Lincoln Proposal Rushed And Flawed

Media Release
Tertiary Education Union
27 February 2013

Lincoln Proposal Rushed And Flawed

TEU released its submission on Lincoln University’s wide-ranging qualifications reform proposal today, outlining its concerns that the university’s proposal is rushed and flawed.

TEU members and others at the university have had just four weeks to consult on one of the most significant proposals to restructure a university in New Zealand’s recent history. Hundreds of jobs may be affected, as are the study options for thousands of students. However, consultation on the proposal has concluded before students have returned to campus for their first lecture of the year.

"We are extremely concerned about the haste in which this proposal has been drafted, the lack of detail for many of the changes proposed, and the lack of transparency with regard to consultation with stakeholders," said TEU deputy secretary Nanette Cormack.

"We regularly asked for more information so that we can provide a properly informed response but did not get it. We eventually received some of that information when the consultation period was more than half over. This consisted of enormous volumes of material that we were unable to share with members, which we were then somehow meant to analyse, critique and integrate into our submission in a very short time-frame. There is still information that has not been sent to us, which is in breach of employment relations legislation," said Ms Cormack.

"An individual staff member or student with an interest in their university almost certainly would not have been able to respond to the amount of material in the time available. They have been excluded from having their voices heard," said TEU's Lincoln University branch president Stuart Larsen.

"We are not opposed to change at Lincoln University but we believe the Proposal for Qualification Reform is based on unproven assumptions about student satisfaction with the university’s current programme and qualification structure, and poorly-evidenced statements about future industry requirements. We think change to any tertiary education programme needs to comply with a vigorous academic process, rather than be driven purely by financial motives," said Ms Cormack.

"We don’t believe that the proposal will meet the required standard for CUAP, and will expose Lincoln University and its staff to a rushed and flawed qualification system that may fail," said Ms Cormack.

You can read the full submission here: http://teu.ac.nz/2013/02/submission-to-lincoln-university-on-proposal-for-qualification-reform

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