Realising our Potential - a time for change

The need for change in the face of shifting student demand and movement in the national economy has seen USQ significantly alter its program choices, staffing, facilities use and student management services as it positions itself for growth in Australia's higher education sector.

USQ Vice Chancellor Professor Bill Lovegrove said the review of the University culminates a program started earlier this year when the University identified a need to compete on the domestic and international market for student enrolments.

He said the review allowed the University to consider the developments it has made in the past year and to align itself with initiatives that will see the University strive for increased student demand while providing a better service to students, staff and the community.

'While this will mean that efficiencies will need to be made in streamlining our academic programs and courses and revitalising our current teaching plans the overall intent will be to develop a clear perspective on what programs we offer and will refocus our student management arrangements,' Professor Lovegrove said.

'While we wanted to streamline the way we do business and offer the very best programs for our students we also realised that the review was an opportunity to look at the way we could effectively make financial savings against the rising costs of higher education.

'With the help of industry experts we set about on a long and comprehensive consultation process with staff and student representatives to identify where savings could be made but still offer the high standard of service that the community has come to judge us by.

'We essentially looked at four key areas in the university, our undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs, student management systems, corporate services and how efficiently we were using our building space on all three campuses at Toowoomba, Springfield and Fraser Coast.

'Students were telling us that many of our programs required change or discontinuing as developments in national employment and industry needs wanted programs that allowed more flexibility in design and which led to career pathways more in tune with generational wishes and with academic content that met the needs of the 21st Century

'An audit of our programs found that 86 percent of our students were enrolled in just 14 percent of our courses which suggested that many of our degrees were now past their use by date,' he said.

'Under the label of Realising our Potential (RoP) USQ set about creating a suite of programs that were better integrated with high quality benchmarks and that allowed students to have the flexibility to move between programs and obtain skills that might not necessarily have been available previously.

'What we will achieve is a University that offers career choice but retains its high standards of research and scholarship, coordinated in such a way that the learning experience will ensure that all students, regardless of location, have access to the same, innovative learning materials and study pathways that are innovative, up-to-date and forward looking in the ways that meet Australian and international demand.'

To achieve these aims, USQ will look to reduce the number of degrees it offers from 353 to 93 initially, and to reduce the number of courses by around 650 from the current number of 1600 which will allow the University to deliver programs that provide clarity, flexibility and professional pathways for USQ students.

Professor Lovegrove said that of the degrees to be withdrawn, almost 40 percent had no enrolments.

In line with these changes academic and faculty based staff numbers will also be reduced with a target of around 50 positions likely to be discontinued.

Professor Lovegrove said that in addition to the faculty based positions the ROP project had identified a further 40 positions from USQ's student management areas, 10 from the buildings and facilities section and 35 from the corporate services portfolio review.

However Professor Lovegrove said that any downsizing of the University will consider a range of employment options including, flexi-work schedules, pre-retirement schemes and the non-renewal of positions when staff leave USQ.

'Each year we have on average around 130 resignations from across the University and through natural attrition and other employment options we would hope to be able to meet out target without the need for forced redundancies,' he said.

However the Vice Chancellor did concede that if operations and staff cost targets could not be met there may be no alternative than for some involuntary redundancies to be made.

'While phase 1 of the ROP project has identified areas of program alignment it is still too early to say exactly where change might be as we still need to go through further discussion and engagement with each of the University faculties.'

In other areas of the University Professor Lovegrove said that approximately $3 million will be saved annually through streamlining much of the University's finance, corporate services and records management practices.

'What we have found is that many of our operational processes are duplicated across our faculties and campuses and by streamlining our activities a much more efficient and effective work environment can be made.'

Professor Lovegrove said that single point service delivery functions will free up staff to provide better administration support across the University as well as expand career development and progression opportunities for employees in these areas.

He also said that re-direction of duties for some existing employees will take place.

'Likewise student management systems will also be improved to ensure better enrolment and progression outcomes with organisational approaches that will allow for centres of excellence to occur within staffing teams,' Professor Lovegrove said

'Essentially what this means is that we'll have improved and coordinated communication with students whether it is from a recruitment or retention point of view.

'One area that will also undergo substantial change is in the way our buildings and facilities are used.'

He said that currently the University is not using building and class room space as efficiently as required and through better audits and control and the out-sourcing of selected work areas improved management of the University's assets will be gained.

The Vice Chancellor said that following the release of the RoP recommendations there will be a further period where staff will be able to provide input and discussion before a final report is completed.

'This is a new and exciting time for the University and the RoP project will allow us to make decisions that are in the very best interest of the University, its staff and its students.'

The RoP project, aims to save $8.5 million each year to reinvest in new programs and activities that will grow the University's capabilities well into the future.

Media Contact: Josh Ada, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 1628