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College of humanities and social sciences pro vice-chancellor Cynthia White says Massey University has to use taxpayer money wisely.
Massey University looks to be ploughing ahead with a restructure to its college of humanities and social sciences that could result in job losses.
The college was the subject of a proposal for change released in October which the Tertiary Education Union said would make drastic staff cuts across the school of humanities, media and creative communication, and the school of people, environment and planning.
The university has been looking at ways of cutting costs with a forecast loss for the year of more than $50 million.
A preliminary decision about the college was released earlier this week with little change from the original proposal. But some staff are working on an alternative proposal before the consultation period ends on January 19.
One of the affected staff is professor Lisa Emerson, who said student and staff feedback had not been reflected in the preliminary decision, so now some staff were working on an alternative proposal.
They were waiting on financial information from Massey, but were confident of showing the university different cost-saving methods.
The short time frame made it hard, but they wanted to save academic staff.
“The impact of the cuts will be widely felt, staff are very aware of that. The centre for defence studies is losing senior staff when security has never been more important.
“The [programmes leading into] teacher training, when the country needs more teaching, and in an era of misinformation and disinformation, we need people trained to analyse it.
“We need those people to contribute to our economy. Staff are feeling concerned.”
She said this was the beginning of a downward spiral for the university and the decision was short-sighted and unnecessary.
Murray Wilson/Stuff
Massey University’s college of humanities and social sciences is the subject of a proposal for change.
“Staff at Massey are really committed to their students and to the university. It is heartbreaking to see that loyalty and that commitment under threat,” Emerson said.
Pro vice-chancellor for the college, professor Cynthia White, said the university had to find ways to use taxpayer money wisely to ensure a successful and sustainable future in its core areas of teaching, learning and research.
To do so, they were examining the university’s academic profile and other options.
She said a key part of the preliminary decision was the “proposed alignment of staffing to areas of student demand in two of the college’s schools”.
“Despite efforts to reduce costs in a range of other areas, our largest expenses are staff-related and the proposed alignment of academic profiles to areas of student demand must be considered.
“The college is not cutting qualifications or disciplines and the preliminary decision affirms that students will be able to complete the majors and minors in which they enrolled.
“It also takes into account the extensive feedback received to date from staff, students and stakeholders.”
White said no final decision had been made. A final decision should be released on February 5.
Tertiary Education Union organiser Ben Schmidt said it was outrageous timing before Christmas with little time for staff who were going on holiday to provide feedback.
He said Massey was blindly charging ahead with devastating cuts.
“Defence and security studies, geography, which are important to our country at his time. There are areas where the employer is proposing to sack more staff.
“They have to respond to that just before they go on leave. It’s the most cold-hearted Christmas present one could possibly imagine.”
Warwick Smith/STUFF
Massey University politics professor Richard Shaw speaks about the ongoing effects of cuts at Massey University. (First published November 29).
