Dartington Trust Responds To Schumacher Statement
No sooner had Dartington Hall Trust announced it was closing degree courses at the world renowned Schumacher College – making closure inevitable – supporters announced a renewed bid to take the college independent.
Students were dismayed at the way the news had reached them, claiming the media heard first.
So will this response from the Trust – sent to the Pulse today – clarify matters?
A spokesperson said:”It is nonsensical to suggest that DHT has been obstructing Schumacher’s efforts towards independence. No rational observer would believe that DHT would want to prevent a perennially loss making and non rent paying, dependent entity from funding itself. The fact remains that, more than 12 months after the potential for independence was signalled by Schumacher (including launching a Save Our Schumacher X/Twitter page in Sept 2023) and acknowledged by DHT, there has been no discernible effort by Schumacher to pursue independence. “
The Trust goes on to say that it needs a guarantee that funding (for independence) would be available “before the end of the 30-day staff consultation.”
The Pulse has asked Dartington and Schumacher supporters to comment on this apparent deadline but we haven’t had a response so far.
Here is the DHT statement in full.
- The initial notification to students on 28 August was executed by two senior Schumacher staff; they were supported by DHT staff. It was not physically emailed by DHT. The communication began at 5pm to most of the full list (‘finishing‘ and ‘continuing‘ cohorts). This was in advance of the first article, which appeared not long after the first journalist contacted DHT at around 5.45pm. By 7pm on 28 August only a few remaining individuals’ email addresses needed a final check. No other media coverage appeared until the following day. DHT does not communicate to internal stakeholders through the media.
- The point made in the DHT statement about international students was part of an assessment of the present HE landscape, the financial difficuties of which are well documented. It was not directed specifically at Schumacher, as the ‘staff and students‘ statement suggested. Nonetheless, it is not true that “the majority of Schumacher’s students are international“. While this may have been the case in previous years, a very small number, with the necessary visas, were set to enter academic year 2024/25: six for the undergraduate course and two postgraduates.
- It is highly debateable that the unaccredited Schumacher Foundation Course “had already recruited significant numbers“. At the time of the DHT announcement, 16 had registered and only four deposits had been received. These are being refunded.
- It is nonsensical to suggest that DHT has been obstructing Schumacher’s efforts towards independence. No rational observer would believe that DHT would want to prevent a perennially loss making and non rent paying, dependent entity from funding itself. The fact remains that, more than 12 months after the potential for independence was signalled by Schumacher (including launching a Save Our Schumacher X/Twitter page in Sept 2023) and acknowledged by DHT, there has been no discernible effort by Schumacher to pursue independence. Twice in spring 2024 Schumacher’s learning leadership team made an unorthodox request for a written ‘blessing’ from DHT for them to raise funds for a Management Buy Out, or similar transaction. This is not normal commercial or ethical practice, nor a standard document, legal or otherwise, for an organisation to issue to a subsidiary. Schumacher has been told repeatedly that whatever plans it may have for remaining an educational or trading entity, such a proposal is not a collaborative effort between Schumacher staff and their associates, and Dartington Hall Trust.
Thank you for clarification, DHT.
It’s telling the student to staff ratio is 1.45. FE news writes that the UK student-staff ratio has doubled, from 8.3 to 17 between 2014 and 2021. The student-staff ratio at Russell Group universities has only widened incrementally from 4 to 4.7. It looks like the Schumacher College needs to rethink its model if it is to survive.