Dartington College of Arts - Merger With University College Falmouth

Merger With University College Falmouth

Dartington College of Arts has now merged with University College Falmouth and relocated to Cornwall in 2010. This decision was controversial and generated much local protest, including marches and a petition. The official story was that financial problems caused Dartington College of Arts to seek a merger with University College Falmouth, seen as the only way of securing a long-term future for the College. This view was highly contentious at the time, and not generally accepted. The merger with University College Falmouth was seen by some as bringing increased resources, support and opportunity for arts students and greater opportunities for vocational study and post-graduate support. Others saw it as the death of a noble experiment. University College Falmouth aims to use the merger as a springboard to achieve University status by 2012 and create a University of the Arts in South West England.

Dartington College of Arts was one of the last remaining specialist arts colleges in the UK, with the remainder — apart from a very small holdouts — all now swallowed up by larger institutions. In 2010 the UK government announced the removal of all funding for undergraduates in all but a very few, science-based subjects, inevitably causing fees to rise significantly, and perhaps further compromising the quality and status of arts education.