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To: maceng2 who wrote (674)	12/23/2004 2:10:32 PM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1417

Science department closures threaten medicine, warns BMA guardian.co.uk [I have been hearing info from academia how science is going down the drain at UK universities. Business studies and other stuff taking over. Ho ho ho as I see it because real science has a hard edge to it that pushes other stuff aside.. pb] Rebecca Smithers, education editor Thursday December 23, 2004 The Guardian The current wave of university science department closures could put the future of UK medicine at risk by cutting its research capacity, the British Medical Association warns today. The body laments the "wholesale" withdrawal of science subjects in what it says is a short-sighted approach by British universities which could ultimately affect important medical breakthroughs. Its criticism comes after Exeter University confirmed plans to close its chemistry department, with other science departments earmarked for closure including ones at Keele and Newcastle. Michael Rees, the head of the BMA's medical academics committee, said: "Medical breakthroughs are often based on collaborative work between departments, or the sharing of knowledge and expertise across the sciences ... If science department closures con tinue, research and development in medicine will be under threat." Closures or downsizing has intensified since the research assessment exercise (RAE) was introduced. In a decade, 10 university chemistry courses have closed. Since 1997 chemistry student numbers have fallen from 7,490 to 5,735. The RAE system also strains university teaching, the BMA warns, since funding is awarded on the basis of a department's research output, forcing academics to devote less time to teaching. The BMA is backing an early day motion by the Liberal Democrat MP Nick Harvey which deplores science department closures and calls for an urgent review of RAE. Prof Rees said : "It is a bleak day for universities and students alike to see science subjects being withdrawn wholesale. Medicine, in particular, relies on integrated work across the sciences. "If this trend of closures continues, it will cut off access to the range of knowledge vital for groundbreaking medical research ... "Chemistry A-level is still a requirement for most medical schools. Without university chemistry departments, who will train the secondary school teachers of tomorrow? An education department spokesman said the govern ment would spend more than £2bn more next year on higher education than it did three years ago, while new variable top-up fees should raise an extra £1bn a year from 2006. But he said that, ultimately, "departmental closures are a matter for universities".