SCHML
www.schml.ac.uk
Standing Conference of Heads of Modern Languages in Universities
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providing a management and leadership forum for languages in higher education
The following ‘warning signs’ are the results of a brainstorm of SCHML members during the workshop on 21 May 2008. This was in response to
previous requests from SCHML members that assistance be given with anticipating threats and risks. It was also decided, however, in keeping
with the tone of the workshop, that there should be a brainstorm of alerts of possible opportunities which language departments could seize, in
order to re-position themselves.
Warning signs of potential threats
Change of senior management
Institutional agenda (e.g. employability or internationalisation if not
'outward' or languages-oriented)
Pay and grading changes (can result in higher costs and therefore
threaten survival of department)
RAE returns/outcomes
Geographic location can be a threat (e.g. if dependent on local
recruitment and local schools have low take-up)
Departmental reorganisation (burying languages in a less
sympathetic departmental identity)
Change to internal funding model
Removal of languages from dept and course title
Government policy (e.g. ref secondary languages)
Marketing of languages in the prospectus (e.g. if removed from titles
of dept or course/programme)
Fixed mind-set from monolingual English Native Speakers
Alerts of potential opportunities
(Many possible threats are potential opportunities!)
Change of senior management
Institutional agenda (e.g. employability or internationalisation if
'outward' and/or languages-oriented)
Pay and grading changes (can provide opportunities for
professional recognition of language teachers/for scholarship)
RAE returns/outcomes
Geographic location (e.g. if big demand from local employers, if
location is attractive to students regardless of discipline etc)
Entrepreneurial ventures (keep them up your sleeve)
Knowledge transfer opportunities – offering languages beyond the
University
Routes into Languages and other major high profile projects
affiliation with which can raise status again
Languages exempt from ELQ funding withdrawal
'Language graduates get jobs' message
Using multilingual students (from abroad usually) as examples of
(management, staff in other disciplines, students)
Perception that languages use more resources than need to
or than are affordable
Not being able to access full Band C funding
Dropping recruitment
Removal of options from individual UG programmes
Privatisation/outsourcing
International market changes
Change of Information Management System disaggregating
languages into separate programmes instead of programmes with
separate language paths (resulting in individual programmes
highlighted for small student numbers and therefore threatened)
Change of curriculum (e.g. credit loads where 10 credits in
languages might have been acceptable before, 15 credit module
sizes might not then fit as option)
Drive to reduce contact hours
Lack of ICT investment
Accommodation down-sizing
Blocking of initiatives/proposed programmes (need to check what
agendas are being served)
Lack of champions at Senior Management Level
Finding head of school in the language centre with tape measure
and clip-board!!!
Linguist appointed to Dean position!! (if wanting to over-compensate
for possible accusation of bias)
the competition for UK graduates in world markets
Building research to combat perception of teaching intensive
only/raise status
Esternal sources of funding various (inc HEFCE, private sector,
EU)
FE colleges no longer offering languages providing opportunities to
pick up training contracts
Members of public joining UWLP courses to make more
languages/levels viable for UGs as well
Employer/private sector engagement for joint projects
International students: take-up of additional languages (not just
EFL/EAP)