There are cuts at Uni Canberra and Uni Wollongong – suggestions that they are down to the government wanting to cut international student allocations aren’t entire explanations.
At the University of Canberra, 200 positions will go across administration and all faculties. Academics who want to spare themselves the possibility of being told to go had until last Friday to ask about a voluntary exit.
After a long and bitterly-disputed process, UoW announces it has found its target $21m in recurrent essential staff savings. Of the 25 teaching disciplines originally in scope, four will be cancelled – Cultural Studies, Japanese, Mandarin and Sciences/Technology Studies.Others survive, with unspecified staff and curriculum changes and there will be “some teaching,” in earth sciences, French, Spanish and English language-linguistics.
The cuts may not be complete. Interim VC John Dewar told local ABC radio there is “further work” to be done on a change process for professional staff. The intent is improved services but, “if there are opportunities to save costs then we will absolutely take (them).
Professor Dewar was brought in at UoW last June to replace Patricia Davidson, who left in April (she started May 2021) until a new VC was recruited. He has done cuts before, it took him years to weave La Trobe U into a sustainable operation – it was a basket case when he took over as Vice-Chancellor.
He attributes UoW’s situation in part to damage done to international student recruiting by the government’s management of visa processing last year, adding to the ABC that “there are some areas of the University with low student enrolment where we can no longer justify maintaining our current levels of staffing,” Professor Dewar said in November.
Which is much the same as previous VC Paul Wellings said in 2020, when he warned that to maintain wages and conditions there had had to be savings, including from low-enrolment courses.
But the university’s last annual report, for 2023, stated international enrolments were not back to pre Covid 2019 numbers and domestic numbers were stable. However, staff numbers were up 4% and employee costs 12% higher.
Uni Wollongong’s problems appear in part management-grown – not attracting local students across courses, not containing costs plus bad luck, unless it was poor planning. In December 2020 the university borrowed $350m, “needed in relation to a student accommodation public-private partnership that has become uneconomical because of COVID-19.”
Whatever the causes, UoW staff have had five years of disruption and uncertainty.
At UC the union also blames management. “The root cause of Uni Canberra’s problems is poor governance (which) leads to financial stress, which leads to course cuts and job cuts,” says the National Tertiary Education Union’s Lachlan Clohesy.
Australian student numbers are down at UC (it’s not a big destination for internationals) but staff costs are also up. A planned $26m deficit blew out by $10m for 2024 which was a year of turmoil with less a lack of leadership than too many. Paddy Nixon exited suddenly in December ‘23. Acting VC Lucy Johnston (substantively DVC R) gave it away in September. Then former Uni Canberra VC Stephen Parker came and went after he lost confidence in the university council. He wanted to take $50m recurrent out of the budget by the end of this year. His exit was a loss. Professor Parker understood the challenge of being the second university in a town with just about enough demand for one. Michelle Lincoln (DVC A) replaced him and she has nearly made it – having to hang on until next month when outgoing NDIS minister Bill Shorten takes over.
Given his previous job, Professor Parker’s October warning may not be a surprise. “The University itself is responsible for this unsustainable position. We cannot expect any external assistance and must take urgent and significant measures to re-balance the institution. There is no point in blaming others.”
