National Tertiary Education Union releases results of survey of UTAS staff members from Hobart Campus
Angst towards the uni’s move into the CBD still lingers, despite a change in direction — while a divide deepens between UTAS staff based in Sandy Bay and the CBD, a new survey shows.
Tasmania
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A new survey of University of Tasmania (UTAS) staff has found that 51 per cent of them believe the Southern Transformation project is “fatally flawed”.
The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has released the results of a survey of 182 UTAS staff members.
The survey also found that only 15 per cent supported a complete relocation of the Hobart campus to the CBD.
However, that move is no longer on the cards.
“As announced last year, the university is not planning a complete move into the city; we are working to deliver a $500 million investment in STEM facilities at Sandy Bay,” UTAS Southern Tasmania Pro-Vice Chancellor Nicholas Farrelly said.
“The plan for STEM at Sandy Bay was developed with staff, students and stakeholders and is supported by the Tasmanian University Student Association, the state government and the Hobart City Council, among others.
“We have consulted with staff and students about our spaces as we have planned, delivered and moved into new campus facilities in Burnie, Launceston and Hobart, and we will continue to do so.”
The survey also found that of the 97 Sandy Bay-based staff who responded, 74 per cent report their workspace meets their needs - compared to just 38 per cent of the 37 respondents who work in CBD locations.
NTEU Tasmanian Division Secretary Ruth Barton said she was surprised by those figures.
“The narrative the university spins is that Sandy Bay’s old and decrepit and we need to move out of there and move into the CBD where it’s going to be shiny, new, sparkling and great,” Dr Barton said.
“And what people commented on was the difficulties they had in the CBD was about having open plan offices and the difficulty this posed for university type work, which is deep thinking work.”
Dr Barton said the survey results sent a strong message to UTAS.
“There’s not many people who have a lot of faith that the university’s current plan is going to work.
“I think they need to reconsider what they’re doing, and that’s the message that’s come through from the survey.”
The NTEU says it will release survey results from UTAS staff based in the state’s northern half in the coming weeks.
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Originally published as National Tertiary Education Union releases results of survey of UTAS staff members from Hobart Campus
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