot of damage.

Since her arrival in 2011, April McMahon and her senior team have presided over a dramatic fall in grace for Aberystwyth University. The University's...

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Continued cancellation of work: making it difficult to put food on the table.

The university has taken a bizarre stance re the strike on Thursday Feb 6th that means students with disabilities and their support workers are disproportionately and unfairly affected by the strike, whether they support it or not.

Last time there was a strike at the university, notetakers and support workers were sent an email from Randstad, our employer, which reminded us that as we are not employed by the university, the strike did not involve us. We were told to carry on as normal, and we would be paid for lectures we discovered on the day to be cancelled. Although I support the campaign against the cuts and was not happy at being told to toe the line, my priority was to ensure the students I support did not lose out, so if they were coming in for lectures in case they took place, I did too.

However the funding bodies for students requiring support apparently refused to cough up for lectures that didn't happen so the university reimbursed notetakers and support workers for cancelled sessions.

This time, the university seems to have realised this was a bit costly, and has come up with a different strategy.

On Monday (3rd Feb), all students receiving support were emailed by the university to inform them that there would be no support available on the day of the strike unless they could confirm by 5pm today (Tues 4th Feb) that a lecture is going ahead.

Whilst unions are required to give employees notice of strikes, individual employees are under no obligation to inform employers whether they intend to take part or not.

Ironically, this decision by the university to save money by not reimbursing support workers and notetakers for lectures cancelled at the last minute means that we are effectively forced to join the strike.

Whilst many I am sure support the strike in principle, for most of my colleagues the focus is on a third day without pay in one week, two from the cancellation of lectures at short notice due to the storms, and now this one due to the strike. As we are all on very low pay, this is devastating and is literally making it difficult to put food on the table.

But it also puts all the students who rely on support in an unenviable position, as they too are effectively being forced to abandon their studies for the day, whatever their personal wishes and convictions, as few lecturers or departments will be willing to say definitely whether a lecture is or isn't happening.

If lectures, seminars and practical sessions go ahead on Thursday, students relying on support are going to lose out.

It looks to me as though the university is juggling with too many issues here and is in danger of falling foul of Disability Discrimination and Human Rights legislation as well as trying to skirt the legislation re strikes - and all to save a few pounds by not reimbursing support workers and notetakers!

Zero hour contracts, low incomes, no holiday pay: Aber Uni contracts out essential services

I work at the university but I am not employed by the university. Along with everyone else providing essential services for students with disabilities, I should be part of Student Support Services, but our work has been contracted out, and although our work is organised by Student Support, we are employed by an agency in Manchester. Without our work, students with disabilities, with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, and with chronic health problems would not be able to access or make full use of all the university has to offer. We remove barriers to learning and provide an essential service in making tertiary education equally accessible to all students. I believe we provide a high quality of service and work professionally, but we are shown little respect or appreciation by the university hierarchy, with no opportunities for CPD - or even any forum where we can suggest simple improvements that would make life easier and the university more accessible for students with disabilities. We are on zero hours contracts, with no guarantee of work. It takes several weeks each term to build up a timetable, and we quickly learn to say yes to anything offered, even if it means coming in for just one lecture, or waiting around all day, unpaid, yet unavailable for any other work elsewhere, for a second lecture at the opposite end of the day. The hourly rate is reasonable, but the hours in between are unpaid, so all of us are on very low incomes, and in the holidays we earn nothing. Yet when the university decided to cancel all lectures on Friday Jan 30th and Mon Feb 3rd, 2014, because of the threat of storm damage on the prom, we were sent an email from Randstad asking us to show "appreciation", "understanding" and "co-operation" for not being paid for any lectures lost on these two days. The full text of the email is below:

Dear Support Worker,

The University have recently advised you that lectures have been cancelled on Friday 31st January and Monday 3rd February due to adverse weather conditions in Aberystwyth.

This cancellation affects the whole University, and is a completely unforeseen situation which is out of anyone's control.

Of course, the University Accessibility Service informed all support workers as soon as this information was passed to them, at 11am this morning.

We are aware that the usual cancellation process is a full 24 hours notice, and a couple of you may have lectures early in the morning that you were informed were cancelled around 22 hours in advance.

We would hope that Support Workers show appreciation for these circumstances; and would ask that the small number of notetakers who may have a lecture between 9-11am tomorrow - on this occasion - do not make a claim for the session.

During the recent strikes, the University have had processes in place to minimise any disruption to support workers and their payment and have supported wherever possible. The unforeseen circumstances around these most recent severe weather-related cancellations have of course been impossible to predict or mitigate. We would greatly appreciate your understanding and co-operation in this matter, please let me know if you have any questions. Kind Regards Randstad Student & Worker Support 5th Floor St James' Buildings, 79 Oxford Street, Manchester M1 6FQ

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