Uni bosses have said the Freedom of Information Act should not be used to hold them to account.
In a document sent to the government and seen by York Vision, the University says: “The Freedom of Information Act should not apply to universities.”
“We strongly agree that universities should not be treated as public bodies,” the file, signed by Vice-Chancellor Koen Lamberts, contends.
The document is a response to a Green Paper on the future of higher education (HE), which suggests universities be made exempt from the FoI Act because they are largely privately funded.
In the past year, FoI requests from this newspaper have revealed that staff were treated “like royalty” in luxury hotels for thousands of pounds a night, and how the University splashed £20,000 on a celebrations to welcome the new chancellor.
These investigations would become impossible if the proposals in the Green Paper are accepted by the government.
Students have hit out at the University’s response to the paper. “The university isn’t above the law,” one Halifax fresher said.
“If they’re concerned about damaging things being published, they shouldn’t engage in controversial activities.”
Registrar David Duncan defended the University’s position: “As a university we are committed to openness and transparency in all areas of activity,” he said.
“However, we would prefer to achieve this through an expanded publications scheme rather than individual requests for documents, many of which tie up large amounts of time which could be better spent on other activities.”
The 17-page document also exposes that the University is concerned over proposals for diversity targets set by the government.
“Universities are best placed to determine how they should prioritise their activities and investment in this area,” Lamberts argues.
YUSU President Ben Leatham joined the chorus of student voices opposing the plan saying: “I was disappointed that they agreed with the proposed deregulatory measures.
“Freedom of Information is critical when it comes to higher education institutions being transparent and accountable.
“Removing higher education institutions from the scope of FoI legislation could fundamentally damage trust in universities and hamper students and the media’s ability to properly scruitinize decisions made behind closed doors.”
When the university uses as much tax payer money as it does, in the millions, they most certainly ought to set a few groats aside for FOI requests. Mr Duncan seems to think FOI is a waste of time and that 'other activities' are what should be being pursued. Since he seems unable to define what these are I suspect he is simply trying to save himself an hour a day during which he would rather be puffing away at his pipe or swigging sherry from his office in Heslington Hall. That said, Vision's FOI requests tend to be on the trivial side – especially since Prof Lamberts took office and the excesses of Cantor have come to an end.