Vic Uni to put more learning online

After a year of turmoil in the wake of coronavirus, Victoria University said it would move more learning online and opening decision-making on its future to staff and student scrutiny.

The plan, Navigating Choppy Waters: Te Herenga Waka to 2025, was written in response to economic and social disruption caused by Covid-19 but aims at helping the university navigate other looming challenges, such as climate change.

While still in the idea phase, it suggests mixing face-to-face classes with more online work, getting students involved in course design , and establishing an all-of-university assembly to guide decisions.

Other suggestions included boosting Ma¯ori and Pasifika staff, and increasing student exposure to Ma¯ori knowledge and the Treaty of Waitangi.

The university has had a tumultuous year, with the loss of international students resulting in a $10-$19 million deficit this year, which could stretch to $33.5m if costcutting measures are not taken.

The senior leadership team also attempted to push through controversial restructure, the Whiria Project, which was scrapped following backlash from staff and students.

Staff who were involved in the project said they wanted better collaboration and consultation at the university, and for workload issues to be addressed.

‘‘It should not be a top-down process from senior leadership, groups should be given more autonomy, the people should be listened to, they should be given platforms to allow them to talk, and leadership should be responsive to their voices,’’ one wrote in the report.

A second said theywanted the university to move past being a ‘‘degree factory’’, and be inspirational when it came to research and teaching.

‘‘We need to identify and focus on our core activities. We need to ask what is it we are here to do, and then do those things really, really well.

‘‘We would like to work in a high trust environment, instead of the current situation, where we are constantly having to wade through many, many layers of bureaucracy,’’ another said.

Victoria University provost Wendy Larner described the plan as a ‘‘conversation starter’’.

Next year, the university would embed 10 principles established in the report, including being place based, demonstrating kaitiakitanga and centring wellbeing into the university’s decision-making process.

Some work to achieve those principles, like moving to a blended learning model, was already under way as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic.