Students have protested outside a college campus in Redditch after finding out their course is set to be scrapped.
A group of social work students, who only started in September, were told a few weeks ago that Heart of Worcestershire College (HoW) was planning to stop offering their degree.
Despite the possibility of transferring the students to Birmingham or Worcester, the first-year cohort said they feel "let down" by the college due to the lack of communication about the decision and a "disregard" for the emotional impact.
Many have also taken out expensive student loans to cover the course fees with some of the mature students being unable to commute to another area to continue the course due to childcare and family commitments.
Student Lucy Mullings said: "We were only told about it a few weeks ago and we have been left with very little communication. Our teacher resigned in January and the college hasn't recruited anyone so they've said they are closing the course.
"We feel really let down and deflated. I'm really upset especially as this has had such an emotional and financial impact on myself and others in the cohort. I paid money to do a GCSE Access course to get onto the degree and it is costing me £9,000 for the HoW course.
"I feel like there has been a disregard for how we are feeling and we just want the college to keep the course. The country is crying out for social workers and it will be such a loss to Redditch."
The group praised the tutors for their emotional well-being support following the news but felt the college institution could be doing more to help them.
The students hope the protest will help spread awareness and encourage the college to reconsider its plans.
Student Nikki Stubbs added: "We enrolled in this degree program with the expectation of completing our studies at this institution. But, we have been notified of the closure of our program without any plans for future replacements, despite having invested significant emotional and financial resources into our education.
"The closure of the degree program has resulted in current students having to abandon their aspirations of pursuing careers in social work. There has been no effort made to facilitate a smooth transition for us out of the program, which leaves us feeling disregarded and disrespected as mature students.
"Many of us are personally funding our education and will be unable to continue due to financial constraints. We urge for a more humane and considerate approach to be taken in addressing these issues."
In response to the protest, a spokesperson for HoW College said: "We can confirm that we are in discussions with a small number of students about the possible need to transfer them to another provider to complete their Social Work course. The decision will not be an easy one but our review is based on the challenges of recruiting staff to teach this course, and declining student numbers.
"The number of students studying Social Work at this level has been declining nationally and across the West Midlands region. We have been able to continue with the course up until now, but the challenges presented to us, mean that this course is now under review.
"We are working with the students involved to explore the alternatives and all already have an offer to continue their studies elsewhere, should they need it. We are also considering any possible support they might need to ensure they can complete their courses."
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