VCASU

Students in protest over cuts to staff

Andrew Trounson | The Australian, May 13, 2008

ABOUT 50 Melbourne University students protesting against academic staff cuts at the arts faculty yesterday invaded a building in an attempt to disrupt a university council meeting, trying at one stage to break through security guards blocking a liftwell.

The raid came as vice-chancellor Glyn Davis said the staff cuts were needed to counter a funding hole in the faculty following a significant drop-off in full-fee-paying international students.

The drop-off had reversed the increases in international student demand between 2000 and 2004 that had encouraged the faculty to boost academic staff numbers by about 100, he said.

The university had made $20million in special funding available for the faculty to help it become more sustainable by 2010.

“It isn’t a change that anyone wants, but it has essentially been forced on us by external circumstances,” Professor Davis said. “We are all committed to arts as core to the university.”

The staff union said the cuts would only exacerbate the workload of staff who were trying to implement the university’s new Melbourne Model of generalist undergraduate degrees, while teaching out students on the old degrees.

Protesting students yesterday were angry at what they claim is a decline in teaching standards as stretched academics have less time to tutor students and some courses are cut.

Speaking to The Australian, Professor Davis conceded the staff cuts at the arts faculty, Australia’s largest humanities faculty, risked hurting its reputation, but said it was an “awkward transition” that had to be done.

He blamed the fall in international student demand on several factors, including a preference among such students for more vocational courses, the high Australian dollar and changes in which destinations were fashionable among overseas short-stay students, such as those from the US.

The arts faculty is going through a second round of voluntary redundancies after shedding 24 academic positions last year.

Melbourne has not set a target for reductions, but staff union representative Ted Clark said a consultants’ report commissioned by the university last year had suggested that up to 120 positions might have to go.

“The staff are beginning to despair under the pressure of the workload,” Mr Clark said.

He said the number of students studying arts was increasing, putting additional pressure on staff.