Thursday, March 28, 2024

Lincoln review ‘lowers morale’

Neal Wallace
A review of Lincoln University has unleashed a wave of uncertainty through the agricultural tertiary education sector with unions reporting plummeting morale among university staff.
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Lincoln had signalled that as part of the review it could seek alternative providers for the certificate and diploma level courses offered at Telford, a division of Lincoln.

Management and staff were considering options for the future of the south Otago training farm.

The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) has also initiated an investigation into whether education programmes at Telford have been delivered according to funding conditions.

Adding to the general uncertainty, TEC funding for levels three and four (diploma and certificate) courses in agriculture, horticulture and viticulture next year would, for the first time, be contestable.

Lincoln vice chancellor Robin Pollard has announced the Refreshing Lincoln project, saying the university could no longer sustain low student roll growth and continued financial losses.

All aspects of the business were up for review as it sought to rejuvenate the university but Lincoln would continue its core business of being a specialist educator in land, environment and associated social issues.

The review could include consideration of the ownership of 15 farms and small blocks of land it owned as it addressed a cumulative loss of $7 million in the last five years.

Tertiary Education Union organiser Cindy Doull said morale had plummeted with news of what would be the third round of restructuring at Lincoln since 2013.

“There is a significant workload and significant harm issue and this is the final straw for staff, so morale has been low for some time.”

In 2013 a review resulted in several courses being axed and a year later further restructuring cost more than 100 people their jobs.

Doull said an Ernst and Young report set out five options for the university: return to the structure before it acquired Telford, become part of the agricultural science hub, merge with another institution, continue with the Telford campus or close altogether.

She had not seen the full report but, along with a suite of questions about the Refreshing Lincoln process, had asked Pollard for the release of the report’s analysis.

Jeremy Baker wrote on LinkedIn that when he worked at Lincoln he never experienced “anything like intolerable pressure”.

“There is a significant workload and significant harm issue and this is the final straw for staff, so morale has been low for some time.”

Cindy Doull

Tertiary Education Union

“There were certainly major challenges but significant steps have been taken to address them.”

Former student Alan Peacock, praising the standard of education he received, said “If the professors I had at Lincoln were facing intolerable pressures, they sure as heck didn't show it to us students.”

The TEC confirmed it and Lincoln had received the Ernst and Young report but in statement said it would not release any further information.

“The TEC continues to work closely with Lincoln University as the university manages its ongoing financial viability and sustainability challenges.”

Contestable funding for levels three and four training in agriculture, horticulture and viticulture were announced in the last Budget.

Information released by the TEC notes training and education in those areas had been identified as a strategic investment, with estimates 25,000 extra people were needed to work in the sector in the next 25 years.

But too few students studied beyond diploma and certificate levels and the TEC wanted to encourage more to seek higher qualifications.

“These areas of provision have been identified as areas of national importance and we want to direct funding to higher-quality delivery that delivers on learner outcomes.”

It noted there were nine occupations in agriculture, horticulture and viticulture requiring level three and four qualifications listed on the Immigration New Zealand skills shortage list.

There was no new funding but $35 million was available to training providers with money reprioritised from within existing training budgets.

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