Questions have been raised about Ulster University ‘horse-trading’ between campuses after new courses were added in Coleraine alongside ambitions to open a regional vet school there at a cost of £5m per year.
The Magee Taskforce, which developed an action plan to expand the Derry campus, had said recently that while numbers were to be maintained at the other campuses, extra students and courses would only going to Magee as expansion ramps up.
A Freedom of Information response obtained by the Belfast Telegraph shows that Ulster University (UU) Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Bartholomew raised the prospect of a Northern Ireland Vet School in Coleraine at a meeting with the Minister for the Department of Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) on 2 May 2024.
The document shows they spoke of the costs associated with UU establishing a Vet School being “prohibitively expensive and could not be funded exclusively by the university”.
Minutes from the meeting state: “The projected costs of £37k per student would be considered to be conservative. It was noted that there is an increasing number of students studying across the water and these students are rarely returning to Northern Ireland to take up work.”
UU were said to be looking at how they can introduce veterinary related courses, including vet nursing, from 2025, and the potential for some post graduate courses out of Coleraine campus.
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At a meeting with Causeway Coast & Glens councillors, UU Vice Chancellor Paul Bartholomew said the Stormont Executive would have to decide on funding for a vet school.
He said a vet school would have modest numbers of around 30 students, costing £5m per year.
But speaking on BBC Radio Foyle following the publication of the Magee Taskforce’s action plan to expand the Derry campus, Chair Stephen Kelly was asked if there was “concrete agreement” from UU that additional numbers going forward would go to Magee, while they would be maintained at other campuses, namely Belfast and Coleraine.
Mr Kelly responded: “It is. And it’s in our report.
“You’ll recall that we produced an interim report back in September. We reported a number of our assumptions and we asked parties to confirm whether those assumptions were correct or not.
“We made a request of the Minister to provide us with the policy clarity, about whether this was simply about just shifting people around Northern Ireland or whether this was the more positive thing which is about providing more students with the opportunity to go to universities here at home.”
Mr Kelly reiterated that those are “essentially hypothecated to the development of Magee”.
It was put to him: “So that’s set in stone now?”
Mr Kelly replied: “It’s set in stone.”
He was asked: “If there’s extra courses, extra students to be deployed, they have to go to Magee?”
He responded: “Yeah.”
Asked who will provide oversight to ensure it happens, Mr Kelly said: “We’ll be monitoring it as a taskforce.
“The university will obviously have its own monitoring, not just with the department but with others. So that’s the direction of travel here.”
However, UU has now announced new courses in Coleraine stating: “Big news for Northern Ireland’s veterinary sector – starting in 2025, Ulster University in Coleraine will offer two pioneering undergraduate degrees in Veterinary Nursing and Advancing Animal Healthcare.”
In response to the VC’s plans for Coleraine, the Derry University Group who advocate for an independent cross-border institution said: “UU clearly cannot manage so many competing priorities at the same time – developing Magee, developing Coleraine and servicing its massive Belfast debt.
“The Royal Irish Academy has, wisely in our view, advocated an independent cross-border university, with Derry at its centre, coupled with full governmental oversight for the NI university sector.
“This would ensure that commitments made by governments would be honoured and that UU would be prevented from operating as an independent horse-trader, going from market to market promising its top services to every customer.”
On funding an NI Vet School, DAERA stated that as an employer it has an interest in the supply of veterinarians, but the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) retains ownership of issues such as workforce planning for the veterinary sector.
“The Department will, where requested, facilitate and support third level educational institutes should they seek to progress a business case for a veterinary school in NI,” a spokesperson added.
“However any business case produced by the educational institutes will need to identify a viable funding stream to support a veterinary school in Northern Ireland.”
The Economy Department said the Minister is “fully committed” to delivering on the commitment for 10,000 students at Magee by 2032 and will prioritise undergraduate places at Magee accordingly.
UU was contacted for a response.
News Catch Up – Tuesday 21 January