FXU Penryn Campus Penryn Cornwall TR10 9FE Tel: 01326 255861

Dear University of Exeter Council / Falmouth University Board of Governors,

I am writing this on behalf of the students of the University of Exeter, Cornwall Campuses / Falmouth University, to both University Governing bodies, with regards to student accommodation issues.

The University will have received a copy of the motion students submitted to the FXU on 23rd February 2016 in which we made the institutions aware of concerns students have raised to us at our recent Annual General Meeting. The submission and the subsequent unanimous student vote in favour of the motion means that FXU are now mandated to the act upon the following statement:

“FXU should lobby the University of Exeter, Falmouth University and FX Plus to oppose any expansion of student numbers at this time, until a sustainable solution to the housing crisis is found and agreed upon by all parties, including the local town councils of Falmouth and Penryn, and the FXU.”

The mandate comes about as students have foreseen there being substantial problems for both returning students and new students looking for accommodation in the private sector; in both the short and longer term. This letter is FXU’s first formal step in response to this mandate.

It is important for us to state that FXU is committed to supporting our two universities to be even more successful and, as a result, completely understand that they naturally want to grow further. We also understand that this growth could bring real benefits to students, staff, our two universities and to the local community. We are committed to being a good neighbour, integral to the Cornish community and helping to deliver real economic and social benefits to the region. Therefore, we would like to emphasise that this motion is about sustainable growth, not an outright call to stop growth in student numbers entirely; and is called for by students as they are seeing real pressures in the housing sector currently and foresee this worsening in the future.

The concerns have been voiced to you by the FXU Presidents since we started our term in office, and this motion demonstrates that your students are now experiencing the difficulties that we previously anticipated.

This is clearly a complicated matter with two sovereign institutions with different sets of future aims. However, students have highlighted the importance of needing to understand these and how they fit together to create the shared university experience they know and love. This letter should be seen as an invitation to both institutions to increase their transparency around their own strategic plans whilst also communicating to students how they are working together to address student concerns around accommodation with sustainable solutions.

Falmouth & Exeter Students’ Union (FXU) is a registered charity in England & Wales Charity No. 1145405 Students want to know and understand some of the actions going on ‘behind the scenes’ and we are asking the universities to work with FXU to clearly communicate this back to students.

We call upon both universities to:

 Inform student body of sustainable accommodation plans the Universities are putting in place to house the students they anticipate bringing to study here both for new and returning students. Including a timescale that clearly identifies when these plans will be developed into actual student homes.  Actively demonstrate and communicate how they will help students in finding accommodation if they are unable to do so currently, or if they struggle to do so in the future.  Confirm and demonstrate to the student body that local partners have been involved and are in collective agreement with said sustainable accommodation plans  To continue to work closely with FXU until students are satisfied that a sustainable solution to housing issues are found and continue to openly communicate these back to students.  Give a guarantee that both Universities will review their strategies if it becomes evident that the current projected growth levels are unsustainable or that they are having a demonstrably negative effect on the student experience.

We look forward to your response.

Kind Regards,

The FXU Presidents 2015/2016 Amanda Chetwynd-Cowieson (President Student Experience) Grace Fisher (President Exeter) Fred Mallin (President Falmouth) Alexa Webster (President Community and Welfare)

Falmouth & Exeter Students’ Union (FXU) is a registered charity in England & Wales Charity No. 1145405