Two months ago, I received an email from my Study Skills tutor about the risk of redundancies to student support staff. I had already heard that the University of Sussex planned further redundancies to save £35 million a year, but had not realised how much this could affect my studies.
Since my second year at the University, I have had the support of a Study Skills tutor to help me cope with my dyslexia. Every week, I met with her to discuss assignments, study techniques and all the minutiae that make being a university student with dyslexia difficult. I sometimes wonder where I would even be without her assistance and advice. Would I have even been able to finish my undergraduate degree earlier this year? It can be hard to truly understand the value of this kind of support until you have to imagine a version of student life without it.
The work done by Study Skills tutors is, to me, among the most important work done by any educational faculty at the University. The effort my tutor has put into not only helping me improve my grades, but also strengthening my belief in myself and my abilities, has defined any academic achievements of mine over the last two years. One moment with my tutor that had a greater impact on my studies than I had first imagined was her giving me dietary advice. After helping me plan an essay, she diverted the conversation towards what I eat and drink while reading and writing all day.
Before even telling her about the countless energy drinks and doughnuts, she was telling me to change my ways, like she had some sort of intuition. That was last summer, and since then, I have switched my study diet away from sugar and towards cups of tea and eating actual meals. This may just make me sound like I’m 50 years old, but her advice undoubtedly made my final year of study easier on my body than the previous two.
The culmination of all her help was not only my graduation, but also my being accepted into my Master’s course here at Sussex for the new academic year. When I got my conditional offer back in the spring, I felt safe; safe in the knowledge that I would continue to have the support of my tutor going into what will for sure be the hardest year of my studies so far. Now everything feels different. I am now faced with the potential of starting my Master’s with no disability support outside of a yellow sticker to put on all my assignments; a sticker I only learned to use in the first place because my tutor told me I had to.
I am not prepared for a university experience without the amazing assistance of my tutor; the risk of losing this support not only makes achieving good grades harder, but also disrupts the schedule I have been used to, week in, week out, here at the University for the last two years.
UNISON has said that the planned redundancies will “have a damaging impact on staff, students and services”, and I can feel this becoming true for myself. I have become so used to the additional support of having every assignment thoroughly reviewed before I submit it- the idea of going back to where I was before, when I was struggling academically, is extremely daunting. If I am to struggle over the next 12 months at the University of Sussex, I will know the reason why.
If I had one message to the University, it would simply be to think about those students who might not speak up about it, but who desperately depend on additional support. Whether it is a Study Skills tutor like I have, or something different, student support is not an afterthought or something that can be cut down to save money elsewhere. It is a need, not a want.
Recommended article: https://thebadgeronline.com/2026/06/no-sugar-daddy-no-degree/