Image: University of Liverpool
The Russell Group university’s London campus will close in summer 2020
The University of Liverpool will close its London branch campus at the end of the current academic year, ending its six-year presence in the capital.
In September 2013, Liverpool became the first non-London Russell Group university to open a London branch, but it is not the first university to close one there. In September 2014, the University of East Anglia closed its London campus after almost four years of operation.
Liverpool’s London base has about 340 students and more than 50 members of staff. “Unfortunately, we expect the closure of the London campus to lead to some staff currently employed there being made redundant,” a spokeswoman told Research Professional News.
“We cannot confirm a final number at present but we are consulting with those affected to identify how we can best support them and minimise the impact of this decision on them personally, including exploring opportunities for redeployment where possible.”
The spokeswoman aded that the “vast majority” of students are on a one-year masters course and would not be affected by the closure, and that all students would be “supported to complete their studies as planned”.
The University of Liverpool’s annual accounts for 2016-17 stated that “the offering at the London campus continues to be developed”, and that “new postgraduate taught programmes will be available shortly, as well as new continued professional development and undergraduate study opportunities”. However, there was no mention of the branch campus in the accounts for 2017-18, the most recent accounts published.
Gavin Brown, executive pro-vice-chancellor for education at the University of Liverpool, said that the institution’s “strategic priorities” had changed and that it would instead direct its attentions to providing global online courses. The university also wants to focus on a £1 billion upgrade of its main campus in Liverpool.
“For the past six years, we have delivered a professionally focused portfolio to an international community of postgraduate students and delivered innovative final-year options to our undergraduates,” Brown said.
“During this period however, our strategic priorities have evolved and we are now seeking to focus our energy on driving access to education through a dual local and global vision, which will see a major programme of investment in our campus in Liverpool alongside the launch of a new generation of online programmes accessible to students all over the world.”
It is not the first time that Liverpool has moved away from the idea of satellite campuses, with the university dropping plans for an overseas campus in Egypt in October 2018.