Update to academic change proposal

The proposed changes were designed to ensure the university can support long term financial sustainability and better deliver its high-quality education and research.

UTS Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Parfitt said the leadership team undertook extensive consultation and received feedback from staff, students and other stakeholders.  

“We listened and considered that feedback and have identified some preliminary outcomes that balance the need to ensure the university is financially sustainable with the desire to lay a strong foundation for long-term success and delivery of high-quality education and research for our communities.”

Preliminary outcomes include:

• Teacher education will be preserved by streamlining our subjects and redesigning our degrees
• International studies will be redesigned to allow students to complete their qualification faster, whilst retaining the option of overseas study
• Most postgraduate Public Health programs will continue to be offered, including in the areas of palliative care and diabetes education.
• A proposed merger of the Faculty of Law, the Business School and the Transdisciplinary (TD) School, will not progress. Instead, the Faculty of Law and the TD School will share some services and governance arrangements for administrative efficiency, while retaining their distinctive brand and identity.
• The majority of academic staff reductions are likely to be met through voluntary separation, the result of many expressions of interest received.
• Changes to some of the courses proposed for discontinuation. These changes will result in slightly fewer academic staffing reductions.

“I thank everyone who has engaged in the consultation process and provided feedback on the Academic Change Proposal,” Professor Parfitt said. “Our staff are passionate about our university and together we have identified a way forward that helps maintain the intent of the original proposal, align teaching with the resources available to us and ensure a sustainable course and subject portfolio.”

Professor Parfitt said it was important to give staff certainty before Christmas.

“We still have some work to do to finalise outcomes and release the final change implementation plan, but it was important to provide some clarity to staff before the end of the year. While it’s never easy to make decisions that affect the work and livelihoods of our staff, I’m relieved that we’ll be able to reduce impacts on staff and achieve the majority of academic staff reductions through voluntary separation.”

An implementation plan to determine details and timing of these changes will be released in February 2026.   

The academic change proposal was the first of two phases of UTS’s Operational Sustainability Initiative, designed to restructure the university, with improvements the delivery of services to support our education and research, and to improve the student and staff experience. The second phase, the operating model change proposal, remains open for consultation and feedback until near the end of December.