More than 50 postgraduate fine art students studying at Goldsmiths in London say that “[they] are once again paying the price for a dispute the university has failed to resolve” after a strike at the college became the longest in UK higher education history.
Members of Goldsmiths University and College Union (GUCU) started taking action short of a strike from 27 April this year and began indefinite full strike action on 8 June, over the university’s restructuring programme and proposed academic redundancies. The strike has now lasted 130 days, breaking a record held by the University of Brighton. A Goldsmiths spokesperson says it has engaged with GUCU throughout this dispute and has made three offers to reach a resolution, the latest of which was rejected.
Students from the Goldsmiths MFA cohort highlighted the disruption to their courses in an open letter, saying that 10 out of 12 staff are on strike. “Before enrolling, incoming students were not told the extent of the strike, or how severely it would affect teaching. Students have had no academic or workshop inductions, and second years are relied upon to explain how the course functions, whilst being unclear of the structure of their final year and examinations,” say the students.
Second-year students have still not received marks or feedback from their interim assessments, the letter adds, claiming that if they do not pay this term’s fees by 31 October the university will “withdraw us almost immediately, and under its guidelines we will still owe them 25% of the term’s fees”.
Extensive restructuring
Goldsmiths has carried out extensive restructuring over the past five years, launching the Recovery programme in 2021 and the Transformation programme in 2024. GUCU says that the Recovery programme led to £7.6m in recurrent savings while the Transformation programme generated a further £16.1m worth of savings.
The Goldsmiths spokesperson adds: “We have taken extensive steps to minimise the impact on students and maintain teaching and academic support across affected programmes. Fewer than 2% of programme modules across the university are currently impacted by industrial action. Any disruption is regrettable, and our priority remains supporting students to progress and complete their studies successfully.”
Goldsmiths, part of the University of London, has produced a number of famous art alumni such as Damien Hirst, Steve McQueen and Sarah Lucas. Nine Goldsmiths graduates have won the Turner Prize, including Gillian Wearing in 1997 and Laure Prouvost in 2013.