The demise of the University of London¡¯s student union does not spell the end of the university itself, its deputy vice-chancellor has insisted.

College leaders last week voted to close the University of London Union, backing a review by a working party that said the organisation was duplicating many of the services provided by individual institutions¡¯ unions.

According to the review, pan-London functions such as campaigning and organising intercollegiate sporting activities should be transferred to other bodies, while the union¡¯s Bloomsbury headquarters would be run by the university.

Condemning the decision to close ULU, its president Michael Chessum said the abolition also reflected many colleges¡¯ weak commitment to the university and the institution¡¯s sense of ¡°mortality¡± about its own future.

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¡°It is clear that some vice-chancellors are not serious about the existence of the university,¡± he said. ¡°Certain managements have a track record of undermining [it] whenever possible.¡±

His comments reflect continuing questions about whether colleges have outgrown the federal structure of the University of London, which was created in the 19th century.

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The ULU review itself notes that individual colleges now provide the full ¡°representational, social, welfare and sporting needs¡± of almost all the 120,000 students at institutions aligned to London.

¡°At least 60 per cent of students¡­are following [the] degrees of their home institution¡±, rather than London¡¯s courses, it adds.

Unions also reported that students living close to the university¡¯s headquarters - generally, those from University College London or Soas - tended to benefit disproportionately from ULU¡¯s facilities.

This accusation could also be levelled at the university itself, with some institutions located more than hour away from Bloomsbury.

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But Paul Webley, director of Soas and London¡¯s deputy vice-chancellor, who led the ULU review, insisted that the university was still valued by its institutions despite their increased autonomy.

¡°It is inevitable that people will think about this and it is true that the University of London had a serious wobble about five years ago,¡± he said, referring to Imperial College London¡¯s departure in 2007.

The university now provides a central careers support service, IT facilities and library provision for its 18 colleges and 10 institutes.

¡°If you went to each college, I¡¯m sure they would say they get different things from the university,¡± Professor Webley said. ¡°Any institution could leave at any time, but the fact they don¡¯t suggests it is working for us.¡±

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He insisted that the closure of ULU was not an attempt to muffle the student voice or to scale back services.

¡°This is not about switching money away from students. Rather it is addressing the federal structure that duplicates a lot of services already provided by student unions,¡± he said.

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¡°We at Soas have made a commitment that all the money that went to ULU will now go straight to our own student union.¡±

jack.grove@tsleducation.com