In order to help us meet future student demand we are making some changes to the courses we offer. This is linked to data on what students are looking to study nationally, recognising the different needs of new generations of students to come.   

Consultation process and outcomes 

We shared proposals at the end of January 2024 for courses that would potentially be phased out and not recruited to in future. Since then, we have been consulting with staff, during which colleagues from courses proposed for closure were invited to submit counterproposals.  

The Size & Shape Workstream staff, including Directors of Division, have been meeting to carefully consider the counterproposals and have made recommendations to our Executive Group on which courses to phase out and how, in order to allow the University to find the cost savings it needs. The Executive Group have reviewed these recommendations and have now approved plans. Outcomes of the consultation for all subjects proposed to be phased out can be found on the course changes webpage.   

Affected staff and students have been contacted about the outcomes of the consultation in their areas.  See timeline of when detailed information on course changes will become available.  

Student Open Forums 

You are invited to attend one of our Student Open Forums to find out more about the Kent 2030 programme and to ask any questions you may have. If you are studying a subject which is unaffected by the course changes, you are still welcome to attend Student Open Forums to find out more: 

• Undergraduate Open Forum, 28 March 12:00-13:00. Sign up for UG webinar.  
• Postgraduate Open Forum, 3 April 14:00-15:00. Sign up for PG webinar.  

Emotional support

Student Support and Wellbeing (SSW) team can support you if you are worried about the impact these changes are having on your emotional wellbeing. As well as 1-2-1 support, SSW are also hosting some online group workshops on managing your emotions during a period of change or uncertainty on 28 March, 2 April and 11 April. Check out the SSW events calendar for more information and to book your free place, and  take a look at other online and telephone support which you can access 24/7 as a Kent student.

See the Kent 2030 course changes webpage for more information including a timeline and support for students affected by the course changes.  

From Professor Richard Reece, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Education and Student Experience

Future plans for Kent

I wanted to update you all on work underway to develop our next University strategy, which is focused on ensuring we do more to put students at the heart of everything we do. This is being delivered through our Kent 2030 plan, which brings together a range of improvements based on suggestions from students.

Lots of this is due to come into effect from Autumn 2025 onwards, including planned changes to the structure of our academic year. We are also looking at the make-up of the courses we plan on recruiting to in the future, recognising that students have different needs and different expectations than they did in the past.

As part of this, we have started talking to staff in some areas about phasing out future recruitment to a number of courses. If agreed, this would only affect recruitment for future cohorts of students in these areas – for those studying them now, your teaching and graduation would carry on as normal.

These proposals are to do with our broader portfolio rather than any specific campus – we remain fully committed to our presence at Medway and as part of this will be looking at how we can refresh what we do to ensure we have a vibrant offer at Medway that matches what students and employers are looking for.

Why are we doing this?

We are always looking at ways we can do things differently as student demographics change, ensuring we match the ambition of students in what they can study at Kent and the ways we support them in doing that. Alongside this, like other universities across the country, we are responding to a challenging financial environment – we want to get ahead of this by building something different and better for future generations of Kent students.

What does it mean for you?

The Kent 2030 programme will be making improvements to lots of aspects of the student experience. As the programme develops, we will be in touch directly should any proposed changes affect you. Our priority throughout will be to ensure we maintain the quality and consistency of your course through to when you graduate, and your Division will be in touch via email shortly if there are proposed changes in your area as part of the current curriculum review.

None of the proposed plans being discussed would impact students’ ability to graduate or complete their courses, and as with any organisational changes, we will do everything we can to minimise the impact on your studies.

Find out more about Kent 2030

Change can be challenging for some colleagues but we are sure that these proposed changes are the right thing to do to ensure a positive future at Kent. We are working with Kent Union and staff unions to do everything we can to support affected staff as a result of the upcoming curriculum review. If you have questions or concerns about any of this, please contact Kent Union at union-president@kent.ac.uk or the Kent 2030 team at Kent2030Student@kent.ac.uk.

Want to hear more about how changes might affect your student journey and ask your questions? Join our next Student Open Forum from 15:30 – 16:30 on Wednesday 21 February online via Teams.

Sign up to attend Student Open Forum Wed 21 February

Read about Kent 2030 plans online

Help us bring together our next five-year plan for the University.

We’re looking into an number of big changes which include making it easier for you to fit study around other activity and making sure we build in better links with industry in our courses.

The earliest these changes would come into effect would be the 2025/26 academic year.

Find out more about Kent 2030 and give your feedback.