Students at an industry leading music university are campaigning against job losses at the institution.

Some non-teaching staff at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM) in Brighton are at risk of redundancy due to a restructure of the workforce.

A spokesman from the newly recognised university said it has been consulting with staff for several months and that there will be no reduction in teaching staff.

Students have expressed their anger at the plans saying the move will affect the support available for students and branded it a “cost cutting exercise”.

They have set up a petition which has so far gained more than 1,200 signatures calling on the university to axe the plan.

The petition said: “BIMM is enforcing a restructuring process on all staff, they claim that this is for the benefit of the students and a ‘reflection of our new university status’. The truth is that this is one big cost-cutting exercise.

“By doing this, it’ll reduce the number of staff at local level who have been supporting you throughout your entire time here.

“We want justice for us, as students, and for the staff, who have been supporting us for many years.

“We have more power than we think to help drive positive change at BIMM.”

BIMM’s spokesman said the restructuring was necessary and would benefit students.

“As our institution continues to grow, and having obtained university title last year, changes in the way that we work are required to provide a better student and lecturer experience and ensure greater coordination across campuses, faculties, and courses,” they said.

“We have been consulting closely with staff members over the past three months, providing them with the opportunity to ask questions, comment on and make recommendations about any aspect of these changes. Crucially, there will be no reduction in teaching staff resulting from these changes. 

“We care about our staff, lecturers and students deeply and we are doing everything we can to ensure any changes are implemented as carefully as possible, for all involved.”

The college was founded in Brighton back in 2001 and has grown to 15 colleges overall across the UK and even to Berlin and Hamburg in Germany.

It was granted university status last July by the Department for Education.

BIMM University is made up of BIMM Institute, Institute for Contemporary Theatre, Performers College, Northern Ballet School and Screen and Film School.

BIMM alumni include the succesful singer-songwriter James Bay.