A University of Queensland proposal to change the strategic direction of the School of Architecture has caused major concerns and uncertainty among its academic staff, whose roles would be “disestablished” to facilitate the new direction.
The shift in strategy emerged from the school’s Septennial review, conducted in 2019. Since the review, the school has introduced a new Master of Urban Development and Design degree and in 2021 it will begin teaching a Bachelor of Design degree.
Under its proposal, 20 (19.5 full time equivalent) continuing academic positions will be disestablished and replaced with 18 positions – nine will be architecture-focused roles and the remaining nine will be in a new design stream. Fixed term academic staff and casual staff are not affected.
The proposal has blindsided the academic staff, who were aware of the two new degrees but had not expected the transition to happen through what they have described as a “spill and fill” process.
“The staff in the school knew that change was coming because of these new degrees,” said Kelly Greenop, a senior lecturer at UQ School of Architecture.
“But we weren’t prepared for the fact that that would mean the disestablishment of positions and especially this recategorization of architecture and design.
“A spill and fill like this is a really extreme measure. As a union delegate, I’m concerned not only for the school but for the precedent it sets for the university.”
A spokesperson for the head of school told ArchitectureAU that UQ was seeking to grow and diversify to ensure its future success. They said the new direction “echoes feedback from industry, students, and academics.”
“The school now requires new discipline streams and an appropriate academic profile to support the introduction of new teaching programs and research fields if it is to achieve its strategic profile and remain competitive in the global market,” the spokesperson said.
Greenop believes the proposal lacks necessary detail and may not meet the criteria to trigger a major organizational change under and The University of Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2018 – 2021.
“It seems to us that since we’re still going to be teaching two architecture degrees – the Bachelor of Architectural Design and the Master of Architecture – that there is going to be substantial continuation of what staff would do at the school.
“In our opinion as a union the school hasn’t fully answered all the requirements of such a proposal under the enterprise agreement, such as the likely effect on workload. And if there’s a shift in established positions, what work is no longer required? Which is what would be a trigger for the disestablishment of positions. That’s what I’m really not clear about.
“Having said that, this isn’t the final proposal, this is one for consultation and we are hoping to get more information from the university.”
The consultation period concluded on 2 December. Submissions made to the university included a petition to stop the “spill and fill” which had gathered more than 1,100 signatures.
The Queensland chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects also submitted a letter outlining concerns from its members, which include students and graduates. The letter, provided to ArchitectureAU by the Queensland chapter president reads, “The changes appear significant and the way they are occuring is of considerable concern to many members of the Institute.”
The letter also asked the school to address the Institute’s concerns regarding the level and standard of education offered and research capacity under the proposal.
“How will the School manage the continuity of specialist knowledge and research, along with providing supervisors with equivalent qualifications, standing and backgrounds for those currently undertaking high degrees through research?”
“How will the proposed changes to the School achieve balanced and relevant research?
“With the proposed increase in courses offered and reduction in full-time equivalent academic staff, how will the School meet the Architectural Accreditation Council of Australia’s course accreditation requirements? Will the student size be reduced in line with the reduction in FTE dedicated architecture staff to maintain an optimal teacher/student ratio?” the letter continued.
Greenop said the proposal should have been discussed with staff in a more strategic way first. “But that isn’t how UQ has chosen to roll it out, which we find is one of the most disappointing things,” she said.
“We understand the university landscape is changing, that higher education is really under pressure. But there’s a lot of things we can do if we work in a much more consultative, collaborative fashion and that’s what we would really like to see happen.”
The school stressed that the change is not financially motivated or related to issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The decision to issue a Change Proposal to disestablish 20 positions was taken to give effect to a new operating model and academic profile,” a spokesperson for the school told ArchitectureAU. “It is not in response to current financial circumstances or pressures.”
Negotiations with the university are ongoing.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
