AMC
Student accommodation shortage
NTEU officers and staff spent three days talking to AMC staff on all campuses. What struck us most is the incredible passion, commitment and loyalty that staff have for the College and its unique character, the work they do, and the AMC students. All were concerned about the College’s future in light of UTAS’s plans. The overwhelming views of the whole AMC community were best summed up by the AMC student who told the ABC news that students didn’t mind one way or the other whether the UTAS logo is on their degrees, it’s the AMC logo that’s important to their employment prospects. UTAS management finally produced a formal proposal on 30 September. The NCMCRS staff’s initial response was neutral, on the basis that they didn’t have enough information to have a view, and no convincing case had been presented to them to justify the move. The University had not identified a clear role for the proposed SET school – not even a name – making it very difficult to see how it would be successful if wasn’t known what it was meant to achieve.
AMC management concerns NTEU understands that AMC’s own management didn’t agree with the changes, and had submitted an alternative proposal to retain and enhance the Centre’s work as part of the Maritime College, so far ignored by UTAS. This became evident when NTEU members called for formal consultation on the proposal as required under the Enterprise Agreement, and insisted that both UTAS and AMC management representatives be involved in any discussions. Meetings were organised and then postponed due to AMC management being ‘unavailable’, presumably to avoid the real prospect of the two managements being publicly at odds with each other.
One of the points noted in the 2010 Review was that the Centre was struggling to maintain enrolments and somehow this would improve as part of the University. However, NTEU understands that the major cause of enrolment problems is most likely to stem from the acute shortage of student accommodation in Launceston. This year there was a significant drop-off between acceptances and actual enrolments, as many prospective students come from interstate and overseas (about 50% of the total) and find it very difficult to arrange suitable accommodation in Launceston, as was recently acknowledged by the Vice-Chancellor. It was subsequently announced that UTAS will spend $77 million on building new student accommodation in Launceston and Hobart. But with construction unlikely to start until well into 2012, this will not solve the problem in the short-term, regardless of whether the Centre is part of a Faculty or the College. The change proposal had an immediate negative effect on students, with many of them concerned about the status of their existing courses, and potential students enquiring about whether they would still be able to get an AMC qualification or even if the NCMCRS courses would run at all.
Where to from here? UTAS’s withdrawal of the proposal is not necessarily final – the proposal will now be reviewed in response to the concerns raised. It’s unclear when or how this might result in any new initiative. The very real problem facing UTAS as a whole is the lack of integration of marine environmental teaching and research across the University. What is actually needed is a mechanism for enabling the different Centres, Institutes and Schools to collaborate effectively without any of them losing staff positions or research quantum. Simply moving NCMCRS into SET does not address this issue. The alternative AMC management proposal seeks to resolve the problem for the betterment of UTAS as a whole and particularly for the students and staff. The Union will strongly argue that the AMC management proposal to retain and enhance the NCMCRS be given primary consideration during the formal consultation required if a new proposal surfaces. We want to save and build the AMC, and we think the University should too. A Michael Evans, National Organiser Above: General Secretary, Grahame McCulloch addressing AMC staff at a BBQ in Launceston. Below: The ‘Save AMC’ bumper sticker produced by NTEU to replace the posters pulled down by management.
CRS. M C N e th n o k c a tt a Stop the
Save AMC!
/amc
www.nteu.org.au/tas Authorised by Kelvin
Michael,
NOVEMBER 2011 www.nteu.org.au
President NTEU Tasmanian Division
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