National Tertiary Education Union SA branch survey finds only one in four staff support uni merger
As a decision looms on merging two of Adelaide’s universities, a new survey reveals what staff really think about the plan.
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Only a quarter of staff support a merger of the universities of Adelaide and South Australia, says the union representing them – and the historic proposal “is at risk of failing”.
It comes as leaders of the universities confirm a decision by their governing councils on whether to “support the creation of a new university” is expected within weeks.
About 1100 staff from UniSA, the University of Adelaide and Flinders University responded to a survey by the National Tertiary Education Union SA branch.
The results, released on Friday, showed only one in four respondents supported the merger, which was proposed six months ago.
Only one in five respondents were confident that combining the University of Adelaide and UniSA would result in better education and less than one-third felt it would foster better research.
NTEU SA division secretary Andrew Miller has written to Premier Peter Malinauskas and Deputy Premier Susan Close, the minister responsible for higher education, warning “the entire process is at risk of failing” and university staff want more consultation.
“Getting this wrong would be catastrophic for SA,” Dr Miller said.
“There is no turning back once this decision is made. We must get it right. Staff are demanding concrete evidence the merger will deliver better quality education and better-quality research.”
It was revealed in December that leaders of the University of Adelaide and UniSA had signed a statement of co-operation to pursue a merger with no net job losses.
It was proposed that the combined institution be known as Adelaide University and begin operating from January 2026.
Flinders University has opted not to take part in merger talks.
In a joint statement, University of Adelaide Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Hoj and UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd said both university councils were “working through a comprehensive set of feasibility documentation, which outlines the benefits, opportunities and risks of combining ... to create a new university”.
“This has been informed by feedback received during this period from staff and students, together with the broader South Australian community,” they said.
“After reviewing this information independently, council members will consider whether to support the creation of a new university. This will take place within weeks, and we will share the outcome at that time. No decision has been made at this point.”
In the latest University of Adelaide annual report Professor Hoj had said the feasibility study and business case were due to be completed by the end of June.
Asked about the merger earlier this month Mr Malinausaks said the two universities involved had been “working cooperatively with the state government”.
“We said that we were aiming (for a decision) towards the middle of the year, we believe we’re on that track with that,” he said.
Mr Malinauskas has said the state government will make a “significant” financial contribution to the new university but has not specified how much.
Dr Close said “all parties” involved in the proposed merger were “working through the terms of the statement of co-operation in line with the agreed time frames”.
“Should the new university proceed, it would require legislation, and consultation would be undertaken as part of that process,” she said.
Opposition education spokesman John Gardner said the government had “completely botched” the merger consultation process and “lost the confidence of staff and community at the universities”.
He said an Opposition survey of almost 2000 people had revealed 41 per cent supported the merger but less than a quarter would back a taxpayer-funded contribution of more than $10m.
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Originally published as National Tertiary Education Union SA branch survey finds only one in four staff support uni merger
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