Massey considers selling campus buildings for retirement homes and an expansion to Singapore

Vice chancellor Jan Thomas revealed Massey potential plans to sell and lease campus buildings to retirement homes and retail, as well as converting some into student housing at staff forums last week.  

The vice chancellor also discussed major plans to expand Massey to Singapore.  

In a recent email to staff, Massey University announced that it was “in the final stages of progressing a Joint Venture Agreement in Singapore”. 

Staff were loud and blunt at forums held on every campus two weeks ago to discuss its 20-year financial plan called Horizon 2042, as well as course and job cuts.  

Students and the student association, Te Tira Ahu Pae, were not invited or informed about the forums.  

In a separate presentation sent to staff, Thomas described one of “four big shifts” as “build Singapore as a major face-to-face campus and explore other opportunities to ensure transnational education provides the resources Massey needs to maintain itself as a world class university”. 

Massey recorded an $8.8 million deficit in 2022 and last month announced a year-to-date operating deficit of $14.2m. 

Some staff at forums criticized the marketing of the university being Te Tiriti led, allegedly appropriating it as a tool to attract students internationally.  

In response to the concerns, a Massey spokesperson said the university had many overseas partnerships already and had been delivering education in Singapore for around 20 years.  

They said the expansion will not use any funding from New Zealand and will provide further ability to foster Massey’s Te Tiriti of Waitangi aspirations in Aotearoa. 

The spokesperson said the forums were “intended for staff members”.   

“Student engagement is important to us”, they said, “which is why students were directly involved in the creation of the current University Strategy 2022-2027 and they will continue to be involved in future iterations.” 

Massey Tertiary Education Union (TEU) organiser Ben Schmidt had described the move to Singapore as “a classic example of public education being inappropriately run as a business instead of a public good”. 

“It is disturbing to witness Massey setting up shop in another country while cutting hundreds of jobs in Aotearoa.  

“It shouldn’t need to be said but apparently it does - instead of building empires abroad, the university should be keeping staff it already employs, and serving the students and the communities it is funded by our government to serve”. 

For over a year, staff had been demanding and campaigning for the vice chancellor to meet in person with staff to talk about the future of the university. 

“It is long overdue”, Schmit said. 

The vice chancellor invited staff to voluntary resign from the university with an ‘enhancement’ of up to a year's salary.  

However, in June the government announced a $128 million dollar funding boost for universities and a higher education review in response to protests against mass staff redundancies and course cuts.   

Te Tira Ahu Pae General president, Andrew Steele was shocked when on his very first day as president he found out Massey was holding forums without students.  

He said students should have been invited to the forum and a similar forum should be held for students.  

“They’re entitled to their voice. It's about student representation and advocacy. It’s giving them a fair opportunity to tell Massey what they think.” 

Massey had finalised its No and Low Enrolment policy and procedures as well as the Digital Plus policy which would make it easier for the university to cut courses.   

The Digital Plus policy aims to anchor each college to be taught at just one physical campus with online study, unless it can be financially justified.   

Neither did the policies specify if current students will have to move to a different campus if they wish to continue in-person study, or if staff will be made redundant or be relocated. 

Steele believed Massey had not in any way tried to get feedback from students, “I think they could have done a lot more”.  

Steele had personally contacted vice chancellor Jan Thomas for more information on the cuts, however, she would not give him any.  

He didn’t want students to think that the association knows more than they do, “we don’t, we find out at the exact same time as students do”.