Hundreds of Proposed Job Losses, Programmes to be Cut, and a Government Funding Boost: What the Fuck is Happening at VUW?

Part 1: VC Nic Drops a Bomb

After the University of Otago announced they had a $60 million debt in early May, suspicions of a similar blow at Te Herenga Waka arose. On 24 May, Vice-Chancellor Nic Smith presented a forum entitled ‘Achieving Financial Sustainability’. The presentation detailed immense debt for the university—a predicted forecast of $33m for 2023 alone—and major job cuts. Areas under review at this period included ‘central service units’, such as roles in Human Resources and Engagement, as well as staffing within Business and Government, Education, Health, and Law faculties. 

The forum also included the now-infamous chart of the nearly 60 courses under review—most of which were creative arts and humanities subjects. Classics, Languages, Nursing and Midwifery, Theatre, Teaching, English, and Tourism were just some of the subjects on the chopping block. 

Part 2: Pushback Through Protest

Students and staff alike began voicing concern at their courses being cut. Many raised questions about the prominence of humanities subjects on the chopping block. 

An open letter, signed by the Tertiary Education Union (TEU), Vice-Chancellor Nic Smith, VUW students, prominent alumni, global academics and others concerned about the cuts was presented to Parliament on 15 June. The letter urged the government, particularly Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Minister for Education Jan Tinetti, to ‘Save Tertiary Education’. The letter called for the government to lift the debt ceiling at VUW and UOO to prevent mass staffing cuts, and to collaborate alongside universities, students’ associations, and the TEU to “establish a sustainable funding model for universities”. There are currently over 3200 signatures on the open letter. 

“Critical university education, including the arts and the humanities, fully funded at the same rates as technical and scientific subjects, is vital to the wellbeing of our nation, to the solving of gnarly problems, and to our international success,” wrote Professor Annemarie Jutel of VUW. Other signees included former Prime Minister Helen Clark, film director Jane Campion, author Catherine Chidgey, and Professor Dierdre Lynch of Harvard Univeristy.  

Part 3: Full Cuts Revealed, Shit Hits the Fan

​​On 21 June, another forum announced the full extent of the cuts: 275 roles were to be made redundant. Of these, 135 were from centrally staffed units, and 140 from academic and professional roles within faculties. With 36 roles in scope of redundancy already vacant, and 46 new roles to be created within the proposals, the number of real redundancies proposed is 229. 

News of the proposed cuts travelled fast, as did the list of programs up for disestablishment. As of 2024, there would be no new enrollments in Geophysics, Physical Geography, Workplace Health and Safety, the Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Early Childhood), and the Master of Teaching and Learning (Primary and Secondary). Tourism Management, postgraduate Design Technology, and the Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Secondary) were to be discontinued. Many languages were on the chopping block for disestablishment as well: Italian, German, Latin, and Greek. 

Concern abounded about the suite of programmes to be merged: Theatre, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Museum and Heritage Studies, and Classical and Jazz performance all would be integrated into other programmes.

“The University is conscious of the need to protect the quality of education and student experience at our institution. We can also confirm that all our current students will be able to complete their programmes of study regardless of any changes,” a statement from the University on 21 June said. 

On the same day, Vice-Chancellor Nic Smith said, “This is a hugely challenging task and I am grateful for the hard work and professionalism our staff have demonstrated during this process. I know this is a blow to our community, but I also want to acknowledge our areas of strength and distinctiveness, and our historical legacy as a university. I remain confident and determined that we will work through this situation and emerge positioned for future success.”

Part 4: “Get Fucked”

The forefront of the movement against staff and course cuts shifted to student and staff-led protests. On 21 June, TEU hosted a protest in front of the Hunter Building. A crowd of over 300 people showed their support, including staff, alumni, and current students. Protesters were encouraged to bring signs which told stories of personal experiences with the university and messages of frustration directed towards the education sector—one simply read, “Get Fucked”. Speakers from the TEU, Otago University Students’ Association, and VUWSA voiced their support for staff facing uncertainty, and called for the government to raise the debt ceiling. 

Gina Dao-McLay, Green Party candidate for Mana and student at VUW, is studying a Bachelor of Arts. For Dao-McLay, the cuts have a personal impact, as the subjects that they study have small, close-knit faculties. “The Prime Minister and the finance minister need to actually own up to the fact that they were a part of these kinds of movements in the past, and actually reflect on what they used to do when they were student association presidents,” Dao-McLay said at the protest. 

Part 5: VUW is Saved!....Kinda?...Well, Not Really…

On 27 June, the Labour Party announced “significant extra support to universities and other degree providers”, providing additional funding to tertiary institutions to prevent major staff and course cuts. 

An extra $128m will be allocated over the next two years to support tertiary providers, as well as a complete review of the higher education funding system. Education Minister Jan Tinetti said that the funding increase was the “most significant increase in 20 years”, yet the nature of the funding means that VUW is missing out. 

VUW would only be receiving $12m of the funding pack—less than 10% of the total allocated funds. In an email to staff, Nic Smith detailed a new approach to deal with the university’s mounting debt, which included “pausing current consultation and running a voluntary redundancy process” throughout July. Phase 2, after that, will review the current cuts proposal. This is predicted to be done by mid-August. Changes will be finalised and the process will be complete by early October. “This will include consultation on programmes that cannot realistically move to a financially sustainable position in the next 24 months and professional staffing areas that did not meet their cost saving targets through voluntary redundancies,” wrote Smith. 

The university told Salient that while the university welcomes the announcement of a review into the tertiary education funding model, “treating universities in isolation and encouraging competition in the same disciplines and sometimes in the same geographical locations is not beneficial for a country the size of New Zealand.” 

Massey University and Otago University have also announced major cuts, while the University of Auckland and the University of Canterbury have remained silent. The tidal funding model, in which funds are allocated to match the current funds that each institution receives, causes uncertainty. The University of Auckland, which is currently the most wealthy tertiary institute in the country, would receive around $28m under this model, over double of VUW’s $12m. 

“We would argue, not for a full amalgamation model, but a system that enables sharing capabilities across the sector and allows universities the opportunity to define their individual areas of distinctiveness and strength,” said Smith in the email. 

Part 6: What Now?

Nicki Wilford, TEU organiser for VUW, says that the next period of intervention from the university will depend on the staff that choose to put their hands up for voluntary redundancy. 

Wilford says that it’s important for VUW to emphasise their niche. “I think that would make huge seats for Wellington to be the capital city university that teaches primarily Humanities, Law, International Relations, Politics. I'm not excluding other subjects, but you know, the core of what we do here should be really supported.”

“For years and years and years, humanities brought all the funding into this university. So it's been a bit sad for me that they're hugely in scope for this change proposal,” she said. 

A full list of course cuts and other proposed changes is expected to be announced within the coming weeks.