Tertiary Update Vol 14 No 31

In the last year, AUT has conducted seven separate staffing reviews.

While three of these reviews reorganised the university’s management structure and did not result in redundancies, the other four identified 8.1 full time equivalent staff as surplus. The biggest job losses were in the certificate of health studies, the centre of learning and teaching and the bachelor of dance programmes.

TEU branch president John Prince says that since August 2007 there have been over twenty redundancy rounds at AUT, resulting in the closing of programmes totalling 5,100 EFTS and costing 120 FTE staff their jobs.

“One common theme with many of these redundancies has been the pressure from the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) on AUT to increase its Degree offerings and to reduce its Certificate and Diploma programmes,” said Mr Prince.

“Now that AUT has more than met TEC’s requirements this particular pressure should be reduced, but recent reviews indicate that AUT will continue to close more Certificates and Diplomas.”

TEU national president Sandra Grey says this amount of organisational change is not isolated to AUT.

“Reviews, restructuring and redundancies are happening constantly at most tertiary education institutions. Staff and students are not given a chance to show the new structure works before the next change proposal is already up for discussion.”

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Massey VC denies hoarding public cash
2. TEU membership grows
3. Careers Day boycott as Auckland dispute deepens
4. Waterfront vista, not academics, make universities world class?

Other news

Academics don’t want to say who should win American Idol or who should win an OSCAR – we are happy to leave that to the experts in those fields. Likewise, ‘managers’ of the tertiary sector should trust the professionals they hire to continue to ensure the quality teaching and research in New Zealand – Sandra Grey outlines why she thinks academic quality is under attack.

TEU members at Christchurch Polytechnic and Institute of Technology (CPIT) are taking strike action today. They are protesting about their employer not responding to TEU offers to settle the current bargaining. The polytechnic continues to want control over some of the staff’s leave entitlements, as well as wanting them to work more duty hours – TEU media release

The Benefit Card proposed by the National government will cost taxpayers – YouTube

District health boards have “clear marching orders” pushing them to provide healthcare rather than support learning and training, University of Otago health sciences pro-vice-chancellor Prof Peter Crampton says. Criticism of Dunedin Hospital’s relationship with Otago University could be levelled at any DHB hospital, he said – Otago Daily Times

Threats of legal action have been made to 45 Australian-based student loan borrowers who have a combined debt of more than $1 million. The debtors have been sent letters advising they have 30 days to make repayments or face prosecution. Inland Revenue will begin preparing statements of claim to be lodged in the New Zealand courts, after which judgments will be transferred for confirmation in Australian courts – Dominion Post