The Vice-Chancellor of Swansea University has described as “nonsense and misleading” the suggestion that the merged Universities of Trinity St David’s and Swansea Met could be called the University of Wales.
Professor Richard B. Davies said: “We welcome the proposed merger of the two institutions and we Swansea University will work with the new university on regional issues to provide improved services for local learners and local employers building on our long track record of working together.
“However, this new institution cannot and should not be called the University of Wales. It does not represent higher education in Wales, it does not represent Welsh higher education abroad, and it will comprise of only two relatively small institutions in the Swansea hinterland. It would be misleading and nonsense to describe it as the University of Wales.”
Professor Davies also emphasised that former Swansea University students who had been awarded degrees by the University of Wales could be confident that their qualifications were genuine.
He said: “Students have to have confidence that their degrees are valuable. They work hard to get to Swansea, they work hard while they are here, they have a right to expect their degree has an enduring value. I am confident that is the case for our current and future students who receive Swansea University degrees, but we have to reassure all of those who studied here in the past, who hold degrees awarded by the University of Wales, that they too have genuine degrees to be proud of and it is made clear on their degree certificates that they studied at Swansea.
“Employers have to have confidence that young people applying for jobs with University of Wales degrees have actually worked hard to get them and that they are not the product of a scam.
“There is an opportunity now to act decisively and bring the confusion to an end. That opportunity is something that should be grasped quickly and with both hands before any further damage is done to the reputation of higher education in Wales at home and abroad.”
