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Due to diminishing numbers of students at the Lampeter campus and the financial challenges facing the UK higher education sector, the University took the decision to relocate Humanities teaching to its Carmarthen campus from September 2025.

We are committed to supporting the future of Humanities at the University and continuing to provide a high quality educational experience for all our students.

We are equally committed to the future of the Lampeter campus, not only because of its importance in the history of higher education in Wales but also because of its place within the local and regional community.

Responsibility for the Lampeter campus sits with the University, but we are actively engaging with a wide range of representatives from across our community to explore viable and exciting opportunities for its future use. 

So that we can be open and transparent, we established a Key Stakeholder Group of representatives including local politicians, business and community leaders, and University-associated groups including the Lampeter Society.  At the Group’s first meeting, members discussed and agreed a process by which proposals would be received and considered.

We have responded directly to all stakeholders who have contacted us regarding the process for submitting and considering proposals and are continuing to respond to their requests for further information.

As agreed, all proposals will be provided to the Key Stakeholder Group at the first meeting after the submission closing date of 19 May 2025. Several meetings may be needed to ensure that the Group has every opportunity to consider the proposals in detail.

We are grateful for the enthusiasm shown by the community and are optimistic for the future of the Lampeter campus.

On 11 November 2024 it was proposed that, given the diminishing numbers of students studying full-time at the Lampeter campus, the University should relocate current and future Humanities teaching and learning to its Carmarthen campus from September 2025. 

This would provide students with improved access to services that would support their university experience and, allow the Humanities discipline the opportunity to flourish in a more inter-disciplinary environment.

Since then, the University has engaged in regular conversations with students and staff to listen to their responses to the proposal and undertaken a formal consultation with trades unions and affected staff. Discussions have also been held with external stakeholders representing local, regional and national interests.

 The engagement from students and staff has made an essential contribution to challenging and helping to further develop the original proposal. 

The University has now concluded its decision-making process and approved the proposal to relocate its Humanities provision from Lampeter to Carmarthen.

We have worked to reduce uncertainties for staff and students by making a decision in good time to enable the transition.  

The University will now commence preparations and practical considerations, to enable a smooth transition for Humanities to begin the academic year at its new Carmarthen home in September 2025.

The Lampeter campus is of great importance to the University. A mechanism will be established through which stakeholders can be involved in proposals for a range of economically viable, education-related activities that would bring a new, sustainable lease of life to the campus.

 On 31 January 2025 the University published its financial statements for the year to 31 July 2024.  

In these financial statements we record a surplus of £30,587,000. However, this includes a reduction in staff costs of £32,925,000 (shown in the ‘Movement on USS Provision’ line) related to the revaluation of the USS pension provision. 

In 2023–24 the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) was revalued and contributions reduced for both members and employers. In addition, the value of future contributions to the USS’s current calculated scheme debt (which is shared among all active employers in the scheme) has also fallen. The scheme is currently in surplus, so it shows as income rather than expenditure. This movement is not money that the University has available to spend. It is an ‘accounting surplus’ and must be shown here as part of the accounting rules*. 

 The University’s underlying surplus of £382,000 is shown on page 15 of the Financial Statements, this reflects the operational financial performance of the University in that financial year. 

 * An explanation of these rules can be found in