Jobs, courses cut as Fed Uni seeks to claw its way out of financial deficit

The proposed job losses include 42 voluntary redundancies with the remaining roles lost to be a combination of forced redundancies, current vacant positions going unfilled and contracts not being renewed.

It is believed about 105 roles will be impacted with some staff offered the opportunity for redeployment.

Federation University vice chancellor Professor Duncan Bentley said the cuts equate to about 10 per cent of the university's workforce, and most positions would go from professional and administrative support areas, with little or no impact expected on teaching and delivery of courses across the university.

He said the job cuts were "regrettable but necessary for the university to return to an operating surplus" by 2026. In 2023 the university recorded an $81 million loss, almost double its deficit in 2022.

But critics believe cuts that "vicious" in roles which support students and academic staff will indeed impact courses.

In March the university announced its Future Fed plan to cut $20 million through job losses and other restructure measures after falling student numbers left a huge hole in the institution's budget. In it they forecast up to 200 job losses.

The number of international students attending Federation fell 49 per cent between 2019 and 2023, causing a drop of $79.1 million in the university's revenue, while domestic student numbers have also fallen.

As part of the review process, Federation University has also identified five courses - the Bachelor of Outdoor and Environment Education, Graduate Certificate in Brewing, Master of Education Studies (by coursework), Graduate Diploma of Education Studies and Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology - which will not take new enrolments from 2025 but will continue until currently enrolled students complete their courses.

Among the positions to go will be the Provost, a position and office only created in November 2023. The university's change document states that the incumbent Provost, who is Liam Sloan, has tendered his resignation and in November 2024 the position will be "disestablished".

"We really do need to slim down because students numbers have dropped by such a large proportion but we will still have one of the best staff-to-student ratios in the country," he said.

Professor Bentley said many positions identified to be cut were a result of feedback and consultation with staff.

"They've given us areas where there's duplication, replication of work because of older systems and processes. If we get rid of that not only will we be able to remove those roles but we will actually be more systematic and efficient so our students and our staff will be served a lot better," he said.

"It's really important to remember we have been around for 150 years and we are determined to be around another 150 years at least and to do that we have got to go with the blows that government and other external circumstances throw at us continue to work with them.

"The reason we exist is to serve regional and local communities and we are absolutely going to carry on doing that."

National Tertiary Education Union Federation University branch president Mathew Abbott said staff were told of the cuts on Monday.

"It confirms they will push ahead with Future Fed cuts and transition to compulsory redundancies despite widespread opposition from staff and the community," he said.

The NTEU has held several rallies on campus and in the Ballarat CBD since the changes were first flagged in March.

"Our concern remains the same which is that Federation University management are trying to address the revenue problem by cutting costs and the problem with that is these cuts will exacerbate the revenue problem ... making the university a less attractive place to study."

He said the roles targeted were "a really substantial cut to the staff members who make the university run".

Professor Bentley said the universities financial situation had come about not only through COVID and declining student numbers but government under-funding.

"Federation has always recognised what the Universities Accord recently called out - regional universities walk a tight rope in offering the most we can to our communities in the face of significant financial challenges. Given that the Federal Government does not fully fund universities and regional universities in particular, any reduction in revenue resulting from adverse policy changes means that we have no choice but to reduce our operating costs."

He also fears the outcome of legislation currently before parliament seeking to cap international student visas for students coming in to Australia.

"The government has made its decision and we are working with government but the adverse policy impact of a cap on international students is going to be significant, particularly for regional universities, because international student numbers simply have not come back after COVID in the same way they have in Sydney," he said.

Federation has offered counselling to employees affected by job cuts and uncertainty.