This week more than 200 students took part in a demonstration on Oxford Road, protesting at the amount of tuition offered.
They claim they receive significantly less time with staff than their counterparts did 20 years ago, and complained about mounting pressures on library facilities and over-crowding of the campus.
Now the university has released a statement from president and vice chancellor Prof Alan Gilbert, which blames government funding.
He said: "As I have made clear over recent months, this downward trend in teaching hours has occurred over the past 20 years in almost all British universities.
"Decades of diminishing per capita investment in undergraduate learning is having the slow, inevitable consequences for the quality of student learning that were bound to develop in a system that has gone on doing the best it can, by more or less traditional means, while class sizes burgeon and student/staff ratios deteriorate."
Prof Gilbert vowed to `re-personalise' learning. He said: "The university has recently undertaken a root-and-branch review of undergraduate education and is now proceeding to make quite radical changes.
"We are determined to re-personalise the student learning experience, and provide all students with the kind of one-to-one learning that has become increasingly notable by its absence.
"We are committed to making optimal use of the potential of highly interactive on-line learning environments and to providing all students with world-class classrooms and laboratories."
Around 200 students were involved in the demonstration on Tuesday, which disrupted rush-hour traffic and resulted in clashes with police.
Third-year history student Robbie Gillett said the demonstration highlighted their concerns and he warned of further protests if their concerns are not addressed. He said: "I think it showed the university management that they can no longer continue to ignore us and run the university on a business-like model."
What do you think? Have your say.
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200 students from how many at Manchester?
I bet all 200 were 'ology' students of various types, i.e. unemployable whiners in ‘Che Guevara’ tee shirts.
When I went to university, I was too busy playing rugby, having casual sex, drinking, enjoying myself and occasionally doing some work which left me with no time to demonstrate and protest.
I mean, I can understand why they are 'miffed', getting out of bed at lunch time, watching Trisha all afternoon and heaven forbid turning up to lectures and doing something, its hell as student nowadays! Not.......
Connor Fitzgerald
Do you pride yourself in talking about the stereotypes of this world?
Now you see regardless of what you did, students do put in alot of work, especially at the University of Manchester. Which is probably why they marched in the evening as they were working in the day time.
My two friends daughters who take mechanical engineering and business and law, were on this protest I was told the other day, and they marched because they cant get hold of resources, lectures are cancelled every week, and havent been able to get hold of lecturers for weeks on end. All because of job cuts, and all while fee's are increasing.
You believe they should do nothing?
Come-on-City, Manchester University used to be a quality establishment, however, over the years everyone is aware of the issues they have. Now there are too many students studying too many pointless subjects!
They have turned a once great seat of learning into a factory that churns out thousands of students. If prospective scholars choose to go to an over subscribed, under funded, monster of an education factory then why protest? Deal with it because it was their choice!
I did my BSc in Durham and my MEng at Herriot Watt, relatively low numbers of students, lots of facilities, well funded and administered and I had no cause for complaint.
My Son starts at Trevelyan in Durham after the summer and apparently there is no real change from when I attended. Smaller numbers, great facilities and the funds well spent, not squandered!
To reiterate, if the University is poorly managed, under funded or what ever, then the students should have chosen a little more wisely and they stop moaning!
Connor Fitzgerald
The university has a duty to give the education that it promises in the brochure. It is not doing this at the moment, and things have gotten worse since its expansion and merger with UMIST.
The students are not at fault here.
I was on the demo because I want more contact time, an end to teaching, support and house staff culls (while 'occasional', celebrity lecturers are paid masses for prestige events), and better resources. Over the past 3 years, libraries have been closed down; contact hours slashed and unsuitable buildings erected - with no entry for students!
The assembled mass of students have forumlated a list of practical and possible steps that the Uni can take to improve multiple systems. One of these is a minimum cap on face-to-face contact hours, for which "Online and Distance Learning" is not a substitute. For Alan Gilbert to offer this as his plan to 're-personalise' student experience is laughable to anyone - regardless of the steriotypes they evoke of student-dom.
By the way, at Uni I'm on the football team, write about movies for the student paper, probably don't eat well enough and certainly sleep too much. And none of that stands in the way of me thinking something is seriously wrong here - and can certainly be challenged.
Oh, and forget Che; we've got Sheila Rowbotham and Terry Eagleton for icons, right here!
Thanks
There are sixty odd people on the University Union Council. A demo of 200 means that 140 out of 40000 thought it was worth demonstrating about. Which means 99.5% of the Uni didn't give a toss.
Could it be they are not represented by the Lazy Marxists that are running the Union. Campaigning against the Army is hardly going to win them further support.
I would be ashamed to be a Campaigns Officer with such poor support for my campaigns. Hauling my fat backside the the front steps of Oxford Rd with a megaphone a couple of mates from Respect is hardly going to get the Uni to change course.
It could be that with repeated action, such as that from the students on Tuesday, changes in the University may (OR MAY NOT on Mr Gilberts part) be brought about. What this SHOULD trigger is a set of responses from students, including those who feel they are not accurately represented, and an increased number of students entering the political arena at Manchester. It could be argued that no matter what changes take place (good or bad), those 92% who didn't vote in the student elections won't mind either way. I believe however that more and more people will get on board with the liberals to reflect a genuine proportion of students disappointed with the education they have found themselves entering.
MC Spanner: Whenever people take to the streets on a political issue, you can guarantee that they're only a tiny fraction of the people who support the cause.