Goldsmiths MFA students seek tuition refunds after 21-week strike

MFA students at Goldsmiths, University of London, are formally requesting financial compensation after a 21-week industrial dispute left them with little to no instruction this autumn term. The students argue that the ongoing strike has rendered their tuition payments, which total nearly £15,000 per year for UK residents, difficult to justify given the lack of academic progress.

The disruption stems from a conflict between the university and University and College Union members that began in April. The action started as a marking boycott over proposed job cuts, but management responded by deducting 100% of pay from participating staff. The union characterized this deduction as a lockout, leading to an indefinite strike that has continued since early June.

Florence Sweeney, a part-time student, described the term as a financial drain where many fine art students received virtually no teaching. She reported that classmates, some of whom traveled internationally to enroll, showed signs of distress and anxiety due to the lack of briefings and proper induction. One international student told reporters that initial orientation sessions frequently devolved into discussions about the strike, leaving new arrivals shocked by the campus atmosphere.

John Carver, a second-year part-time student, suspended his studies after a departmental meeting at the start of the term. He noted that while regular tutors were effective, the replacement staff assigned during the strike did not know the students. James Evans, a US-based international student, said visa and funding restrictions forced him to remain enrolled despite the chaos. Evans stated he never received marks for last year's projects and faces a current term with no structure and minimal communication.

Goldsmiths management contends that only 8.5% of its staff are on strike, meaning the majority of students remain unaffected. A university spokesperson said the institution offered compromises, including a pause on compulsory redundancies, but maintained the pay deductions for the initial marking boycott to offset costs already spent on student support. The university faces financial pressure from falling applications in humanities and reduced domestic fees, which a staff member described as driving non-stop rounds of redundancies.

Joe Newman, co-president of the Goldsmiths UCU branch, attributed the strike to the scale and speed of management's cuts. He said students were largely supportive of the action and mostly aghast upon learning the reasons for the walkout. The university continues to offer regular updates and meetings with schools to support affected students while the dispute remains unresolved.