Massey staff cover up the cracks left behind from course and job cuts

Lou*, a staff member from the College of Creative Arts (CoCA) who spoke out anonymously due to fear of reprisal, said staff’s goodwill has been “exploited.”   

Last month, staff were invited to express interest in ‘Voluntary Enhanced Cessation’.   

CoCA staff received an email from the college’s pro vice chancellor Margaret Petty on the first day of the semester saying the college would be accepting resignations from 35 people.   

A staff member said when enrolment in the Bachelor of Communication was suspended in July at the Manawatū campus, staff heard about it through the media. 

Lou* said staff go the extra mile to make sure any changes that are affecting their job aren’t filtering down to the students.   

But after continuous cuts for over a year and added work for staff, “people are running out of that goodwill”.  

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

 The vice chancellor was last reported to earn $586,000 per annum.   

 Lou* said the number of job cuts excludes attrition and those whose fixed-term contracts aren’t renewed, “It’s almost like those people have just ceased to exist, but actually the work is still there.”  

 Both the Victoria University and Otago University vice chancellors went to the Government and asked for more funding.  

However, Lou* said Massey’s vice chancellor had repeatedly turned down offers from the Tertiary Education Union (TEU) to hold tripartite talks between the Government, Universities and TEU.   

In June, the Government caved under the pressure and announced a $128 million dollar funding boost for universities and a higher education review.  

Lou* said it felt like Jan Thomas thinks staff are “all a bit annoying because we ask questions”.   

They said there had been a lot of farewells lately, “It's very depressing.”  

Massey has updated its ‘No and Low Enrolment’ policy and procedures policy which would make it easier for the university to cut courses without input from the staff.  

They finalised the ‘Digital Plus’ policy, aiming to anchor each college to be taught at just one physical campus with online study unless it could be financially justified.    

Admin staff Billie* said in the most recent admin cuts, CoCA lost nine people, leaving work to pile up on their desks.   

They said they don’t know what to tell potential students who are worried that the course they want won’t exist next year, “I don’t wanna lie”.   

With the uncertainty of who will be cut next, “there isn’t anyone who hasn’t at least dusted off their CV”, Billie* said.  

They said staff feel like they’re a “liability and a burden” to the vice chancellor and Senior Leadership Team.   

George*, a staff member from CoCA, said staff were “masking” the problems from the cuts for student's sake.   

After the Voluntary Enhanced Cessation process closed for CoCA earlier this month, George* was anxious that staff could be leaving in the middle of the semester with no plan for how to continue courses without experienced staff. 

 They said the degrees staff have built up collectively are a taonga, and this was only recognised as “units on a spreadsheet” for the Senior Leadership Team.  

Massey held staff forums late last month to discuss Massey’s 20-year financial plan and staff and course cuts. Students were not informed or invited to the forums.   

 Staff and students could email their concerns to the university, however, *George felt these go into a “vacuum”, creating “an illusion of inclusion”.   

 George* said CoCA has already gone through one process of shedding physical space, but the university wanted more.   

 They said this was difficult for research-based staff and students, like artists and designers, who need room to create and end up doing it in their own personal spaces.   

 Lecturer Max* said the university was making dictations, such as the number of people needed for a course or degree to continue.  

For a three-year bachelor's degree, low was deemed to be less than 50 full-time students per year. For a postgraduate diploma or master’s degree, low was deemed to be less than 15 full-time students per year.   

 The policy stated that a subgroup of the Senior Leadership Team will make final decisions, students and staff will not be included.    

 With the Wellington open day coming up this Friday, Max* said staff were wondering what they should tell potential students.   

 Max* said the changes revealed how “hierarchical” and “undemocratic” Massey was, even as a “supposedly” Te Tiriti led university.  

 They said they go through constant waves of fear that they will lose their job.   

Max* said the changes feel like a business process and about making money, “It's not considering what a university does.”   

 They said the university doesn’t see or value the relationship between teaching and research, seeing education as government-funded and research as something that loses money.   

Sarah*, a staff member from the College of Humanities was told her role was very unlikely to continue into next year after working at Massey for over a decade.  

 “It was devastating news, it felt like the ground being pulled out from under my feet.”  

She had to seek counselling support from Massey, “I felt depressed and devastated.” 

When asked what was next for her, she said, “Honestly, I might end up driving buses.” 

The vice chancellor was considering rationalising campus buildings for retail, residential housing, retirement homes and student accommodation.  

The university was reportedly in the final stages of progressing a “Joint Venture Agreement in Singapore”, including a major face-to-face campus according to an email to staff.  

 Massey University declined to comment.  

 *Names changed for anonymity