Hertford College is attempting to raise £1.2m in order to maintain the existing quality of History teaching in the face of unprecedented budget cuts.
The decision has been made following the announcement of Hertford History tutor Toby Barnard’s retirement at the end of the next academic year.
Hertford currently has 41 history undergraduates and is determined to continue to have two ‘CUF’ tutors within their history team. These tutors have a commitment to both the University and to a college, and a core element of their role is undergraduate teaching within tutorials.
Hertford’s JCR President, James Weinberg, told Cherwell his fear that without the fundraising project, “not only would the College have to cut its intake of History students, but the teaching costs associated with inter-collegiate tuition would also have to fall to undergraduates.”
David Hopkins, Fellow and Tutor of History at Hertford, told Cherwell that the problem arose when the government teaching grants to the humanities was completely withdrawn. With the University estimating a full undergraduate education to cost roughly £16,000, and only a maximum of £9,000 now able to be charged to undergraduates, “this considerable shortfall has to be made up somehow”.
As the particular post to be filled will be a CUF position, both Hertford and the wider University will be working towards maintaining this post. Hopkins explained that the fundraising drive “really is a combined effort”.
The University has established a ‘Teaching Fund’ as a symbolic gesture of commitment to the tutorial system. This will initially contribute to the provision of 60 teaching posts across the University, 2/3 of which are in the humanities.
A spokesperson for the University explained, “The University, with money from OUP, has created a £60m fund from which it will provide £0.8m towards endowed chairs at colleges where the college has raised £1.2m.
“These positions, funded in perpetuity from endowments, will help support the tutorial system – benefitting both the college and the University – and is particularly important at a time when government support has been reduced.”
It is hoped that the position will be supported for the forseeable future by the income subsequently generated by the endowment.
Second year Historian Agnes Arnold-Forster said, “while I appreciate Hertford’s efforts, we should not be in a position where alumni have to fund teaching.”
She added, “This one of the first examples of how government funding cuts are going to directly impact on our education.”
Hopkins stated that Hertford had swung behind the campaign without opposition, and that the ethos surrounding the project was one of community and solidarity.
He added that his “dream” was to raise all the money required by January, so that the post could be advertised and the position filled smoothly. He repeatedly stressed his desire to keep the quality of the tutorial system consistent and said that Hertford will “do what they can to ensure that history teaching continues at the college.”
While roughly a quarter of the fund may potentially have already been raised, both Weinberg and Hopkins emphasised the need for “vigorous” and “genuinely proactive” fundraising efforts.
Hopkins especially emphasised the role in which alumni and “people who have had the benefit from the teaching system” may play, and stated that while the offer of a contribution from the JCR was viewed as a warm gesture, any JCR funds would not be accepted.
Weinberg has indicated that there will be various other initiatives, such as “launch and promotional events in separate areas of the country” and “student-run initiatives from within college”.
While both Weinberg and Hopkins were optimistic about the prospect of raising the required funding, both were aware that could be only the first of many similar cases.
Weinberg insisted, “We are facing the greatest crisis in the recent history of higher education and it is only through concerted strategies such as this that we can continue to promote genuine excellence in education and scholarship for all”.
