The university circulating a “re-set strategy” paper which goes way beyond “undifferentiated cost-cutting”

The paper assumes revenue will be down 25 per cent by end 2021 and take three-four years to recover which means, “a fundamental reset of what and how we do things.”

Proposals include:

teaching: a “slim-down” of subjects and courses to those with a “strong reputation,” “or which contribute strong financial returns”

Decisions on what goes will be based on load, demand and teaching quality, “moderated by strategic criteria, particularly for regional instances.”  “Our academic and professional staffing will be reduced to reflect our continuing core teaching needs.”

research: fewer funds mean a focus on research areas where LT U will be in the national top five. Proposed areas for focus are, * agriculture, food, environment * biomed, clinical, allied and public health * society, culture, social change * digital innovation and transformation.

The agriculture cluster is expected to be a strong performer on research and industry-community links.

partnerships: “a reconfigured range of offerings and close partnerships with TAFE based on parity of esteem of higher and vocational education.”

Management assures the university community that no decisions are made. But the context is clear; “all aspects of our new plan must result in a lower cost base, a reduced number of staff and improved productivity to reflect our reduced revenue. This is not optional. Lowering our costs means that we can operate within our anticipated revenue; and increasing our productivity, including margins (i.e. excess of revenue over expenditure), means that we increase the resources available to us to reinvest in our teaching, research and infrastructure.”

what’s next: Staff have a fortnight to comment with a final plan to Council by end August.