De Montford University drops youth work and community development course
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, July 28, 2022
De Montford University (DMU) has suspended its youth work and community development course for 2022/23 due to a drop in intake levels compounded by pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The three-year undergraduate course, which is professionally recognised by the Joint Negotiating Committee and validated by the National Youth Agency, includes modules around education and youth work, diversity, professional development and management.
In a statement to CYP Now, a spokesman for the university, based in Leicester, said: “Due to the unavoidable financial impact of the pandemic, like almost every university, DMU has had to make rapid and widespread changes to adapt.
“Therefore, due to significantly lower recruitment rates over the last few years, alongside wider university measures to make savings and increase income, the difficult decision was made to suspend intake for the youth and community development course for September 2022.”
The suspension of the course is not planned to impact those who are currently part-way through the course, however the current cohort is expected to be the “final cohort to study and graduate from the course,” the spokesman said.
They added that the scrapping of the course will be “at no detriment to education delivery and student experiences” for those still studying.
“Students will still have access to expert academics and the same opportunities and support as any other student at the university and the degree will still hold the same high value and recognition,” the spokesman said.
Bernard Davies, former visiting professor at DMU, said the loss of the course "will leave a huge gap in the field".
"Given the employment, mental health and other pressures on young people which the Covid pandemic has exposed and exacerbated, this course has never been more needed. Even its loss for hopefully just one year will leave a huge gap in the field just as it is beginning to show some encouraging signs of recovering from the cuts which devastated it during the post-2010 austerity decade and indeed since.
"I’d therefore want to urge DMU to revisit and revise its decision before implementing it," he added.
