The increasing centralisa- tion of power at UCL continued over the summer, as the number of staff committees and sub- committees was brutally slashed for the new academic year.
In the year 2009-10 there were 76 committees and sub- committees at UCL; this number has now plummeted to 33 for 2010- 11 following a massive cutback by Provost Malcolm Grant and Vice-Provost Michael Worton. Of those committees abol- ished, they include previously important bodies such as the Stu- dent Welfare Co-ordinating Com- mittee (SWCC), the Joint Com- mittee for the UCL Bloomsbury (JCUCLB), and the Student Accommoda- tion Committee (SAC).
These committees are im- portant to students precisely be- cause many, suchas JCUCLB, have student representatives offering students a voice in the running of UCL. Without them, students re unable to have a say on vital issues around their university.
Even on committees where students are not present, a Sab- batical Officer must be present to represent the interests of UCL stu- dents.Either directly or indirectly through these committees and sub-committees, students previ- ously were able to have a say on major issues across all UCL policy.
The decision taken by UCL over the summer to more than halve the number of com-mittees begs the question: how can the needs of students con- ti to be met when there has been such a drastic reduction in bodies through which stu- dents can voice their concerns?
Even if many of those abolished committees had rela- tively little decision making power, their removal is surely a signal that those in charge a increasingly less informed of stu- dents’ thoughts on vital issues.