TEU’s national secretary Sharn Riggs says this bodes well for collective agreement negotiations, which start soon at seven of New Zealand’s eight universities.

Victoria University reported a $14.5 million surplus (4.3 percent of revenue). AUT had a $9 million surplus (3.1 percent of revenue). The University of Auckland posted a $32 million surplus (3.5 percent of revenue) and the University of Otago had surplus of s $26 million, (4.5 percent of revenue). All except the University of Auckland are due to begin negotiations soon.

The University of Canterbury reported an overall loss of $115m (39 percent of revenue) once costs relating to the earthquakes were accounted for. Lincoln, Waikato and Massey have not published their annual reports yet.

AUT, Otago and Victoria all reported surpluses that are higher than the three percent target that the Tertiary Education Commission requires them generate.

“University vice-chancellors consistently say that New Zealand needs to invest it its university employees, and that their pay and employment conditions need to be internationally competitive,” said Ms Riggs. “Now that they are in a stronger financial position than the government requires of them, they are in the ideal position to invest in solving the problem they themselves have identified and decried.”

A part time student at the University of Canterbury says the university’s plan to close its theatre program will cost her $4000 of fees for a degree she can no longer complete. Sarah has told the student campaign You are UC:

“If I was a single teen or in my early 20s, I could move to Wellington, Auckland, or Otago to complete my Theatre degree. But this is not my situation. I am married, I have 3 children, I own a home in Christchurch, moving to suit the degree I want to achieve is not in the realm of possibility for me. The only reason I started a degree at Canterbury was so I could become a High School Drama teacher. If this closure goes ahead, I will have spent $4000 towards a degree which I will be unable… to complete at Canterbury University.”

Meanwhile the Christchurch Press reports that corporate culture at the university may be choking creativity. Reporting on the change proposal to close theatre and film studies The Press notes:

“[T]he issue at the moment, the document goes on to say, is not that Arts courses are weak or unsustainable, but that the College of Arts offers more courses than it can support on current and projected income.”

“In short: there is nothing wrong with the affected courses but someone or something has to go. It also becomes clear that this thinking actually pre-dates the earthquakes, as the proposal says [Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the College of Arts, Prof] Adelson has been engaged in his strategic process for 18 months.”

The Press reports that that TEU has filed papers with the Employment Authority seeking a compliance order. Essentially, the filed papers charge the university with not following its own rules around academic process.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Will there be jobs for science graduates?
2. Joyce wants less representation on university councils
3. Massive student protests shake Quebec
4. Massachusetts replaces teacher educators with video highlights

Other news

Instead of rethinking whether performance measures work in the tertiary sector, the government has set up a performance exercise looking at student retention and completion. For tertiary institutions the quickest route to achieving in this exercise is making sure students pass their courses. The simplest way to ensure students pass is to put pressure on academics to elevate grades (and in a few isolated cases this is already beginning to happen in a range of institutions across New Zealand) – Dr Sandra Grey on Kiwiblog

What we’re saying, though, is that once you’ve used your 200 weeks [of student allowance], that’s the end of it. Currently, you can get exemptions for long programmes, as they call them, or for master’s or PhDs. But when somebody’s getting to the point when they’re doing a master’s or a PhD or a long programmes where they’ve perhaps done one degree and they’re going to do another degree, they are going to have a good income when they leave, and therefore they should be able to pay off a student loan - Steven Joyce on TVNZ Q&A

Universities NZ welcomes the Minister of Tertiary Education, Skills & Employment’s indication over the weekend that there will be a modest increase to the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) in this year’s Budget as it is an effective system for supporting the wide-ranging contributions made by university research - Universities NZ

39 percent of fraud in both tertiary and local government sectors went un-investigated by police. Some 38 percent of respondents in councils and 37 percent in polytechnics and universities said they were aware of a case of fraud in their institution within the past two years – compared to a public sector average of less than a quarter - Radio NZ

Saudi Arabian students have been banned from studying in Christchurch because of earthquake fears. Students sponsored by the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education cannot get government-funded scholarships in Christchurch this year -Stuff

Confronted with the biggest crisis since the 30s, the trade body for British sociologists proudly displayed its engagement by enumerating articles in the Journal of Niche Studies. All this is a long way from that letter of 1981, let alone Keynes. Perhaps it shows how far academics have been forced to conform to their research assessment exercises and turn out measurable output - The Guardian

TV3′s new Sunday morning offering, Three60, is sponsored by Massey University in a deal some sources say could be worth around $50,000. Professor Malcolm Wright, Massey University’s head of journalism, appeared onThree60 to discuss the Rupert Murdoch saga. The sponsor became the commentator. In doing so, the tertiary institution got more buck for their endorsement dollar than if they had flashed a logo on screen at the commencement of the show – which they did. Is this part of the deal? - The New Zealand Herald

The university told staff and students on 26 March that it proposed to close theatre and film studies, American studies and cultural studies departments. However the papers show that it had already been working behind the scenes to get rid of theatre and film studies since at least last August.

The released documents show deputy vice-chancellor Ian Town met polytechnic chief executive Kay Giles on August 18 last year, when they discussed a proposal from Prof Town to move theatre and film studies from the university to CPIT.

A university spokesman told the Christchurch Pressyesterday that talks with CPIT were not  publicised because they were commercially sensitive.

“No decision has been made to discontinue the programme and no commitments were made to CPIT,” he said.

Theatre and film studies department co-ordinator Associate Professor Sharon Mazer told The Press she was “shocked and appalled” the university had held “secret conversations” since August.

She questioned how staff could offer input to the proposal when the process was so far along.

In an email to Ms Giles and other CPIT managers on March 6, the polytechnic’s dean of creative industries Jane Gregg said it would be “highly risky” to get involved.

“I think clearly this is not a proposition that has very much in it for us, if it is enacted as they seem to envisage.”

In earlier emails, Dr Gregg told Ms Giles she was “worried about getting dragged into a long-standing historical issue”.

You Are UC, the student campaign against cuts to the College of Arts at the University of Canterbury, is holding a barbeque complete with theatrical entertainment to protest against the cuts today. You Are UC will also becollecting signatures for a petition against the cuts. The protest starts at midday on the arts lawn outside A Block on the University’s Ilam campus.

The petition calls for an immediate halt to the College of Arts Change Proposal to cut three programmes saying the business case contains flaws and students have not had the time or information needed to take part in consultation.

You Are UC opposes the cuts recently announced to the College of Arts. Morgan Hodgson, a spokesperson for the group, said that You Are UC is concerned about the integrity of the process the University is following, and what it will mean for future potential cuts; including those in other departments.

“In dealing with a short-term funding crisis, there is long-term damage being done to the educational opportunities in Christchurch.”

“Theatre and Film Studies, for example, usually makes a profit for the university. Cutting it is bad for the balance sheet and bad for education. One of the American studies lecturers losing his job receives a Marsden Fund grant, which brings the university hundreds of thousands of dollars – money the change proposal does not account for.

“We want the university to revisit its case for change, and start a new consultation with robust figures,” said Hodgson.

Also in Tertiary Update this week

1. Student fees rise faster than inflation
2. Joyce entices Saudi students with ultrafast broadband
3. Teacher education scheme delivers too late
4. 1 in 6 students in financial distress

Other news

All five colleges at the University of Canterbury are said to be making hard choices and many more cuts are on their way. In the School of Commerce, the Management Science and Operations Management major has been under review since the beginning of March, and students and staff were given just over two weeks for input on this proposal. Only last year, students were informed suddenly that the Masters of Social Work degree was being cancelled indefinitely. Students that wanted to continue studying in this programme were notified that they would either have to return to undergraduate study or try to cross-credit their points. Other courses are being ‘taught out’ in the College of Education and rumour mill is running as to what could happen within the Colleges of Engineering and Science -Canta

Act leader John Banks has made an attack on “middle-class welfare”, urging National to bite the bullet and restore interest rates to student loans - New Zealand Herald

It is important for universities to engage with businesses if they are to produce relevant research, says Massey University’s newly appointed Professor in Innovation and Economics - Massey University

Charter schools supremo Catherine Isaac has signalled her education pilot could be run by for-profit organisations. The former Act Party president told the party’s annual conference yesterday that “for profit” organisations are not allowed to run schools in the UK. “That is being seen as a mistake and as something they want to change,” Ms Isaac said -Stuff

The University of Otago has denied “gaming” the system in order to appear higher on league tables which rank their quality of research performance and says it has “nothing to hide” over the way it takes part in the process - Otago Daily Times

Liam Burns, the president of the British National Union of Students, is calling for university lecturers to be forced to acquire teaching qualifications to ensure that students paying tuition fees are getting the most out of their degrees -The Guardian

The cost of a United States university degree has left people wide-eyed for decades but student debt has now mushroomed into a nightmare for Americans with potential to explode as the next major US financial crisis - The Australian

Exasperated by rising subscription costs charged by academic publishers, Harvard University has encouraged its faculty members to make their research freely available through open access journals and to resign from publications that keep articles behind paywalls -The Guardian

Parker’s generosity a lesson for us all

Dr George Parker, manager of Te Puna Toi, the research arm of Canterbury University’s Theatre and Film Studies programme, has rejected a pay increase from the University of Canterbury. The pay increase would have seen Parker’s salary leap from $7000 to $7322 per annum and his tutor pay rate increased by 92 cents per hour.

“Given the current financial climate and the difficulties the university is facing in post-earthquake Christchurch, it would be irresponsible to accept a 92 cents increase”.

A university spokesperson commended Parker for his generosity and said the extra funds would go towards a mid-winter Christmas party for the university’s over-worked HR department. “They need the relief,” the spokesperson said.

Parker rejected that this move was in any way based on bad publicity surrounding the pay rise of Christchurch City Council’s CEO Tony Marryatt, which caused a wave of protests in Christchurch earlier this year. “No, I’m just a nice guy,” said Parker.

Parker also categorically denied that he was considering the role of Governor of the Reserve Bank with current governor Alan Bollard standing down. “I don’t think I even have an account at the Reserve Bank,” Parker said.

The minister was responding to an open letter from TEU last week asking him to provide the financial help so the departments could continue.

The closures would make nine full time-equivalent staff redundant and affect 150 students.

Joyce told the Press the proposal to alter the mix of programmes was a decision for the university.

“It is not appropriate for me as minister to interfere in the university’s operations.”

TEU national president Dr Sandra Grey rejected that excuse saying the issue was not so much the individual departments but the need for the government to support a broad diverse and local tertiary education in Canterbury.

“If the vice-chancellor had not picked these three programmes he would be trying to pick three others,” said Dr Grey. “One of the major problems at Canterbury is a systematic failure by government to support a diverse open university for all the people of Canterbury following the earthquakes. That is wider than interfering in internal decisions about three departments and it is something that the minister has a duty to address.”

Nine full time-equivalent staff will lose their jobs and more than 150 students will lose their majors and programmes at the University of Canterbury according to an announcement by the vice chancellor, Dr Rod Carr this week.

The vice-chancellor told staff at the university this week he intends to disestablish theatre and film studies, American studies and cultural studies programmes.

The university has said it will consult on the change proposal until 4 May this year.

TEU denounced the decision, and branch presidents from around the country have called upon the minister of tertiary education, Steven Joyce, to intervene.

An open letter from those branch presidents said Mr Joyce’s inaction in Christchurch threatens a broad and diverse education for local Cantabrians, but says he still has time to intercede.

“We believe it is not too late to act to save these programmes and the opportunities for students in these majors. Canterbury needs, now more than ever, a broad and diverse tertiary education that provides opportunities for all its potential students,” read the letter.

Theatre and film studies department co-ordinator Associate Professor Sharon Mazer told the Christchurch Press she was in shock about the proposal and would fight for the programme’s survival at every level.

The closure of the department would have a negative impact not only on the university’s academic integrity but also on the cultural life of the city, especially post-earthquake, Mazer said.

“At no time in our city’s history has it been more in need of ways of telling our stories and coming together to make a vibrant community,” Dr Mazer told the Press.

Some staff have alleged that the programmes under threat now are same ones that university management was targeting before the earthquake, and that management is simply reintroducing a radical change agenda that the university community previously rejected.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Will it be ‘Hello AHELO’?
2. VUW accused of rorting PBRF rankings
3. TEU members will not accept job casualisation in bargaining
4. Manukau negotiations conclude in one day

Other news

Christchurch’s earthquakes have had a big impact on the number of international students studying in the city with a 37 percent  drop in 2011, latest figures from the Education Ministry show. Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Steven Joyce says the results were expected. “The earthquakes in Canterbury have severely impacted the number of people from overseas wishing to study in Christchurch, “ Mr Joyce says.

Senior Consultant to Education International, the global federation of teachers’ unions, David Robinson tells National Radio’s Chris Laidlaw why he is unhappy at the way universities are being refocused for the purposes of commercial enterprise rather than academia and scholarship - Radio New Zealand

Reports indicate that, in recent months, the University of Bahrain has dismissed at least 117 of its academic staff and expelled more than 400 students for participating in demonstrations against the government or posting related links on social media sites - EducationInternational

The Tertiary Education Union is just one of many unions that has backed the Ports’ workers from the beginning, and national president Sandra Grey says the latest decision from the Ports is a step in the right direction - Te Waha Nui

When some University of Michigan graduate student research assistants started a drive to unionise about two years ago, they never imagined that their campaign would result in the governor signing a bill to prevent them and other graduate research assistants from organising at public universities in the state - Inside Higher Ed

Canada’s largest university, York, accepted a $30 million gift last year from a non-partisan think tank. Despite assurances by the think tank, the Centre for International Governance Innovation, that academic freedom at the public university will not be affected, the national professors’ union and more than 200 York faculty members fear otherwise. The key complaint about the gift has little to do with the money, but instead with the fact York agreed to give the think tank a formal role in selecting faculty – a break from the tradition in Canada and the United States of not letting donors decide who is hired - Inside Higher Ed

28 March 2012

Dear Mr Joyce,

We write to you to deplore the proposed closure of entire programmes and majors at the University of Canterbury.  We warned you last year that, without your intervention and support, many staff at the university would lose their jobs, and students would lose the opportunity to study the courses that inspire them.

That travesty, of course closures and job losses, is now imminent. However, we believe it is not too late to act to save these programmes and the opportunities for students in these majors. Canterbury needs, now more than ever, a broad and diverse tertiary education that provides opportunities for all its potential students.

You have refused to meet with us since we warned you of this. But the time has come now to listen. We, as representatives of tertiary education staff from across the country, call upon you to intervene and provide the financial security the University of Canterbury needs to get back on its feet.

We are ready to work with you to make sure that people throughout the Canterbury region have the opportunity to learn.

Yours sincerely,
Sandra Grey,
TEU national president

And the branch presidents and executive officers of the TEU nationally:

Employment negotiations for thousands of university staff at seven of New Zealand’s eight universities will begin in three months’ time, and union members are already working out what the main issues they need to see addressed to improve their working life.

One of the biggest issues facing many staff is increasing workloads because of staff numbers not keeping pace with student numbers. TEU members across all seven universities will be claiming employment protection for staff whose workload increases because of redundancies or restructuring.

The nationwide claim says if within six months of a review, restructuring or management of change process concluding, employees believe that their workloads are excessive, or that staffing levels are not sufficient, they may request a review of their workload. If the review finds that workloads are not safe, equitable, or reasonable the university must take appropriate steps to remedy the situation.

TEU university academic vice-president John Prince says the short-term effect of reviews is stress and job losses, but the long-term effect, if reviews are poorly conceived, is increasing workloads.

“We want an assurance that the many reviews currently taking place are not just about cutting staff numbers and shifting all the existing work onto those staff who remain.”

Employment negotiations will begin at the end of June for staff at the universities of AUT, Canterbury, Lincoln, Otago, Massey, Victoria and Waikato.

If you have a workload story to support TEU’s negotiations, leave a comment below.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Restructuring affecting 500 workers
2. New super ministry to manage commission
3. Farewell Ray Fargher
4. Auckland ports back down on contracting out
5. Aussie tutors join the ‘Precariat’ workforce
6. International trade agreement akin to asset sales

Other news

There is a nasty narrative creeping into the national conversation New Zealand is having about education these days, that of the superhero teacher. If you’re unfamiliar with the plot line, it goes something like this. There is a massive achievement gap in academic achievement and this gap is because of bad schools. Since teachers are the most important things in schools, if the schools aren’t delivering then it must be because teachers aren’t delivering. Enter the superhero teacher - Teaching the Teacher

A Cambridge student was suspended from the university for two-and-a-half years today for his part in a protest during a speech by the Universities Minister David Willetts. The “unprecedented” sentence handed down to Owen Holland, a PhD student in the Faculty of English, came on the same day as students marched in London and walked out of institutions across the country to demand Mr Willetts’ resignation - The Independent

A private computer training institute with hundreds of students has gone bust owing more than $8.3 million in tax, penalties and interest. Computer Power (NZ) Ltd, which runs Computer Power Institute campuses in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland, was put into liquidation in the High Court at Wellington this week. The institute has about 750 students including about 150 international students. The 47 staff have been paid until the end of the month - Dominion Post

An Indian immigration consultancy claiming to operate in NZ (and actually operating in India) has used a murdered US student’s image in their marketing (seemingly lifted from the Internet). It works with, among others, Canterbury, AUT, BOPP and Unitec - ED Blog

TAFE has hit the wall in Victoria’s open training market, with unprecedented private college growth relegating the public provider into minority status and throwing its financial viability into question. Details from an unpublished quarterly report from Skills Victoria, which shows that TAFEs now have less than half of the government-supported enrolments, emerged the day after Prime Minister Julia Gillard said states needed to protect their TAFEs -The Australian