Hundreds of students and staff from two universities in Glasgow were out in protest at possible cuts to courses.

Rallies were held outside the University of Glasgow and at Strathclyde University, just a few miles away. The action was timed to coincide with meetings of the universities' governing bodies.

The University of Glasgow has been looking at saving £20m over three years, prompting fears for the future of some courses. At Strathclyde protesters stood vigil outside the building where the senate was meeting to implement up to £12m of cuts.

Students and staff from Glasgow University assembled outside the still-occupied Hetherington, most representing the courses still under threat such as Slavonic studies and nursing.

Lucky Dhillon, of the university’s Central & East European Studies department, said: "Consultation showed these cuts are unnecessary and management is still trying to push them through.

"It raises the question of who are management listening to, who is the principal listening to? Both students and staff aren’t happy about these cuts."

While demonstrators anticipated that that the university would back down on many of its proposals, they are still keen to keep the pressure on the Government to bring forward its funding proposals for higher education.

Dave Anderson of the University and Colleges Union said: "Students also want to get a message to Holyrood that the SNP Government were strong on condemning cuts before election, but they've gone very silent now."

After two-and-a-half hours of deliberation, the University of Glasgow court decided it would accept recommendations including maintaining a full range of language courses. Anthropology, archaeology, classics and history and nursing courses will also stay but be subject to a review.

Stuart Tuckwood, a first year nursing student at Glasgow, said: "They’ve always told us all along that this has nothing to do with finance, and they have to step up to the mark and prove it."

Meanwhile, the Liberal Arts programme at the Dumfries Campus is to be axed and the Centre of Drug Research will close. In the interim around £18m of savings have been found by way of redundancies and freezing posts. The University of Strathclyde will announce its findings later in the summer.

SNP MSP for Glasgow Kelvin Sandra White spoke of her disappointment upon hearing the news that the University of Glasgow was axing its Slavonic studies degree programme and Liberal Arts degree programme.

Ms White said: "This news is obviously extremely disappointing to hear. Just last year the Chancellor of the university, Anton Muscatelli, spoke of the importance of the programme to the future of the university and its international outlook.

"I am pleased the university has taken on board some of the concerns previously raised. However this decision is a serious step backwards, especially at a time when Scotland is looking outward. I will be looking urgently for a meeting with the principal to hopefully secure the future of what is the only programme of its kind in Scotland.

"I work be working hard alongside MSP colleagues and the Student Representative Council in the hope that this decision can be reversed."