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There will be at least 100 job losses at Auckland’s Unitec as it suspends 19 courses in full, and three others in part.
Unitec has informed staff that the courses will be suspended from 2019 and for the foreseeable future. It will not enrol any new students, but says students currently enrolled will be able to complete their qualifications. Unitec has been in financial strife for some time, and has lost 600 full-time students in recent years.
Dropping numbers
The courses that are being suspended include Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor Communication, Doctor of Computing, Bachelor of Sport and Master of Osteopathy.
Unitec had 130 programmes when there were 10,000 students but with dropping student numbers, Interim Chief Executive Merran Davis told Checkpoint that it needed to reduce costs by 20%.
“Because we have not been proactive around managing that portfolio with the changing times, it has meant that we are now in a situation where the review and making that change is a lot more significant than it would be in the usual course of things,” Ms Davis said.
Unitec decided on which courses to drop after looking at financial reliability, strategic relevance and educational performance, she said.
$50 million bailout
The action will result in about 100 to 200 full time-equivalent positions, Ms Davis said.
Ms Davis also confirmed the $50 million government loan to bail out Unitec would be used in part to pay for redundancies – and the government was aware of the changes and job losses when it confirmed it would lend the money.
The government loan would also help it become financially stable, Ms Davis said.
“The government is lending us money so that we can actually get ourselves into a position where we are actually able to continue paying staff, and also so that we can return to a financially sustainable position on the basis that we have had declining students for the last few years,” she said.
Not sustainable
“Unless we make significant changes, our operating model is not sustainable in its current form, because it was actually designed for a lot more students than Unitec has currently and is expected to have for some time.”
Unitec was in the process of informing staff about the redundancies, and deans and heads of pathways had been informed roles would be disestablished.
“Right across the organisation there is an understanding and an expectation that there will be job losses,” she said.
Suspended Unitec programmes:
Bachelor of Arts; Bachelor Communication (Language studies); Short courses in International Languages; NZ Cert English Language L2; NZ Cert English Language L3 – some parts; NZ Cert English Language L4 – some parts; Bachelor Communication; Master International Communication; Doctor of Computing; Bachelor Performing & Screen Arts – some parts; Dip Contemporary Music; Master Design; Bachelor Applied Science Human Bio (Osteopathy); Bachelor Health Social Development; Bachelor of Sport; Master of Osteopathy; Master Applied Practice (Generic); Master Education; Master Educational Leadership & Management; Doctor of Philosophy; NZ Cert Horticulture Services; GDip Event Communication.
Indian Newslink has published the above highly edited Report and Picture under a Special Agreement with www.rnz.co.nz. Full text appears at www.indiannewslink.co.nz
Photo: RNZ/Claire Eastham-Farrelly
